Nevers, capital of French faience since the 16th century, produced during the revolutionary era a series of "speaking plates" which are among the most striking examples of popular propaganda during the Revolution. These pieces, hand-painted with a freedom of gesture and spontaneity that sets them apart from any industrial production, bear inscriptions and figures directly from the republican vocabulary of Year II. This plate belongs to this exceptional collection. In the center, a sans-culotte in a yellow jacket and blue breeches, wearing a Phrygian cap, holds a pike in a green landscape. The calligraphed inscription in an arc, in beautiful brown cursive script, proclaims: « le Patriote Satisfait » (The Satisfied Patriot). The subject is documented in specialized literature on revolutionary faience. The scalloped rim is adorned with a frieze of small blue arrows and dots, framed by a double blue and ocher line. The decoration, entirely hand-painted, exhibits the expressive freshness and naivety characteristic of popular Nevers productions during the Revolution. The mark on the reverse, handwritten « Neven / Révolution », uses the old spelling of Nevers and confirms the origin and period of production. Diameter: 24 cm. Revolutionary "speaking plates" from Nevers are today sought after by specialized collectors and history museums. This one is offered without formal expertise, subject to examination.
Additional details:
- Brand: Nevers
- Style: Révolutionnaire
- Style: Populaire
- Material: Faïence
- Colour: bleue
- Colour: ocre
- Colour: brune
- Period: Révolution