Nevers, the capital of French faience since the 16th century, produced during the revolutionary era a series of "speaking plates" that 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 directly from the republican vocabulary of Year II. This plate is a later interpretation in the style of Nevers' revolutionary faience. At the center, within a circular medallion edged in blue and gold, topped with a large blue ribbon knot, the calligraphed inscription proclaims in three lines: "Je suis Bougrement Patriotte 1793". The phrase, with its old spelling and popular emphasis, faithfully captures the spirit of the revolutionary originals. The scalloped rim is adorned with a frieze of small yellow flowers and green foliage, framed by a double blue line. The decoration, entirely hand-painted, exhibits that expressive freshness and naivety characteristic of Nevers-style productions. The mark on the reverse, handwritten "Neven / Révolution", uses the old spelling of Nevers. Diameter approximately 24 cm. A decorative piece full of character, which belongs to the tradition of revolutionary "speaking faience" and naturally finds its place in a collection of French faience or objects related to the history of the Revolution.
Additional details:
- Brand: Nevers
- Style: Révolutionnaire
- Style: Faïence de Nevers
- Material: Faïence
- Colour: or
- Colour: jaunes
- Colour: verts