Found at market outside of Paris, these handsome polychrome plates date from the mid-1800s and commemorate Imperial France in its "glory days" on the battlefields around the world.

Produced by the potters at Creil, this style of decorated plates are called "Story Plates" or "Talking Plates" and were designed to either depict an historic event, tell a story or present teachable moments or commentary that would have been found interesting to French people in the 19th century.

With highly detailed decoration, the illustrations at the center of each plate depict various French military scenes from the time of the French Revolution, hand-colored in shades of cobalt blue, yellow, brown and rusty red. The borders of the plates are decorated with cartouches labeled with three significant French military conquests during the 19th century: Constantine, Anvers and St. Jean d'Ulloa. The cartouches are flanked with French flags and three Legions of Honor medals complete the decoration around the rim.

Rich in history, these storied plates are sure to be a beloved addition to your home.

Strictly one-of-a-kind and subject to prior sale. Circa 1850. In good antique condition with overall wear consistent with their age. 8.25" in diameter. Please select specific plate from the drop down menu above.

Learn More About French "Talking Plates"

Often illustrating famous French battles or wars, plates like this would give a village patriot a “memory boost" about a battle or war he was a part of, or proud of. These historical plates, recorded France’s most illustrious wars. Collecting plates that portrayed France in its glory days on the battle fields around the world became quite popular, and true infatuation for collecting historical faience plates swept over 19th century France.

Yet other Assiettes Parlantes illustrate the months of the year, or seasons, professions; anything that had appeal to the French buying public in the mid to late 1800’s can be found on these sets of plates. Some of the plates have a play on words, or jeux de mots. Witty and at times a bit harsh or even risqué, each illustrates a funny saying, joke or sly humor that the French found amusing.

While these plates are referred to as “faience fine”, this refers to the ability of the transfer process to replicate finely drawn images in clear detail on the pottery, not that they are of fine quality porcelain on par with Limoges, for example. French potteries that made the parlantes plates could produce a vast amount of plates per day, with each worker able to complete 200 or more plates daily. Potteries creating commemorative dish ware were in full production by the 1860’s and some of the most famous French producers of this type of pottery include Gien, Creil et Montage, Keller et Guerin, Choisy-le-Roi, Digoin and Sarreguemines.

These plates are the darlings of designers and collectors alike, as they are wonderful to display in a hutch, hang on the wall flanking an antique French mirror, or placed on stands on a mantel.

(Courtesy of Frenchgardenhouse.com)