This charming set of six French faïence plates were made in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, a town located in the northern part of France. The tin-glazed earthenware plates were created in 1989 to mark the bicentennial of the start of the French Revolution. (May 5, 1789). Each plate, which measures 7 3/4 inches in diameter, has a different colorful transfer in the center. Here is a list of the center motifs and what they represent:
Velvet Scoter Duck Morris Birds Plate Framed Print
This antique hand-colored print of an 1855 wood engraving is from "A History of British Birds" authored by Rev. Francis Orpen Morris (1810-1893). First published in 6 volumes by Groombridge and Sons, Paternoster Row, London in the years 1851-1857, the book featured ornithological illustrations by Alexander Francis Lydon, the British natural history engraver. Lydon worked closely with Benjamin Fawcett, the printer of the books, and collaborated with Rev. Morris on a large number of works.
Eagle Dancer SANTA CLARA PUEBLO Pottery Plate
This Santa Clara Pueblo plate features a tribal member dressed in the traditional eagle costume, performing the dance that represents the movements of the eagle as it soars between heaven and earth. Wearing an eagle headdress and a pair of feathered wings, the bare-chested male dancer has on a type of breechcloth/apron, also decorated with feathers, and circlets of feathers on his legs above his moccasins. Designs depicting Pueblo dancers from Santa Clara's storytelling traditions are often used on their pottery.
1895 Atlanta Fair Commemorative Miniature Jug
This miniature ovoid redware jug is a rare survivor, 125 years old and a memento from the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition. Held from September to December in Atlanta, Georgia, the Expo promoted the American South's products and technologies to the world. On September 18, then President Grover Cleveland threw an electric switch at his home in Massachusetts to officially open the Expo. On that Opening Day, Booker T. Washington gave his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech. Nearly 800,000 visitors attended that Exposition; we've included a black and white bird's-eye view showing the extent of the layout, which is now commemorated by a sign in Piedmont Park.
Gorgeous Gibson Girl in Crisscross Frame by Fidler
This gorgeous lithograph is of a drawing by famed artist Alice Luella Fidler, done in 1906. Alice, born in 1883, was one of three sisters who created illustrations of beautiful girls and women and the occasional dapper Edwardian gentleman. Most of their drawings were published as postcards, while their larger works were lithographed, as this one was, and then some of the details were hand painted. This lovely Gibson Girl is dressed in a white shirtwaist with a blue bow and a white hat with a blue ribbon topping her curls. The hat, hatband and neck bow were hand painted onto the lithograph; Alice's signature and the date are in the plate and not hand signed on the piece. We have searched antique postcards online, but have not found this image, so it may be unpublished.