18th Century French Faience Hand-Painted Plate

Price: $298

18th Century French Faience Hand-Painted Plate is a charming reminder of a simpler time, when rural life was the norm, not like today.  This scene was painted in a single wine color of varying shades and intensities, and depicts a threesome taking a break during the day for lunch and refreshments.  Note the simple milking bench and cut out wine barrel, both serving as ersatz seating for the repast.  Surrounding the tranquil scene is a border with the same coloration used to depict flowers amongst a variety of greenery and bordering.  Look carefully and you'll see the artist's signature at the bottom right of the main scene.  Marked in the back Tournai, 1740, with an intriguing maker's mark, it also bears the stamp of an art dealer in Liege who had brief possession of it during the late 19th century.  Tournai survives today as a small city very close to the current French border near Lille.
Circa 1740
Measures 9.5 in diameter