The soft-paste Sèvres porcelain plate is from the service given by King Louis XV of France to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria in 1758, which was considered the most expensive diplomatic gift of the 18th century. The 74 plate service was given as a symbol of this new alliance and of the signing of the First Treaty of Versailles. The plates would later be used at the wedding feast of Emperor Joseph II and Isabella of Parma as commemorated through the painting, Wedding Supper, by Austrian court painter Martin Van Meytens.
The historical significance of the plate is key to Peoria’s own history which has a robust French connection beginning with explorers, Father Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673. It is this long French history of Peoria that the museum is working on telling through objects such as their Madame Annette Clemenceau collection, a donation by the one time daughter-in-law of the French Prime Minister, George Clemenceau, which includes a Louis XV-style armchair and a Louis XV-style ambulante table.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum, uniquely located in the heart of North American Colonial France, is dedicated to telling the region’s story through local and international objects such as the Sevres plate.
