19th Century French Hand Painted Faience Wall Platter “Eglise St Bernard Paris”

$1,300

About

Decorate a wall or a shelf with this important colorful antique platter. Created in France circa 1895, the large hand painted ceramic plate depicts the magnificent Eglise Saint-Bernard, or The Church of St. Bernard in Paris. The painted scene is captured at sunrise, and shows a blue and pink sky and people milling about the square in front of the large cathedral. The octagonal, porcelain platter is decorated with a border wreath of many-colored flowers in a pink, green, yellow, and blue palette. The uppermost part of the plate is embellished with a central coat of arms medallion, and the bottom edge of the plate is inscribed “Paris Eglise Saint Bernard”. The decorative wall faience piece is in excellent condition and is signed on the front, “[insert the signature on the front right of the plate]”. This large decorative piece would make an outstanding addition to your porcelain collection. Marking “M.C.” with crown underfoot for further authentication. Wiring in the back for easy hanging. Saint-Bernard-de-la-Chapelle is a Neo-gothic Roman Catholic parish church in the Goutte d’Or neighborhood of the 18th arrondissement of Paris, located at the intersection of the Rue Saint-Bruno and the Rue Affre. Until 1860, the area currently serviced by this chapel was originally served by the historic village Church of Saint-Denys de la Chapelle, where Joan of Arc paused when entering Paris in 1429. After significant increase in the neighbourhood’s population, the area was in need of a new place to worship. Construction of this church – the future Saint-Bernard-de-la-Chapelle – began in 1858 and was completed in 1861, by which time the Goutte d’Or neighbourhood was part of the 18th arrondissement of Paris, following the incorporation of a number of communes (including La Chapelle) into an expanded city of Paris. The church has seen a lot of action since its completion, both religious and secular. For example, a number of occupations of buildings took place in Paris in the first half of 1996, including the Église Saint-Ambroise de Paris, the Gymnase Japy, and an SCNF depot. The occupations were mostly organised by migrants without official status, protesting against their treatment at the hands of the French government. On 28 June 1996, a group of around 300 people then occupied Saint-Bernard-de-la-Chapelle, attracting a significant amount of media attention. On 23 August 1996, 525 gendarmes, 500 local police officers, and 480 Compagnies républicaines de sécurité officers were mobilised by the government to assault the church, break the occupation, and detain migrants in the centre de rétention de Vincennes. Measure 14.5″ W x 19.5″ H.

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