Hoping for Peace, circa 1790

I was cruising the dealer sites yesterday and came across a large jar on John Howard's site commemorating the Peace of Amiens, a short-lived peace between Britain and France lasting one year from 1802-1803. Aside from that, Britain and France were at war from 1793-1815. Those turbulent war years were preceded by the French Revolution, and the unrest on the continent was disquieting to many English, who feared that turmoil would cross the Channel. In a round-about way, John Howard's jar brought to mind an unusual figure that you will also see in Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840, vol. 4, to be released later this year.

This figure was made to symbolically portray English hopes for a peaceful resolution of the French Revolution. Implements of war on the base (helmets) and broken chains symbolize the fight for freedom. The male figure holds a shield decorated with the fleur-de-lys of the French monarch. The female figure offers him a Liberty bonnet. Clasped hands of fraternity are on the obelisk, so the group is interpreted as suggesting a peaceful resolution of the French Revolution. As all hope of that vanished with the execution of the French king Louis XVI in January 1793, this group was probably made before that date.  The enamels are certainly very typical of the 1790 period.

I have seen one or two unpainted examples of this group--in other words, the group was glazed and left in the white--and I am almost sure there is one like that in the British Museum. While this may not be every collector's cup of tea, it is an extraordinary reminder of a very turbulent time in European history, and a palpable reminder of the hopes and fears in English hearts.