France 1824-1835, Choisy-le-Roi, Paillart & Hippolyte Hautin, 20.4cm.
A pair of plates with scenes of the death of Prince Joseph Poniatowski, made in France in the period 1824-35 by the Choisy-le-Roi company owned by Paillart & Hippolyte Hautin.
The plates, a popular form of patriotism, commemorated the life and death of Joseph Poniatowski.
The first depicts a graphic with the classic scene of the Death of Prince Joseph Poniatowski in the Elster Current on October 19, 1813 (Mort du Prince Poniatowski Le 19 Octobre 1813). Poniatowski on a white horse, dressed in the uniform of the Duchy of Warsaw jumps into the river. In the background can be seen Polish and French soldiers who are also trying to get across the river, behind them can be seen a blown-up bridge.
The second plate shows the moment when the body of Prince Joseph Poniatowski was found after the Battle of Leipzig in the Elster. A group of officers in mourning are pulling his corpse out of the water (Le Corps du Prince Poniatowski retrouve dans l'Elster).The plates have numerous discolorations and signs of use in the form of scratches, nicks and dings (visible in the photographs).
