PEORIA, Ill. – A piece of French history is now on display at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
The museum on Thursday unveiled a new item in its permanent collection, a soft-paste Sevres porcelain plate given by King Louis the 15th of France to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, considered the most diplomatic gift in the 18th century.
The plate was also used in a famous 18th century wedding of Joseph the Second and the granddaughter of Louis the 15th in Vienna.
Chief Curator Bill Conger says the plate has significance to Peoria, as part of the city’s French heritage.
“We have had French roots. We have had various villages and societies in Peoria that have established a tradition of new France, and we like to, in our collection, refer to that time,” Conger said.
The plate joins other French-related items in the museum’s permanent collection, including items from Madame Annette Clemenceau, the one-time daughter-in-law of the former Prime Minister of France, George Clemenceau. Those include two Louis the 15th-style items, an armchair and ambulante table.
Museum board member Gretchen Hagen Petrakis provided the plate to the museum as a gift.
“This is a plate that was used,” Petrakis said. “People sat around a table, they ate, you can see the marks on the plate of someone actually eating off this plate. So we can use our imaginations and think about what stories are being told, and people left, and told more stories.”
Museum President and CEO John Morris says the plate is the beginning of the story they want to tell over the next couple years, leading up to the 250th birthday of the United States in 2026. He says the museum will continue to acquire items related to America and the Peoria area.
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