The Peoria Riverfront Museum believes this porcelain plate is one regift worth bragging about.
The soft-paste Sèvres porcelain plate unveiled Thursday in the museum gallery was one of 74 given to Austrian empress Maria Theresa by King Louis XV of France in 1758. The diplomatic offering celebrating the 1756 Treaty of Versailles between the two European powers is believed to be the most expensive diplomatic gift of the 18th century.
Some of the extant plates now live in the Lourve. This particular specimen found its way to Peoria through Gretchen Petrakis, a member of the museum's board of directors.
"For me, this is more than just a plate. This is a plate that was used," she 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 were being told."
Petrakis said the plate she gifted can be used to help tell the story of French history here, where its believed the first public buildings constructed by Europeans within the modern borders of Illinois were erected.
Bill Conger, the chief curator of the Peoria Riverfront Museum, said this plate is particularly notable because it later crops up in paintings by Martin van Meytens documenting the wedding of Emperor Joseph II and Isabella of Parma, the granddaugher of Louis XV.
"By firsthand account, the very large hall was filled with tremendous throngs of ladies and cavaliers, and common people were also granted the consolation of being permitted in stages to enter the hall and watch the proceedings," Conger said. "So you can imagine what a spectacle that this dinner would have been. The plate would have been surrounded by solid gold tableware. And it's also known that a four year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was in the crowd during the dinner."
The plate still retains most of its gilding. Guest curator Bill Heidrich said it also touts the unique shade of green for which Sèvres, the maker, was known.
"I think this is a truly wonderful addition to the collection. It's a great example of decorative arts, the development of decorative arts and the far ranging influence that the decorative arts had in the 18th century," he said. "And it's something that serves as a touchstone for us today as we think about the past."
Peoria Riverfront Museum president and CEO John Morris said the plate acquisition is a warmup for the series of new pieces coming in for America's 250th birthday in 2026.
"Let me go out on a limb here and say this is the finest plate that Peoria has ever had. The Peoria Riverfront Museum is very proud to add this to the collection," Morris said.
