France 1824-1835, Choisy-le-Roi, Paillart & Hippolyte Hautin, 20.4 cm.
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 are a popular form of patriotism, and 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 depicts the moment when the body of Prince Joseph Poniatowski was found in the Elster after the Battle of Leipzig. A group of grieving officers pulls his corpse from 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).
