Page 217 - Beholding Liberty!

HALL OF THE TROPHIES
ΙΙ.3.3
French factory at Montereau
Markos Botsaris in the camp of the Turks, ca. 1826-30
faience plate, diameter 20.8 cm
inscribed (caption): MARCOS BOTZARIS DANS LE CAMP DES TURCS. (low centre) Hellenic Parliament Art Collection, inv. n. 453
ΙΙ.3.4
French factory at Montereau
Mavrokordatos occupies a fort defended by the Turks, ca. 1826-30
faience plate, diameter 20.8 cm
inscribed (caption): MAVROCORDATOS PRENANT UN FORT DÉFENDU PAR DES TURCS. (low centre) Hellenic Parliament Art Collection, inv. n. 452
MONTEREAU POTTERY, at the conflu- ence of the rivers Yonne and Seine, was active since the mid-eighteenth century; during the Greek Revo- lution it was owned by Saint-Cricq-Casaux and run by Louis Leboeuf and Tribault.
A series of coloured faience plates was produced circa 1826-30, with floral patterns around the edge and philhellenic images in the centre. The subjects were drawn – as in the Choisy-le-Roy series [cat. no II.1.24-27] – from the lithographs produced in 1824- 25 by the painter and printmaker Henri-Charles [Karl] Loeillot [Loeillot-Hartwing] (1798-1864) under the title Battles for Greek Independence, printed by Bové in Paris.
The images are rendered in meticulous detail and
accompanied by informative captions. The focus is on famous protagonists of the Struggle, either in actual events or in symbolic images.
The image of Mavrokordatos occupying a fort de- fended by the Turks [cat. no II.3.4] is essentially a repetition of Loeillot’s lithograph of Greeks Occupy- ing a Fort Defended by Turks, published with this ex- act inscription on a plate by the Choisy-le-Roi manu- facture [cat. no I.1.27]. In the Montereau version, the inscription is changed, reflecting the circular shape of the image, identifying the Greek with the flag, centre, with Alexandros Mavrokordatos.
In the image of Markos Botsaris [cat. no. II.3.3], the hero launches an attack against the enemy; in the background, the Battle at Kefalovrysso.
SCENES AND FIGURES OF FREEDOM The consolidation of the Struggle 217