Page 257 - Beholding Liberty!

HALL OF THE TROPHIES
II.5.3
French factory “Vieux Paris”
The Naval Battle of Navarino
vase of polychrome porcelain
with gold ornaments, height 44 cm Michael and Demetra Varkarakis Collection
THIS FRENCH VASE is an excellent example of “Vieux Paris” porcelain. An objet d’art of outstanding quality, this decorative vase features an image of the Battle of Navarino, with ornate painted and gilt deco- ration; its handles are formed in the shape of winged Nikes, which complement the main theme. On the vase body, the naval battle is depicted in bright colours. On the left, the Allied men-of-war fire cannons at the Ottoman warships, on the right, producing billows of smoke across the horizon, in a dramatic evocation of the conflict. In the foreground, sailors can already be seen abandoning the sinking ships in lifeboats.
ΙΙ.5.4
Independent Newspaper of Greece, no 2, pp. 1-3 (6 August 1827)
Treaty about the restoration of Greece Library of the Hellenic Parliament
ON THE 6TH JULY 1827, the three «pro- tective» forces, England, France and Russia, signed in London, under the strong influence of George Can- ning, the so-called «July treaty», which referred to the autonomy of Greece with the payment of suzer- ainty tax to the Sultan. More specifically, in article 2 it states: «The Greeks shall consider the Sultan as superior lord and in consequence of this supremacy will pay to the Ottoman state temporal (=annual) tax [...]». Important is the addition of a secret proto- col, consisting of three articles, by which a deadline of one month was set for the Sublime Porte to ac- cept the mediation of the three Powers; should the deadline expire inactive, their navies were autho- rized to take any action they considered purposeful to impose pacification – something that did happen, paving the way for the Naval Battle of Navarino.
SCENES AND FIGURES OF FREEDOM Diplomatic interventions 257