This plate appears to bear a simple image of a funeral urn, but is actually a potent, and potentially dangerous, political statement. For the outline of the urn forms, in negative space, the profiles of French King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, both of whom were guillotined at the beginning of the French Revolution. The image, which exists in multiple versions, became a symbol of continued monarchist feelings in France throughout the Republic and early Empire. This particular image, and the idea of such hidden images generally, became a worldwide phenomenon around 1800; amazingly, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette even made an appearance on porcelain plates made in China for export to Europe.

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