French Country · Encyclopedia · Tableware, Kitchen and Decorative Objects
Antique French Plates
Faience, ironstone and porcelain plates from Gien, Sarreguemines, Creil-Montereau, Luneville and Quimper.
Porcelain & Faience · Indicative US retail $15–$400
At a glance
- Family: Porcelain & Faience
- Periods most often found: Faience from the 18th century is rare and specialist; most plates on the market date from 1830 to 1940; Quimper from 1880 to 1960; Art Deco services from 1925 to 1940.
- Typical price: about $60; range $15 to $400 and more for exceptional pieces
- What drives value: Factory mark, sets, pattern rarity
What it is
French antique plates span faience, earthenware and porcelain. The great faience and fine earthenware factories of Gien, Sarreguemines, Creil-Montereau, Lunéville, Choisy-le-Roi, Longwy and Quimper produced tableware for every French household in the 19th century, alongside the porcelain of Limoges and Paris. The "assiettes parlantes," transfer-printed plates with captions and cartoons on history, riddles or proverbs, are especially collected.
How to identify and date it
Turn the plate over: most 19th-century French factories used back stamps, which identify the factory and often a date range. Faience (tin-glazed) has an opaque white glaze over a reddish or buff body, visible on chips; fine earthenware (faïence fine, terre de fer) has a white body; porcelain is translucent when held to light. Check for chips at the rim, hairline cracks (tap gently; a cracked plate sounds dull), crazing and staining.
Periods and styles
Faience from the 18th century is rare and specialist; most plates on the market date from 1830 to 1940; Quimper from 1880 to 1960; Art Deco services from 1925 to 1940.
How much is it worth?
On the US retail market, most antique french plates examples ask around $60. Simple or worn pieces start near $15, while documented, signed or exceptional examples can pass $400. The main value drivers are: factory mark, sets, pattern rarity. These are indicative ranges, not an appraisal; see our price guide for French antiques for the method.
Questions buyers ask: delft plates value; pewter plates value; what antique plates are worth money; vintage bunnykins plate value. The answer depends on the points below, which are worth checking before you compare prices.
Before you buy
- Read the back stamp
- Check rims and cracks
- Count plates in a set
- Look for matching patterns
- Ask about dishwasher use (avoid)
Living with it
Hang a wall of mismatched French plates in a kitchen, or set the table with a mix of faience and ironstone.
How we write these guides: identification notes are general guidance written by French Country; a style name, a region or a resemblance does not by itself date or attribute a piece. Price ranges are indicative US retail asking prices for antique and vintage examples in sound condition (dealers, specialist marketplaces and auctions), estimated and rounded as of November 2026; check recent sold results before relying on a figure. They are not appraisals or offers to buy or sell: condition, provenance and documentation can move a value far outside the range. For insurance, estates or sales, ask an independent, qualified appraiser for a written valuation.