The porcelain factory of Arras was founded in 1770 with the financial backing of the County of Artois. This plate, with its striking cobalt blue on a milky-white ground, was typical of its short-lived 20 years in porcelain production. The sprigs of stylized cornflowers that decorate the center of this plate, a motif known in France as barbeaux, were popularly reproduced on porcelain during the last quarter of the 1700s.