Rare earthenware plate with contoured edges with polychrome decoration of a scene illustrating the fall of Sophie Blanchard from the basket of her balloon, dated July 16, 1819. Stylized flowers on the wing and net on the edge. 19th century. Diameter : 22 cm Sophie Blanchard (1778-1819), wife of the pioneer of ballooning Jean-Pierre Blanchard, was the first woman to pilot her own balloon and the first to embrace the career of balloonist. The scene depicted on this plate shows the precise moment when her balloon ignited due to pyrotechnic rockets, while Sophie Blanchard was to light the fireworks over the Jardins de Tivoli in Paris. Ejected from her basket, she died of her injuries.