The ancient geographer Strabo is credited with the first “Cinderella” tale in Western literature. Written during the reign of Augustus Caesar, it recounts the story of a Greek slave girl named Rhodopis who marries an Egyptian Pharaoh. Charles Perrault’s 1634 version, however, written in French under the title of Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle verre, with its invention of the the the fairy godmother, little glass slipper, and pumpkin coach is the one with which we are most familiar today. Our rare bright yellow, tin-glazed plate adopts the French “Cendrillon”; its black transfer print illustrates the point in the story when the fairy godmother is about to transform Cinderella into an ephemeral princess. The nature of the pottery, the nomenclature, and the Napoleonic-era Empire fashion in which the characters are costumed all argue that this well-worn example of early French majolica can be dated to the first quarter of the 19th century. Condition: Abrasions and discoloration from heavy use. Dimensions: 8.5" diam.