Cockade diameter: 7cm (2.7in)
Tricolour cockade in ivory silk, blue silk and red cloth centered on a silvered copper stamped disc impressed ‘Confédération / des sociétés / patriotiques / du département / du Tarn faite / Alby le 1er Mai 1791’ (Confederation of patriotic societies of the department of Tarn made in Alby, the 1st May 1791). Presented in a weighted glazed case for use as a desk weight.
From 1790 to 1794, the standard-bearers of the French Revolution created a new social order wherein displays of fealty to the republic, heartfelt or otherwise, were vital. Adherence to a patriotic club in a town like Albi in south west France, the former seat of an archbishopric, was no doubt essential for many bourgeoise who hitherto had long co-existed with the privileged clergy of the area. The survival such ephemeral material in such good condition seems remarkable.