The town of Nevers is situated in the centre of France and has been famous for the production of tin-glazed earthenware (called faïence in France and when referring to French pottery of this kind) from the late sixteenth century to the present day. The tradition started following the marriage of Luigi Gonzaga (a descendant of the illustrious family of the rulers of the Italian city state of Mantua) with Henriette of Cleves. This highly cultured ruler who had been raised at the court of the French king, François I, actively encouraged artists from his homeland to come to work in Nevers, and so glassmakers, enamellers, potters and printers colonised the region. Agostino Corrado is the significant name for the development of the faïence industry and he is known in French as Augustin Corrade. Originally from Albissola in the Savona region, this potter went into partnership with a compatriot from Faenza, the painter Giulio Gambini, and created his own pottery in 1574. There is also a definite link with the Italian potters of Lyon and some potters came from there while others came directly from north-western Italy (Liguria) to work at Nevers. An oval dish in the Louvre, signed '1589 Fesi a Nevers' illustrates that the early work at the pottery was completely in the Italian maiolica tradition and very similar in execution to that of the Lyon potters. They relied on engravings from contemporary publications for the source of their designs and also included grotesque designs, inspired by Raphael's work in the Vatican loggia, in turn based on decoration found in classical Roman ruins which were being rediscovered around the turn of the 16th century.

As the 17th century progressed decoration evolved at Nevers, becoming progressively lighter in style with a greater use of white, often with blue monochrome. Coloured decoration based on popular prints istoriato was still produced however. A prediliction for Persian-style motifs came with the Ligurian potters from Italy who routinely used scattered naturalistic motifs, outlined in a thin blue line and painted in with a thicker brush in varying tones of blue. A number of items in monochrome blue from the second third of the 17th century have scattered decoration of birds, animals and insects, very occasionally signed 'de conrade a nevers'. A new and original style of decoration developed at Nevers comprising a rich dark blue glaze, called 'bleu persan', often used with white and ochre floral decoration painted over the glaze. From about 1660 the taste for chinese-style decoration is found, with figure scenes painted in monochrome blue or blue with a purplish-brown colour called manganese as it derives from manganese-oxide. These scenes copy contemporary or slighter earlier Chinese decoration, (Wanli, late Ming and 'transitional'), and are sometimes combined with typical north Italian naturalistic elements (derived ultimately from Persian pottery) as here on this plate. (It also has a vignette of fortified buildings in the border, a throw-back to the earlier Italian motifs found on istoriato plates.) Chinese porcelain had begun to enter Europe on a more regular basis since the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in 1602 and these items, reproduced by Dutch potteries in Delft, certainly influenced production at Nevers, although it is also possible the Nevers potters had direct access to Chinese wares. The mid seventeenth century was the heyday of production at Nevers when a great variety of painted and moulded wares in many different styles were made.