A Terracotta Portrait Medallion of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was one of America's first ambassadors, although the United States did not officially exist when he was sent to France in December of 1776 to seek French aid in support of the rebellion against England. One of his most important contacts and supporters was Jacques-Donatien Le Ray, who had established his fortune in shipping and operated an earthenware and glassmaking factory in Chaumont-sur-Loire. His friendship with Franklin was critical in winning French support for the American cause and Le Ray further assisted the American war effort in organizing and coordinating the American-French naval fleet, including the refitting of the warship USS Bonhomme Richard, used by Captain John Paul Jones. Le Ray commissioned the artist Jean-Baptiste Nini to create a terra-cotta relief portrait of Franklin which his perhaps his best known image.