Large dish with segmental border of plant sprays and scale pattern; in the center, an emblematic female figure holding a crowned toad and cornucopia

c. 1510/1540

Deruta 16th Century

Associated Names
Deruta 16th Century

Ceramist

This is a colorful ceramic plate. In the center of the plate is a scene that features a person in a long, draped garment holding some sort of long object that looks like a thin horn or flower in one hand, and a small, spotted animal with a crown floating above it in their other hand. The person stands against a backdrop of a town or cityscape, and in the air on the right are a series of floral shapes. These designs are in bright yellow and blue colors, with some of the white background visible. The rim of the plate exhibits patterns of scales, vertical stripes, and floral motifs in yellow and blue, with some areas of bright orange.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 40.3 cm (15 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1942.9.317

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably Alessandro Castellani [1823-1883], Rome; (his sale, Paris, 27-29 May 1878, no. 146, as Pesaro). Probably A. Andrews, London; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 14-17 April 1888, no. 391); (Galerie Seligmann, Paris). Maurice Kann [1839-1906], Paris; purchased 1908 with the entire Kann collection by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); purchased February 1910 by Peter A. B. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from the Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, 1942.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1877

  • Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1877.

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1877.

1982

  • Sixteenth-century Italian Maiolica; Selections from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection and the National Gallery of Art's Widener Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1982-1983, no. 13.

2004

  • La Ceramica Umbra al Tempo di Perugino [Ceramics in Umbria in the time of Perugino], Museo Regionale della Ceramica di Deruta, 2004, no. 25, repro.

Bibliography

1935

  • Inventory of the Objects d'Art at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, The Estate of the Late P.A.B. Widener. Philadelphia, 1935: 54, as Deruta with Gubbio luster, c. 1520.

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 12, as Deruta with Gubbio luster, about 1520.

1993

  • Distelberger, Rudolf, Alison Luchs, Philippe Verdier, and Timonthy H. Wilson. Western Decorative Arts, Part I: Medieval, Renaissance, and Historicizing Styles including Metalwork, Enamels, and Ceramics. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1993: 146-147, repro. 146.

2002

  • Mack, Rosamund E. Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300-1600. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 2002: 103-104, fig. 104.

Markings

Kann collection labels 11, 180

Wikidata ID

Q62131058

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