Broad-rimmed bowl with border of dolphins and "delphigriffs"; in the center, head of a young man

c. 1520/1530

Probably Urbino district 16th Century

Associated Names
Urbino district 16th Century

Ceramist, Italian, 16th century

This is an ornate ceramic bowl. In the center there is a bust of a person in profile facing the left, with short hair and a cloth wrapped around their shoulders. This design is done in white against a dark blue background. This center image is circled by a cream inner ring containing floral designs in white. The wide edge of the bowl features several large creatures, including two large fish at the bottom and two creatures on the top that have the tail of fish but the wings and head of bird. At the top, between the winged creatures, there is a cherubic face set within a cluster of round fruit above a vase. There is another bowl of fruit between the fish at the bottom, and some designs that look like crossed swords and round shields. These designs are also done in white against a dark blue background. The rim of the bowl is yellow in some places and seems to have faded to white in others.

Media Options

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G16

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 24.7 cm (9 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1942.9.343

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

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

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. 23, color repro. as frontispiece.

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: 64, as Castel Durante c. 1530.

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 14, as Castel Durante, about 1530.

1983

  • Wilson, Carolyn C. Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1983: 117, no. 6, repro., as Duchy of Urbino.

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: 136-137, color repro. 137.

Markings

Kann collection labels 21, 191 (now in object folder, NGA Curatorial Records)

Wikidata ID

Q62131099

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