Maiolica dish from the Isabella d'Este service

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Maiolica. Dish from the Isabella d'Este Service. Nicola di Gabriele Sbraghe da Urbino (Italian, d.1537/38). Shape 56. circular with broad, almost flat rim, and deep well; the underside of the rim moulded with three bands of reeding. In the well, within narrow blue and yellow concentric circles, two putti support a shield charged with the arms of Gonzaga impaling Este: argent, a cross patty gules cantoned by four eagles displayed sable (Gonzaga modern granted 1433), an escutcheon overall, quarterly, 1, 4, gules a lion rampant argent (Bohemia), 2, 3, barry of six or and sable (Gonzaga ancient) impaling Este, quarterly, 1, 4, azure three fleurs-de-lis or a bordure indented gules, 2, 3, azure an eagle displayed argent (gules shown orange throughout). Below on a scroll is the impresa `XXVII'. The sides are decorated in bianco sopra bianco with palmettes and scrolls, and a blue line encircles the shoulder. The rim is decorated with Peleus and Thetis. Peleus stands beneath a tree, gazing at Thetis, who sleeps nude on the ground in front of him. Further to the right she is transformed into a swan-like bird as he embraces her, and then into a dragon from which he turns away in horror. Higher up on the right, a goddess appears to Peleus who kneels before an altar. In the distance there is a mountainous landscape and sky. Suspended from the tree there is a shield of testa di cavallo form charged with the impresa of gold rods in a crucible surrounded by flames in a blue ground. Earthenware, tin-glazed overall; the reverse pale beige and speckled. Painted in blue, green, yellow, orange, stone, brown, manganese-purple, black, and white high-temperature (metallic oxide) colours, height, whole, 3.9 cm, diameter, rim, 30.2 cm, circa 1524-1525. Renaissance. Notes: The figures were derived from a woodcut illustration in Giovanni dei Bonsignori's Ovidio methamorphoseos vulgare, Venice (Giovanni Rosso da Vercelli for Lucantonio Giunta), 1497 or a later edition.

Image data

Accession Number: EC.30-1938
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/32.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H3DII-31
Photographer name: Katie Young
Image height: 1021 pixels
Image width: 1024 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.6 (Macintosh)
Filesize: 350.41kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 32/1

Key words

16th Century Artist/Maker Artistic Movement Date Department Fitz_AA High Renaissance Isabella d'Este Italian Material Medium Nationalities Nicola di Gabriele Sbraghe da Urbino Object Type Other Keywords Ovid Peleus People Renaissance Umbrian School Workflow _WF_AdOK _WF_KWD _WF_OPACtd _WF_PCtd arms birds cherubs circular coat of arms crest crucible dish dragons earthenware family crest female female nude fire flames glazed goddess gods heraldic heraldry maiolica metamorphoses mythological mythology nude painted palmettes polychrome pottery putti putto round shield swans thrown tin-glazed turned winged wings

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025)
            "Maiolica dish from the Isabella d'Este service"
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