Caesar crossing a river in a boat: C.180-1991

Titles

Caesar crossing a river in a boat

Maker(s)

Workshop: Bettisi, Leonardo di Antonio

Entities

• Broad-rimmed bowl
• dish

Categories

• Tin-glazed earthenware
• Maiolica

Description

Renaissance maiolica broad-rimmed bowl, painted in blue, yellow and orange with Caesar crossing a river in a boat.

Earthenware, tin-glazed overall. Painted in blue, yellow, and orange. Shape approximately 59. Circular with a broad sloping rim and deep well.
Caesar crossing a River in a Boat. Caesar is seated in a boat rowed with one oar by a boatman. In the foreground are waves and in the background a riverbank and hills. In the sky is an oval shield charged with the arms of the Wittelsbach Dukes of Bavaria surmounted by a coronet. At the bottom of the rim there is a rectangular panel inscribed, `solitariamentae Cesare/pasa' il fiume' chentra/nel mare tra Gaeta e'tara/cina [?]'(alone Caesar crosses the river which enters the sea between Gaeta and Taracina [?]). A narrow blue band, and a yellow band between two orange, encircle the rim. The back is inscribed in the middle in brownish-orange `.DO.PI.'.

Notes

History note: Henry Scipio Reitlinger (d.1950); the Reitlinger Trust, Maidenhead, from which transferred in 1991.

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Henry Scipio Reitlinger, 1950; transferred from the Reitlinger Trust, 1991.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1991-04-29) by Reitlinger, Henry Scipio

Dating

16th Century, Late
Renaissance
Production date: circa AD 1576

Note

This dish bears the arms of the Wittelsbach dukes of Bavaria and formed part of a service which belonged to Albrecht V (1528; ruled as duke, 1550-79). The service was probably made in 1576, the date on one of the dishes. The original extent of the service is unknown, but an inventory of 1751 mentioned 116 pieces, and 108 are known today. Most of the service remains in Munich in the Residenzmuseum, and the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. Two dishes are in the Musée nationale de Céramique, Sèvres, and two in the Fitzwilliam Museum, and one in the Petit Palais, Paris, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, and the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza. Twp pilgrim flasks are in a private collection. The most detailed, and fully illustrated description of the service and its historical background was published in 2009 (see the Documentation). The service is decorated in compendiario (summary or sketchy) style with scenes from the Bible, classical mythology, and Roman history. The inscription on this dish describes the scene as 'alone Caesar crosses the river which enters the sea between Gaeta and Taracina' [?] .The subject has not been satisfactorarily explained. Timothy Wilson identified the subject as probably Caesar attempting to cross the Adriatic in a small boat, from Appian, Civil Wars, II, 9, or rather being rowed down the river Alor or Apsus before being driven back by the wind and waves at its mouth. However, this event took place on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, while Gaeta is on the west side of Italy, north of Naples. The second place mentioned was probably Tarracina (Terracina), situated north of Gaeta on the Appian Way which led to Brindisi on the Adriatic. This is puzzling because, although a few streams enter the sea between the two towns, and there are two lakes inland, there are no large rivers in the area.

School or Style

Renaissance