Maiolica dish from the Isabella d'Este service

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

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