The Last Supper: M.3-1954

Current Location: In storage

Titles

The Last Supper

Maker(s)

Maker: Ydieux, Martial (Perhaps)
Printmaker: Dürer, Albrecht (After)

Entities

Description

Rectangular copper plaque enamelled en grisaille with the Last Supper, signed M.D. with a dot inside the D.

Rectangular, almost flat, plaque. Copper, enamelled in grisaille and with a little pale pink enamel on a black ground, and gilded. The ground appears very dark brownish-mulberry on the outer edges, The reverse has clear unevenly applied counter- enamel.tinged with brownish-mulberry.
Across the top there is a white fringed canopy beneath which Christ and the twelve disciples are seated round a table on which are five plates (or manchets of bread), a lizard on oval dish, a knife, a roll, and beaker. Two of the disciples seated on a bench on the left have their backs to the viewer, as does another on the right, whose moneybag identifies him as Judas. Behind him in the foreground is a ovoid ewer with a scroll handle. Behind Christ there is a black hanging scatted with gold dots and edged by gold lines. Gold is also used for Christ’s aureole and the halos of the disciples. Inscribed in gold beside the ewer in the right foreground ‘.M.D .’ with a dot inside D.

Notes

History note: Andrew Fountaine IV; Christie’s, 16 June, 1884, and following days, Catalogue of the Celebrated Fountaine Collection of Majolica, Henri II. Ware, Palissy Ware, Nevers Ware, Limoges Enamels . . . Removed from Narford Hall, Norfolk, second day, p. 34, lot 259; M. Colnaghi (£97.13.0 with lot 260). Stephenson Clarke; Mrs Dendy Marshall

Legal notes

Given by Mrs Dendy Marshall

Measurements and weight

Height: 15.5 cm
Width: 12.4 cm

Relative size of this object

What does this represent?

Relative size of this object is displayed using code inspired by Good Form and Spectacle's work on the British Museum's Waddeson Bequest website and their dimension drawer. They chose a tennis ball to represent a universally sized object, from which you could envisage the size of an object.

Place(s) associated

Limoges ⪼ Haute Vienne ⪼ France

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1954-10-21) by Marshall, Dendy, Mrs

Dating

Third quarter of 16th century
Circa 1550 - 1570

Note

Although initialled M.D. for an enameller now recognized as Martial Ydieux, the plaque is painted in a different technique, particularly obvious hatching, and style from other signed works, such as M.4-1954. The source of the design was The Last Supper from the woodcut Small Passion of c.1509-11 by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). The enameller followed the print closely, including the prominent hatching , but exchanged the sturdy flagon on the right for an elegant pseudo-classical ewer, and omitted a small covered pot on the table.