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St Roch
Maker: Unknown
Dark buff earthenware, the front is tin-glazed; the reverse lead-glazed honey-brown. Painted in bright dark blue and with brassy-yellow lustre.
Shape 61. Circular with slightly sloping rim and wide deep well. standing on a footring pierced by two holes in the correct position for suspension the right way up.
In the middle, St Roch leans on a forked staff held in his left hand and points with his right to a plague spot on his right thigh; he has a halo and wears knee-length hose, a short tunic with long sleeves and a cloak. In the background to left, are hills and the towers and spires of two churches, and in the foreground, stylized flowers. The edge of the well has a border of zig-zags and spots. On the rim, there are stylized flowers and scrolling leaves. A band of yellow lustre encircles the outer edge.
History note: S.R. Christie-Miller; Sotheby's, 28 July 1919, Catalogue of a small but choice collection of Italian majolica, the property of S.R. Christie-Miller, Esq., Britwell Court, Burnham, Bucks., Lot B & pl. IB; F. Leverton Harris.
F. Leverton Harris Bequest, 1926
Diameter: 41.8 cm
Height: 9 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1926) by Harris, Frederick Leverton
16th Century, first half#
Renaissance
Circa
1500
-
1550
Label text from the exhibition ‘Madonnas and Miracles: The Holy Home in Renaissance Italy’, on display at The Fitzwilliam Museum from 7 March until 4 June 2017: The threat of plague was ever-present in Renaissance Italy. Those seeking protection from the disease often directed their prayers to Saints Roch and Sebastian. Sebastian, who had survived multiple arrow wounds unharmed, drew the ‘arrows’ of misfortune and illness away from the devout. Roch was a pilgrim and plague victim (as indicated by the ulcer in his thigh), who survived and was believed to offer miraculous cures. The saints appear in many altarpieces, but also in numerous objects and images made for the home, indicating their widespread appeal.
He cult of St Roch (c. 1350-80) as a protector against plague developed slowly in Italy during the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. By the sixteenth century he was established as one of the most popular saints. He was frequently depicted in art: alone or accompanied by a dog, in scenes from his life, or with other Saints, especially St Sebastian who was also invoked against pestilence. He is usually dressed as a pilgrim leaning on a staff and indicating the plague boil on his thigh. Apart from being hatless and beardless, the figure on this dish is reminiscent of the St Roch in a detached fresco of 1475, attributed to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo (1965), or to Perugino (1989), formerly in San Francesco, Deruta, and now in the Pinacoteca there. Despite the prevalence of plague, and a particularly virulent outbreak in 1527, Deruta piatti da pompa decorated with St Roch are uncommon in comparison with those decorated with St Francis, the Virgin or other religious subjects. Another lustred dish decorated with St Roch was compared by Galeazzi and Valentini to the style of Spagna (active c. 1504, died 1528) a pupil of Perugino.
Decoration
composed of
high-temperature colour
( cobalt-blue)
reduced pigment lustre
( silver-yellow lustre, appearing brassy-yellow)
lead-glaze
tin-glaze
Front
Reverse
Throwing : Dark buff earthenware, the front is tin-glazed; the reverse lead-glazed honey-brown. Painted in bright dark blue and with brassy-yellow lustre.
Inscription present: rectangular
Inscription present: rectangular with turquoise printed wreath
Inscription present: rectangular section of a sale catalogue entry in two sections
Inscription present: rectangular section of a sale catalogue entry in two sections
Inscription present: circular
Accession number: C.45-1927
Primary reference Number: 48512
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
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IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "St Roch" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/48512 Accessed: 2024-11-05 14:32:41
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/48512
|title=St Roch
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 14:32:41|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-48512
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<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa35/C_45_1927_1_201601_kly25_dc2.jpg"
alt="St Roch"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">St Roch</figcaption>
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