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The Holy Family
Possibly
Milan Marsyas Painter
(Painter)
Possibly
Xanto, Francesco
(Painter)
After
Caraglio, Giovanni Giacomo
(Printmaker)
After
Parmigianino (Francesco Mazzola)
(Painter)
Maiolica cover from an accouchement set bowl, painted in polychrome with the Holy Family.
Pale buff earthenware, tin-glazed overall. Painted in blue, turquoise-green, yellow, orange, black, grey, and white. Circular with a flange on the underside; the upper surface flat with a convex rim.
The Holy Family in an architectural setting; on the rim, bound leaves and berries between concentric yellow bands. On the back, two putti standing on clouds support a shield bearing the arms sable, a fess or, a chief party per pale gules and argent two rosettes counterchanged flanked by the letters `ELI' and `PYA'; below, a winged putto's head. The background is blue above the arms and brown below. The flange and rim are yellow.
History note: Signora Angela Beni, San Severino (Marche); given by her to Giuseppe Ranaldi (1790-1854). Alessandro Castellani; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 28 May 1878, Catalogue des faïences italiennes . . . et de deux pièces de la célèbre porcelaine des Medicis, composant l'importante collection de M. Alessandro Castellani, lot 292; C.B. Marlay before 1887.
C.B. Marlay Bequest
Diameter: 19.2 cm
Height: 1.9 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed
(1912)
by
Marlay, Charles Brinsley
Second quarter of 16th century
Renaissance
Production date:
circa
AD 1531
If not painted by the 'Milan Marsyas Painter' this was probably painted by Francesco Xanto Avelli da Rovigo
Label text from the exhibition ‘Feast and Fast: The Art of Food in Europe, 1500–1800’, on display at The Fitzwilliam Museum from 26 November 2019 until 31 August 2020: Cover depicting The Holy Family from a (lost) accouchement set\nfrom a (lost) accouchement set Recovery from childbirth – the most dangerous experience in most women’s lives – required nourishing food, like sweetmeats or broths. In Italy, these were traditionally served from a maiolica set given to the new mother during her post-natal confinement period, often by her husband. It usually comprised 5 stacked pieces: a standing bowl and cover (that doubled as a plate), a footed drinking bowl, and a salt and its cover. The Nativity scene beautifully painted onto the upper side of this cover (tagliere) was meant to inspire the new mother, who would have looked to the Virgin and St Anne as models of motherhood. The reverse is painted with two putti, the family’s coat-of- arms, and the initials, ‘ELI’ and ‘PYA’, thought to be the name of the father, ‘Elisio Piani’, a government official in early sixteenth-century Urbino. Probably ‘Milan Marsyas Painter’, Le Marche, Italy, c.1531, after an engraving by Giovanni Giacomo Caraglio (c.1505–65) after Parmigianino (1503–40).
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: This cover is the surviving part of a set of painted ceramic pieces traditionally given by a father to celebrate the safe delivery of his child. The nativity scene includes Mary, Joseph and a female saint; the central figure embracing the new-born Christ has no halo and may be a midwife. The scene is based on an engraving from a design by Parmigianino.
The Holy Family on the top of the cover was derived from the Adoration of the Shepherds, engraved by G.G. Caraglio after Parmigianino
Decoration composed of high-temperature colours ( blue, turquoise-green, yellow, orange, black, grey, and white)
Tin-glazing : Pale buff earthenware, tin-glazed overall, and painted in blue, turquoise-green, yellow, orange, black, grey, and white.
Inscription present: I smaller than L and Y and A joined
Accession number: MAR.C.60-1912
Primary reference Number: 77384
Stable URI
Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts
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The Fitzwilliam Museum (2022)
"The Holy Family"
Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/77384 Accessed: 2022-07-07 03:24:22
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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/77384
|title=The Holy Family
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2022-07-07 03:24:22|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa35/MAR_C_60_1912_1_201601_kly25_dc2.jpg"
alt="The Holy Family"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">The Holy Family</figcaption>
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Accession Number: 24.K.1-79
Accession Number: PD.3-1947
Accession Number: Marlay 40-pl.38
Accession Number: PD.7-2013
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