The Crossing of the Red Sea: C.134-1933

Titles

The Crossing of the Red Sea

Maker(s)

Workshop: Fontana, Orazio (Probably)
Workshop: Patanazzi, Antonio (Possibly)
Printmaker: Salomon, Bernard (After)

Entities

• Dish

Categories

• Tin-glazed earthenware
• Maiolica

Description

Maiolica dish, painted in polychrome, with the Crossing of the Red Sea.

Earthenware, tin-glazed overall; on the reverse, where visible, the glaze is pale cream. Painted in blue, green, yellow, orange, stone, brown, manganese-purple, black, grey, and white. Circular with shallow, curved sides and flat centre. On the underside there are two concentric ribs surrounding the junction with the foot, now missing.
The Crossing of the Red Sea. On the right Pharoah, seated in front of his camp, raises his right arm angrily at Moses standing on the opposite shore of the Red Sea. The Children of Israel cross safely in a long procession from right to left while, in the right foreground, the Egyptian forces are prevented from following by the piled-up waves. The yellow rim is decorated with brown-outlined petals with white centres. On the back, five putti fly above clouds, four holding branches and one a drape. The outer rib is surrounded by petals with black centres, outlined in orange-brown on a yellow ground, flanked by diagonal strokes. The yellow rim is decorated with orange petals.

Legal notes

Given by A. A. De Pass

Place(s) associated

• Urbino ⪼ The Marche ⪼ Italy

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1933) by de Pass, Alfred A.

Dating

16th Century
Renaissance
Circa 1555 CE - 1570 CE

Note

Probably by Orazio Fontana (d. 1571)or Antonio Patanazzi (1515-87), who worked in close contact with him. Formerly attributed to the workshop of Guido Durantino or if after 1565 of Orazio Fontana

The design was probably derived from the woodcut headed `ESOD XIII' by Bernard Salomon in Damiano Maraffi, Figure del Vecchio Testamento con versi toscani, Lyon, 1554, although it is possible that it was taken from Claude Paradin, Quadrins historiques de la Bible, Lyon, 1553, or later editions which have similar plates.

School or Style

Renaissance