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The Queen of Sheba listening to the Wisdom of Solomon: C.17-1953

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Object information

Current Location: Gallery 7 (Courtauld)

Titles

The Queen of Sheba listening to the Wisdom of Solomon

Maker(s)

Workshop: Durantino, Guido

Entities

Categories

Description

Maiolica plate, painted in polychrome with The Queen of Sheba listening to the Wisdom of Solomon.

Plate. Pale buff earthenware, tin-glazed overall; the reverse pale beige and tinged with green in two areas. Painted in blue, green, yellow, orange, stone, brown, manganese, black, and white.
Shape 56, the underside of the outer edge moulded with two concentric grooves. Circular with wide, slightly sloping rim and deep well.
The Queen of Sheba listening to the Wisdom of Solomon. On the left, Solomon, holding a sceptre in both hands, is enthroned beneath a canopy. The Queen of Sheba and two female attendants each holding vases, kneel before him. Behind them there is a broken-off column, a building and a group of trees. Further back there is another broken-off column on a pedestal, and beyond, a landscape with mountains. In the foreground there are steps. The back is inscribed in the middle in bright blue, `La Reina Sabba/Ande adudire la sa/pientia d Salomone /nella botega d Mo Guido/ durâtino jn Vrbino' (The Queen of Sheba goes to listen to the wisdom of Solomon in the workshop of Maestro Guido durantino in Urbino). There are single yellow bands round the base and shoulder, two round the rim, and one on the edge.

Notes

History note: Lord Philipp Currie; Rome, Galerie G. Sangiorgi, 30 April 1903, Collection de S.E. Lord Philipp Currie ex-Ambassador d'Angleterre à Rome, faïences italiennes, lot 345 & pl. 24; His Excellency M. Gaston Carlin, Swiss Minister in London; Christie's, 14 July 1921, Catalogue of old English furniture and Oriental porcelain, the property of a gentleman, old Italian majolica, the property of his Excellency M. Carlin, late Swiss Minister in London, lot 119; W.J.H. Whittall; Sotheby's, 18 April 1947, lot 44; Alfred Spero; Marmaduke Langdale Horn (1889-1953).

Legal notes

M.L. Horn Bequest

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 28.2 cm
Height: 4 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Urbino ⪼ The Marches ⪼ Italy

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1953-10-22) by Horn, Marmaduke Langdale

Dating

16th Century
Renaissance
Production date: circa AD 1535 : This date is given because of the plate's similarity to dishes dated 1535 from the Montemorency and Duprat services

School or Style

Renaissance

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of high-temperature colours ( blue, green, yellow, orange, stone, brown, manganese, black, and white)

Materials used in production

Tin-glaze
Earthenware

Techniques used in production

Moulding : Pale buff earthenware, tin-glazed overall; the reverse pale beige and tinged with green in two areas. Painted in blue, green, yellow, orange, stone, brown, manganese, black, and white.
Tin-glazing

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: La Reina Sabba/Ande adudire la sa/pientia d Salomone /nella botega d Mo Guido/ durâtino jn Vrbino
  • Location: On the back
  • Method of creation: Painted in bright-blue
  • Type: Inscription

Inscription present: rectangular

  • Text: From/LORD CURRIE'S Collection
  • Method of creation: Inscribed in faded black ink
  • Type: Label

Inscription present: rectangular

  • Text: with the Queen of Sheba, signed by Guido Durantino,/about 1535. One crack./From the collection of Lord Currie
  • Method of creation: Typed
  • Type: Label

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.17-1953
Primary reference Number: 80067
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 27 February 2024 Last processed: Tuesday 27 February 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

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The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "The Queen of Sheba listening to the Wisdom of Solomon" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/80067 Accessed: 2024-03-28 12:43:03

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/80067 |title=The Queen of Sheba listening to the Wisdom of Solomon |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-03-28 12:43:03|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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