Urbino Maiolica Pilgrim Bottle

Collections

European Decorative Art Highlights

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Dateca. 1540-1545

Mediumtin-glazed earthenware

DescriptionA pilgrim bottle in a flattened pear shape with cover and vine stem handles decorated with the Birth of Venus and the Triumph of Neptune, naiads, and tritons.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. The Arabella D. Huntington Memorial Art Collection.

Status

On view

Label TextMaiolica was prized for the brilliant and refined quality of its decoration, made possible by the ceramics' tin-based glaze. The technique was developed by Islamic craftsmen and reached Italy in the late Middle Ages via North Africa and Spain. By the 16th century, Italian craftsmen began to paint detailed narrative scenes and, later in the century, grotesques, patterns of fantastic figures derived from ancient Roman wall paintings. Maiolica took many forms, including functional jars, bowls, and other wares as well as fancier works intended solely for display, such as the flask here, whose shape mimics the hollowed-out gourds in which travelers carried drinking water.

Object number27.168