Artwork Page for Dish with a Lion

Details / Information for Dish with a Lion

Dish with a Lion

c. 1430–50

Italy, Florence, 15th century

Medium
tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
Measurements
Diameter: 28.6 cm (11 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1966.19
Public Domain
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Location
117A Italian Renaissance
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Description

This dish is representative of the rustic type of maiolica produced in Italy before 1450. The design is much inspired by contemporary Spanish earthenware. The surface of the dish is painted in a cobalt blue impasto technique known as zaffera a rilevo. Lions frequently adorn wares decorated in this technique and are particularly appropriate as a Florentine motif-they probably refer to that city's lion emblem.
A circular tin-glazed earthenware dish features a central, rampant black lion with extended claws. It is surrounded by small black circles with white centers. Encircling the center is a band of green and white panels containing delicate leaf shapes. The final wide rim is decorated with a repeating pattern of bold black circles and small green dots.

Dish with a Lion

c. 1430–50

Italy, Florence, 15th century

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