The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 6, 2024

Plate with a Portrait of a Gentleman

Plate with a Portrait of a Gentleman

c. 1525–30

Did You Know?

The gentleman featured in the center of this plate wears a chaperon, a type of hat that first became popular during the 1300s.

Description

Italian nobles of the 1500s often expressed their wealth, social status, and sophistication by ordering large sets of maiolica that sometimes carried their coats of arms or even likenesses, usually in profile similar to portrait paintings of the period. Reserved for use at festival events such as a wedding or commissioned to mark a special occasion or an important visit, elaborately decorated utilitarian vessels in maiolica were prized as works of art by their owners and displayed as such in their residences.
  • (M. & R. Stora, Paris, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art).
  • No existing citations
  • No existing exhibition history
  • {{cite web|title=Plate with a Portrait of a Gentleman|url=false|author=|year=c. 1525–30|access-date=06 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1923.1087