The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Dovizia (Plenty)

c. 1520–29

Giovanni della Robbia

(Italian, 1469–1529/30)
Italy, Florence, 16th century
glazed terracotta
Overall: 110.2 cm (43 3/8 in.)
Gift of S. Livingstone Mather, Constance Mather Bishop, Philip R. Mather, Katherine Hoyt Cross, and Katherine Mather McLean in accordance with the wishes of Samuel Mather 1940.343
Location: 118 Italian Renaissance

Did You Know?

Inspired by an over life-sized, public sculpture by Donatello, Giovanni della Robbia reduced the figure for a domestic setting.

Description

Many elite Florentine Renaissance homes had sculptures of idealized young women carrying nature’s bounty, such as this work. The motif stems from a statue by Donatello (about 1386–1466) that towered over Florence’s main public market. At home, however, the sculpture became a talisman for the family’s well-being. The city-state’s low birth rate was a serious political matter, and such a sculpture was believed to stimulate fertility while also promoting motherhood and bolstering financial success.
  • Samuel Mather, Cleveland, Ohio.
  • Milliken. William. "Objects from the Samuel Mather Collection." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 28, no. 3 (March 1941): 36-40. Mentioned: p. 38 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 91 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 91 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 106 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Jenifer Neils. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 44, fig. 46
    Fliegel, Stephen N. " Florentine Terracottas." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 35, no. 10 (December 1995): 8-9. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 8 archive.org
  • Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
  • {{cite web|title=Dovizia (Plenty)|url=false|author=Giovanni della Robbia|year=c. 1520–29|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1940.343