UC-NRLF B ^ safi DbD CM C\j CI Q r?)^ ^^fc' (^i ITALIAN CERAMIC ART. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. UNIFORM WITH THE PRESENT WOBK. T T HE ORIENTAL INFLUENCE ON THE CERAMIC ART OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE, with illustrations. 1900. HE ART OF THE PRECURSORS. A STUDY IN THE HISTORY OF EARLY ITALIAN MAIOLICA. with illustra- tions. 1901. THE MAIOLICA PAVEMENT TILES OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. WITH illustrations. 1902. OAKLEAF JARS. A FIFTEENTH CENTURY ITALIAN WARE SHOWING MORESCO INFLUENCE, with illustrations. 1903. THE ALBARELLO. A STUDY IN EARLY RENAISSANCE MAIOLICA. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 1 904. T HE SEVENTEEN PLATES BY NICOLA FONTANA DA URBINO AT THE CORRER MUSEUM, VENICE. A STUDY IN EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY MAIOLICA. with illustrations. 1905. •mmmMmm^m [talian ceramic art. FIGURE DESIGN AND OTHER FORMS OF ORNAMENTATION IN XVTH CENTURY ITALIAN MAIOLICA WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY HENRY WALLIS LON 00 W BERNARD QUARITCH 15 PICCADILLY MOM? ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PREFACE. I ^HE present work was undertaken from the conviction that a satisfactory history of the earlier, and not the least interesting, stages of the history of Maiolica can only be arrived at when based on a full and complete illustration of its existing remains. As pointed out on a previous occasion, these remains — which include but an infinitesimal portion of the output of the XVth century — are dispersed in public and private collections, thus preventing, except to 3; very limited extent, the comparison of the actual objects. Hence the need of combining in one work illustrations of the examples in the various Museums. When projecting this series of studies, nearly ten years ago, it entered into the plan that the volumes should serve as a general illustrated catalogue of all the known specimens of the wares. And remembering the representation of the art in our National Museums towards the end of the last century, the scheme then seemed to be perfectly feasible. Recently, however, the Museum acquisitions have been happily increased to an unlocked for extent, which has compelled me to modify my original intention. Indeed, it now appears scarcely necessary to illustrate every example of each class, especially when, as in the case of the Albarelli, several pieces are found to be of nearly similar design. But in respect to ivi160519 Vm PREFACE. the (lifFerent classes, I have used every endeavour to obtain and furnish illustrations of those hitherto discovered. It is, of course, impossible to say what further remains of this XVth century maiolica will come to light. Considering the close search for it of late years the amount will probably be small. Yet if the finds of intact specimens are finished there are still the wasters on the sites of the old potteries to be unearthed ; and likewise the multitudinous buried fragments, which for historic purposes may be no less useful than the perfect pieces. But the quest should not be left to the casual grubbing of irresponsible diggers when the earth is turned up for building purposes. Rather it should be the undertaking of trained excavators working on scientific principles. And in the country which can boast of discoverers like Dr. P. Orsi and Comm. G. Boni, others of the same school will not fail to be forthcoming when their services are called for. It remains for me to oifer my sincere thanks to the Keepers of the several Maiolica Galleries in the National Museums for the valuable assistance they have afforded me while studying and copying the objects I have essayed to illustrate. And the same thanks are respectfully proferred to the owners of the works forming part of private collections. I have much pleasure in again acknowledging my indebtedness to Mr. A. Van de Put for identifying the shields of arms on the vases, and for his learned remarks on the relationship of the personages to whom they belonged. H. W. LIST OF COLOUR PLATES. rage PLATE I.-Oakleaf Jar. H. 37 cm. British Museum 107 PLATE II.— Oakleaf Jab. (See ' Oakleaf Jars,' p. xx.) H. 36 cm. Musee du Louvre 109 PLATE ni.— Pavement Tiles, from the Caracciolo Chapel, Church of San Giovanni a Carbonara, Naples. (See ' The Maiolica Pavement Tiles of the XVth Century,' p. xiv.) The hexagonal tiles are 21 cm. high, the others 11 cm. square Ill PLATE IV. — Disc in mezza-maiolica : The Virgin and Child, SS. Lucy and Rocco, with Angels and Cherubim. (See p. xiv.) 1). 52 cm. Museo Civico, Padua 113 Compare with the central compartment of Mantegna's altarpiece at the Church of San Zeno, Verona, which was painted about the year 1460, and probably at Padua. *»* By mistake, the grounds of the Jars in Plates I. & II. have been printed in a warmer lint than the originals. INTRODUCTION. FEW examples of XVth century figure design, as decorative motives for the maiolica of the period, have ah-eady been illustrated in previous studies of the present series. Their appearance then was incidental and from their pertaining to forms of the art classified, for the sake of convenience, according to their shapes and uses, as the Albarelli and the Pavement - Tiles. The specimens which will be found in the following pages have, however, been specially reserved for this, !the concluding volume, and have been grouped together irrespective of the sort of vasework on which they occur. Here, again, the classification is not of the kind one would desire ; but when the representation of the art is so very scanty, the point to aim at seems to be an arrangement which is likely to be useful to the reader in the matter of future reference. The relative standing of any one among the renowned national ceramic arts is finally determined by its figure decoration. For while admitting that extreme beauty of line and colour may be displayed on decorative design composed only of conventional Xll IXTr.ODUCTION. patterns, yet these will always remain less impressive, their emotional quality will be less stimulating than those motives wherein the human interest is the primary factor. In the case of the XVth century maiolica, its position in this particular is not so easy to define as that of the XVlth century ; neverthe- less, what remains is amply sufficient to show its style and spirit. And on one point there need be no hesitation in arriving at a right conclusion — namely, as to whether the painters in their figure ornamentation worked on the principles which have always governed the higher ceramic decoration. Briefly stated these are : that when the design is composed of two or more figures they shall be r*>presented as being on one and the same plane, and that the locality in which they are supposed to be placed shall be indicated in no more than a summary manner ; and, further, that the representation, whether in the figures or accessories, shall not be realistic. In short, that as the intention in vase-decoration is to adorn the vessel, nothing shall interfere with the idea of its actual shape and the nature of its surface. So far as the limited specimens allow us to judge, it was on these lines that the Italian quattrocento ceramists ornamented their maiolica. Their treatment of figure design was strictly deco- rative, and not that of pictorial art. The principles may not have been precisely formulated, certainly not in a written code ; rather it was the trained taste, the cultivated perception, and something also of natural aptitude in the artists, which informed their practice and guided their hands. In the choice of subjects for the motives of their figure orna- mentation the maiolica painters would, naturally, be influenced by the example of the contemporary painters in fresco and tempera ; and as the current of religious faith was strong in the century producing a Savonarola and a San Bernardino, the artists found their chief employment in portraying devotional subjects. That the potters conformed their practice to the prevailing sentiment is evident from the frequency the Bernardino device (a tablet INTRODUCTION. XIU whereon was painted the monoo-ram of Our Lord surrounded ])y rays) is seen depicted on early niaiolica. Respecting the develop- ment of the figure design on the maiolica of the century, it ma}^ be inferred that during the first half, when the representation was not that of some notable personage, the motive was taken from Bible history or the lives of the Saints. Later, towards the end of the century, when the classical revival became more pro- nounced, the evidence points to the conclusion that mythological and allegorical subjects were to a certain extent in request, and they may, perhaps, have affected the demand for themes of a sacred character. The subjects represented in Plate IV. and figs. 1-7 include nearly all the known examples of this phase of the art. The striking composition of " The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin " at the Berlin Kunstgewerbe Museum has, however, been omitted, it having been admirably reproduced in colour and ably discussed by Dr. Otto von Falke in the Prussian Jahrhucli *, But if the sum total of the series is small, it fortunately includes several pieces bearing dates, thereby enhancing its historical interest. The only specimen of vasework belongs to what was probably a very numerous class, wherein the ornamentation consisted of the Instruments of the Passion. It has been already illustrated in the so-called cup of St. Francis (' The Art of the Precursors,' fig. 45) ; but in the present instance (fig. 1) the presentation is made more poignant by the introduction of the figure of Christ in his open tomb. He stands patient and weighed down Avith suifering — the Man of Sorrows — a conception especially appealing to Umbrian devotional sentiment. The treatment of the Angel of the Annunciation in fig. 2 is more suggestive of Tuscan design, although the brilliant passages of ornamentation isolating the figure are in the well-known fashion of Faventine decoration. * See O. VON Falke. Jahrhucli der Kgl. PreiissiscTien Kunsisammlwnf/pn. 1894. p. 38. c2 xiv IXTRODUCTIOX. A particular interest is attaclied to the shield-shaped phiqiie on which is painted the Adoration of the Kinojs (see figs. 3 & 100), from the fact of the composition beino; based on a woodcut in the Eplstole et Evangel^ printed at Florence in 1495 *. The execution is forcible, jet it appears to be that of an artist not having had much experience in maiolica painting. But the sentiment is distinctly Uinbrian, recalling something of the quality of design characterizing the series of small compositions in tempera attributed to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo at the Pinacoteca at Peruo-ia. Fiorenzo is knoAn to have painted an altarpiece at Diruta in 1475 t ; ^wd as that very small town or Castello was the seat of a maiolica industry, it is possible that his art may have exercised a certain influence on the native vase painters, and that the plaque may be a specimen of their handiwork. There is evidence that the design of the Perugian painters generally exercised an unmistakable influence on Diruta maiolica decoration ; in the present case, however, the relationship is no more than conjectural. The loveliest and most popular subject in Italian painting hns ever been that of the Virgin and Child ; its representation is, as might be expected, relatively large in maiolica, comprising fifs. 4-G and Plate IV. The latter is the celebrated roundel in mezza-maiolica from the Paduan Museum, a masterpiece of design executed a stecco — that is, the outline is incised on the white slip surface. The plaque was originally incrustod in the outside wall of a house in the Via Boccaleric, at Padua, and which, from the remains of a furnace and fragments of vases found on the premises, must have been the hottega of a potter in the XVth century. From the absence of documentary evidence it is uncertain whether the " Nicoleti " inscribed on the plaque * See 0. VON Falke. Majolika (Handbook of the Berlin Kunstgewerbe Museum). 1896. p. 83. t See Crowe and Cavalcaselle. Hist, of Painting in Italy. 1S66. Vol. iii. p. 156. ]NTi;ol)i:CT]()N. ' xv was the name of the master o£ the bottega or the desirrner of the composition. It has been suggested that he was Nicolo Pizzolo, a pupil of Squarcione, and one of the painters who worked at the Eremitani chapel at Padua. The conjecture is probably well-founded, since the style of the figures agrees with that of the figure-drawing in the frescos assigned to Pizzolo. Bo that as it may, the design is an admirable specimen of North Italian decorative design, at once harmonious in colour and of touchino- sweetness in its sentiment. Equally impressive from its forcible design is the painted plaque dated " 1489 ^ in fig. 4. Fortnum attributed it to Maestro " Jero da Forli," thinking it resembled in style the design on a plate thus signed at South Kensington ; but the plate belongs to a time so much later than the date of the plaque that it is unsafe to assign both pieces to the same master on the evidence of a supposed resemblance of style. Fine maiolica was unquestionably produced at Forli, and this in drawing, senti- ment, and technique is first-rate : still in the absence of conclusive evidence it is safer to leave its locality of production an open question. One would like to think that tho " Giorgio Lombard '^ inscribed on the reverse of tho plaque in fig. 5 was the Maestro Giorgio Andreoli, of Pavia, who, on settling at Gubbio, became famous for his lustre-ware. This has been sugg(\stcd, but here again there is no confirmatory evidence, and if wo may judge from what is supposed to be Maestro Giorgio's earliest work his style of design was less sweet and gracious. The j)attern of the frame is similar to that of the Angel at the Louvre, which may furnish some clue to the derivation of the piece. Fig. 6, wherein the Child is also hold- ing a bird, although showing Botticellian influence in the type of the Child, is most probably Umbrian. The attribution of the plaque — fig. 7 — representing St. Crispin and St. Crispinian has likewise been the subject of discussion in the past, it belongs to that class of subject for which there must have been a considerable demand by devout persons, either as votive offerings for churches or for incrustation on the walls of their houses. Before a fragment of XVI INTRODUCTIOX. this kind few will care to discuss derivations. Its homely presen- tation appeals to all. And most of us would willinoly spare any number of XVIIIth century shepherds and shepherdesses for a few more similar pictures of quattrocento workshops, which besides portraying- the actual life of the time tell something of its beliefs and sentiments. To the student of Greek ceramic art the Louvre plaque will recall the fact that the Greek potters included in their business the production of tiles or tablets, whereon were represented the occupations of daily industrial life : their intention being to serA^e as ex-votos *. The known examples of subjects taken from classical history and mythology, which in the next century were the chief sources whence the maiolica painters derived their figure-motives, are even scantier than those taken from sacred or legendary story. The volume dealing with the pavement-tiles illustrated two classical subjects from the Parma tiles — the Judgment of Paris and the Deaths of Pyramus and Thisbe, — and two others will be found amongst the present illustrations in figs. 8 and 18. They are sufficient to prove that the classical revival in the XVth century was represented in its ceramic art, but they ofPer no indication of its extent ; they do, however, enable us to obtain some notion of the manner in which the painters treated their subjects. They also show the mingling of classical and romantic elements in the design, a phase of the art of the time especially attractive, yet they are too few to afford adequate illustration of the rise and progress of this new factor in quattrocento maiolica. The design of the Pyramus and Thisbe appears to be a free adaptation of a XYth century woodcut, known only, we believe, from copies of earlier cuts in XVIth century versions of the story. Both the Judgment of Paris and the Diana and Actajon were popular subjects at the time in various forms of art, hence it is possible these also were adapted from book-illus- trations, although the latter, as in the case of the graffito plaque * Seo Rayet & CoLLiGNON. Histoire de la Ccmmique Grecque, 1888. p. 14(3. INTRODUCTION. XVll representing the enthroned Virgin and Child by Nicoleti, may be an adaptation by a Paduan artist from some other source. The relationship of allegorical subjects to those deriving their inspiration from the Greek mythology sung by the classic poets is apparent, as well in ceramic as- in pictorial art. It probably arose from the Gods of Greece coming to be regarded as personifications of physical phenomena, mental attributes, or animal passions. Even when some dramatic episode in their story forms the motive of the picture, the artists were unable to realize them as actual personages possessing a distinct individuality, but rather as abstractions, the imaginary characters of a fable, and therefore the representation was likely to be wanting in vitality. Hence, not forgetting Mantegna's allegorical pictures at the Louvre, painted for the studio of Isabella d'Este at the Castello, Mantua, and the " Calumny " by Botticelli at the Gallery of the Uffizi, it must be admitted that allegorical pictures at their best are not calculated to evoke enthusiasm, and when painted by artists below the highest are generally intolerable. These objections, however, do not hold good with respect to allegorical design in other forms of art. The motives of some of the finest examples of engraving, whether on wood or copper, are allegorical, and such also is the case in ceramic art : the reason being, that the design in vase-painting is in every respect intentionally conventional. No very definite conclusions can be arrived at as to the range of allegorical motives on XVth century maiolica; the few examples which can be cited suggest that the subjects were either amatory, illustrations of moral apothegms, or representations of the Virtues. The well-known maiolica plates ornamented with ladies' portraits and inscribed with their names, as LUCIA BELLA, JULIA DIVA, etc., were a common form of love-gift in the early part of the XVIth century. At that time, however, they do not appear to have been decorated with the imagery which imparts a special interest to the work of the XVth century, as exemplified in three plates and a vase of remarkable de;?ign XVlll INTRODUCTION. and charming colour at the South Kensington Museum. In two of the plates the sentiment is expressed in simple com- positions of nicely drawn figures, naive, yet conceived in a true artistic spirit. The traditionary symbols of cupids, flames, darts, etc. are here, and also in fig. 11, restricted to the single trans- fixed hearts of the donors, their passion being expressed in the accompanying legend. Thus the declaration in fig. 9, " IL MIO CUORE E FERITO PER VOI,'' may be that of a lover not without hopes, especially as the action of the lady's holding the heart on a chalice seems to imply affection for its owner. In the other case both the action of the lady and likewise the legend — "0 QUANTA CRUDELTA"— plainly show that her present attitude is that of rejection. Hence the swain has had himself depicted as a martyred St. Sebastian, or perhaps, from his position on the wheel, an Ixion. It is possible, from the actors being placed on a car, that the design may have been suggested by an allegorical representation of Cruelty figuring on one of the cars seen by the artist in a carnival procession, such as those Vasari relates to have been invented by Piero di Cosimo. Or the painter may have been inspired by one of the woodcuts in Tebaldeo da Ferrara's Li sette dolori dello amove, wherein a lady is represented shooting an arrow at a cupid, who is flying with a torch above a youth sitting bound to a tree. A cut in the same volume may also have suggested the motive of the design on the Parma tile (see ' The XVth Century Pavement-Tiles,' fig. 30) in which a woman is holding a young man bound to a tree. In the cut the young man is in the same position as on the tile, the woman behind him, however, holds a sword ; on the extreme left a cupid has shot an arrow at the woman ; the legend is CHI PUO NON VUOL, CIII VUOLE NON PUO. It is not unlikely that in this instance the design on the tile may have been inspired by an earlier cut. The only symbolical representation on XVth century maiolica of a single figure personifying a virtue or an intellectual quality, as the allegorical figures in the Arena Chapel at Padua and those in the Cuppellono dci Spaguuoli in Sta. Maria INTRODUCTION. XIX Novella et Florence, which has been found by the writer, is that of " C'hastity,'^ as on the Parma tile, fig. 29, of the above-mentioned study in Pavement Tiles. And the only illustration of a moral precept is the charming design on the South Kensington plate bearing the legend of " NON SE PUO MANGIAEE SENZA FATIGrA*' (see fig. 13). They are the solitary examples proving the existence of ornamental motives wherein an intellectual idea lends itself to free artistic rendering and therefore admirably adapted for ceramic decoration. Hunting scenes have always been amongst the favourite subjects of the vase decorators, both in ancient and modern times, and it may be supposed that such also was the case in Italy, where the nobles were numerous and art loving. Time could not have spared a happier specimen of the class than the spirited representation of a hunt in wooded country in fig. 14. On its small scale it reminds one of the stately tapestries in Baronial Halls. It has the true ring of that delight in open-air life and the excitement of the chase that we find in the early poets. It would not, indeed, be out of place in the vellum pages of a Chaucer manuscript. The precious fragment of a plate in fig. 15, and which formerly belonged to that fine connaisseur in Italian Renaissance art, the late Baron Davillier, was given by him to the Sevres Museum, thereby possibly saving it from loss or destruction. Assuming the inscribed date to be correct, it will be the first known naturalistic representation of landscape — the "joaesi/' which became a prominent feature in the maiolica of the next century. The figures recall those in the pictures of Car{)accio at the Venice Academy, although drawn by a weaker hand ; the same likewise may be said of the background with its towering cliffs and ships showing their masts and sails against the sky. The richly designed border has its delicately drawn pattern reserved on the ground and not etched on it by a graffito process. But, except for its brilliant border, the fragment is more remarkable for its historical than its artistic interest ; it has nothing of the spirit and none of the decorative qualities of the XX INTRODUCTION. graffito plate with three figures, also reminiscent o£ Carpaccio, framed by pendent wreaths in fig. 16. Another characteristic example of the same method of design is seen in a plate which probably formed part of a service commemorating the marriage of scions of the houses of Visconti and d'Este, the technique being that of the Paduan school — see fig. 17. From the imaginative nature of its ornamentation, its large size, and generally imposing appearance the tall jug illustrated in figs. 18 & 19 is one of the most important specimens of the art which has been preserved to the present day. Nothing is known of its history, hence it is from an examination of its decorative design and technique that its relationship with other work of the century can alone be determined. Its principal passage of ornamentation is the Triumph of Cupid, in the circular space framed by a classical wreath. The subject is well known in other forms of XVth century art, although not similarly arranged. Two, however, of the present illustrations contain drawings of cupids as supporters of shields, and one of them — fig. 20 — beinff inscribed 1477 will serve to show the style of child-drawing at that date. Comparing the three flying- figures holding the shield with those in the Triumph it is evident that the painter of the former drew with an ease and freedom of which there are no indications in the larger composition ; it may therefore be inferred that he belonged to a more advanced stage of the art. Fig. 21 being undated has less to tell, and besides the rather awkward figure drawing probably arises from the artist having less natural ability than those in the two preceding instances ; so that the evidence thus far points to the conclusion that the jug belongs to a time before the last quarter of the century. The painting of the Triumph of Cupid is supported by two angels, after the manner of the Victories supjjorting wreaths or medallions in the sculpture of the late Roman Empire, but drawn on the lines of the trecento angels of pictorial art. They are displayed on a ground enriched with sprays of carnations arranged in bold sweeping curves which recall the foliated grounds of Ilird century Apuliau vases, INTRODUCTION. XXI whereof the oinocJioe at the Louvre decorated with the painting of Boreas carrying away Orithyia is a brilliant example *. Comparing this passage of ornamentation, which springs from a long-spouted Oriental ewer painted at the base of the handle, with the somewhat similar motive on fig. 20, we find in the latter not only more fluent brushwork but also the summary treatment of form belonging to a more extended practice, thus helping to confirm the conclusion that the jug is the earlier work. In the matter of fabrication it will be observed that the handle of the vessel is composed of two pieces welded together by a strip of clay, which follows a method in use at Faenza in the first half of the century. Further details might likewise be noted suggesting that the jug represents an early phase of the art, and of which it appears to be the only known example. In relation to the problem just discussed, the chief ornamental motive of the large plate in fig. 22 — namely, the pretty group of children in the centre — furnishes additional evidence, not quite so precise as that afforded by the shield, but confirmatory to a certain extent. The plate bears the arms of Matthias Oorvinus, King of Hungary, and wife Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinand I. of Naples, whom he married in 147G. He died in 1490. Hence the plate belongs to a time probably within these two dates. Beatrice married Ladislaus IV., King of Bohemia, in 1502, so up to that time she might have impaled the arms of her first husband, but considering the high estimation in which Matthias held Italian art, it is tolerably certain that he himself commissioned the credenza of which the plate formed a part. Therefore the group of children and the elaborate ornamentation in which the motive is set may be acce[)ted as an example of the best style of maiolica decoration of the period between 1476 and 1490 ; and, it may be added, that in respect of design, colour, and technique, the space of a generation is not too long to have separated the art of the jug from that of the piece * The evidence relating to the discovery of antique vases in Italy during the XVth century is not precise as to particular examples, but that some had been found and were recognized as belonging to the classical era is certain. XXll INTRODUCTION. under consideration. South Kensington possesses another plate belonging to the same service but without a figure subject ; a third is included in the collection of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, the subject in the bottom of the plate being an allegorical representation of (chastity, a group of a woman and a unicorn : a fourth plate bearing the same arms belonged to the late M. Gaillard (see the catalogue of the Gaillard Collection). To the same time and of the same fine workmanship must be assigned the sumptuous vase on fig. 23, and the no less brilliant basin bearing the arn>s of the Lulli family — see fig. 24 — which is one of the masterpieces of Faventine maiolica. It will be noticed that although the nude drawino- will class the latter with the later work of the centurv, two of the conventional flower motives associate it with some- what similar patterns in the Carracciolo tiles (see Plate III.) 5 fi'i illustration of the inherent vitality pertaining to a fine passage of ornamental design. The colour-scheme of fig. 25 is conceived in a dominant note of green, the tint being that of the pigment known as emerald-green, with relatively restricted passages of powerful blue, which places it in sharp contrast with the known maiolica of its period. Its prototype is found in a, probably, Syrian ware showing a Persian influence, where the prevailing tints are as above, the ornamenta- tion — mainly consisting of animals — being outlined in black ; it has sometimes an enrichment of small touches of red (Armenian bole). The examples of the ware are elegantly shaped vases and plates, one of the latter belonging to the writer having, as in the present instance, a frieze of animals covering the border, but reserved in white instead of painted in green ; the centre has two large Harpies and a number of animals (all reserved in white), which is intended to portray a Persian " park ^' ; it is bordered in a strong blue pattern somewhat resembling the present piece, which appears to be a unique example of a very striking instance of the Oriental influence on XV th century maiolica. The descrip- tion of the plate given by Delange assigns it to Cafaggiolo, because INTRODUCTION. XXlll being an early piece it must have been made at the phace where Italian maiolica " was first manufactured," all which, it is needless to say, is a pure invention. We do not, as a rule, look to the figures included in the orna- mentation o£ ceramic art for any marked individual character in their countenances, and indeed when only a head or bust is portrayed the intention of the artist has generally appeared to be rather to represent an ideal type than a distinct personality. Such, for instance, was frequently the case in the female heads with regular well-developed features adorning the Urbino wares of the XVIth century. This, however, was not the aim of the vase- painters of the preceding time. Their endeavour was evidently to depict actual personages, and they have given us a series of portraits, well defined as clearly cut cameos, of high-born ladies, men who ruled states and principalities, and budding patricians that rank with the finely drawn portraits in other forms of Renais- sance art. Of this class is the young man in fig. 26, who might have served as a model for a youthful page in one of the splendid historic canvasses by Giovanni Bellini or Carpaccio, representing some high state function at Venice, so strongly does the typo recall their brilliant adolescent patricians, gorgeous as tropical moths in their habiliments, yet with the sedate look and self- possessed air implying full consciousness of their birth and breed- ing. So likewise with the ladies in figs. 27-31, their features are not always " classical " on the lines of Hellenistic busts and statues ; nevertheless they are all great ladies, the arbiters of taste at the Italian courts, where learning was held to be the chief distinction, and courtesy w^as cultivated as a fine art. It is quite possible that some of the present portraits may yet be identified : the one which at first glance suggests a well-known personage is fig. 31, resembling the portrait style of Piero della Francesco, as in the profile of Isotta di Rimini (of which perhaps the panel in the National Gallery is a copy), and, so far as can be judged from the execution, its date would sanction the attribution. Unfortu- XXIV INTRODUCTION. nately a former owner of the fragment, which was the centre of a plate, has cut away the border in order to place it in a gilt frame, consequently we lose the evidence of the surrounding ornamenta- tion. The same has happened with Herr von Beckerath's portrait of a lady of later date, fig. 29, only here a portion of the ornament has been preserved, showing that the plate came from the same pottery as the intact example at the Louvre, fig. 28. This piece is inscribed with an 3 transfixed by an arrow, which Fortnum, on the authority of Darcel, states is the mark of a Diruta pottery. Regarded from the point of view of style and execution, one of the most interesting among the present series is the Cluny plate, fig. 32. The drawing both of the profile and ornament, although dry, is the work of a trained artist possessing an extraordinary precision of hand. The decorative motives of the centre and border are well known in Faventine wares, so also is the technical procedure, as in the pattern etched on the thickly painted blue and manganese glaze of the man's sleeve and collar. Failing positive testimony, the plate may be assigned to the middle of the century, but there is, perhaps, no one piece of the series the student would more like to know the precise date. Although documentary evidence is not forthcoming giving the time when classical motives of ornamentation first appeared on quattrocento maiolica, we find that towards the end of the century the artists had arrived at considerable proficiency in their treat- ment. Examples thereof will be seen in figs. 39 & 41, which represent a ware having its ornament composed of a series of patterns arranged side by side and surrounding, when the object is a plate, a central motive, not infrequently a device or a bust portrait. A good specimen of the latter is exemplified in a small flat plate at the British Museum, the centre bearing a portrait after the manner of fig. 30. It is framed in a wide band of ornament composed of eleven members unequal in width, and similar in style to the South Kensington and Cluny plates. It is curious to note that these various motives are nearly all adaptations of those INTRODUCTION. XXV found on native vases of the Pre-Hellenic period, probably a})Out the Vlth century ^. It may be surmised that specimens of the Apulian vases, or fragments of them, had, as in a former case, been discovered, and had come to the notice of the potters, who, aware of the prevailing cult of classical art, promptly adapted their ornamental designs, but probably not knowing that they belonged to a primitive age previous to the classical era. In the originals the bands are not crowded together, the ornamentation in itself is therefore more effective and the general effect more artistic than on the miiiolica ; in the latter it serves mainly to display the manipulative dexterity of the draughtsman, on work which gives little scope to the inventive faculty. The sharji-pointed con- ventional leaves displayed on the borders of the fine plates in figs. 37 & 38 are the same as those in one of the bands in the previous examples ; employed alone it is truly decorative and admirably frames the important designs which in each instance cover the surfaces of the plates. So likewise would it be with the other patterns in fig. 40 ; it is hence somewhat surprising that the painter did not feel that in placing them side by side they were nmtually destructive. M. Molinier has suggested that fig. 38 is Faventine and belongs to the penultimate decade of the century. Accepting both the place and date we naturally include in the same category the oinochoe designed on the lines of classic art, fig. 42, its coloration of gem-like brilliance, the vase and spouted jug in figs. 43 & 44, and likewise Dr. Bode^s, Mr. Pierpont Morgan's, and the South Kensington Albarelli illustrated in the preceding volume. Each and all are admirable examples of this phase of Renaissance maiolica ornamentation at a high point. It will be perceived that the ornamental motives on many of the objects here illustrated are similar to those on vessels of the period of different shapes, given in the previous volumes. They * See G. Patroni. Za ceramica Antica nelV Italia Mei-idionale. 1897. p. 27. Also M. Mayer. Romissche Mittheilungen : Ceramica delV Apulia pi-eellenica . Vol. xii. p. 201 and Vol. xiv. p. 13. XXVI INTRODUCTION. frequently, however, are combined with minor motives, which arc found on other contemporary wares, thereby establishing a relationship useful to bear in mind for purposes of classification. Thus, the sharp-pointed leaves arranged in triplets covering the body of the vase in fig. 45, and those in fig. 39 of the preceding volume on Albarelli, were evidently painted by one and the same hand. But the running ornament separating the panels of the albarello does not occur on the vase, neither does that on the neck ; whilst the well-known motives on the neck and foot of the vase are absent from the albarello. Hence we may arrive at the establishment of relationships which could not be asserted from the examination of only one of the objects. At the same time it is scarcely necessary on the present occasion to set forth a list of the recurring examples of analogous motives, and which the reader will not fail to have himself observed in looking through the illustrations ; but with respect to a few of the remaining pieces a word of explanation may be essayed. In the case of fig. 46 it should be said that it is one of the instances above referred to, wherein a ware of singularly forcible design is now known only by a single example. When first acquired by the Sevres Museum it was classed by Salvetat with the early Italian wares, the strongly pronounced Oriental influence being recognized by the Director. In the 1897 Catalogue of the Museum, however, it was included amongst the Hispano-Moresco wares because of this same Oriental character of its decoration, which the compiler of the Catalogue did not recognize to be an adaptation, and also because he supposed the arms to be those of the Spanish families Vera, Aragon, and Escriba, Catalonia. On this latter point Mr. A. Van de Put informs me that he can find no reference in Spanish works giving detailed pedigrees of the two families to a marriage between members of the respective houses, which is, of course, implied by the impalement of the two coats. He regards the shield to be a simple coat, and as the arms of the Guiducci of Florence, who bore per pale vair and chequy or and gules. Further, he points out INTRODUCTION. XXYli that the shield-shape is never found employed with Spanish armorials, but is a sure sign of an Italian coat : so too with the orle of rosettes, the manner of drawing these ornaments is Italian and not Spanish. As to the animal design, the method of isolating the beasts, the rendering of their forms, and the minor details oL' ornamentation, all are characteristic of Italian maiolica decoration at the period when the Oriental influence was most strongly felt. And, apart from the design, the chromatic scheme, both as regaixls the separate colours and their quality, is essentially Italian ; the same may be said of the brushwork, which has none of the fluency distinguishing the Spanish-Moorish wares of the same epoch. One of the most important historical pieces is the large plaque — fig. 47— at the Hotel Cluny, dated 1475 (No. 2807 of the Museum (Jatalogue, 1883 ; the description of the object is unfortunately in several particulars erroneous). It was originally affixed to the outside wall of a building near the Ragnoli Palace at Faenza, and was removed at some time in the last century. As an examjile of the work of the time nothing more instructive could be desired. Executed with a full brush which has left the colour in impasto, it has thereby acquired a chromatic force admirably adopted ibr outdoor decoration. Its perfect preservation after centuries of exposure to the open air shows a technical ability in the preparation of colours and glazes, proving that the Faventine potters had little to learn at the above date in that particular. Pretty much the same may be said of the Kensington plaque dated 1491, which also bears the monogram of Our Lord surrounded by San Bernardino rays (see fig. 48). It is further interesting as being the first known inscribed example of ihe s(>p)'a azzurro ornament in Italian Maiolica. Students of Oriental art will remember the frequent occurrence of passages of interlacing bands, well known in stone and wood carving, but less often met with on the more fragile Oriental faience. The Louvre possesses a fine specimen in a shallow bowl of Syrian or Egyptian fabrication (illustrated in 'The Oriental Influence on Italian Maiolica,' fig. xv.); others are seen on d XXVIIl INTRODUCTION. the Moresco lustre-wares. Italian adaptations o£ the motive on XVth century maiolica are given in figs. 49 and 50. It is found also in association with the interlaced oak-branches on an early Urbino ware; the example given in fig. 51, however, probably dates from the beginning of the next century. But the best known example is that on the Hotel Cluny plate in blue and white, having the bust of Nero in the centre, together with the arms and devices of Pope Leo X., and which is inscribed on the reverse CAFAGIOLI. Figs. 52-55 portray a series of vases with relief ornament of which two others, although not of the same style, have been illustrated in former volumes. The first two here given, from their shape and the motives of their painted ornament, will be classed with the Oakleaf Jars, and to the same period and locality of production belongs the large jar — fig. 54. Of this style and with the same ground cross-hatched in green, the Louvre possesses two examples, viz. a smaller jar somewhat similar to the one at Kensington, the central ornament being a woman's bust ; the pine- cones and foliage are differently arranged. The second one is a spouted jug of elegant shape and with the relief ornament, composed of star-like flowers and a conventionalized olive-tree, very carefully executed"^. Fig. 55, which from the naturalistic modelling of the boy's head may be supposed to belong to the end of the century, is represented at the Louvre by another similar specimen. The original type of fig. 56 is found in classical ceramic art, probably of Italian fabrication ; a vessel of similar shape was made also in lustre-ware by the Moors in Spain, of which an example is in South Kensington Museum ; it appears, however, that the prototype of the present piece more likely belonged to the former age. The historians of maiolica have found no proof, either tangible or documentary, of the manufacture of artistic pottery in Rome prior to the XVIth century. Fortnum, quoting from Bertolotti, * For an illustration in colour of this unique jug, see F. Argnani, // lihiascimento delle Ceramiche maiolicate in Faenza. 1897. Vol. ii. pi. 8. INTRODUCTION. XXXI states that tbe first mention o£ maiolica fabrication at Rome is the record o£ the constitution in 1514 of an ars Jigulorum, the members thereof being ceramic artists from other centres of the industry in Italy. It is of course possible that wandering artists trained at these centres may have previously set up furnaces at the papal city and have obtained the patronage of some of the wealthy ecclesi- astics, at least for a time. It is even not unlikely that some of the jugs found in the Tiber (see illustrations in ' The Art of the Precursors ') and likewise some of the pavement-tiles recently excavated at the Castle of St. Angelo were made at Rome. The same may be said of the dish or bowl bearing the arms of the Borgia Pope Calixtus III. (1455-58), or possibly, but less likely judging from the technique, Pope Alexander VI. (1492-1502), and which probably formed part of the faience in use at the papal palace — see fig. 57. The design, although of great simplicity in its arrangement, is characteristic of the work of an artistic age. The elegant vase in fig. 58, reflecting in its shape and ornamental motives the classic art of antiquity, is the production of the della Robbia bottega, probably when under the direction of Andrea dell Robbia. These vases, of which a certain number have been preserved to the present day, were originally intended to decorate church altars ; they were surmounted by bouquets of flowers modelled in terrs, cotta and painted in natural colours, but these now are rather scarce. Although admirable in design and cleverly modelled, the colour is heavy and opaque, which arises from the mineral oxides being mixed with the tin glaze before being applied to the surface of the vessel, which appears to have been the practice of the della Robbia family ; an extra firing may have been saved, but at the expense of transparency in the quality of the colour. The remaining illustrations from fig. 79 may be properly divided into two grou})S, the first — figs. 79-84 — do})encling largely for its decorative motives on the arts of the sculptor and the goldsmith ; figs. 79 & 81, indeed, appear to have been moulded from casts of metal vases. The remaining three pieces will be judged entirely XXX INTllODUCTION. from the point of view of plastic art, and may fairly be claimed as characteristic specimens of that illustrious school of sculpture, whose greatest masters did not on occasion disdain to furnish models for small objects used in domestic life. The second group comprises figs. 85-95 and consists wholly of examples of lustred wares. Whilst their ornamental motives are those belonging to the XVth centui}^, it is perhaps doubtful whether any one of them was made during that period. It was formerly supposed that lustre-wares were produced in Italy as early as the middle of the quattrocento. The evidence, however, supplied by more recent research tends rather to negative this hypothesis and suggest that it was not earlier than the end of the century. That the native potters were anxious to learn the secret of a process which gave such splendid quality to the Moresco wares was only natural, but for a considerable time they were obliged to content themselves with an ingenious imitation of its effect in a manganese glaze in association with touches of orange and blue. When and by whom the process was at last discovered is not known, neither can it yet be asserted which among the Italian potteries can legiti- mately claim the honour of having first practised the method. The above reasons alone would not have deterred the writer from attempting a larger illustration of the early Italian lustre-wares had he not felt that it was desirable to treat this most important phase of Italian maiolica as a whole. For although some of the finest specimens of both Gubbio and Diruta wares might not un- fairly be classed with the XVth century work, still there are others, equally fine, which clearly belong to the art of the XVIth century, and therefore could not be included in the present study. As to the question whether the known existing remains of the XVth century maiolica are sufficient to authorize a final judgment on its achievement, the reply will be in the negative. The last word on the work of any one among the great artistic epochs will, perhaps, never be said, but in this case there are obvious gaps in the historical sequence of the output, which until they nre filled in INTrvODUCTION. XXXI must leave its story incomplete. Enough, however, is forthcoming to show the position the potters had acquired at the end of the century. In place of the primitive vessels of bare necessity which appear to have been the utmost that the native potters could turn out in the preceding century, we find vasework of finished excel- lence, its decorative design implying a manual dexterity devoid of hesitation and uncertainty, and added to all this the knowledge of an accomplished technique. In this particular the ceramists were not capable of those marvellous feats of colour-transmutation constituting the charm of certain phases of Far Eastern ceramic art, and which almost induce the belief that the Chinese potters are gifted with a Salamandrine nature permitting them to sit within the furnace and thence personally control the agencies whereby these magical effects are attained. We find little of this in maiolica, unless happening in accidental " flukes," to which all pottery is liable. But the Italians did succeed in producing on occasion technical execution of extreme refinement, more parti- cularly in delicate qualities of colour resulting from intentional technical procedure. And in the matter of the noblest of all ceramic decoration — figure design — wherein the Chinese artists h:ive never risen above dainty conceits or " azure-tinctured grotesques,'^ we find maiolica ornamentation ranking second only to that of the Greek vase-painters. To have created a national art of this calibre is indeed an honourable record for these Italian ceramists of the quattrocento. It must be remembered that they started on their career with an equipment about on a level with that of the potters of the primitive ages of antiquity. Barbarian invasion had wiped out the arts which Italy had in former times learnt from Greece and the Orient. The struggle now was with rivals on the Mediterranean littoral, who had fine artistic aptitude, and which had been developed and intensified by centuries of practice, wherein they had mastered all the "secrets" of that technical j)rocedure on the due observance of which depends whether the vase leaves the furnace a thing of XXXll INTKODUCTION. beauty, or little more than a shapeless mass of burnt clay. If the Italians won their way against rivalry so formidable, the favouring circumstances and the source from which they derived their strength and inspiration are not far to seek. They are found in the fact that the period was that of the Italian Renaissance — the great intellectual movement whereof on its artistic side maiolica was one of the most brilliant manifestations. That alone was sufficient to explain its success ; but our ceramists also enjoyed a negative advantage which must be taken into account — namely, that they lived at the time before steam-driven machinery had induced the taste for mechanical uniformity, so fatal to the production of fine industrial, and especially of fine ceramic art. Its very essence consists in its output showing in every particular the impress of the hand as well as the mind of man. Therein, indeed, the Italian potter realized the root idea of the Renaissance — the assertion of the conscious personality of the individual. And it is precisely so far as the vase is the expression of an individual personality that its true artistic value will be found. ILLUSTRATIONS. Fig. 1. — BACILE. Heavy reddish body. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, the border painted in blue, the hair and cross in yellow : the bleeding spear-wound and cornice of tomb in manganese. Inscribed "DON GIORGIO. 1485," in graffito. Reverse, vitreous glaze. The figure of Christ standing in an open tomb was a frequent .«ubject in the pictorial art of the period, but the writer does not remember one in which the attitude of our Lord is precisely the same as in the present instance. The Sevres Catalogue suggests the piece may have been made at Cafaggiolo : there is no evidence that maiolica was manufactured at Cafaggiolo previous to about a.d. 1600. D. 276 mm. Sevres Museum. Fig. 2.— plaque. Buff body. Ornamentation : the Angel of the An- nunciation, outlined in blue, painted in blue, green, orange, and yellow. 22 cm. square. Mus6e du Lonvre. Fig. 3.— plaque in the shape of a shield. Buff body. Ornamentation : the Adoration of the Kings, outlined in blue, the white enamel is left plain over the larger part of the surface, the colour being in distinct passages of reddish orange, yellow, and green. Compare with fig. 101. H. 50 cm. Kgl. Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin. b2 Fig. 4. — PLAQUE. Pale 'buflF body. Ornamentation: the Virp^in and Child, outlined in dark blue, modelled in dark blue for the Virgin's mantle ; her robe is green, the sleeves diapered in yellow ; the flesh is slightly shaded in pale blue ; the aureoles for the Virgin orange, for the Child orange and blue ; the top of the seat is orange, the upright panel manganese ; touches of aopra-bianco on the flesh of the Child and the face of the Virgin. Inscribed " 1489." H. 47 cm. South Kensington Museum, -^^^'V;ri.a^ Fig. 6.— plaque. Buff body. Ornamentation : the Virgin and Child, outlined in blue, painted in pale blue, pale manganese, orange, and green, the aureoles orange. The frame is in low relief and painted orange. Inscribed at the back " GIORGIO • LOMBARD • 1493." 26 cm. scjuare. British Museum. Fig. 6,— PLAQUE. Buff body. Ornamentation: the Virgin and Child, outlined in blue, painted for Virgin's mantle blue, robes manganese, flesh lightly shaded in blue ; hair, star, and brooch yellow. Reverse, divided by ornamental bands into four sections, two of which are vacant, the other two having respectively a serpent and a coat of arms, all incised. D. 223 mm. Henry Wallis. Fig. 7.— PLAQUE. S. Crispin and S. Crispinian, the patron saints of shoe- makers. Ornamentation : outlined in blue and painted generally in blue ; the sleeves of the two saints are lightly shaded in pale manganese ; the crown and aureoles in orange ; the colour scheme at the base in green, yellow, and manganese. H. 28 cm. Musee du Louvre. Fia. 8. — BACILE. Mezza-maiolica. Diana and Actaeon. Buff body. Ornamentation : incised outline, and painted in purple manganese, raw eiena yellow, and rich green on brilliant ivory-white ground ; the colour has run in the furnace. D. 48 cm. South Kensington Museuxn. Fio. 9. — BACILE. Buff body. Ornamentation : outlined in blue and J)ainted in blue, green, manganese, orange, and yellow ; the peacock's eathers in manganese, emerald-green, and orange. Inscribed "EL MIO CORE E FERITO P[EK]VOE." Reverse, vitremis glaze. D. 88 cm. South Kensington Miiseuxn. 10 Fig. 10. — PIATTO. Pale red body. Ornamentation : outlined in deep blue, painted in blue, manganese, green, orange, and yellow ; the colour generally of great depth and purity. Inscribed " QANT-AC-RVd- ELTA (0 quanta crudelta). The border throughout is the same as the portion given. Reverse, a vitreous glaze. D. 41 cm. South. Kensington Museum. Fi<3. 11. — SCODELLO. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in blue, ^een, and orange. Inscribed "EN PIV." Reverse, white glaze. D. 296 mm. South Kensington Museum. 12 - ,05.c^>»vj-*'>' r Fio. 12. — VASE. Ornamentation : outlined in dark blue, painted in blue and orange, turquoise-blue handles, peacock's feathers on the plaques applied to the handles; the heart in manganese. Inscribed on one side "QUISTA TE BONO P[E]RR AMORE BELLA," on the other, "P[E]R AMORE TE PORTO IN QUISSTA COP[PJA BELLA." H. 23 cm. South Kensington Museum. 13 Fig. 13. — BACILE. Buff body. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in blue, orange, yellow, and pale green ; the colour scheme is delicate. Inscribed " E • NON ■ SE • PO • MANGIARE • SENZA • FATICA." Reverse, a thick white enamel with slight bud ornament in blue. D. 41 cm. South Kensington Museum. u Fio. 14. — PIATTO. Ornamentation : a Hunting scene, outlined in blue, painted in dark blue with touches of yellow. The plate was in the Castellani Sale (CataJo^e, no. 78). Present possessor unknown. D.43cm. 15 Fig. 15.— FRAGMENT OF A BACILE. White body. Ornamentation: outlined in blue, the figures painted in blue, manganese, orange, yellow, and black, the landscape in blue, green, yellow, and black ; the border on dark blue ground, orange, yellow, and reserved white. Inscribed * 1498." Reverse, a running scroll of leaves and flowers in blue. D. 29 cm. Sevres Museum. 16 Fio. 16. — BACILE. Mezza-maiolica. Ornamentation : incised and painted in deep green, blue, manganese, and yellow on a pale chocolate ground : the colour has run in the furnace. Reverse, plain. D. 42 cm. South Kensington Museum. 17 Fig. 17. — BACILE. Mezza-niaiolica. Ornamentation : incised and painted in blue, green, raw and burnt siena yellows. The shields bear the arms of the Visconti and d'Este families. Reverse, plain. D. 41 cm. British Museum. 18 Fig. 18. — MEZZINA. Pale buff body. Ornamentation: outlined in dark blue and shaded in blue ; the mound behind Cupid is outlined in green, the dots in manganese ; the hair^ wings, borders of angels' robes, clouds, and rosettes are touched with yellow. At the base of the handle is an Oriental spouted ewer in blue. H. 38 cm. South Kensington Museum. 19 Fio. 19.— See preceding illustration. C2 20 Fig. 20. — PLAQUE. Ornamentation : the arms of the Corsini of Florence, outlined in blue, the angels lightly shaded in same colour, painted in green, manganese, and yellow. Inscribed " NICOLA CORSINI . MIIII77. a di 14 di Genaio." H. 38 cm. Sevres Museum. 21 Fig. 21. — BACILE. Red body. Ornamentation : a shield bearing the Sforza arms, outlined in blue and painted deep blue and, sparingly, copper-green, manganese, and pale yellow. Reverse, concentric circles in blue. D. 34 cm. British Museum. 22 Fig. 22.— BACILE. Buff body. Ornamentation : Arms of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary and wife Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinand I. of Naples ; and a group of boys (compare with fig. 13). Outlined in blue, painted in blue in camaieu, green, pale manganese, orange, and yellow. Reverse, palmette and leaf ornament in deep blue. D. 47 cm. South Kensington Museum. 23 Fig, 23.— vase. Ornamentation : outlined in blue and painted in dark blue in camaieu and orange, the ground of neck and band on upper part of belly in orange; the pattern on the flat handles similar to the bottom of the neck ; passages of orange in peacock's feathers. H. 475 mm. South Kensington Museum. 24 Fig. 24. — BACILE. Ornamentation : a Mermaid and a shield of arms of the Lulli, of Florence, outlined in dark blue, painted in orange, green, manganese, and blue in camaieu. Reverse, plain in centre, leaves in green and orange in half-circles on the rim and upright side. I). 382 mm. South Kensington Museum. 25 Fig. 25. — PIATTO. Ornamentation : outlined in dark blue and painted in emerald-green and blue. The illustration is copied from a chromo- lithograph in Delange, Recmil des Faiences Italiennes : the dimensions are not given. Rouen Musetun. 26 Fig. 26. — PIATTO. Ornamentation: outlined in deep blue and painted in blue, yellow, and orange. Reverse, concentric lines in blue and manganese. D. 216 mm. British Museixm. 27 Fig. 27. — BOCCALE, BufiE body. Ornamentation: outlined in blae and painted in blue, orange, and yellow. Inscribed " AMORE. 1499." H. 33 cm. Bologna Museum. 28 Fig. 28. — BACILE. BufF body. Ornamentation : outlined in blue and painted in blue, green, orange, and black. Reverse, intersecting circular lines with stars in the interstices, orange and black, in the centre an S cut by an arrow. D. 225 mm. Musee du Louvre. 29 Pig, 29.— CENTRE OF A PLATE. BuflP body. Ornamentation: out- lined in blue, golden hair bound with green and blue, bodice green and yellow with red lacing ; trefoil ornament dark blue. D. 165 mm. Herr von Beckerath. 30 Fig. 30. — PIATTO. Ornamentation: outlined in blue and painted in blue, green, orange, and yellow ; two panels in orange ground, four in yeUow, touches of orange in scalework. Inscribed E. Reverse, blue inter- lacing leaves in outline. A fragment of a Diruta plate belonging to the writer is similar in its ornamental design. D. 21 cm. Henry Wallis. 31 Fig. 31.— centre OF A PLATE. Heavy white body. Ornamenta- tion : outlined in dark blue, flesh and veil lightly shaded in blue ; golden hair, sleeves and outer line on the edge in orange. Reverse, smeared with tin glaze. Compare with fig. 98. D. 85 mm. Henry Wallls. 32 Fi&. 32. — PIATTO. Ornamentation : outlined in blue and painted in dark blue, green, manganese, and orange ; tbe ornament on collar and shoulder is graffito on dark blue. D. 40 cm. Musee de I'Hotel Cluny. 33 Fig. 33.— B AGILE. Reddish, heavy body. D. 39 cm. M. Sigidtnond Bardac. 34 Fig. 34. — BACILE. Ornamentation: outlined in blue and painted in blue, green, orange, and manganese ; the flesh faintly shaded in blue ; hair, the same colour and drawn as in Byzantine enamels ; two medallions in manganese, two in green, the ornament within graffiato. Reverse, transparent vitreous glaze. D. 23 cm. National Museum, Florence. 35 Fig. 35. — JAR. Pale red body. Ornamentation in blue. Olive-green vitreous glaze inside. A pronounced Oriental influence. H. 23 cm. South Kensington Museum. d2 36 Fio. 36.— Reverse of Fig, 35. 37 Fio. 37. — PIATTO. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in blue, orange, and, for the ground at base, pale green ; shield and hair orange ; leaves on border blue-black and orange. D. 38 cm. British Museum. 38 Fig. 38. — BACILE. Ornamentation: outlined in blue, painted in dark blue, manganese, green, and orange ; leaves on border blue-black and orange. D. 376 mm. Musee du Louvre. 39 Fig. 39. — BACILE. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in blue, orange, and greenish turquoise-blue. Reverse, circles in outline with touches of orange. Flat upright sides and flat border. D. 47 cm. South Kensington Museum. 40 Fig. 40. — Ornament on Fig. 39 enlarged. The imitation of marquetry suggests that this style of ornamentation may possibly have been inspired by the ornament in a mosaic pavement of the time of antiquity ; its original derivation being as stated in the text. 41 Fig. 41.— PIATTO. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in blue, orange, and yellow, Reverse, smears of tin glaze on the vitreous glazed surface. D. 48 cm. Mus^e de 1' Hotel Cluny. 42 Fig. 42. — BOCCALE. Ornamentation : outlined in black, painted in deep and turquoise blues, manganese, and yellow. Flat handle, as in antique Apulian vases ; vertical bands of fictitious inscription on each side of handle. H. 152 mm. British Museum. 43 Fig. 43. — VASE. Ornamentation : outlined in dark blue, painted in dark blue, manganese, and green. One of a pair. H. 28 cm. National Museum, Florence. 44 Fig. 44. — BOCCALE. Ornamentation: a shield of arms under the spout, outlined in blue, and painted in blue, pale manganese, pale yellow, and pale blue-green, producing a soft purplish effect. H. 22 cm. South Kensington Museum. 45 Fio. 45. — BROCCA. A pharmacy vase belonging to the same series as fig. 39 in the XVth century AlbareUi. Ornamentation, outlined in blue, painted in blue, copper-green, and orange. H. 29 cm. 46 Fig. 46. — PIATTO. Ornamentation : a shield bearing tlie arms of the Guiducci, of Florence, outlined in blue, and painted for the larger part blue in camaieu, also sparingly manganese, and yellow in the arms ; green for the four circular lines and lightly in the ground at centre. D. 48 cm. sivres Museum. 47 Fig. 47 .—CIRCULAR PLAQUE. Ornamentation: outlined in blue and I tainted in blue,manganese, green, and orange. Inscribed " NICOLA VS • )E • RAGNOLIS • AD ■ HONOREM • DEI • ET • SANTI • MICHAE- LIS • FECIT • FIERI • [ANO restoration] 1475." D. 44 cm. Musee de I'Hotel Cluny. 48 Fig. 48.— circular PLAQUE. Thick buflF loody. Ornamentation in sopra-azzurro heightened with passages of orange. Inscribed " M ' 1491 " Ge (?). (To save labour in preparing the drawing the relative depths of the colours are reversed; thus, the ground is a deep blue.) D. 26 cm. South Kensington Musevun. 49 Fi0. 49. — SCODELLO. Ornamentation: outlined in dark blue, the inter- lacing bands blue ; ground of centre square in green, the other four in orange. Reverse, plain spirals in blue. D. 22 cm. National Huseiun, Florence. 50 Fia. 50. — BACILE. Ornamentation in blue. Reverse, three concentric circles in blue, A somewhat similar plate is at the Hotel Cluny, but with the concentric circles in manganese. D. 34 cm. Henry Wallis. 51 Fig. 61. — BACILE, Ornamentation : dark blue ground, the branch and interlacing work in orange, the circle at centre in paler blue, the medallion in orange ; the whole adorned with mother of pearl Gubbio lustre. Reverse, lustred scrolls. D. 23 cm. Henry Wallis. E 2 52 Fig. 52. — JAR. Ornamentation : a head in relief, the rest outlined in manganese, painted in deep blue. H. 205 mm. Museiun of Science and Art, Dublin. .53 Fio. 53. — ^JAR. Ornamentation : a head and two pine-cones terminating branches in relief ; painted in green and raw aiena yellow. H. 24 cm. Dr. W. Bode. 54 Fig. 54. — ^JAR. Ornamentation : four heads in relief, also branch- work terminating in cones and a shield bearing arms (not yet identified) ; the rest, outline and network in manganese, yellow on shoulder, branch- work in green. A monogram, possibly of a confraternity, at the base of handles. H. 345 mm. South Kensington Museum. 55 Fig. 55.— BOCCALE. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in dark and turquoise blues, manganese, and yellow. H. 166 mm. South Kensington Museum. 56 Fig. 56. — bOCCALE. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in blue, manganese, and green. H. 41 cm. South Kensington Museum. 57 Fig, 67. — BACILE. Buff body. Ornamentation : the arms of Pope Calix- tu8 III. (?), the border and the bull in manganese, the rest in dark blue. Keverse, yellow vitreous glaze. D. 215 mm. Henry Wallis. 58 Fig. 58. — VASE. Delia Robbia ware. Ornamentation in relief, and painted in purplish blue. A pair of similar vases at the British Museum have the original maiolica flowers. H. 29 cm. South Kensington Museum. 59 Fio 59— BOCCALE. Ornamentation: outlined in blue, painted in blue, green, and orange. Inscribed " gno ."B avtfmtsita." The shape copied from Moresco vases. H. 242 mm? South Kensington Museum. GO Fig. 60.— two-handled VASE. Pale buff body. Ornamentation : outlined in blue and painted in blue, green, manganese, and orange. Inscribed "PENS A EL FINE" and "PER DUO" Handles barred in blue. H. 20 cm. South Kensington Museum. 61 Fig. 61. — BOCCALE. Ornamentation : shield of arms below the spout, outlined in dark blue, manganese, and yellow ; touches of pale manga- nese on white ground. H, 176 mm. South Kensington Miiseum. 62 YiQ. 62. — BOCCALE. Ornamentation outlined in blue, painted in blue, manganese, pale green, and yellow. H. 135 mm. South Kensington Museum. Fig. 63.— BOCCALE. painted iu blue). Ornamentation : a shield of arms (outlined and National Museuin, Florence. 64 Fig. 64. — BROCCA. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in palish blue and green ; the leaves veined in graffito. H. 252 mm. National Museum, Florence. 65 Fig. 65.— jar. Ornamentation: outlined in blue, painted in cobalt, green, orange, and manganese : similar to Albarello fig. 69, in preceding National Museum, Florence. -— 0-7 O"" volume. H. 21 era. eo Fig. 66.— pharmacy VASE. Ornamentation : painted in deep blue ; inscribed as above. Compare with figs. 76 and 77 of The Oak-leaf Jars, and fig. 68 of XVth century Albarelli. H. 19 cm. British Museum. 67 Fio. 67. — PIATTO. Pale red body. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in blue, green, and manganese. D. 20 cm. British Museum. r2 68 Fig. 68. — BACILE. Ornamentation : outlined and painted in blue, yellow, green, and manganese. Reverse, partly tin glaze. Two holes for suspension. D. 21 cm. British Museum. 69 Fi(j. 69. — BACILE. Oruamentation : shield bearing the arms of the Medici, outlined in blue, painted in blue, turquoise, pale green, and yeUow ; veining of leaves graffiato. D. 23 cm. National Museum Florence. 70 Fig. 70. — SCODELLO. Buff body. Ornamentation : the border painted in manganese, the scrolls graffiato ; the rest in dark blue, except the green spot in centre. Reverse, concentric circles in blue. D. 17 cm. Henry Wallis. 71 Fig. 71. — BACILE. Heavy biiiF body. Ornamentation: outlined in blue and painted in dark and light blue and gTeenish yellow. Reverse, scrolls and herring-bone in blue. D. 22 cm. Dr. W. Bode. 72 Fig. 72. — PIATTO. Ornamentation : outlined in dark blue and painted in blue, orange, and green ; the chevrons in blue and white, chequer in red, green, and white ground. D, 176 mm. National Museum, Florence. Fig. 73. — PIATTO. Ornamentation : outlined in blue and painted in blue, green, yellow, the centre in deep red. Inscribed " GIROLMA." Reverse, plain. Compare with fig. 30. D. 243 mm. British Museum. 74 Yia. 74. PIATTO. Ornamentation : outlined in blue and painted in dark blue, blue in camaieu, orange and green. Reverse, eight ovala outlined in blue and orange, with a mark " B " intersected by a line. D. 283 mm. Henry Wallis. Fia. 75. — BACILE. Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in orange and blue in camaieu. Reverse, concentric circles in lio;ht and dai'k blue, D. 182 mm. Henry Wallis. 70 Fig. 76.— CIRCULAR PLAQUE. Ornamentation: a testa di cavalio shield bearing the arms of the Boni of Florence (per pale gules and azure, a lion rampant argent, from its neck hanging an escutcheon azure charged with a fleur de lys or), the rest outlined in blue, painted in dark blue, turquoise-blue, orange, and pale manganese. Inscribed " MI ANDRE ASI I BONO." D. 297 mm. South Kensington Museum. 77 Fig. 77. — PIATTO. Ornamentation : on a shield azure a lion rampant or, the rest outlined in blue and painted in blue, green, and yellow. T). 385 mm. Herr James Simon. 78 Fig. 78. — PIATTO with raised centre. Buff body (the same io appearance as that of the luBtred Diruta ware). Ornamentation : outlined in blue, painted in blue, green, orange, and yellow. Similar ornamentation is found on the lustred Diruta dishes. Reverse, interlacing ogee-arches in blue outlined round the edge; in the centre a **B" crossed by a paraph, as in fig. 74. D. 366 mm. Henry Wallis. 79 Fio. 79. — VASE with two dragon handles. Ornamentation in relief, outlined in black, painted in blue, green, orange ; some of the arched panels on neck in sopra bianco. H. 61 cm. South Kensington Museum. 80 Fig. 80. — VASE with two dragon handles. Ornamentation : a shield of arms, possibly those of the Baglioni of Florence, the rest outlined in blue, painted in dark blue, turquoise-blue (for the handles), and orange. Inscribed on reverse, " EL . NGN • PODER • ME • FINE." (El non poder men ?) H. 268 mm. South Kensington Museum. 81 Fig. 81.— vase. Ornamentation in relief, painted in blue, pale blue, green, and orange. The cover is missing. H. 30 cm. Musee du Louvre. so Fig. 82.— fountain. Paiuted in dark and pale blue, grass-green, and, sparingly, orange. H. 472 inm. South Kensington Museum. *lCl.w2 Fig. 93. — BACILE. Omamentatiou : godroons painted in pale golden lustre. Reverse, concentric circles and edges of godroons lined in lustre. Inscribed" PERSE V ERA NZ A" D. 235 mm. Henry Wallis. 93. Fig. 94. — FRUTTIERO. OTnamentetioti in deep golden lustre. EeTerse, masks and palmettes in relief, decorated with lustre. D. 29 cm. Henry Wallis. 94 FiQ. 95.— FRUTTIERO. Ornamentation in relief, painted with deep f olden lustre. Reverse, lustred at foot and half-circles at border. ). 26 cm. Henry Wallis. 95 Fig. 96.— three-handled VASE. Ornamentation: outlined in blue, painted in golden lustre. Diruta ware. II. 248 mm. South Kensington Museum. APPENDIX. H 99 Fig. 97.— centre OF A BOWL. Pale buff body. Ornament in pale yellow lustre. The tbin tin glaze covers the ringed foot on reverse. An early specimen of Oriental lustred ware. Found on the Cairo mounds. D. 126 mm. Dr. Fouquet. 100 Fjg. 98.— PORTRAIT OF A LADY.by a follower of PierodellaFranceaca. The painting was formerly supposed to be a portrait of Isotta da Rimini, to whom it bears a resemblance ; but it is doubtful whether it was painted from her. H. 42 cm. National Gallery. 101 Fia, 99.— BUST PORTRAIT : painted in tempera on panel. An ex- ample of Italian XVth century decorative painting, somewhat similar in style to the same motives on the maiolica of the period. H. 27 cm. •' Henry Wallis. 102 Fia. 100.— BUST PORTRAIT: painted in tempera on panel. An example of Italian XVth century decorative painting. H. 27 cm. ,„ „. Henry Walhs. 103 Fig. 101.— woodcut, from the Epistole et Evangeli, 1495. P. Pacini. COLOUR PLATES. >- dC z> I- z ILi o r • I- • > X < o < z < < CO UJ CO oc H Z tu o I • h • > >< < _J o < z < -J < I- z o (£> CO CO ri TILES FROM THEPAVEME' CHURCH OF SAN GlOV: MAiOLICA.FiRSl PLATE 111 OF THE CARRACCIOLO CHAPEL ^INI A CARBONARA. NAPLES. ^ALF OFXV^^ CENTURY. >- cc :d I- z UJ U I • I- • > X u. O UJ < Q < Q. < < N N Ld 2 O CO '''fim''-"VW UNIVERSITY or CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 270cfMOWIW 18^6^ SbRUE NOV 21 1949 REC'D LD •Z8- ^eV^I -. V--- l8Je'58WJ „,«! ^956 U ^ _^ ^_^, IUN7 I960 LD 21-100m-9.'48(B399sl6)476 YD 33?6? Ml605i9 IJK 43/6' THE UNIVERSITY OF CAUFOKNiA UBRARY