Italy, Urbino region, Gubbio / 1524
Charger with Arms of the Vigeri Family
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Charger with Arms of the Vigeri Family as ceramic (Italy, Urbino region, Gubbio · 1524).
During the Renaissance, the powerful Vigeri family of Savona, a seaport in northwestern Italy, included numerous cardinals and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as tin-glazed earthenware with gold and red lustre (maiolica) and credits Maestro Giorgio Andreoli (Italian, 1465?–1553).
The museum's collection notes: 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.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtCharger with Arms of the Vigeri FamilyOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.