Dish, tin-glazed earthenware. Tuscany, Montelupo, Italy. 1575- 1625.
The Fitzwilliam Museum. Item C.187-1991
This project was created to provide a physical reference for my ongoing Blue on White research. Initially I chose this design because it was so out of the ordinary for Italian designs. Italian maiolica tends to be know for it's vibrant colours (1) which combine portraits (2), grotesques (3) and baroque style floral designs (4, 5). Given the wide colour pallet available to the Italian mailoica artists, simple blue on white items are rare.
The geometric nature of the extant item appealed to me as did the psudo-caligraphic fill pattern. I believe this item was inspired by Persian imports rather than the local Italian traditions. I have attempted to replicate this flat pattern on a barrel shaped mug which slightly distorted some of the diamond shapes. I also did my best to copy the fill pattern from each section, because that's how I roll. This is my favorite cup of the series so far.
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