Ceiling Tile (socarrat) with a Hare

Description As duke of Segorbe after 1478, Spanish Crown Prince Enrique de Aragon y Sicilia (1445-1522) was also lord of the nearby towns of Paterna and Manises, centers of flourishing ceramic manufacture, from the taxation of which he derived handsome profit. The residence of the duke's representative in Paterna was appropriately known as the "Tax House" (Casa del Delme). Some two hundred ceiling tiles, this one possibly among them, decorated the building until they were sold and dispersed in 1924. The rabbit on it refers to hunting, a pastime reserved for aristocrats.

Exhibitions

• Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Museum of Biblical Art, New York; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha. 2008-2009.

Provenance Casa del Delme (?), 13 calle Mayor, Paterna; Sale, 1924 (?); William R. Hearst, San Simeon, California, ca. 1930, by purchase; Hearst estate, 1951, by bequest [inv. 2597, lot s/b 569, no. 49]; Walters Art Museum, 1958, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase, 1958