Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Dish with Female Bust and Inscription
(Renaissance Europe )
The idealized image of a beautiful woman, generally accompanied by an amorous inscription on a scroll, here “Avi Merec Mad,” meaning “I entrust myself to you,” was a popular subject for Renaissance maiolica. Such wares may have been part of a ritual exchange of gifts between husbands and wives. Potters from Deruta, where this plate was surely made, in the 1500s were renowned for their depictions of such subjects. The reverse is painted in a stylized flower pattern known as "petal back." The elaborate monogram including a "B" on the reverse has not been identified. For similar maiolica dishes, see 48.1358 and 48.1741; for more on ‘maiolica,’ see 48.1336.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
J. Seligmann, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1908 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Italy, Deruta (Place of Origin)
Measurements
13/16 x 9 1/16 in. (2 x 23 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1908
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
48.1351