Oval Dish with River God and the Wedding Feast of Psyche

The elegance and virtuosity of Pierre Courteys, who signed and dated this oval dish, comes out in the deceptively simple composition on the underside. The reclining river god is based on an engraving by the influential Italian engraver Marcantonio Raimondi (ca. 1475-ca. 1534) after a design by Raphael. This is combined with scrolling framing elements and strapwork borders that have a sculptural quality.

This style of ornament responds to the fashion for similar, three-dimensional framing elements for wall paintings popularized in the decorations of the palace of the French king Francis I (reigned 1515-46) at Fontainebleau. Designers associated with the court produced engravings with fanciful models intended for craftsmen whose expertise lay in their handling of materials rather than in compositional invention.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Beurdeley Collection [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, Paris, April 9-10, 1883, lot 97; Bourgeois frères [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Baron Oppenheim [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; J. Pierpont Morgan, New York, [date and mode of acquisition unknown] no. 860; Arnold Seligmann, Rey & Co., New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1917, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.