Italian, Faenza, mid-17th century

This utilitarian object, with a particularly elaborate Baroque form, is a unique example within the production of 17th century Emilian maiolica, dominated by the “whites” of Faenza, whose painted decorations leave a prominent place for the beautiful natural milky-white color of the clay. The harpy forming the handle here is also found on richly decorated pharmacy jars, fine examples of which are preserved in the Faenza Museum (cf. C. Ravanelli Guidotti, Faenza Faïence – Bianchi di Faenza, 1996, p. 536, no. 164).

The highly elaborate shape of this piece of maiolica can be compared to a Faenza inkwell made in 1651 for the Venetian Zaccaria Vallaresi (Victoria & Albert Museum; cf. B. Rackham, Italian Maiolica, 1940, no. 1042, and C. Ravanelli Guidotti, op. cit., 1996, p. 404, fig. 29b). The decoration may also be compared to a fragment of an albarello from the final phase of the Faenza “whites,” dated “1691,” adorned with similar palm fronds and ivy leaves surrounding the coat of arms of the Latini family (cf. C. Ravanelli Guidotti, Ceramiche datate, 2004, fig. 75). This emblem featuring two palms may be associated with the Vallombrosan Order (a Catholic monastic order founded in the 11th century by Saint John Gualbert near Florence, in the valley known as Vallombrosa).