A Venetian enamelled glass tazza, early 16th century

Vincenzo Florio Collection, Palermo;

His sale, Antonio Sarno, Palermo, 22 November 1934, lot 713;

Private Collection, Palermo;

Sold Bonhams London, 14 November 2007, lot 11;

Where acquired

A tazza of this type, with honeycomb moulding and enamelled with a similar mythical medallion of a man battling a female triton, was bequeathed in 1868 by the antiquarian and glass collector Felix Slad to the British Museum, London, reg. no. S.376, illustrated in H. Tait, The Golden Age of Venetian Glass, London, 1979, p. 33, no. 14. A second dish, enamelled with a similar mythical scene of a man and sea creature was in the collection of Giovanni Pietro Campana, acquired by the French state in 1861, now in the Louvre, Paris, inv. no. OA 1977, illustrated in A. Gerbier, et. al. (ed.), Enameling Glass during the Renaissance. In the Footsteps of Glass Artists, Between Italy and France, exh. cat. Paris, Réunion des musées nationaux, 2021, cat. no. 7. Another, painted with a medallion of a wolf, has since 1867 been in the Museum für Angewandte Kunst (MAK), Vienna, acc. no. GL166. An armorial tazza, dated to about 1498-1514 and enamelled with the marriage arms of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany, is in the Toledo Museum of Art, obj. no. 1932.1.