Italian, perhaps Umbria, circa 1525-1550

Bordonaro Collection, Palermo;

Artcurial Paris, Italika Collection, 15 March 2005, lot 16;

Where acquired.

G. Gardelli, Italika, Maiolica Italiana del Rinascimento, 1999, no.182, p.397 (as attributed to Deruta) 

This plate shows some specific features different from the standard typologies of Renaissance Italian maiolica of the time. 

The figure painted in the centre could be the portrait of a known friar, Fra Ippolito as indicated by the inscription on his right which translates to “Friar Ipolito Gal (r?) rino who blows out candles.” “Moccoli” in Italian means candles but also blasphemy. 

The subject does not seem to belong to a long medieval tradition of anticlerical satire but is treated as a caricature. Here there is, instead, a sense of humour and wit. 

The shape and decoration recall the work of Deruta workshops. However, its very deep well and its sophisticated colour scheme, based on unusual but elegant variation of shades of green, may indicate manufacture in another town in Umbria. 

The foot on this plate was reduced probably to be inserted into a frame. Framing and hanging maiolica plates on the wall, like paintings, was a crucial step in the development of collecting istoriato wares at the end of the 16th and 17th centuries. This reveals a change in the aesthetic perception of the early istoriato pieces, which were no longer produced in quantity, losing their role of functional and decorative credenza tableware but converted into display pieces and regarded as works of art in their own right.