Not currently on display at the V&A

Vase

second half 15th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a two-handled vase, made by Giovanni della Robbia and his workshop in the second half of the 15th century in Florence. This vase is in blue enamelled terracotta, with gold heightening and glazed in pale blue.
Giovanni della Robbia (1469 - ca. 1529) was one of three of the sons of Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525) to enter his father's workshop. He received his own commissions from 1497 and increasingly took over the running of the workshop
He was heir to the famous workshop in Florence and had the task of renewing its famous production to accord with changing tastes as directed by contemporary painting.

The Della Robbia family was an Italian family of sculptors and potters. They were active in Florence from the early 15th century and elsewhere in Italy and France well into the 16th. Family members were traditionally employed in the textile industry, and their name derives from rubia tinctorum, a red dye.
Luca della Robbia founded the family sculpture workshop in Florence and was regarded by contemporaries as a leading artistic innovator, comparable to Donatello and Masaccio. The influence of antique art and his characteristic liveliness and charm are evident in such works as the marble singing-gallery for Florence Cathedral. He is credited with the invention of the tin-glazed terracotta sculpture for which the family became well known.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Blue enamelled terracotta with gold heightening
Brief description
Vase, with two handles, blue enamelled terracotta, by Giovanni Della Robbia, Florentine, second half of 15th century
Physical description
Two handled vase, blue enamelled terracotta with gold heightening. The handles are in the form of scrolls.
Dimensions
  • Height: 27.9cm
Object history
Purchased in Paris (Piot sale, 1864, 25-30 April, p. 24, No. 97, £3 9s. 8d.).
Summary
This is a two-handled vase, made by Giovanni della Robbia and his workshop in the second half of the 15th century in Florence. This vase is in blue enamelled terracotta, with gold heightening and glazed in pale blue.
Giovanni della Robbia (1469 - ca. 1529) was one of three of the sons of Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525) to enter his father's workshop. He received his own commissions from 1497 and increasingly took over the running of the workshop
He was heir to the famous workshop in Florence and had the task of renewing its famous production to accord with changing tastes as directed by contemporary painting.

The Della Robbia family was an Italian family of sculptors and potters. They were active in Florence from the early 15th century and elsewhere in Italy and France well into the 16th. Family members were traditionally employed in the textile industry, and their name derives from rubia tinctorum, a red dye.
Luca della Robbia founded the family sculpture workshop in Florence and was regarded by contemporaries as a leading artistic innovator, comparable to Donatello and Masaccio. The influence of antique art and his characteristic liveliness and charm are evident in such works as the marble singing-gallery for Florence Cathedral. He is credited with the invention of the tin-glazed terracotta sculpture for which the family became well known.
Bibliographic references
  • Gentilini, Giancarlo. I Della Robbia : La Scultura Invetriata nel Rinascimento, vol. 1, Florence, 1992, pp. 221, 270
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum vol.1. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, p. 243
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1864. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868. p. 281
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 86
Collection
Accession number
481-1864

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Record createdMarch 25, 2008
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