Dish
1874-1877 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Deep dish or plateau, tin-glazed earthenware, painted in colours with a female bust portrait surrounded by an ornamental border on a blue ground.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Tin-glazed earthenware, painted, glazed |
| Brief description | Plate, tin-glazed earthenware, painted in colours, made by Torelli pottery, Florence, Italy, 1874-1877 |
| Physical description | Deep dish or plateau, tin-glazed earthenware, painted in colours with a female bust portrait surrounded by an ornamental border on a blue ground. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Object history | Bought from the art dealer William Campbell Spence, Florence in 1877. William Campbell Spence (1849-1927 living at 6, Via Micheli, Florence, Italy) was the son of William Blundell Spence (1814-1900) a painter, art collector and dealer. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | Frescobaldi Malenchini, Livia ed. With Balleri, Rita and Rucellai, Oliva, ‘Amici di Doccia Quaderni, Numero VII, 2013, The Victoria and Albert Museum Collection’, Edizioni Polistampa, Firenze, 2014
pp. 146-150, Cat. 131
131. Plate with a portrait of a woman
and grotesque decorations
1874-1877
Jafet Torelli (1833-1898)
maiolica painted in colours
diam. 34 cm
Torelli/ Firenze
inv. 703-1877
purchase: William Campbell Spence, £ 2.5.0
Bibliography: unpublished
The Renaissance grotesques motifs that decorate these plates are interpreted according to the eclectic tastes of the era and are combined, in one case, with a portrait that resembles that of Bianca Cappello in the manner of Bronzino and, in another, with a playful Cupid shown against a backdrop of clouds. These three rare examples were made by Jafet Torelli in Florence after he had left the Ginori factory. Torelli had studied to be a sculptor at the Fine Arts Academy in Florence and worked at Doccia from 1865 until 1873 where he held various positions including that of chief modeler (BALLERI, RUCELLAI 2011, p. 88-89). His activity as an independent potter is documented by these three plates and by a few signed pieces that occasionally appear on the art market (see, for example, 500 YEARS OF DECORATIVE ARTS 2011, lot 104 and BRITISH AND EUROPEAN CERAMICS, 2012, lot 152).Although the range of colours used is cooler and more limited than that used at Doccia – gold lustre, for example, is never used – and the quality of the painting is not always as good as the Ginori products, Torelli’s ceramics received numerous awards at the International Exhibitions (DE GUBERNATIS 1892, p. 520-521). These plates, which were acquired by the museum in 1877, can be considered among the finest examples known.
O.R. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 703-1877 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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