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Sauce boat
  • Sauce boat
    Palissy, Bernard, born 1510 - died 1590
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Sauce boat

  • Place of origin:

    Paris, France (made)

  • Date:

    ca.1550-1600 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Palissy, Bernard, born 1510 - died 1590 (maker)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Lead-glazed earthenware

  • Museum number:

    C.2311-1910

  • Gallery location:

    Medieval and Renaissance, room 62, case 15

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As early as the 16th century, the French led Europe in matters of sophisticated dining. The novel products of Bernard Palissy, which successfully combined design elements of metalwork and ceramics, would have complemented the elaborately prepared food and the table settings of the period.

Physical description

Lead-glazed earthenware vessel (possibly a sauceboat or a drinking vessel) with figures of Bacchus and Ceres.

Place of Origin

Paris, France (made)

Date

ca.1550-1600 (made)

Artist/maker

Palissy, Bernard, born 1510 - died 1590 (maker)

Materials and Techniques

Lead-glazed earthenware

Dimensions

Height: 7.6 cm, Width: 12 cm, Depth: 20.3 cm, Weight: 0.28 kg

Object history note

Historical significance: The skillfully crafted and elaborately decorated ceramics of Bernard Palissy and his atelier are closely associated with the patronage of the nobility. Sophisticated dining implements, such as this, would have been displayed and used at grand dinners and other special occasions. Guests would have been impressed by the virtuosity of the object and also amused as the contents drained away to reveal the figures beneath. The depiction of Ceres and Bacchus reflects the contemporary preoccupation with the appropriatness of decoration to function.

Historical context note

The elaborate design of this sauce boat reflects the emerging sophistication and increased importance of dining as a refined and complex ceremonial occasiony. A similar sauceboat, decorated with a bathing nymph inside, can be found in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Paris.

Descriptive line

Lead-glazed earthenware vessel (possibly a sauceboat or drinking vessel) with figures of Bacchus and Ceres, second half of the 16th century.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Hildyard, Robin. European Ceramics. London : V&A Publications, 1999. 144 p., ill. ISBN 185177260X
Leonard N. Amico, Bernard Palissy, Flammarion, 1996

Materials

Earthenware; Lead glaze

Techniques

Glazing (coating)

Subjects depicted

Bacchus; Ceres

Categories

Ceramics; Eating; Food vessels and Tableware

Collection code

CER

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Qr_O70391
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