Dish
DelineatorProbably
Nicola di Gabriele Sbraga, called Nicola da Urbino
(Italian, ca. 1480 - ca. 1538)
Decorator
Giorgio Andreoli
(Italian, 1465? - 1555)
Dateca. 1530
MediumTin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
DimensionsOverall: 10 3/8 inches (26.35 cm)
Credit LineGift of Robert Lehman
Object number45-55/2
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 111
Collections
DescriptionPlate with figure of Saint Christopher wading a river, carrying the Christ Child. Church and figures in background. Large trees right foreground.Exhibition HistoryDecorative arts of the Italian Renaissance, 1400-1600, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, November 18, 1958-January 4, 1959, no. 112.
As his service to God, Saint Christopher (ca. 3rd century CE) chose to carry travelers across a raging river. This dish depicts the saint carrying a child who later identifies himself as Jesus. To prove his claim, Jesus instructed Saint Christopher to drive his staff into the ground; it miraculously became a palm tree bearing fruit, as shown here in the saint's hand. This refined, figural rendering was probably executed by Nicola da Urbino, a well-known Renaissance maiolica painter. After the colorful design had been fired, the dish was sent to Gubbio, a town famous for its lustre work, where iridescent highlights were applied.
Robert
Lehman (1891-1969), New York, by December 1945 [1];
His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1945.
NOTES:
[1] Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Robert Lehman Papers, box 82, folder 13.
Detroit Institute of Arts, and Paul L. Grigaut. Decorative arts of the Italian Renaissance, 1400-1600; (the Detroit Institute of Arts [exhibition] November 18, 1958-January 4, 1959) 1958, 56 (repro.).
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