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Oval Dish with Scene of the Sacrifice of Isaac
Oval Dish with Scene of the Sacrifice of Isaac

Oval Dish with Scene of the Sacrifice of Isaac

CultureFrench
Date16th century
MediumLead-glazed earthenware (Palissy ware)
DimensionsOverall: 1 7/8 × 10 1/2 × 12 1/4 inches (4.76 × 26.67 × 31.12 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number45-27/2
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 108
DescriptionDepiction of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. Modeled in bold relief, the angel arresting the sword in Abraham's hand; in the background, a town with trees at left and right. Gadrooned and scalloped border. Glazed in blue, green, aubergine, buff, and orange brown.Exhibition History

Luxury and Passion: Inventing French Porcelain, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, August 13 2022–August 12 2024, no cat.

Gallery Label

By the 1600s, two traditions dominated French ceramics. The chemist, potter, and religious dissident Bernard Palissy (1510–1590) popularized lead-glazed earthenware. He combined realistic subjects with vibrant, glistening colors. The two dishes on view here demonstrate the long influence of Palissy for nearly a century after his death. Meanwhile, France’s trade with Italy and the Middle East led to the importation and eventual homegrown creation of earthenware fired with glazes made of dissolved tin, known as “faience.” Neither lead-glazed “Palissy” ware nor tin-glazed faience offered the startling translucency of Asian porcelains.

Provenance

Baron Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911), Paris, by 1911;

By descent to his grandson, Baron Henri de Lambert (1887-1933) and his grandson’s wife, Baroness Johanna von Reininghaus de Lambert (1899-1960), Brussels and New York, by 1933-March 7, 1941;

Purchased at Baroness Lambert’s sale, Important Italian Majolica…Comprising Masterpieces from the Collection of the late Baron Gustave de Rothschild, Now the Property by Inheritance of Baroness Lambert , Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, March 7, 1941, lot 91, by Brummer Gallery, New York, stock no. N4958, 1941-July 17, 1945 [1];

Purchased from Brummer, through Harold Woodbury Parsons, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1945.

NOTES:

[1] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cloisters Library and Archive, Brummer Gallery Records, Glass, stained glass and crystal, Object inventory card number N4958.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


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