Lot 20
ITALIAN MAIOLICA APOTHECARY BOTTLE
FAENZA OR MONTELUPO, MID 16TH CENTURY
Auction: 26 June 2013 at 12:00 BST
Description
the slender neck over a globular body decorated alla porcellana in dark and light blue glaze with tendrils, flower heads and leaves with a scroll label 'de consolida' for Comfrey
Dimensions
22cm high
Footnote
Note:
The decoration on this bottle was inspired by the blue painting on rarely obtained white Chinese translucent hard paste porcelains. According to Drey, the label indicates the bottle was used for storing Comfrey as does, interestingly, the example in the V&A. (Rackham Plate 34 ,Cat 204 - spelling slightly different ). At first glance the decoration here looks quite similar to the V&A Faenza bottle. However, there is also a possibility that the bottle was made at Montelupo in Tuscany. At Montelupo and slightly later in the16th century potters copied patterns such as these scrolling rosettes normally associated with maiolica from Faenza. In particular the manner in which the multiple thin simple scrolls are flanked or tied with leaves and outlined is similar to examples that previously were attributed to Faenza but now are considered to be from Montelupo. See Rudolf E. A. Drey, "Apothecary Jars", London 1978, p 196 and cat 15A p.44 for an albarello with a traditional Faenza attribution.