BASE OF ITALIAN FRUIT BOWL DEPICTING LUCRETIA OR DIDO
Modern Age
BASE OF ITALIAN FRUIT BOWL DEPICTING LUCRETIA, DIDO OR THISBE.
Polychrome pottery.
Base diameter: 13 cm. Maximum height: 3.6 cm.
Modern Age. Second half of the 17th century.
Origin
Calle Castellanos 4. Jerez de la Frontera. Cádiz.
Description
Fragment from a fruit bowl manufactured in one of the workshops around Genoa (Genoa itself, Savona or Albisola). It is decorated in the so-called “naturalistic calligraphy” style, which is defined by motifs finely outlined in black. The so-called "naturalistic storiato calligraphy" emerged in the second half of the 17th century from within this decorative genre. In this, depictions of humans are added to natural motifs. These images were inspired by Biblical, historical or mythological happenings. There are diverse possible interpretations of this scene; one is the death of Lucretia, a roman matron whose raped and subsequent suicide triggered the advent of the Republic in Rome; or the suicide of Dido, queen of Carthage by the Trojan Aeneas abandoned; or perhaps Thisbe´s suicide after discover the dead body of her lover Pyramus.
Bibliography
- Unknown
