CIRCA 1600, POSSIBLY THE WORKSHOP OF FRANCESCO PANTANAZZI

Based on Michaelangelo's (Michelangelo Buonarroti, Italian, 1475-1564) lost tempera painting of Leda and the Swan made for the Duke of Ferrara in 1530, this maiolica figure group was most likely created as a cover for an inkstand, a complete example of which was sold in the A. Ricard de Montferrand sale, Christie's, London, 14 November, 1859, for £9 15s and is most likely the same as that now found in the Wallace Collection. See A.V.B. Norman, Wallace Collection: Catalogue of Ceramics 1, Pottery, Maiolica, Faience, Stoneware, London, 1976, p. 233-234 for an illustration and further discussion. Also see Carmen Ravanelli Guidotti, Ceramiche Occidentali del Museo Civico di Bologna, 1984, cat. No. 172 for an inkstand cover of the same model attributed to the Patanazzi workshop, Urbino.

The Patanazzi workshop, celebrated for its maiolica decorated a grotteschi, has been identified in Urbino from at least 1580 until 1620. It is known that they had access to print designs from notable artists of the day, including Michelangelo.