THE FIRST DATED 1521, THE SECOND CIRCA 1521, BOTH PROBABLY WORKSHOP OF PIERO BERGANTINI

The arms are for the Spada family of Rome. The Spada Chapel in the church of San Girolamo della Carità in Rome commemorates the three Spada brothers who saved St. Francis of Assisi from thieves, giving him shelter at their home in Gubbio in 1206. A branch of the family moved to Bologna following political struggles between the Guelphs (Papal supporters) and the Ghibellines (supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor). These plates may have formed part of an important commission for Giacomo Spada (1502-1566), Governor of Brisighella and Counsellor of State under Pope Pius V. Other politically powerful dynastic families of the Renaissance who commissioned similar Faenza services include the Strozzi, Altoviti and Salviati families, see Elisa P. Sani, Italian Renaissance Maiolica, London, 2012, pp. 122-123, fig. 147. Jeanne Giacomotti illustrates a fragment of a dish with a similar border design, see Catalogue des majoliques des musées nationaux, Paris, 1974, p. 77, no. 301.