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Lot Essay
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
J. Giacomotti, Catalogue des majoliques des musées nationaux, Paris, 1974, nos. 856, 866, 915, 1011,
Timothy Wilson, Italian Maiolica and Europe, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, 2017, pp. 147-157.
The whereabouts of the present charger or piatto da pompa have been unknown for over one hundred years. Last recorded on 3 May 1910 when sold as lot 38 at Christie’s Great Rooms in a sale titled Catalogue of the Choice Collection of Old Italian Maiolica ,,,,formed by Octavius E. Coope, Esq., the large dish was acquired by the present owner in the 1970s, carefully wrapped in newspaper for safe keeping during a renovation in February 1978, and forgotten until September 2017 when it was unearthed as part of a household move.
When previously sold at Christie’s, the lot was presented on its own in a double-page spread, the description on the left-hand page -- on the right-hand, a black and white illustration of the piece in a wood frame carved to resemble the ribbon-tied laurel wreaths typical of the Renaissance. At the time, this would have been considered a lavish display, equivalent then to its presentation today in an Exceptional sale.
FRANCESCO XANTO AVELLI DA ROVIGO (c. 1487? – c. 1542?)
Until recently, little could be confirmed about the life of Francesco Xanto Avelli. Recognized as a pottery-painter, a poet, involved in politics on behalf of the working man yet closely aligned with Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Xanto was a true ‘Renaissance’ man. Unusual for a potter, he was educated in the Classics, often choosing themes from mythology, ancient history and current events as the subjects for his work. His specialty was what has become known as istoriato painting, usually edge to edge scenes that use the entire opaque white tin-glazed surface of a dish or plaque as a canvas, the rim often banded in bright yellow. Once fired, the bright palette associated with Italian maiolica of the 16th century remains as it was the day these metallic oxides were applied – an accurate reflection of the taste and eye of the Renaissance. Xanto’s full name often includes the words ‘da Rovigo’, an indication that he came from this town. But as far as can be determined, he worked mostly in and around Urbino. He was one of the first maiolica painters to sign and date his work, an indication that he considered himself an artist rather than an artisan.
With the publication of maiolica in the collections of internationally renowned museums such as the British Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University, the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at Oxford University, and of private collections, scholars such as Dora Thornton, Timothy Wilson, Julia Poole and John Mallett have done much over the past ten to fifteen years to enliven interest in the extraordinary art that is Italian Renaissance maiolica. But it is John V.G. Mallet’s catalogue for the Xanto exhibition held at the Wallace Collection in Spring 2007, written with contributions by Giovanna Hendel, Suzanne Higgott and Elisa Paola Sani, that best serves as a tribute to this artist and as a catalogue raisonnée of his extraordinary oeuvre.
THE ABDUCTION (RAPE) OF HELEN
According to Homer's Iliad, Helen, the daughter of Leda and Zeus and the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, was famous the world over for her beauty. Her abduction by Paris to his home city of Troy started the Trojan War. Helen is shown in the foreground being placed in a boat by Paris as his sailors hold off the Greek soldiers.
The source for the event as depicted on the present plate is an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi [Illustrated Bartsch, vol. 26, no. 209 (170)] traditionally considered to be after a drawing by Raphael. However, current scholarship now holds that the design may actually be after a drawing by Giulio Romano. Etienne Delaune is also known to have executed a print (in reverse) based on that of Raimondi. (R.M. Mason and M. Natale, "Raphaël dans la Gravure du XVIe siècle", Raphaël et la seconde main, Geneva, 1984, no. 56).
Other Urbino istoriato dishes depicting The Abduction of Helen and based on the same sources include two examples from the workshop of Nicola da Urbino, that from the collections of Arthur M. Sackler, sold Christie’s, New York, 6 October 1993, lot 24 and now at the Musée Ariana, Geneva and that illustrated at the left, sold Sotheby’s, London, 6 July 2010, lot 9 and now in a private collection. Dated dishes depicting the same subject painted by Xanto are known in the Louvre (1537 – inv. OA1847, also Giacomotti, nos. 856, 866), in the Getty Museum (1533 - 84.DE.118 and illustrated at the left) and in the Faenza Museum (1530). Slightly later examples from Urbino include a dish in the Louvre attributed to the Fontana workshop of circa 1540-1550 (Giacomotti, no. 1011); and the dish illustrated on the left, from the workshop of Guido Durantino (Fontana) circa 1545-1565 and possibly painted by Orazio Fontana (now in the same private collection as the previously mentioned dish painted by Nicola da Urbino.)
That so many museum collections include examples comparable to the present charger confirms the importance of Francesco Xanto Avelli as a senior statesman in the Renaissance world of maiolica, whose work can truly be considered exceptional.
J. Giacomotti, Catalogue des majoliques des musées nationaux, Paris, 1974, nos. 856, 866, 915, 1011,
Timothy Wilson, Italian Maiolica and Europe, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, 2017, pp. 147-157.
The whereabouts of the present charger or piatto da pompa have been unknown for over one hundred years. Last recorded on 3 May 1910 when sold as lot 38 at Christie’s Great Rooms in a sale titled Catalogue of the Choice Collection of Old Italian Maiolica ,,,,formed by Octavius E. Coope, Esq., the large dish was acquired by the present owner in the 1970s, carefully wrapped in newspaper for safe keeping during a renovation in February 1978, and forgotten until September 2017 when it was unearthed as part of a household move.
When previously sold at Christie’s, the lot was presented on its own in a double-page spread, the description on the left-hand page -- on the right-hand, a black and white illustration of the piece in a wood frame carved to resemble the ribbon-tied laurel wreaths typical of the Renaissance. At the time, this would have been considered a lavish display, equivalent then to its presentation today in an Exceptional sale.
FRANCESCO XANTO AVELLI DA ROVIGO (c. 1487? – c. 1542?)
Until recently, little could be confirmed about the life of Francesco Xanto Avelli. Recognized as a pottery-painter, a poet, involved in politics on behalf of the working man yet closely aligned with Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Xanto was a true ‘Renaissance’ man. Unusual for a potter, he was educated in the Classics, often choosing themes from mythology, ancient history and current events as the subjects for his work. His specialty was what has become known as istoriato painting, usually edge to edge scenes that use the entire opaque white tin-glazed surface of a dish or plaque as a canvas, the rim often banded in bright yellow. Once fired, the bright palette associated with Italian maiolica of the 16th century remains as it was the day these metallic oxides were applied – an accurate reflection of the taste and eye of the Renaissance. Xanto’s full name often includes the words ‘da Rovigo’, an indication that he came from this town. But as far as can be determined, he worked mostly in and around Urbino. He was one of the first maiolica painters to sign and date his work, an indication that he considered himself an artist rather than an artisan.
With the publication of maiolica in the collections of internationally renowned museums such as the British Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University, the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at Oxford University, and of private collections, scholars such as Dora Thornton, Timothy Wilson, Julia Poole and John Mallett have done much over the past ten to fifteen years to enliven interest in the extraordinary art that is Italian Renaissance maiolica. But it is John V.G. Mallet’s catalogue for the Xanto exhibition held at the Wallace Collection in Spring 2007, written with contributions by Giovanna Hendel, Suzanne Higgott and Elisa Paola Sani, that best serves as a tribute to this artist and as a catalogue raisonnée of his extraordinary oeuvre.
THE ABDUCTION (RAPE) OF HELEN
According to Homer's Iliad, Helen, the daughter of Leda and Zeus and the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, was famous the world over for her beauty. Her abduction by Paris to his home city of Troy started the Trojan War. Helen is shown in the foreground being placed in a boat by Paris as his sailors hold off the Greek soldiers.
The source for the event as depicted on the present plate is an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi [Illustrated Bartsch, vol. 26, no. 209 (170)] traditionally considered to be after a drawing by Raphael. However, current scholarship now holds that the design may actually be after a drawing by Giulio Romano. Etienne Delaune is also known to have executed a print (in reverse) based on that of Raimondi. (R.M. Mason and M. Natale, "Raphaël dans la Gravure du XVIe siècle", Raphaël et la seconde main, Geneva, 1984, no. 56).
Other Urbino istoriato dishes depicting The Abduction of Helen and based on the same sources include two examples from the workshop of Nicola da Urbino, that from the collections of Arthur M. Sackler, sold Christie’s, New York, 6 October 1993, lot 24 and now at the Musée Ariana, Geneva and that illustrated at the left, sold Sotheby’s, London, 6 July 2010, lot 9 and now in a private collection. Dated dishes depicting the same subject painted by Xanto are known in the Louvre (1537 – inv. OA1847, also Giacomotti, nos. 856, 866), in the Getty Museum (1533 - 84.DE.118 and illustrated at the left) and in the Faenza Museum (1530). Slightly later examples from Urbino include a dish in the Louvre attributed to the Fontana workshop of circa 1540-1550 (Giacomotti, no. 1011); and the dish illustrated on the left, from the workshop of Guido Durantino (Fontana) circa 1545-1565 and possibly painted by Orazio Fontana (now in the same private collection as the previously mentioned dish painted by Nicola da Urbino.)
That so many museum collections include examples comparable to the present charger confirms the importance of Francesco Xanto Avelli as a senior statesman in the Renaissance world of maiolica, whose work can truly be considered exceptional.