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Lot Essay
Excavations at Montelupo have unearthed fragments relating to this type of jar. The N marks are presumably for the name of a workshop or apothecary, but the significance has yet to be established. The panther is probably derived from a Roman panther, often associated with Bacchus, the god of wine.
This jar is part of a rare group decorated in zaffera diluita, rather than zaffera a rilievo, with panthers and with Ns below the handles. A very similar example in the Bargello, Florence, is illustrated by Giovanni Conti, Museo Nazionale di Firenze Palazzo del Bargello, Catalogo delle Maioliche, Florence, 1971, no. 232. Also see Marino Marini, Passione e Collezione, Maioliche e ceramiche toscane dal XIV al XVIII secolo, Casa Buonarroti, Florence, November 2014 - February 2015 Exhibition Catalogue, Florence, 2014, pp. 60-63 for two related examples. For further related examples, see www.christies.com.
This jar is part of a rare group decorated in zaffera diluita, rather than zaffera a rilievo, with panthers and with Ns below the handles. A very similar example in the Bargello, Florence, is illustrated by Giovanni Conti, Museo Nazionale di Firenze Palazzo del Bargello, Catalogo delle Maioliche, Florence, 1971, no. 232. Also see Marino Marini, Passione e Collezione, Maioliche e ceramiche toscane dal XIV al XVIII secolo, Casa Buonarroti, Florence, November 2014 - February 2015 Exhibition Catalogue, Florence, 2014, pp. 60-63 for two related examples. For further related examples, see www.christies.com.