Italian Renaissance Ceramics

The form of tin-glazed earthenware known as maiolica reveals much about the culture and spirit of Renaissance Italy. Engagingly decorative, often spectacularly colorful, sometimes whimsical or frankly bawdy, these magnificent objects, which were generally made for use rather than simple ornamentation, present a fascinating glimpse into the realities of daily life. Though not as well known as Renaissance painting and sculpture, maiolica is also prized by collectors and amateurs of the decorative arts the world over. This volume offers highlights of the world-class collection of maiolica at the Metropolitan Museum. It presents 135 masterpieces that reflect more than four hundred years of exquisite artistry, ranging from early pieces from Pesaro—including an eight-figure group of the Lamentation, the largest, most ambitious piece of sculpture produced in a Renaissance maiolica workshop—to everyday objects such as albarelli (pharmacy jars), bella donna plates, and humorous genre scenes. Each piece has been newly photographed for this volume, and each is presented with a full discussion, provenance, exhibition history, publication history, notes on form and glaze, and condition report. Two essays by Timothy Wilson, widely considered the foremost scholar in the field, provide overviews of the history and technique of maiolica as well as an account of the formation of The Met's collection. Also featured is a wide-ranging introduction by Luke Syson that examines how the function of an object governed the visual and compositional choices made by the pottery painter. As the latest volume in The Met's series of decorative arts highlights, Maiolica is an invaluable resource for scholars and collectors as well as an absorbing general introduction to a multifaceted subject.

Together they represent the various shapes, ornamentation, ambitious compositions, and complex narratives characteristic of a distinguished selection of ceramics from Renaissance Italy." "The history of these objects unfolds in the text by specialist Wendy M. Watson. Included is an original essay by Dean Walker on collecting maiolica in the United States, and a detailed scholarly checklist."--BOOK JACKET.

Explores the rich history and ornate styles of these beautiful wares as well as the key role they played in Renasisance society.

"This handbook is an introduction to Italian Renaissance ceramics. These colorful and highly decorative wares form a distinctive and significant part of the artistic achievement of the period." "The Fortnum collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, is outstanding in its quality and range. In this selection the author illustrates fine and characteristic pieces by leading artists in the major centres of production. In his detailed commentary on each piece he provides documentary and bibliographical information, and relates the subject matter of the painted scenes to the wider artistic culture of the time." "Like its companions in this series, Maiolica serves as a scholarly presentation of the finest pieces from a major collection, while at the same time providing a valuable general introduction to this most vivid and culturally illuminating of the 'minor arts' of Renaissance Italy. It is an expanded and updated edition of the book first published in 1989, incorporating most recent additions to the Museum's collections."--BOOK JACKET.

Students and scholars of the Italian Renaissance easily fall under the spell of its achievements: its self-confident humanism, its groundbreaking scientific innovations, its ravishing artistic production. Yet many of the developments in Italian ceramics and glass were made possible by Italy's proximity to the Islamic world. The Arts of Fire underscores how central the Islamic influence was on this luxury art of the Italian Renaissance. Published to coincide with an exhibition at the Getty Museum on view from May 4 to August 5, 2004, The Arts of Fire demonstrates how many of the techniques of glass and ceramic production and ornamentation were first developed in the Islamic East between the eighth and twelfth centuries. These techniques - enamel and gilding on glass and tin-glaze and lustre on ceramics - produced brilliant and colourful decoration that was a source of awe and admiration, transforming these crafts, for the first time, into works of art and true luxury commodities. Essays by Catherine Hess, George Saliba, and Linda Komaroff demonstrate early modern Europe's debts to the Islamic world and help us better understand the interrelationships of cultures over time.

Italian Ceramics contains the most recent scientific, historical, and iconographic information about the Museum's holdings. Completely revised and expanded, this book offers a wealth of new information about the Getty Museum's superb collection, which spans more than four centuries of Italian ceramic art.