Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Description

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.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Similar books

• 

  The New Maiolica: Contemporary Approaches to Color and Technique

  By Matthias Ostermann

  Contemporary approaches to colour and technique

• 

  Marvels of Maiolica: Italian Renaissance Ceramics from the Corcoran Gallery of Art Collection

  By Jacqueline Marie Musacchio

  Italian Renaissance Ceramics from the Corcoran Gallery of Art Collection Jacqueline Marie Musacchio ... Italian Renaissance Maiolica from the Howard I. and Janet H. Stein Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art ( Philadelphia ...

• 

  Italian Renaissance Maiolica from Southern Collections

  By Andrew Ladis

  Italian Renaissance Maiolica from Southern Collections

• 

  Italian Maiolica: Catalogue of the Collections

  By Catherine Hess

  The Museum’s outstanding collection of maiolica is significant because most of the major pottery centers, maiolica forms, and styles are represented.

• 

  Maiolica in the Making: The Gentili/Barnabei Archive

  By Catherine Hess

  Berlin: Mann. Heawood, Edward. 1950. Watermarks, Mainly of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Hilversum, The Netherlands: Paper Publications Society. Hess, Catherine. 1992. “Katalog: Kerarnik.” In Kunst in der Republik Genua ...

• 

  Sixteenth Century Maiolica Pottery in the Valley of Mexico

  By Florence C. Lister, Robert H. Lister

  See also Faenza compendiaro Italian influence on pottery , 13 , 14 , 15 , 18 , 22 , 47 , 48 , 57 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ... Sevilla Ware , 59 of Indian Ceramics , 81 , 98 of Mexican Ceramics , Indígena Ware , 34 , 96 ; Mexico City Ware ...

• 

  Global Luxury in Renaissance Venice

  By Karine Tsoumis

  "This richly illustrated volume explores maiolica's multifaceted connection to objects ranging from Islamic metalwork to Venetian glass and examines the role of maiolica within the vast range of luxury objects made in Venice and imported ...