A Faenza Maiolica dish, workshop of Virgiliotto Calamelli, about 1550-60

painted with the sacrifice of Marcus Curtius, inscribed on the reverse "Hurcio romano" within yellow concentric lines

3/4 foot rim restored. vertical crack through rim from 2 to 4 o'clock, restuck and with area of repainting. Harline crack from rim (7 O'clock) to center.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The dramatic self-sacrifice of the Roman soldier Marcus Curtius for the sake of Rome was a popular subject on istoriato maiolica of the period. 

The workshop of Virgiliotto Calamelli in Faenza is documented from 1531 until around 1560. The pieces are often inscribed with the initials 'VR AF' or 'AE V' but their significance is not clear and these initials cannot be considered as his personal signature. In any case, works by Leonardo Bettisi (called Don Pino), who took over the workshop after Calamelli's death, continued to use these letters.

Considerable research has been carried out into the Faenza workshop of Virgilioto Calamelli in recent years, and several painters have been identified, citing marked pieces, such as Nicolo da Fano, Pier Paolo di Faenza and Pietro Poalo Stanghi.  T. Wilson and D. Thornton, in their Italian Renaissance Ceramics of the British Museum, 2009, no.107, also attribute to the Calamelli workshop a dish in that collection painted by the same unknown hand as the present lot, commenting that this dish and the signed pieces 'demonstrate that the Calamelli Workshop was producing highly coloured istoriato pieces in the Urbino manner'. The British Museum dish was previously attributed to earlier Urbino, C.D.Fortnum even regarding it as "an undoubted work in [Orazio Fontana of Urbino's] best manner".