Lot 92
  • 92

An Urbino maiolica dish, workshop of Orazio Fontana, circa 1540

Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description

  • A majolica plate
  • pottery
  • 42.5cm., 16 3/4 in.
painted with the 'noli me tangere’ scene of Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene beside a ruined column, in an extensive landscape with figures

Provenance

Otto Beit
Thence by descent
The property of the Trustees of Mrs A.A. Bull's children's Settlement, Christie's London, 2 July 1990, lot 238

Literature

Bernard Rackham, Catalogue of the Collection of Pottery and Porcelain in the possession of Mr Otto Beit, 1916, no. 806, p. 115

Condition

There is a firing crack at the rim which measures approximately 1 inch, located at 5 o'clock, pierced at 12 o'clock, glaze flaking and chips to rim. There is a flake to the glaze on the cavetto of the dish at 4 o'clock
"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."

Catalogue Note

Orazio Fontana (1510-1571) was the eldest son of the potter Guido Durantino, who had moved to Urbino around 1516. By the 1520s, Guido’s workshop seems to have become the preferred potter to Duke Francesco Maria of Urbino; Guido himself was a successful businessman and in the 1540s was priore of an Urbino confraternity.  By 1541, he and his son Orazio took the name of Fontana. Orazio’s brothers Cmaillo and Nicola and his nephew Flaminio were also maiolica potters, although Orazio appears to have been the most celebrated, as Bernardino Baldi, a 17th century Urbino writer, said : ‘nobilissimo in quella [arte] del far Vasi di terra cotta e porcellana fu Horatio Fontana’.

Orazio appears to have been travelling in North Italy in the 1550-1560s and came back to Urbino in 1565, where he settled a new workshop, concentrating his production essentially on luxury products. He was also among the first to leave behind the istoriato style in favour of the development of the elegant drawn style on a white ground known as compendiario white ground grotesque maiolica.
For another dish painted by Orazio Fontana and further information, see T. Wilson & D. Thornton, Italian Renaissance Ceramics: a catalogue of the British Museum collection, no. 176