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Italian Ceramics: Catalogue of the J. Paul Getty Museum

Italian Ceramics
By Catherine Hess
Sheet : 282 Pages
Year : 2013
Size : 35.14 MB
Language : English
148,152 Download

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I N TH E EARL Y 1980s the Museum's holdings of Italia n ceramics consisted primaril y of wonderfu l ancient examples fro m Etruria , Imperia l Rome, and Magn a Graecia. Althoug h the Museu m already owne d an impressive collectio n of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French decorative arts, includin g pieces produced at Sevres, the Italia n peninsul a was represented b y a mere handful of fine objects produced i n those same years.

Then , i n a single group acquisitio n i n 1984, the Gett y became the repository of one of the most important collections of Italia n Renaissance tin-glazed earthenware, or maiolica , i n the Unite d States and Europe. Althoug h small, this group of objects is exceptionally fine and includes highl y inventiv e luxur y items wit h an illustriou s provenance, such as the splendid and bizarre Venetian plate decorated wit h grotesques tha t was once owne d by Queen Victoria . It also contains mor e humbl e rarities, such as the spirited drug jar made for Santa Mari a della Scala i n Siena, the site of one of the most importan t pharmacies of its day. Thus, the Museum's holdings provide a remarkabl y comprehensive pictur e of Italia n Renaissance maiolic a production .

Since 1984, several objects have been added to complemen t and roun d ou t the collection . A few earlier Spanish pieces, and an astonishing Baroque basin and Rococo tabletop, bracke t the predominantl y Renaissance material. Th e acquisitio n of the Medic i porcelain flask i n 1986, at tha t tim e one of onl y three such objects left i n privat e hands, extended the collection in to the area of Italia n porcelain, whic h also offers rich comparisons wit h the Museum's eminen t collection of French porcelain.

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