Lusterware Basin

Place of OriginManises, Valencia, Spain

Dateabout 1450-70

DimensionsHeight : 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Rim (Diameter): 19 3/8 in. (49.2 cm)

MediumTin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1961.14

Not on View

Description

Label TextIn the 8th century, Umayyad Dynasty armies took control of much of the Iberian Peninsula, introducing Islam to the region. Called Al-Andalus, this area of Muslim-controlled Spain was home to Muslims, Christians, and Jews. By the 10th and 11th centuries, Muslim and Christian sovereignties battled for territory. To escape conflict, 14th-century Muslim potters left the sole remaining Islamic territory, Grenada, to establish new workshops in the Kingdom of Valencia. Here, artists of all faiths worked in proximity together, prompting the exchange of ideas and development of new artistic vocabularies fostered by such cultural fusion. This basin combines the intricate designs characteristic of Islamic arabesque motifs with the Christogram, the letters “ihs” used to abbreviate Jesus’ name (in Latin, the “I” and “J” were written the same). The vegetal design replicates the bryony plant native to the Mediterranean. Valencian lusterware enjoyed international esteem. It was collected by royalty and nobility throughout Europe as symbols of luxury and status. The hole at the top of this basin suggests it was designed to be hung and displayed like a work of art.Published References

Toledo Museum of Art, Museum News, New Series, vol. 5, no. 3, Autumn 1962, p. 58, repr.

Rogers, Millard F., "Spanish Art," Toledo Museum News, New Series, vol. 10, no. 2, Summer 1967, p. 45, repr.

Spallanzani, Marco, "Maioliche di Valenza e di Montelupo in una casa pisàna del 1480," Faenza, vol. 72, no. 3-4, 1986, p. 167, tav. LII.

Hess, Catherine, Italian Maiolica: Catalogue of the Collections, Malibu, Getty Museum, 1988, p. 14.

Exhibition History

New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (shown with Morgan Collection at unknown date).