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Maiolica Dish
This dish is one of three very similar plates in the museum's collection. It was probably made as part of a set of dishes for the Salviati family of Florence, Italy, between 1560 and 1570. The Salviati family's coat of arms is painted near the top of the dish. What else is painted on the plate?
The artist that decorated this dish depicted a lush landscape with bright shades of blue, green, and yellow pigments. It gives us an idea of what the Italian countryside might have looked like in the late 1500s. Houses dot hillsides that are covered with grass and tall trees. A river helps to keep the grass green. There are cows in a pen and a person walking along a path. Can you find them?
This dish is made of a special type of pottery called maiolica (ma-yo'-li-kah). To make a maiolica object, clay is shaped on a potter's wheel or pressed into a mold. Next, the clay is fired in a kiln and then dipped into a white glaze. The white glaze forms the undercoating for painting. A glaze is a thin, shiny coating that can be clear or colored. An artist paints the object with colorful pigments and when the decoration is complete, it is covered with a clear glaze.
Maiolica was very valuable in Italy during the 1400s and 1500s. Artists made many types of it including bowls, jugs, and plates. Simply decorated maiolica dishes were used for serving and storage. More elaborately decorated dishes like the one pictured here were displayed to add to the beauty of a home.
You can see this maiolica plate when you visit the European art galleries on the second floor of the Ahmanson Building at LACMA.
Search Collections Online for other maiolica artworks.
Image above:
Deep Dish with Landscape and Arms of the Salviati Family, Fontana Workshop, Italy, Urbino, circa 1510–1571, tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica), diameter: 10 ¾ in., 50.9.16.1–3, William Randolph Hearst Collection, photo © 2006 Museum Associates/LACMA.
Text prepared by the Education Department, LACMA, for the "Kids' Reading Room" (Los Angeles Times, October 26, 2004).
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Artwork of the Month is intended for children but can also be a fun resource for students, teachers, and families who want to learn more about artworks in LACMA's permanent collection and special exhibitions.
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