The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 4, 2023

Dovizia (Plenty)

c. 1520–1529

Giovanni della Robbia

(Italian, 1469–1529/30)

Italy, Florence, 16th century

Glazed terracotta

Overall: 110.2 cm (43 3/8 in.)

Gift of S. Livingstone Mather, Constance Mather Bishop, Philip R. Mather, Katherine Hoyt Cross, and Katherine Mather McLean in accordance with the wishes of Samuel Mather 1940.343

Location

118 Italian Renaissance

Description

Many elite Florentine Renaissance homes had sculptures of idealized young women carrying nature’s bounty, such as this work. The motif stems from a statue by Donatello (about 1386-1466) that towered over Florence’s main public market. At home, however, the sculpture became a talisman for the family’s well-being. Worry about the low birth rate was a serious political matter in Florence, so the sculpture would have stimulated fertility and promoted motherhood, but it also promoted financial success.

Provenance
Samuel Mather, Cleveland, Ohio.
Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 91 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 91 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 106 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Jenifer Neils. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 44, fig. 46
Exhibition history

Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 29, 1971-January 2, 1972).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1940.343