Collection Online as of August 9, 2022

Charger Depicting a Chariot Race

c. 1575

maker

circle of Fontana Family

(Italian)

Italy, Urbino

Tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)

Diameter: 8.6 x 45.7 cm (3 3/8 x 18 in.)

Bequest of John L. Severance 1942.622

Location

118 Italian Renaissance

Fun Fact

The creatures along the rim of this plate are loosely based on the figures discovered on the walls of Roman ruins a century before.

Description

During the Renaissance, an understanding of classical antiquity was perceived to be a sign of social, intellectual, and economic distinction. Scenes from Greco-Roman mythology were prominently featured on maiolica, covering the surface in a style called istoriato (decorated with stories).

Provenance

John L. Severance [1863-1936], Cleveland.

Citations

John Long Severance Art Collection Photographs: Furniture, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. Mentioned: p. 279; Reproduced: p. 283 archive.org

Catalogue of the John L. Severance Collection: Bequest of John L. Severance, 1936. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942. Mentioned: p. 46, cat. no. 96 archive.org

Milliken, William M., Gertrude Underhill, and Jean Mailey. “Department of Decorative Arts.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 29, no. 9 (November 1942): 137–51. Mentioned: p. 148 www.jstor.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 99 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 99 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 111 archive.org

Exhibition history

No legacy exhibitions.

Exhibition of the John L. Severance Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 12, 1942-March 14, 1943).