Collection Online as of February 7, 2023

Pair of Saltcellars

c. 1570–90

Part of a set. See all set records

maker

circle of the Patanazzi Family

(Italian)

Italy, Urbino, 16th century

Tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)

Overall: 20.3 x 21 x 12.8 cm (8 x 8 1/4 x 5 1/16 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip R. Mather 1945.126

Location

118 Italian Renaissance

Fun Fact

During the Renaissance, salt was an expensive commodity and was used to both season and preserve food.

Description

During the Italian Renaissance of the 1400s and 1500s, nobles and merchants eager to express their wealth and sophistication ordered ceramics for dining, display, and storage. Known as maiolica, because it resembled the brightly colored ceramics from the Mediterranean island of Majorca, these ceramic vessels were covered with a tin glaze that provided an opaque white surface on which colorful decoration could be painted.

Provenance

Samuel Mather, Cleveland.

Citations

Foote, Helen S. “Gifts to the Majolica Collection.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 33, no. 4 (April 1946): 36–38. Mentioned: pp. 36-7 www.jstor.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. 48, fig. 50

Exhibition history

No legacy exhibitions.

Classic to Baroque: A Style Change in the Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 30-November 13, 1949).

Consuming Passions: The Art of Food and Drink. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 26-October 9, 1983).