Oval plate in majolica
Photogallery
Oval plate in majolica
Valuable plate in multi-coloured ceramic, produced in the workshop of Bernard Palissy (1510-1589), a man of versatile talents and a great experimenter of the arts.
The plate, a basic utensil for eating, in this case surrenders its usual function and is transformed into a work of art.
In the centre there is a depiction of a female figure, likely to be Opi, the Roman goddess, depicted in Greek-Roman style; in her right hand she holds a cornucopia, symbol of abundance and happiness, and in the other a crown, implying wealth and royalty. Draped with a cloth covering only the pudenda, the figure is surmounted by a winged cherub and surrounded by a series of figures of birds, interspersed with heads of the Medusa. Along the border a pattern composed of camels, with human faces at the centre and worn away over time, further enriches the decoration, already rendered precious by the notable harmonies of colour.
The depiction of animals and human figures in neoclassical style is typical of Palissy, whose style is characterised by the use of high relief, sculpted almost in the round. In vogue at the end of the 1500s, his artistic production spread throughout all of Europe, and was particularly appreciated in French salons. Catherine de’ Medici, queen of France, was a great admirer of Palissy, to the extent that she commissioned a private grotto in her garden in the Palais des Tuileries in 1564.