Donated to the Ducal Palace of Mantua are ten ceramics dating between the 15th and 16th centuries that include everyday objects such as an inkwell, plates, and bowls. Valuable evidence of the production and diffusion of graffito ceramics and majolica in the Mantuan territory during the 15th century and, in particular, in the 16th century.
The artifacts were acquired by the museum thanks to the generous donation of Doretta Zacchia and constitute significant examples of Renaissance applied art, sometimes enriched with decorative elements inspired byGonzaga iconography, such as the Sun motif, introduced under Ludovico II Gonzaga. In other cases, the artifacts are instances of import, such as the remarkable lid adorned with an elegant female profile, attributable to the workshop of ceramist Domenico da Venezia, whose production enjoyed wide diffusion throughout the peninsula.
The donation, currently on display in the Castle’s Hall of Arms, will be fully included in a new museum section dedicated to ceramics, thus helping to expand and enhance the exhibition itinerary related to this specific area of the collections. The acquisition will also be accompanied by an in-depth publication dedicated to the materials and their characteristics.
“It is a civic gesture that we greatly appreciate and that was also fostered by the common knowledge of Maria Rosa Palvarini Gobio Casali. This donation gives us the cue to think more deeply about the setting up of a section dedicated to majolica and ceramics: a section that will find its own exhibition space in the Castle of San Giorgio, complementing the narrative of the local Renaissance and supplementing the materials, referable to the different national productions, exhibited in the collection of the Freddi Foundation,” stressed Palazzo Ducale director Stefano L’Occaso.
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| Ten ceramics, significant examples of Renaissance applied art, donated to Mantua's Ducal Palace |
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