Ask the Scholar

Document scope · 2 pages
obj
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory. For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.

Source Description

This basin shows the Biblical story from Exodus of the Israelites gathering Manna while deserted in the wilderness. Manna rains down from the cloud in the upper center of the plate, as figures stand below to gather what has fallen. Moses stands on the right with his rod raised. The back of the basin is stained with green and ornamented with four yellow-ochre circles; in the center, in blue, is the inscription “Da Dio pioue la Mana ϼ gli =/ ebrej.” This ewer basin may have been produced in France at Lyons by Italian potters trained in Urbino. The demand for Italian maiolica spread to other European countries by the late sixteenth century, and some Italian potters found it profitable to move their workshops to France. This ewer basin may have been produced in Lyons, an important city on the route between Italy and Paris. The composition is derived from a popular illustrated Bible printed in Lyons during the mid-sixteenth century, and is typical of “istoriato” (story telling) wares, which depicted scenes from Classical and Biblical narratives. It is much more likely that a workshop operating in France would use a French source. To see this Biblical story illustrated on a separate example of maiolica, see 48.1514; for other examples of Italian renaissance ewer basins, see 48.2112, 48.1510, 48.1322, 48.1501, 48.1320, 48.1203, 48.1509, and 48.1133

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
12873
label
Ewer Basin with the Gathering of Manna
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
12873
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Ewer Basin with the Gathering of Manna
description
This basin shows the Biblical story from Exodus of the Israelites gathering Manna while deserted in the wilderness. Manna rains down from the cloud in the upper center of the plate, as figures stand below to gather what has fallen. Moses stands on the right with his rod raised. The back of the basin is stained with green and ornamented with four yellow-ochre circles; in the center, in blue, is the inscription “Da Dio pioue la Mana ϼ gli =/ ebrej.” This ewer basin may have been produced in France at Lyons by Italian potters trained in Urbino. The demand for Italian maiolica spread to other European countries by the late sixteenth century, and some Italian potters found it profitable to move their workshops to France. This ewer basin may have been produced in Lyons, an important city on the route between Italy and Paris. The composition is derived from a popular illustrated Bible printed in Lyons during the mid-sixteenth century, and is typical of “istoriato” (story telling) wares, which depicted scenes from Classical and Biblical narratives. It is much more likely that a workshop operating in France would use a French source. To see this Biblical story illustrated on a separate example of maiolica, see 48.1514; for other examples of Italian renaissance ewer basins, see 48.2112, 48.1510, 48.1322, 48.1501, 48.1320, 48.1203, 48.1509, and 48.1133
provenance
H. Wencke Collection, Hamburg [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [no. 105 (?)]; J. Seligmann, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, May 11, 1908, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1575-1600 (Renaissance)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ceramics
basins (vessels)
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.3
height
43.6
dimensionsRaw
2 7/8 x 17 3/16 in. (7.3 x 43.6 cm)
Source extras
inscriptions
[Inscription] On the back
between the footring
in blue: Da Dio pioue la Mana p gli = / èbrej. ; [Previous Collection inv. no.] 105.
med
earthenware with tin glaze (maiolica)
creator_ids
6229
33562
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
eb2e6ac0b1d2d8cf
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
e88a139a1ba05456
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no