Basin

Decorated with golden metallic lustre in typical Hispano-Moresque style, this is a late example of a type of ware supplied by Valencian potters to merchants in Italy since the 14th century. The central coat of arms may indicate the owner was Spanish. The dish was designed to support a ewer.

Tin-glazed pottery decorated with sparkling metallic lustres had been attractive to Italians since the middle years of the 14th century. A speciality of Spanish potters, wares of many shapes and sizes were supplied to Italy. This particular dish is an example of very late production; the trade in lustred wares from Spain had virtually ceased by 1560. The moulded leaf-like pattern and dots around the wide rim suggests a date from the mid-sixteenth century.

Although the central coat of arms may be imaginary, the two emblems may represent the wings associated with the Alanya family of Valencia. The lettering that fills the circling band seems to repeat the word "DOMINE" and another word might be taken to read as "SVRGE" (Rise, oh Lord). Similar inscriptions are not uncommon, for example, on two dishes and a pouring vessel in the Victoria & Albert Museum (see Anthony Ray, "Spanish Pottery 1248-1898" (London, 2000), nos. 215-17.)

Diana Stone, 2013