Maiolica Collection

Bowl with a heraldic eagle

Manises, possibly; Valencia, c. 1480 - 1500

18.cm (diameter)

tin-glazed earthenware; lustred

The form and ornament (a degenerate style of the vine-leaf pattern used on the albarello nearby) are characteristic of wares made for the Italian market. The shield design, with the notch at an upper corner to take a jousting lance, is characteristic of Italian heraldry. The "eagle displayed" is a motif so widespread in European heraldry, and is particularly associated with the Holy Roman Empire, that it is impossible to identify the particular family or institution for which the bowls were made. On the back of each is a mark resembling a crossed "P".

Bibliography: Fortnum 1897, p. 53.

Presented by C. D. E. Fortnum, 1888.  WA1888.CDEF.C332

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