Tuscany, Montelupo or Cafaggiolo, c. 1540.

Of flared form, with profile ring and on profiled foot. Painted in blue, ochre yellow and red with white flower tendrils on a blue ground and ochre yellow horizontal bands, the well of the bowl with cartouche with the Medici coat of arms.

D 32 cm. Repairs.

Provenance: Important private collection of an Italian aristocrat.

“Belle Arti” export license available.

The Medici dynasty, one whose villas was located in Cafaggiolo, commissioned some of the most extraordinary maiolica pieces of the 15th and 16th centuries, which are today located in the most important museums.

This bowl was possibly part of a service commissioned for Duke Alessandro de'Medici "il Moro" (1510-1537) or slightly later for his successor Cosimo I de'Medici (1537-1569). A comparable bowl is located in Florence, Museo del Bargello, cf. C. Ravanelli Guidotti,
La Donazione Angiolo Fanfani, 1990, p. 71 no. 36, p. 106.