Amphora

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The front medallion of the large amphora evokes a scene from Roman history, probably the submission of the Gauls to Caesar. The work is emblematic of the high quality achieved by the workshops of Urbino, and in particular by the workshop of Antonio Patanazzi, in the late sixteenth century. The need to meet the needs of an increasingly cultured and refined clientele led the maiolicato constantly update their decorative repertoires, which for the successful decoration known as “a raffaellesche” were inspired by the Renaissance pictorial cycles of the Vatican Loggias. The illustrated scene is surrounded by the exuberant “Raphaelesque” decoration, composed of a fantasy of figurines and fantastic animals. The amphora was part of the important trousseau of the Sicilian apothecary of Roccavaldina, as attested by the coat of arms on the back side.