Hispano-Moresque display dish

A large display dish with a central spherical medallion representing a sun with the face of a lion and flame-shaped rays. The dish is divided into separate compartments consisting of radial petals outlined by relief braiding, each of which contains eight cravos (small hemispherical relief motifs). The relief decoration imitates pearls and gold wire rolled to resemble beads. This deliberate echo of jewellery ornament makes this golden dish even more like precious metalwork. The bottom of the piece is filled with a small grid with the theme of musical notes, “sol-fas“; all of the lustre decoration is painted onto the piece in shades of gold, cream and cobalt blue. The back of the piece is completely decorated with gilded palmettes on a cream background. Hispano-Moresque ceramic pieces decorated with lustre painting, in keeping with the Islamic tradition, were produced in Malaga and Manises (Valencia) from the 13th century onwards. During the 15th century, there was a large demand for such pieces across the whole of Europe, which were regarded as luxury items. Thanks to them, pottery began to be used for the first time in Europe alongside silverware objects for the decoration of the tables of the royal household and the nobility. In Italy, these faience pieces imported from Spain were given the name of majolica, a term that would later be applied to the Italian Renaissance faience.