Dish (Women Bathing)

This exquisite monumental dish is an outstanding example of the virtuosity achieved by Maestro Giorgio Andreoli’s acclaimed maiolica workshop in Gubbio. The inscription in lustre on the back, dated 6 April 1525, proudly proclaims that it was made in this workshop, which was celebrated for the beauty of its lustre, especially the distinctive ruby red. Gold and ruby red lustre shine from the surface of this beautiful dish. The bathing women are taken from three Italian prints depicting mythological subjects. The contemporary fascination for Classical Antiquity is reflected by the pool in which the young ladies bathe, with its marble front inspired by Roman precedents, and the flamboyant rim, extravagantly decorated with grotesques.