DIMENSIONS: h. 17 cm × diameter 10.2 cm × width 3 cm
MATERIAL: maiolica coated with white glaze and painted
This small maiolica jug was made from an ivory-coloured clay body. The base was then coated with a white glaze. Today, its original colours appear altered by a dull grey patina caused by chemical reactions with sulfur compounds present in the well where it was found. These deposits also affected the decorative pigments applied over the glaze, muting the brilliance of the original colours.
Its shape reflects the model used for most Montelupo jugs produced between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It features a flared disk-shaped foot supporting an ovoid body, topped by a short neck, a trilobed mouth with a flat rim and a ribbon handle.
The decoration, common to most Montelupo artefacts, follows a compositional scheme featuring: a central medallion containing various figurative motifs covering the entire oval field, while animal and phytomorphic ornaments occupy the remaining surface areas of the jug, with the prevalence of a stylized “Persian palmette” motif.
The central medallion features a heraldic decorative motif (probably linked to a family coat of arm) composed of three diagonal bands on a white ground: two green and one in a yellow iron-oxide hue, outlined in black and enclosed within a yellow border.
The entire colour palette used for both the central decoration and the background mirrors that found on ceramics with the so-called “house” motif, as well as on other Montelupo wares recovered from the well at Allai.
In terms of its shape, decoration, and ceramic body, this vessel belongs to Montelupo production of the late 16th to early 17th century. Its decorative scheme, in particular, closely parallels several examples preserved in the Galeazzo Cora Collection in Faenza.
When it was discovered, the jug was in extremely poor condition. It has since been reconstructed from seven fragments, many lacking their glazed surface, which were carefully cleaned, reassembled, restored and retouched in the missing areas.
