Deep Dish

Unknown

ca. 1430 · Tin-glazed earthenware · The Cloisters

With shimmering copper tones, often combined with cobalt blue, lusterware from Valencia depends on Islamic tradition, both in technique and in decoration. Here, the central motif is a palm tree surrounded by bands with a repeating al-afiya motif—a stylized shorthand of the Arabic word for "health" and "happiness." Valencian ceramics with these designs have been excavated in Egypt and must have been shipped from Spain to Muslim clients there, but luxurious plates like this were also highly prized in European royal and noble households. This bowl, probably a remnant of a larger table service, was made for export to the Dazzi family of Florence, whose arms it bears on the reverse.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1430

Medium

Tin-glazed earthenware

Culture

Spanish

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1956