Basin

Master Potter A

ca. 1650 · Tin-glazed earthenware · The American Wing

Emily de Forest rightly considered this mid-17th-century basin to be the most important piece of pottery in her collection. Made by an artist who marked it with the initial “A,” this flat-bottomed lebrillo is decorated with a bold pattern of cobalt blue lines whose interstices are filled with fine black lines and dots that imitate lacework. The inscription encircling the rim of the basin indicates that it was made for the sole purpose of washing purificators, the altar linens used to wipe the Eucharistic chalice after Communion.

Artist

Master Potter A

Date

ca. 1650

Medium

Tin-glazed earthenware

Culture

Mexican

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Robert W. de Forest, 1912