Terms and conditions of use
Diana and Acteon, bowl from the Sapies service
(c. 1551)
Medium
earthenware (maiolica)
Measurements
4.2 × 21.4 cm diameter
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Bequest of Howard Spensley, 1939
Gallery location
16th & 17th Century Gallery - Painting and Sculpture
Mezzanine linked to Level 1, NGV International
About this work
This plate, and the nearby Venus and Mars plate, are from one of the most ambitious istoriato (history painted) table services ever produced at Casteldurante, a town in the Duchy of Urbino that was the site of a major maiolica industry. At least twenty-three other plates from this service are known, three of which are dated 1551. All are marked with the same unidentified coats of arms.These perhaps reflect a marriage, and the service may have been an Austrian or German commission. The motto on the plates reads ‘SAPIES DOMINATUR ASTRIS’ (‘The wise man will be master of the stars’).
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Urbino, Italy
Inscription
painted in blue on reverse c.: hatean
Accession Number
4402-D3
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited