Collection Online
Diana and Acteon, plate
Medium
earthenware (maiolica)
Measurements
9.7 × 52.4 cm diameter
Place/s of Execution
Tuscany, Italy
Inscription
painted in blue (vertically) on inside rim above base c.l.: 07
painted in blue (vertically) on inside rim above base c.r.: + + (horizontal line above and below each)
painted in blue (vertically) on outside rim above base c.r.: 1525
painted in blue (inverted) on outside rim above base l.c.: 15 (...illeg.)
Accession Number
4708-D3
Department
International Decorative Arts
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1940
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
Gallery location
Gallery 18
Level 3, NGV Australia
About this work

The scene in the centre of this dish depicts the mortal Actaeon from Ovid’s Metamorphoses (8 CE) and the goddess Diana. While he is being transformed into a stag, Actaeon is attacked by his own hounds. This dish is distinguished by its ambition of scale and complexity of decoration, yet its place of manufacture remains uncertain. Current evidence points to Tuscany as the most likely region of production.