Dish with Lion
Unknown Artist
ca. 1500
Medium
Tin-glazed earthenware
Dimensions
Overall: 18 5/8 x 2 13/16 in., 6.111lb. (47.3 x 7.1 cm, 2772g)
Classification
Ceramics
Culture
Spanish
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cloisters Collection, 1956
Accession Number
56.171.155
Tags
Art Historical Context
This stunning *Dish with Lion*, crafted around 1500 in Spain, exemplifies the vibrant tin-glazed earthenware known as Hispano-Moresque pottery. Measuring nearly 19 inches across, this shallow dish features a bold central lion motif, rendered in rich cobalt blue and golden luster against a starry turquoise ground—a technique borrowed from Islamic artisans and perfected in workshops like those in Manises and Valencia The tin glaze created a smooth, impermeable surface ideal for both decorative display and practical use, allowing vivid colors that wouldn't fade with washing. Produced during Spai...