Plate with the Contest between the Muses and the Pierides

About this artwork

Italian majolica ceramic ware was popular in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Its name derives from the Spanish island of Majorca, a large trading center for vessels sailing the Mediterranean. The art of majolica was first brought to the Western world by Islamic potters in the twelfth century. Craftsmen in Italy could not replicate the lustrous finish used by the Spanish artists, so instead they concentrated on the detail of the painting and the clarity of the colors. Majolica w...