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The sculpture is a cylindrical jar with an illustrated profile of a human head. The depiction includes stylized black hair and a finely detailed facial profile painted in a light blue or gray tone. The jar is made from ceramic material, predominantly gray with decorative elements and the head in shades of blue and rust-orange. The word "MITRIANO" is inscribed vertically beside the profile in dark blue letters. The form of the jar is slightly waisted, with a flared rim and base, suggesting it is designed as an apothecary or storage container. Decorative bands at the top and bottom emphasize its design, combining functionality with artistry.
National Gallery of Art · Decorative Art
Albarello with a portrait of a youth (Mitriano)
Neapolitan 15th Century
- Date
- c. 1480
- Medium
- tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
- Dimensions
- overall (height by diameter): 28.6 × 13 cm (11 1/4 × 5 1/8 in.)
- Classification
- Decorative Art · Ceramic
- Accession number
- 2015.19.4039
- Credit line
- Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926)
- Time span
- 1401 to 1500
- Department
- CSD
Subjects and terms
- Renaissance
- Maiolica
- Acquired after publication of Western Decorative Arts, Part I: Medieval, Renaissance, and Historicizing Styles including Metalwork, Enamels, and Ceramics
- bust facing right
- figure
- tin-glazed
- Bust facing right
Provenance
Émile Gavet [1830-1904], Paris;[1] purchased by William Andrews Clark [1839-1925], New York;[2] bequest 1926 to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2014 by the National Gallery of Art. [1] Émile Molinier, _Collection Émile Gavet, catalogue raisonné précédé d'une historique et archéologique sur les oeuvres d'art qui compose cette collection_, Paris, 1889: 104, no. 440. [2] See the Clark collection records in NGA curatorial files.
Inscription
on band to right of portrait: MITRIANO
NGA object ID 176498. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.