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The sculpture is a ceramic vessel featuring a painted depiction of a cherubic, nude figure holding a vertical rod with a heart attached at the end. The background scene includes stylized mountains and grass. The vessel is painted in blue tones with yellow and hints of green. The figure has pale skin and brown, curly hair, and the material appears to be ceramic or pottery. The vessel is cylindrical with slightly curved sides, a wider base, and a narrow neck. Terracotta brown is visible at the rim and base, creating an aged and rustic appearance.
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The sculpture is a ceramic vessel featuring a painted depiction of a cherubic, nude figure holding a vertical rod with a heart attached at the end. The background scene includes stylized mountains and grass. The vessel is painted in blue tones with yellow and hints of green. The figure has pale skin and brown, curly hair, and the material appears to be ceramic or pottery. The vessel is cylindrical with slightly curved sides, a wider base, and a narrow neck. Terracotta brown is visible at the rim and base, creating an aged and rustic appearance.

National Gallery of Art · Decorative Art

Albarello with Cupid spearing a heart

Faenza 16th Century

Date
c. 1500/1510
Medium
tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
Dimensions
overall (height by widest diameter): 20.3 × 12.9 cm (8 × 5 1/16 in.)
Classification
Decorative Art · Ceramic
Accession number
2014.136.330
Credit line
Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection, 1926)
Time span
1401 to 1500
Department
CSD
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • classical
  • mythology
  • Renaissance
  • Cupid
  • Maiolica
  • Acquired after publication of Western Decorative Arts, Part I: Medieval, Renaissance, and Historicizing Styles including Metalwork, Enamels, and Ceramics
  • tin-glazed
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: 108, no. 454. [2] See the Clark collection records in NGA curatorial files.

Inscription

opposite side from image of Cupid: o / < B >

NGA object ID 176666. 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.