19th Century Ceramic Medallions with High Relief Faces of Renaissance Figures from Cantagalli, Late 1800s, Set of 2

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Description

MEASUREMENTS:
Velvet cushion: Height: 27 cm; Width: 27 cm
Ceramic plaque: Diameter: 15.3 cm; Depth: 8.5 cm
Total weight: 1.530 … Read more MEASUREMENTS:
Velvet cushion: Height: 27 cm; Width: 27 cm
Ceramic plaque: Diameter: 15.3 cm; Depth: 8.5 cm
Total weight: 1.530 kg

Description of the item:
A wonderful pair of high reliefs depicting two faces of Renaissance figures from the 1600s, a man who resembles one of the rulers or famous figures of the time, and a woman who appears to depict a court lady of the period, whose identity is unknown. Made of majolica and vitrified ceramic, manufactured in Cantagalli in the last decades of the 19th century, inspired by Luca della Robbia's works from the 1500s. Both are signed on the back with a rooster stamped into the ceramic, the famous and ancient mark of the Cantagalli factory, belonging to its early productions, when Ulisse Cantagalli reproduced Renaissance works such as those of Luca della Robbia or the Renaissance majolica of Faenza, Pesaro, Urbino, Savona, or the Hispanic-Moorish vases. The two medallions rest on a velvet cushion, with a fabric cord around it, and a small golden balza embroidered around the medallion, dating back to the late 19th century. The patina covering the medallions and the two velvet frames is excellent, perfectly in line with our dating.

Useful information for evaluating the item:
From our web research, we found a Cantagalli medallion inspired by Robbia, larger than those in our pair but single, at a discounted price of almost €1,800 (the original price would be around €2,300). Then there was a ceramic bust, also priced at €1,800, while a large, beautiful ceramic fireplace, also inspired by Robbia and decorated in blue and white, was listed at €100,000. We also found some auction prices for ceramics from the Cantagalli factory, some of which are quite old (from 2006 to 2011), with considerable estimates ranging from €500-700 for a 24 cm tall vase up to over €5,000 for a pair of 80 cm tall vases, which, when compared to today's prices and taking inflation into account, would undoubtedly be much higher. It should be noted that many of the pieces cited as examples or mentioned appear to be much younger than ours, all dating from the early decades of the 1900s, while our two medallions have a truly superb patina and can be dated with certainty to 1880, not later.

Information about the artist and/or manufacturer:
Manifattura Cantagalli was a ceramics manufacturer in Florence, active between the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, Ulisse Cantagalli started producing artistic ceramics for the emerging bourgeois class, drawing inspiration from Renaissance models from Faenza, Urbino, Cafaggiolo, Gubbio, Pesaro, and Casteldurante, as well as 17th-century majolica from Savona and İznik. He often produced exact copies, but sometimes devoted himself to original creations. He enjoyed considerable success, especially in the first half of the 20th century, when the factory established itself as one of the most important in the region, halfway between the classicism of Richard Ginori and the modernist creations of Manifattura Chini. This period also saw important commissions for the decoration of public buildings, such as the Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e Pescia building in Pistoia and the Palazzo delle Poste in Florence, as well as private buildings, such as Villa Stibbert. In the last photos, we have included additional information about the manufacturer for those who wish to learn more, with many of the brands used, including ours.


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