Mid 20th Century Italian Sgraffito Majolica Vase — Pisa, Griffin & Eagle

Details

Description

Two-handled majolica vase from Pisa, Italy, decorated in sgraffito — the design incised into the clay and then colored by … Read more Two-handled majolica vase from Pisa, Italy, decorated in sgraffito — the design incised into the clay and then colored by hand, a technique Tuscan potters have practiced since the Renaissance. One face carries a winged griffin painted in green, ochre, and yellow inside a rust-red medallion; the reverse carries a heraldic eagle, its form scratched through the rust-red ground in sgraffito outline. Floral swags fill the panels between the rope-twist handles, and the base is hand-painted with the Leaning Tower of Pisa mark, "Pisa Italy," and decor number 249.

Sgraffito — from graffiare, "to scratch" — was Pisa's signature pottery decoration in the 16th century, when Pisan sgraffito slipware was exported all over the Mediterranean. This vase is a mid-20th-century revival of that tradition, made in the Renaissance style the city is proudest of.

Measures 7.5 inches high × 5.5 inches wide. Excellent condition. Please see all photos — they are part of the description. See less