Dish
- Gallery: Room 46
- Made in: Deruta
- Date: 1470-1490 (circa)
- Object type: dish
- Materials: earthenware
- Museum number: 1899,0615.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
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About this object
Before you is a vibrant dish from Deruta, created around the years 1470 to 1490. This earthenware dish is covered with a tin-glaze on one side and a semi-translucent glaze on the reverse.
Centered in a decorative panel, a young man in a shirt and tights holds a shield and spear. Around the figure, the rim features curling tendrils and stylized flowers. The rim itself is accented with a "Gothic leaf" pattern.
The dish was once part of a significant collection owned by Richard Zschille of Germany. It was purchased in 1899 by dealer G. R. Harding during Zschille’s sale. Though originally thought to come from Faenza, it is now clearly attributed to Deruta, an important center of Renaissance pottery.
This piece is notable for its early use of a design possibly derived from a Florentine engraving—linking it to broader artistic influences in Italy at the time. Its elegant form and lively decoration make it a fine example of Renaissance maiolica.
See it in person
Dish is on display in Room 46 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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