Plate
- Gallery: Room 46
- Maker: Martin Schongauer
- Made in: Faenza (?)
- Date: 1510-1515 (circa)
- Object type: plate
- Materials: earthenware
- Museum number: 1878,1230.407
- 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.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a beautifully decorated plate, made of earthenware and covered in a smooth tin glaze. The front depicts a cherished scene from Christian tradition—the Death of the Virgin. Surrounded by the twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary lies in a canopied bed, captured in a moment of deep solemnity. The detailed painting shows intricate drapery and solemn expressions, all carefully adapted to fit the circular shape of the plate. This design is based on a famous engraving by Martin Schongauer, copied later by Israhel van Meckenem.
The edge of the plate is painted orange, and the reverse features an acanthus leaf border and a uniquely shaded scale pattern that gives a subtle three-dimensional effect. This is one of the masterpieces of early Renaissance maiolica painting, and the painter, known today as the Master of the Death of the Virgin, remains anonymous.
See it in person
Plate 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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