Pilgrim Bottle
c. 1540
Maker Unknown
Decorative Art and Design
Pilgrim Bottle, c. 1540. Italy, Papal States, Faenza. Tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica); overall: 34.6 x 19.4 x 12.4 cm (13 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 4 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift from J. H. Wade 1923.914 During the Italian Renaissance of the 1400s and 1500s, nobles and merchants eager to express their wealth and sophistication ordered ceramics for dining, display, and storage. Known as maiolica, because it resembled the brightly colored ceramics from the Mediterranean island of Majorca, these ceramic vessels were covered with a tin glaze that provided an opaque white surface on which colorful decoration could be painted. This pear-shaped vessel recalls flasks that early travelers tied to the harnesses of their horses on long trips or pilgrimages to holy sites.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Ceramic
- Formatted Medium
- tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
- Medium
- tin-glazed, earthenware, maiolica
- Dimensions
- Overall: 34.6 x 19.4 x 12.4 cm (13 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 4 7/8 in.)
- Departments
- Decorative Art and Design
- Accession Number
- 1923.914
- Credit Line
- Gift from J. H. Wade
- Exhibitions
- No existing exhibition history
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 118 Italian Renaissance
Have a concern, a correction, or something to add?
