CIRCA 1520-1550, POSSIBLY UMBRIA OR NORTHERN LAZIO

The inscription El carro dell amore translates as ‘the chariot of love’. Although the form of this charger is typical of Deruta, the un-glazed center within the footrim on the reverse and the border on the obverse are not typical. See Timothy Wilson, The Golden Age of Italian Maiolica-Painting, Turin, 2018, pp. 86-87, no. 32, for a large dish of similar form with a related border centered by four oval panels and painted by a similar hand to the present lot. Wilson tentatively attributes the piece to Umbria or possibly northern Lazio on the basis that the un-glazed center of the reverse is more characteristic of the latter production center. A large dish formerly in the Adda Collection and published by Rackham as Deruta also has a related border centered by four medallions; see Bernard Rackham, Islamic Pottery and Italian Maiolica, London, 1959, no. 376 (pl. 168).