Dish with profile of a woman with Petrarchan verse

Dish with profile of a woman with Petrarchan verse

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Umbrian town of Deruta was an important center of maiolica production and was particularly famous for its display plates—especially those bearing images of lovely women. Here, confident lines describe a graceful feminine profile. Dishes such as this example functioned as a circular picture, with the patterned rim enclosing and enhancing the central image, not unlike a framed panel painting.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dish with profile of a woman with Petrarchan verseDish with profile of a woman with Petrarchan verseDish with profile of a woman with Petrarchan verseDish with profile of a woman with Petrarchan verseDish with profile of a woman with Petrarchan verse

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.