Art Collections Online
Date: 1585-1600 ca
Media: tin-glazed earthenware, maiolica
Size: diam(cm) : 37.2 x h(cm) : 6 x diam(in) : 14 5/8
Acquired: 2005; Purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund
Accession Number: NMW A 37588
This dish commemorates the marriage of Alfonso II d'Este (1533-1597), fifth and last Duke of Ferrara, to Margherita Gonzaga (1564-1618) in 1579. To mark the event Alfonso ordered one of the most spectacular maiolica dinner services ever made. Like this dish, each piece bears his impresa of burning asbestos – a symbol of undying love – and the Latin motto ARDET AETERNUM (‘it burns for ever’).
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