Cleveland Museum of Art

Plate with a Portrait of a Gentleman

Date

c. 1500–1510

Medium

red earthenware, incised slipware

Culture

Italy, Ferrara, early 16th Century

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This plate is an example of incised slipware—a technique in which clay was coated with a pale-colored slip and decorated by scratching away part of the slip to reveal the darker body beneath. Although produced in the same kilns as maiolica, slipware did not require the additional expense of importing tin. Incised slipware is an ancient technique of decorating ceramics that dates back to the Tang dynasty in China (618-907).

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