Getty Museum

Jug with Bust Medallion

Date

about 1460–1490

Medium

Tin-glazed earthenware

Culture

Italian

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

This is one of only three known jugs of this bold shape, and the only one decorated with a portrait. Underneath the spout is the lined face of a man whose long hair and full-sleeved jacket are typical of masculine fashion in the 1400s. The artist has chosen to represent not an idealized man but a real one, showing his wrinkled forehead, heavy-lidded eyes, and sagging jaw. The bust is surrounded by a band of copper green dots and heavily applied manganese purple pigment incised with a design of scrolls linking circles. Wide curving leaves surround the circular band in dark and light blue, manganese purple, and green. This leaf decoration is influenced by Gothic ornament found in architecture and illuminated manuscripts. The inside of the jug is covered with a lead glaze, a less expensive alternative to the brilliant tin glazes on the exterior.

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