This dish is decorated with the arms of Matthias Corvinus (1440–1490), king of Hungary from 1458 to 1490, and his second wife, Beatrix of Aragon, a princess of Naples whom he married in 1476. It is one of a small number of pieces surviving from a service of Italian majolica probably made in Pesaro about 1486. The plate demonstrates the finest technical and pictorial achievement in majolica at the time. The palette is limited to blues, browns, greens, and aubergine, harmoniously juxtaposed in the four bands of concentric border ornament and the central scene of a lady combing the mane of a unicorn who rests his head in her lap. The composition is after a medal by Pisanello. This dish, presumably commissioned by King Matthias or a member of his court, demonstrates a receptivity to Italian Renaissance forms in Hungary—the largest kingdom in Europe at the time.

Open full-size image