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The story of King Midas: Midas preferred Pan's music to Apollo's in a contest between the two gods, whereupon Apollo gave him the ears of an ass., Majolica: Armorial Plate (tondino), ca. 1520-25
Nicola da Urbino (Castel Durante or Urbino, active from ca. 1520; died 1537/8)
Diam. 10 13/16 in. (27.5 cm)
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.1019)
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Description
This plate is one of twenty-one surviving pieces of the most famous and elaborate majolica service of the Renaissance, created for Isabella d'Este, marchioness of Mantua, by Nicola da Urbino, the most celebrated majolica painter of his generation. The center of this dish shows Isabella's coat of arms surrounded by three of her personal emblems: a musical scroll, a candelabrum with one lit candle, and a bunch of lottery tickets. On the rim is a portrayal of the musical contest between Apollo and Pan judged by King Midas, a subject recounted in Ovid's "Metamorphoses." The subtle coloring and delicate execution of the expansive landscape setting reveal the artist's consummate skill. Another piece from this service is also in the Robert Lehman Collection.
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