Plate with a Portrait of a Gentleman (c. 1500–1510): Art, History and Details

Plate with a Portrait of a Gentleman (c. 1500–1510) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Plate with a Portrait of a Gentleman
• Date: c. 1500–1510
• Culture: Italy, Ferrara, early 16th Century
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: red earthenware, incised slipware
• Dimensions: Diameter: 32.4 cm (12 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1966.128

A detail from the museum

Incised slipware is an ancient technique of decorating ceramics that dates back to the Tang dynasty in China (618-907).

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Damiron

Further reading listed by the museum

• Carter, Ben. The Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors : Techniques, Recipes, and Inspiration for Low-Temperature Firing with Big Results. Beverly, MA, USA: Quarry, 2024.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.