Plate with Arethusa Fleeing Alpheus

Gallery 350, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

Plate with Arethusa Fleeing Alpheus

1531

Francesco Xanto Avelli da Rovigo (Italian (active Urbino), recorded 1530–1542) Lustered in the workshop of Maestro Giorgio Andreoli (Italian (active Gubbio), recorded from 1489, died 1555)

This unruly composition captures some of the surprising aspects of the narrative from Ovid's Metamorphoses in which Arethusa is rescued from the lecherous hands of Alpheus by Diana, chaste goddess of the hunt. Without holding the plate, it is hard to appreciate the role of Giorgio Andreoli's luster details—here in gold, silver, and ruby—that enliven the scene.

Gallery 350, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Object Details

Titles:

Plate with Arethusa Fleeing Alpheus

Date:

1531

Artists:

Francesco Xanto Avelli da Rovigo (Italian (active Urbino), recorded 1530–1542) Lustered in the workshop of Maestro Giorgio Andreoli (Italian (active Gubbio), recorded from 1489, died 1555)

Medium:

Tin-glazed and lustered earthenware (maiolica)

Dimensions:

1 5/8 x 11 13/16 inches (4.1 x 30 cm)

Classification:

Containers

Credit Line:

Purchased with the John D. McIlhenny Fund, 1943

Accession Number:

1943-1-3

Geography:

Made in Urbino, Italy, Europe Lustered in Gubbio, Italy, Europe

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Gallery 350, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

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