Tile with a Cherub

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Tile with a Cherub

1650-1680

Artist/maker unknown, Mexican

Spanish colonists in Mexico and elsewhere in the Americas produced abundant amounts of tin-glazed earthenware, adapting the ceramic traditions of the Mediterranean to the New World. This tile, made for an architectural installation such as a floor or fireplace, shows the variety of influences at play in New Spain. Its bright blue color and decorative scrolls imitate Chinese blue-and-white porcelain of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), whereas the figure of the cherub is taken from European print sources. Spanish colonial potters also found inspiration in the art of indigenous Mexican cultures.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Tile with a Cherub

Date:

1650-1680

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Mexican

Medium:

Tin-glazed earthenware

Dimensions:

6 11/16 x 6 5/8 x 13/16 inches (17 x 16.8 x 2.1 cm)

Classification:

Plaques/Reliefs/Tiles

Credit Line:

Purchased with the Joseph E. Temple Fund, 1908

Accession Number:

1908-528

Geography:

Made in Puebla, Mexico, North and Central America

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