From the second half of the 19th century and throughout much of the 20th century, during the golden age of collecting ancient Italian maiolica, the Ginori Manufactory stood out for producing maiolica pottery in the Renaissance style, which was very well received at the Universal Exhibitions in London in 1862 and Paris in 1867.
This plate features, in the center, a putto seen from behind, seated on a viola and a harp while playing a triangle. On the rim is a decorative motif with winged harpies and leafy vines interrupted by two cartouches, in which there are a drum and a small pipe organ. The decoration, executed almost entirely in monochrome blue on a red-gold background, derives from a Renaissance archetype reproduced in the Recueil de faïences italiennes des XVe, XVIe et XVIIe siècles by Alfred Darcel and Henri Delange (1869). This precious repertoire is mentioned by the factory director Paolo Lorenzini in a letter from Paris in 1867 to Marquis Lorenzo Ginori Lisci, informing him that he had succeeded in obtaining it at a favourable purchase price. The repertoire consisted of numerous colour plates with reproductions of the most beautiful Italian maiolicas at life size. Some evidence of the volume remains in the collection of the Museo Ginori’s archives in the form of clippings and loose sheets, indicating its use within the manufactory. The prominence of this piece is documented by known replicas, one of which is at the Francesco Borgogna Museum in Vercelli, while another is in a private collection.
