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Footed Bowl

A work made of blue glass, enamel, and gilding.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of blue glass, enamel, and gilding.

Date:

c. 1490

Artist:

Italian
Venice

About this artwork

This footed bowl was intended to make a luxurious statement in late fifteenth-century Italy. Brilliant blue glass, meant to replicate the color of sapphires, was a specialty of Venetian glass blowers. The finely painted enameled decoration—cherubs and fantastical sphinxes—as well as the classical shape of the vessel, reflects the Italian Renaissance admiration for art and design of ancient Rome.

Such bowls were used only for special occasions such as weddings or celebratory feasts. This example’s gilded rim is inscribed with the phrase TENPORE FELICI MVLTI NOMINANTVR AMICI [In times of abundance one has lots of friends] that evokes a festive environment of largess in which the bowl was originally used.

Status

On View, Gallery 238

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Title

Footed Bowl

Place

Venice (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1485–1495

Medium

Blue glass, enamel, and gilding

Dimensions

16.5 × 20.8 cm (6 1/2 × 8 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

European Decorative Arts General Sales Proceeds Fund; purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society; Richard T. Crane, Jr. Memorial Fund; Neville and John H. Bryan, Rosenwald Glass, and Kay and Frederick Krehbiel endowment funds

Reference Number

2016.318

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/179970/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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