Portuguese Majolica Lobster Plate

This large, beautiful wall plate was hand made and hand painted in Portugal. This type of pottery with its majolica glaze is often referred to as Palissy ware, named after Bernard Palissy (1510-1590), the great French Renaissance potter who created this style of ceramic art with high relief, three-dimensional still lifes. Palissy's lost secrets were discovered two and one-half centuries later, reviving the pottery in France and in the Portuguese town of Caldas da Rainha, where this plate was made.

The plate depicts a large lobster nestled on a bed of sand and surrounded by mussels, clams, sea anemones, seaweed and undersea flowering plants. The strong colors, typical of majolica glazes, and the lifelike modeling of the ocean life make this a work of art.

Measuring an impressive 13 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 inches high (the plate sits on a 1/2 inch high foot), the plate weighs approximately 5 pounds. The underside of the plate is covered with white tin majolica glaze. Looped through two of the hanging holes is a thin wire and also some plastic thread, added by previous owners and easily removed. The plate, can of course, be displayed on a plate stand or shelf.

In pristine condition, with no evident wear and no damage whatsoever, this pottery plate---one of the larger ones we've seen---makes a highly decorative statement wherever it's placed.

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PYH 5546