Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
Seattle Art Museum (SAM)
menu

Double-handled jar

Double-handled jar

ca. 1600 - 10

signed by Alfonso Patanazzi

active ca. 1575-1625

This vividly-painted scene, based on Exodus 17 in the Old Testament, depicts Moses in the desert after God tells him to strike a rock, in response to the angry Israelites’ question: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt with our children and our herds to let us all die of thirst?” Water miraculously gushes from the rock, and the parched Israelites rush to fill their water jars. Maiolica held a significant place within the arts of Renaissance Italy. Collectors displayed it on sideboards and hung it on walls, wealthy citizens gave it as gifts, and it features as valuable items in inventories and legal documents.
Maiolica
24 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. (62.23 x 44.45 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
48.33
Provenance: Urbino, Italy; by Alfonso Patanazzi; R. Stora puchased from Parke, Bernet Galleries in 1938, SAM purchased from R. Storia, New York, December, 1947.
location
Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Porcelain Stories: From China to Europe, Feb. 17 - May 7, 2000.
Published ReferencesHarding, Beverly. The Secret of Porcelain: A Family Guide. Seattle, Wash.: Seattle Art Museum, 2000; pp. 6, 23.

Ishikawa, Chiyo. "Seattle Art Museum." In Italian Treasures in the U.S.: An Itinerary of Art. Edited by Renato Miracco. Rome: Gangemi Editore International Publishing, 2015; p. 200.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM