Double-handled jar
ca. 1600 - 10
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.