Extraordinary wheel-thrown Portuguese faience urn dating fromthe second half of the 17th century, its shape defined by a bulbousbody, large raising handles, elevated robust neck and elegantly scallopedflaring rim. The tin-white under glaze is unusually paintedin bright polychrome pigments in aesthetic grammar normallyassociated with decorative painted tiles of the same period.The cobalt-blue and antimony-yellow glazes that covermost of the surface are complemented by small, carefully placeddetails in green, resulting from the mixing of the two pigments,and by the black outlining and filleting, a colour obtained by a highconcentration of manganese pigment. This apparently irrelevantdetail, however, is the key for the quite specific dating timeframeof between 1660–1680.Such short time span is supported by comparative studieswith pieces of similar colour palette that were dated by the painter,and documented tile panels still in situ, namely at the gardens ofthe Marquess of Fronteira estate at São Domingos de Benfica inLisbon that are known to date to between the late 1660’s and 1673.The decorative language of this vase is particularly unusual;on each side of the body two heart shaped cartouches envelopa central roundel surrounded by a frame of Mannerist scrolls ofclear Flemish flavour. In the centre, completing the composition,a gracious allegory of love; a Cupid carrying a bow and arrow isstanding on a winged heart within the word ‘amor’ (love). Onthe opposite surface a female figure holds a floral cornucopia, theHorn of Plenty, in a clear allusion to abundance.
A more unusual type of ornamentation can however benoticed in the denser patterns that were chosen to frame thehandles. This type of exotic floral branches are not only present inthe decoration of 17th century faience, but also in most contemporarytiled altar fronts generally defined as of ‘birds and foliage’,which attempt to fuse the simulation of textile altar fronts withthe reinterpretation of textile and embroidery patterns from Indiaand China.Beneath the handles two naturalistic owls perched onbranches, do surprise as the most original decorative detail ofthe whole composition.Related depictions can be found in mid-17th century tiledaltar fronts such as the ones at São Pedro Church in Almargemdo Bispo (near Sintra) and Museu Nacional de Machado de Castroin Coimbra, this particular one depicting a Carmelite Emblem, aswell as in some of the tile panels at the already referred Marquessof Fronteira estate gardens, which date from circa 1670.A similar piece with styled cartouches encircling a vase withFranciscan insignia was illustrated by Artur de Sandão, a renownedhistorian and art collector.1Also, in the collection of the Count of Ameal, there existeda carving of analogous form, but decorated in blue and manganese,in ‘desenho míudo.’ On the upper part of the body, it features,among other figures, a Cupid, accompanied by the inscription:‘Não Quero Nada do Amor’ (I Want Nothing from Love), in clearcontrast with the inscription on our piece.2

JM