Portuguese faience dish from the early 17th century, decorated in cobalt blue on a white tin-glazed ground, belonging to the first phase of seventeenth-century production commonly designated as “Geometric Decoration”.

At the centre, defined by a dodecagonal frame, is a coat of arms with a quartered shield: in the first and fourth quarters appear nine roundels (besants), corresponding to the arms of the Teive family; in the second and third quarters are three equidistant pales, corresponding to the arms of the Ribeiro family. The composition is surmounted by a helmet and mantling with exuberant vegetal scrolls.

The elaborate decoration of the rim, which extends into the well and visually compresses the central ornamentation, is composed of five reserves formed by equilateral triangles separated by colonnettes filled with stylised serpentine motifs. The remaining spaces are entirely occupied by spirals.

The reverse of the rim is decorated with ten reserves separated by three lines and filled with blue serpentine “S”-shaped strokes.

The characteristics of this phase of production reveal exogenous influences deriving from distinct decorative traditions. On the one hand, there is a clear reference to Chinese porcelain in the use of cobalt pigment in several gradations of blue and in the decoration of the rim, segmented with alternating motifs separated by colonnettes. This composition anticipates the so-called “pre-spider” decoration, marked by the strong influence of Kraak porcelain of the Wanli period, which was common at this time.

The use of geometric forms on the rim reflects a decorative language of Islamicate inspiration, characterised by the intensive filling of surfaces in a typical horror vacui that compresses the central decoration. Certain ornamental motifs act as points of convergence between these two influences, such as the spirals—often considered of Mudéjar origin, although they are also found in sixteenth-century Iznik faience and in Chinese porcelain from the Chenghua reign (1465–1485), as well as in Wucai examples of the Wanli period and the Transitional phase leading to the Qing dynasty (1620–1644).

Armorial display dishes were exhibited with magnificence in noble interiors and residences. In the heraldic representation of this piece, the connection between the surname Teive—present in Portugal since the Middle Ages—and the Ribeiro family is frequently recorded in Portuguese historical genealogies. This relationship was mainly established through successive matrimonial alliances, which combined the social prestige of the Teive lineage with the economic and military foundations of the Ribeiro family.

The rarity of this armorial display dish lies not only in the exceptional quality of the materials employed and its state of preservation, but also in its connection with the emblematic first phase of Portuguese seventeenth-century faience production, known as Geometric Decoration, already influenced by the segmented partition of motifs characteristic of the so-called pre-spider phase. The piece reflects a distinguished commission from the nobility during the period of the Dual Monarchy between Portugal and Spain.

Teresa Peralta