Inscriptions and the dynamic reception of Italian Renaissance maiolica

In the sixteenth century, tin-glazed earthenware dishes known as maiolica became an interactive means of entertaining viewers in the context of dining through the combination of painted imagery and inscriptions. Beginning around 1530, painters of a type of narrative-painted maiolica, known as istoriato, began to include lengthy inscriptions on the reverses of dishes that often identified subjects and included excerpts of poetry. These inscriptions demonstrate three important features: first, dishes must have been handled by viewers in order to read the inscriptions, either while on display or during a meal; second, the more complex inscriptions were intended to encourage greater engagement between the viewer and ceramic dish and generate increased interaction and conviviality among guests, and third, maiolica painters were attempting to raise their standing in court circles by demonstrating their literary knowledge through the addition of these inscriptions. These inscriptions are discussed in the context of Renaissance banquets where discussions of literary subjects took place. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.