Kolekcja | 09.09.2015 This covered tazza standing on its foot and decorated with en grisaille painting enamel and gilding on a black background is one of the most valuable enamel works in the Wilanów collection. The inside of the bowl presents, simultaneously, two final events from the love story of Amor and Psyche: the arrival of Psyche at the Olympus (at bottom) and the marriage of Amor and Psyche at the Olympus (central scene). These depictions are based on the famous book by Lucius Apuleius of Madura (2nd century CE), entitled Metamorphoses, or the Golden Ass. The book gained an enormous popularity in 15th century Italy, which subsequently spread to other European countries. Episodes from the story were used in painting and sculpture. The story of Amor and Psyche is depicted in the 17th century murals by Michelangelo Palloni which decorate the garden galleries at the Palace of Wilanów. In the 16th century, the theme was often used by the enamellers of Limoges, who usually modelled their work on the series of 32 engravings by Master of the Die and Agostino Veneziano according to Raphaël and Michiel Coxi.
The direct inspiration for the Wilanów tazza probably came from the woodcuts by Bernard Salomon based on the above-mentioned series of engravings and published by Jean Maugin in a 1546 Paris edition of Apuleius. The scene depicting the marriage of Amor and Psyche on the enamelled plaque by Pierre or Jean III Pénicaud (in the Walters Art Gallery collection in Baltimore) is based on the same source. Depicted on the stem and the foot of the tazza are marine deities at play: Nereids and Tritons, winged genii with outstretched arms and emblems with war trophies. The interior of the lid is decorated with four medallions with antique heads, and the exterior - with four similar medallions and putti at play.
Tomasz Igrzycki