A Note from the Curator
The Art of Consumption
The generous loan of 14 pieces from the collection of LUMA members Larry A. and Lynn Janes Schmidt has led interns, Emily Olsen and Andrew Ptaschinski, and me to consider renaissance decorative arts in terms of trade, competition, and consumer consumption.
The copper workers of Dinant specialized in the production of polished chargers for Flanders' emerging urban class in emulation of the nobility's displays of gold plate. The faux Arabic inscription on the Schmidts' piece signifies the appeal of Islamic forms among Western consumers. 
Competition led 15th-century Italian potters to develop Italian maiolica in emulation of the highly-prized Hispano-Moresque ware imported from Valencia, Spain. The D'Arcy's lustred dish, Portrait of a Woman, produced in Deruta, represents the mid-range of maiolica, sold at markets across the country. LUMA's Orpheus Charming Persephone and Cerberus is an example of istoriato ("story painted") ware that was valued in Italy's numerous princely courts. The Schmidts have lent two albarelli (tall cylindrical and slightly waisted drug jars), an Islamic form appropriated by the Italians. Although they look Italian, their heraldic decoration indicates that they are in fact Castilian. So popular had maiolica become by the 17th century that even Spanish potters were mimicking Italian style. 
The production of stoneware—more durable ceramic suitable for household use, storage, and transportation.allowed potters around Cologne to seize market dominance throughout northern Europe. They were aided by the combination of a technical revolution—kilns that could be fired up to 1200ºC—and an abundance of natural resources such as clay, fuel, and salt for glazing, as well as ease of transportation along the Rhine. So ubiquitous was German stoneware that Europeans took it with them to the New World and Asia. The technical, commercial, and artistic developments that ensured stoneware retained its popularity are exemplified by four borrowed pieces. The strong blue glaze of two reflects access to the cobalt mines of central Europe, while one jug's decoration with stylized portraits of English monarchs, William and Mary, indicate that adornment could be market specific.
The medieval center for the production of enamels in Limoges, France, retrained its craftsmen in the technique of painted enamels. They specialized in the aristocratic demand for colorful painted enamels of religious scenes and for secular pieces such as candlesticks and tableware. Research suggests that the Schmidts' four half-domed plaquettes, painted in grisaille (white and grey paint on black), were originally set into the top of a covered tazza, a stemmed drinking vessel with a broad shallow bowl, common in Antiquity.
Jonathan P. Canning
Martin D'Arcy Curator of Art
Images (left to right) Jug, 17th century, German, glazed stoneware, on loan from the Larry A. and Lynn Janes Schmidt Collection; Albarelli, 18th century, Spanish, maiolica (tin-glazed earthenware), on loan from the Larry A. and Lynn Janes Schmidt Collection