An Italian maiolica 'Istoriato' crespina with... Lot 955

An Italian maiolica 'Istoriato' crespina with Diana and Actaion, workshop of Angelo and Ludovico Picchi, Casteldurante, ca. 1550 Dia.: 25,7 cm This crespina belongs to a group of pieces probably painted by the same hand in Picchi's workshop. As the work was sometimes subcontracted between different workshops to meet demand, it is possible that the painter changed workshops (Timothy Wilson, The Golden Age of Italian Maiolica-Painting, Turin, 2018, pp. 342-343.2). It is not yet entirely clear whether the name Andrea da Negroponto inscribed on the reverse of a cup in Arezzo is that of a painter or a client, although the suggestion that it is the name of a painter seems to be gaining ground (Johanna Lessmann, Italianische Majolika, Katalog der Sammlung, Brunswick, 1979, p. 148 and see Wilson, ibid., 2018, p. 342-343, where this question is addressed and illustrations of the obverse and reverse of the cup kept at the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Medioevale e Moderna, Arezzo, are presented.) Provenance: The collection of Edmond de Rothschild, with his inventory label numbered P.48 - 317 on the bottom.