A monumental Italian Savona blue and white maiolica charger, Liguria, probably from the Guidobono workshop tradition, late 17th century, c.1680.

This exceptionally large-scale baroque maiolica charger is hand-painted in cobalt blue with a dramatic mythological marine scene depicting Neptune attended by putti amidst turbulent waters and swirling drapery. The composition is framed within an exuberantly moulded border of alternating shell forms, bosses, putti and landscape reserves, all characteristic of the sculptural “plastic” forms associated with late 17th century Savona maiolica production.

The charger possesses remarkable architectural presence at 64 cm in diameter, its deeply moulded relief border creating dramatic shadow and movement across the surface. Such monumental examples were conceived not as domestic pottery, but as important display objects for grand Genoese and Ligurian interiors during the high baroque period.

The term maiolica refers to the richly tin-glazed earthenwares produced in Italy during the Renaissance and baroque periods. Here, the soft opaque glaze is painted in monochrome cobalt blue in conscious dialogue with the prized Chinese porcelains that profoundly influenced European decorative arts during the 17th century.

The reverse bears an underglaze cobalt monogram beneath a crowned heraldic device over the letters “GAG”. The charger relates closely to the Savona tradition associated with Giovanni Antonio Guidobono (1631–1685) and the great Ligurian ceramic workshops active in Savona and Albisola during the late 17th century.

Comparable moulded Savona chargers are illustrated in Oreste Ferrari and Giuseppe Scavizzi, Maioliche Seicento e Settecento, Milan, 1965, pp.72–73, where similarly sculptural examples from the Guidobono tradition are discussed.

Provenance: Christie’s “The Collector” Auction 27 Jan - 10 Feb 2022. Lot 117 A SAVONA MAIOLICA BLUE AND WHITE CHARGER, Late 17th Century, Shield Over GAG monogram mark.