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This is a rare survival. Lovely early Cologne-made German brown salt glazed stoneware bellarmine with elaborate and finely detailed huge bearded benign face mask applied to front. The large mask on the front of the neck indicates the earliest Bellarmine type mug. There are acanthus leaves and Renaissance portrait medallions ornamenting the body of the mug and a pewter domed hinged dust cap lid, clasped to handle top with an apparent pair of cherries shaped thumb piece and a small, turned finial to the domed top. A banner encircles the mid-section of the mug. The inscription around the banner is a memento mori which can be translated:
“When God wills, so is my time.” (or “When it is God’s will, my time has come.”) [1, 2]
Renaissance potters from the Cologne and Frechen regions frequently truncated text or substituted letters to make the metal stamps fit the clay banner.
A rare and very early classic bellarmine.
Item Date: Circa 1500
Measurement: Height: 8.25”, 4" maximum body diameter
Material: Stoneware ceramic
Item Condition: Very good. Two minuscule mouth chips with short associated hairlines, we expertly restored for cosmetic reasons.
Price: $4,850
SKU 843-689
For More Information, Please Contact David Hillier at 978-597-8084 or email drh@aaawt.com.