Majolicas

In 1962 Vittorio Cini donated the majolica vases belonging to the collections at the Castle of Monselice to the Giorgio Cini Foundation.
The collection had probably been formed over time through the acquisition of single items or groups on the antique market, with the goal of creating a homogeneous set of 'Venetian' spice jars or a group with sufficient typological affinities of a single decorative character.
The collection of twenty-nine vases can be schematically divided into three groups.
- The first includes twenty-three spherical pots with a curved or flat rim ('bowls'), decorated with a central tablet, which is often repeated on the other side and which contains busts of young men, women, old people or figures of saints. These extremely fine pieces can undoubtedly be attributed to the workshop or circle of Domenico da Venezia.
- The second group is made by a pair of ovoid pots, with a central tablet and a decoration of trophies, which can be attributed to a 16th-century manufacturer from Faenza.
- The third group consists of four simple pots, again of spherical shape, but with closely-worked decoration on the front bearing St Bernardino's symbol 'IHS', which can be attributed to some minor 16th-century manufacturer from the Veneto.