Two Views of a Design for a Shallow (Drinking?) Bowl wih Handles 1652 - 1725

Giovanni Battista Foggini created this design for a drinking bowl with pen and brown ink in the late 17th or early 18th century. This Florentine artist's fluid style demonstrates the influence of the High Baroque, as seen in the bowl's ornamentation of dancing cherubs. Consider the role of academies in this period, which helped to formalize artistic training. Foggini was the premier sculptor of the Medici court, the embodiment of artistic patronage, with all its attendant power relations. Note that while the upper classes enjoyed elaborate drinking bowls, the lower classes struggled to access even basic necessities. The historian can consult inventories of the Medici collections, account books, and other archival documents to further illuminate the complex social and economic conditions that made such artwork possible. The meaning of this design is contingent on understanding its historical context.