Dish 1600 - 1615

Bernard Palissy made this dish out of glazed earthenware sometime in the mid- to late-16th century. It is now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Palissy was a French potter known for his intricate and naturalistic designs, so this dish exemplifies the Renaissance fascination with the natural world, and the period’s impulse to capture and contain it. The dense network of floral motifs speaks to the cultural values of order and artifice that underpinned courtly life in France at the time. Palissy was a Huguenot, a French Protestant. His religious beliefs led to periods of imprisonment during the French Wars of Religion. His commitment to his faith, in the face of persecution, is significant to the understanding of his art, as is the place of the artist in the social and political upheavals of his time. We can learn more about this through archival documents and historical studies. Only then we can truly understand its meaning and relevance to the world in which it was created.