Dish 17th century

Curator: Before us is a remarkable ceramic piece: a dish attributed to Bernard Palissy, dating back to the 17th century. Its current home is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Oh, wow! My first thought? This feels incredibly... theatrical! Like a stage set for some fantastical feast, all swirling patterns and intense cobalt blues. Curator: Palissy was a master of Mannerism, which emphasizes artifice over realism. This piece beautifully exemplifies that. Note the detailed molding of ceramic and the almost deliberate exaggeration of form. Editor: Exactly! The more I look, the more I see these flamboyant, almost cartoonish details—floral flourishes. It is interesting the tension created here with such carefully balanced and harmonious compartments. Curator: Precisely, the division into distinct areas provides both functional and aesthetic interest. Each of these six hemispherical depressions may have originally held a different condiment or sauce. Editor: But there's a certain unease to it, too, don’t you think? Despite all that symmetry, the dish almost feels restless. Like it’s trying to be both classical and completely wild. The colours help reinforce it, a vivid array with the deep blues against the subtle greens, everything outlined meticulously. Curator: It is certainly visually assertive. Beyond mere functionality, Palissy’s dish showcases his mastery of ceramic and compositional strategy. The intentional manipulation of scale and texture serves to create a dramatic tension between surface and depth, inviting sustained contemplation. Editor: This feels like a reminder that beauty doesn't always need to be quiet. Sometimes, the most stunning creations shout a little. Curator: An appropriate observation—the object allows for sustained observation precisely through the articulation of dramatic elements such as coloration, depth of detail and deployment of space.