Tondino (deep welled plate) c. 1520 - 1530

This deep-welled plate features a central figure blowing a trumpet, surrounded by elaborate floral motifs, rendered in vibrant blues and yellows. This central image may be linked to depictions of Fame or allegorical representations of music, concepts that recur throughout classical and Renaissance art. Consider the figure of the trumpeter. We see variations of this archetype across time, from ancient Roman triumphs to Renaissance festivals, heralding events with a blast of sound. In Botticelli's "Primavera," for example, Zephyrus, god of the west wind, blows a horn signaling the arrival of spring. Such recurrences are not coincidences. They are echoes of collective memory, where symbols are continuously reinterpreted. The act of blowing a trumpet is more than just making noise; it is a primal call, a declaration, an awakening of the senses that touches deep within the human psyche. This is how images live on and on, resurfacing and evolving across the ages.