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The Neudörffer Plate
This beautiful plate was part of an armorial service commissioned between 1552 and 1563 from an Italian workshop in Urbino by the German calligrapher, scholar, and mathematician Johann Neudörffer and his wife, Katharina Nathan. The decoration of the service is based on an etching by Hanns Lautensack depicting Neudörffer's arms, his Latin motto ("You have conquered Sparta, adorn her") in a cartouche, and his trademark, as well as his name and profession. The print, also clearly commissioned by the scholar, must have been sent from Nuremberg to Urbino along with instructions, providing a German visual model for the Italian pottery painter. Many wealthy families in southern Germany were particularly avid collectors of Italian maiolica, often demanding that sets of wares be personalized with their coats of arms or favorite decorative motifs. |