made at Urbino, Italy
This maiolica plate was made at Urbino in Italy between 1530 and 1535 by Nicolo Pellipario.
The plate is decorated in polychrome with a depiction of 'The Abduction of Proserpine' from Ovid's Metamorphoses, and a shield of arms. It is inscribed on the back 'de pluto e proserpina' [of Pluto and Proserpine]. Pluto abducted Proserpine as she was picking violets by Lake Pergus. The Sicilian nymph Cyane tried to stop Pluto and he hurled his royal sceptre into Cyane's pool, opening the ground and making a pathway to the depths of the underworld.
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