An Urbino or Casteldurante portrait dish (coppa) from the celebrated 'heroes and heroines' series 1520-25

superbly painted in the manner of Nicola da Urbino with a portrait profile of Cyrus Medes in a parade helmet, his name inscribed on a semi-circular banderole below him against a rich blue-washed ground (some restoration)

Mrs F.M.E.Schlesinger collection, sold at Sotheby's 13th July 1967, lot 8 (£110)

John Philip Kassebaum, his sale, Sotheby's 7th October 1992, lot 165 (£14,300)

The John Philip Kassebaum Collection, no.87

Jorg Rasmussen, Catalogue of Italian Maiolica in the Robert Lehman Collection, pp. 104-105 and 244-245

rim restored (approx. 3in wide at deepest point) from 4 to 10 o'clock, further spray to 1 o'clock round, perhaps oevr restoration, other typical rin chips.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'beautifully painted...Whoever the painter was, and wherever he worked, he was one of the great masters of the Urbino School...' - Dora Thornton and Timothy Wilson

'The painter of our dishes...even more talented than Nicolo...probably the best of all maiolica painters..' - Jorg Rasmussen

 

Though Italian maiolica dishes painted with portraits of beautiful women (belle donne) are of course well known, this dish comes from a particularly fine series of which perhaps seventeen or nineteen examples are known, each superbly painted with a portrait of a rather obscure hero or heroine of antiquity. The identification of the constituent parts of the seres, and its authorship, has slowly evolved over the last century of scholarship..

Several pieces were first identified as part of a series by Otto von Falke in 1907, and attributed by him to Nicola da Urbino (then referred to as Nicolo Pellipario). 

Jorg Rasmussen, in his Catalogue of Italian Maiolica in the Robert Lehman Collection, pp.104-105 and 244-245, brings together thirteen pieces (illustrating all of them including this dish) and re-attributes the series to Giovanni Maria at Casteldurante.

Thornton and Wilson, in their Italian Renaissance Ceramics, vol II, pp.346-347, mention that doubts have been expressed that Rasmussen's group are all by the same hand, and list ninteen pieces which they believe belong to the set.  Our dish is again listed, and its right to form part of this celebrated group of maiolica dishes appears never to have been in dispute.