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Wall plaque
Made at: Alcora Manufactory (Spanish, active 1727–about 1858)
Spanish
1755–65
Object Place: Alcora, Spain
Medium/Technique
Tin-glazed earthenware with colored enamel decoration
Dimensions
94 x 48 cm (37 x 18 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation in honor of Frits Markus and the European Decorative Arts Department Fund
Accession Number1999.264
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsCeramics – Pottery – Earthenware
This plaque, the largest produced at Alcora, was designed to hang on the wall like an oil painting. At the center are two episodes from the story of Moses, derived from a painting by the Italian artist Jacopo Amigoni, who worked at the Spanish court from 1747. The Latin inscription in the lower cartouche identifies the subject: "Moses could not endure an injury to one of his people, so he slew the Egyptian with his own hand."
DescriptionA large wall plaque in the form of a cartouche, with an elaborate rocaille frame. Painted in the central reserve are the combined stories of "Moses slaying the Egyptian" and "Moses with the daughters of Reuel, priest of Midian" [Exodus 2 11-17], from a painting by Jacopo Amigoni which was engraved by Josef Wagner and published in Venice.
InscriptionsInscribed in black enamel, in the lower cartouche: Injuriam proximi Moises/ perferre non potest,/ quare Aegyptium propria/ manu necat" [Moses could not endure an injury to one of his own people, so he slew the Egyptian with his own hand]
Provenance1997, sold at Hart Gallery, Houston, Texas, September 20, lot 602, where acquired by E. & H. Manners; 1999, sold by E. & H. Manners, London, to MFA. (Accession date: September 15, 1999)