A MOULDED BOWL (CRESPINA), FAENZA, CIRCA 1540 CRESPINA, FAIENCE, CIRCA 1540 majolica painted in polychrome with cobalt blue, yellow, orange yellow, tin white and manganese; diam. cm 20,5, foot diam. cm 10,6, h. cm 5,8 Comparative literature J. Giacomotti, Catalogue des majoliques des musées nationaux , Paris 1974, p. 308 no. 940; C. Ravanelli Guidotti, Carmen. Thesaurus of works from the Faenza tradition . Faenza 1998, pp. 366-375 and p. 377 no. 93 The bowl, with a subtly kissed shape, rests on a high foot with an everted rim. The decoration is centred by an umbonate medallion centred by the figure of St. Jerome with a cross and a stone in his hand, accompanied by the letters S and G on a yellow background, typical of the production, and all around a motif of quarters that follow the course of the brim in an anti-clockwise direction. The quarters alternate large sections sampled in orange yellow and cobalt blue, filled with a dense grotesque decoration outlined in two-tone cobalt blue with large leafy whirls and dolphins. On the reverse a filling motif of alternating thin parallel dashes in blue and orange fill the entire surface, while the rim of the foot is broadly striped in yellow. The bowl is typical of 16th-century Faenza production, in a version that was successful in the middle of the century also in other production centres that were inspired by this successful type. The chronological milestones of this production date from 1538 to 1547, but this decorative type persisted in the production of important workshops in Faenza together with the compendiary cups until at least 1575 in the workshop Utili. Comparison specimens with male or female portraits, with cupids, symbolic figures or other depictions confirm the widespread use of this genre, although the presence of portraits of saints is uncommon, even if present in flat pieces, whereas they are well represented in the medallions inserted on the large vases with quarters decoration. The figure of St. Dominic on a yellow background is present in a Mic bowl from Faenza (inv. no. 9769), which, however, has a different type of decoration in quarters.