MAJOLIKA ALBARELLO Naples, Circle of “Il Maestro dei profili corrucciati" (The Master of Frowning Profiles), ca. 1530–60. Cylindrical shape with a recessed wall painted with a profile of a lady wearing a yellow headdress facing left, to the left a banner inscribed “Lucretia” on a blue background and trailing foliage, decorated in blue, ocher and yellow with blue scrollwork, between dotted borders on the shoulder and at the base of the vessel. H 21 cm. Provenance: Private collection, Lugano. An almost identical albarello (apothecary jar) from this series was auctioned off at Koller Zurich, Decorative Arts, 19 September 2024, Lot No. 1025. The apothecary jar on offer features a portrait of a lady in profile with a fixed gaze and a floral decoration in bold, blue brushstrokes. This apothecary jar characterizes a group of similar albarelli, which Guido Donatone attributed in 1993 to the Master “dei profili corrucciati” (Master of Frowning Profiles) from Naples, comparing them with contemporary floor tiles from Neapolitan churches. For comparison, see the two albarelli in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, dated ca. 1530-60 (Inv. No. 41.100.268.). A detailed discussion can be found in G. Donatone: La maiolica napoletana del Rinascimento. Naples, 1993, figs. 14 to 35.