A pair of Italian maiolica two-handled vases and covers, attributed to Angelo del Vecchio, Naples or Palermo, second half of the 18th century

Sanvitale, Naples (applied paper label inscribed Sanvitale / 470);

Silvio Ferrara, Rome (applied paper label inscribed Silvio Ferrara);

Wannenes, Genoa, 18 May 2010, lot 933.

This pair of monumental vases is unparalleled for the virtuoso quality of their painted decoration, the naturalism of the large-scale figures, the brilliance of the palette, and the complexity of the composition. Despite their size, they retain a striking lightness, achieved through the movement and proportion of the bodies and the dynamic vortex created by the handles.

For these reasons, the present vases stand as unequalled masterpieces of maiolica production in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Regno delle Due Sicilie). Regardless of possible points of comparison, they remain unique for their combination of qualities.

This pair can be compared with two Neapolitan maioliche in the Museo Regionale “Agostino Pepoli,” Trapani: the first, a similar vase but painted in a cruder manner and with a Western subject (Donatone 1980, pp. 71–72; Arbace–Daidone 1997, pp. 74–75); the second, a tray attributed to a Sicilian hand (Donatone 1980, p. 73; Arbace 1997, no. I3).

A further comparison may be drawn with a maiolica cup decorated with a kneeling Chinese servant offering a tea set on a tray, whose figures closely resemble those on the present vases. This piece has been attributed by L. Arbace to the Fabbrica Nuova del Duca di Malvica in Palermo, dating to the late 18th century (Arbace 2001, p. 601, no. 58).

Within the Sicilian context of late 18th-century Palermo, it is tempting and highly suggestive to recall one of the great architectural masterpieces in the Chinese taste, the Palazzina Cinese. Built over a pre-existing pavilion alla cinese and commissioned in 1799 by King Ferdinand IV and Queen Maria Carolina, the building became the royal Bourbon residence in exile following the conquest of Naples by the French army and the proclamation of the revolutionary Repubblica Napoletana. The Chinese figures painted on the walls of the Stanza lunga alla cinese of the Palazzina appear strikingly related to the Chinese characters animating the compositions on the present vases.

ANGELO DEL VECCHIO

Angelo del Vecchio is documented as working at the Royal Maiolica Factory of Caserta, near Naples, between 1753 and 1756, until the manufactory was closed by Tonucci, minister of the Bourbon Kingdom. He is thought to have moved to Palermo by 1761.

Related Literature

A. González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Milan, 1984, vol. II, fig. 617

G. Donatone, La maiolica napoletana del Settecento, exhibition catalogue, Naples, 1980, p. 71-72

L. Arbace and R. Daidone, Terzo fuoco a Palermo, 1760 - 1825, Ceramiche di Sperlinga a Malvica, exhibition catalogue, Palermo, 1997, p. 74-75

L. Arbace and R. Ausenda, Museo di Arti Applicate, Le Ceramiche, vol. II, Milan, 2001, n. 585.