A Castelli maiolica plate, late 17th century

Hampel Replica Handbags , Munich, 6 December 2012, lot 381.

The image depicting the allegory of Obligation on this dish is derived from Iconologia by Cesare Ripa, first edition, Rome, 1593. In the text accompanying the image, Ripa describes the figure as a “warrior with two heads, four arms and hands, to show that the man under obligation supports two persons: one to look after himself, the other to satisfy somebody else.”

Cesare Ripa (c. 1555 -1622)

Cesare Ripa was an art historian and academic, born in Perugia. He began his career as a chef and meat-carver at the court of Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati (Rome, 1537–1602). A member of the Accademia degli Intronati in Siena, Ripa specialized in the study of classical works and antique medals.

In 1593, he published in Rome Iconologia overo Descrittione Dell’imagini Universali cavate dall’Antichità et da altri luoghi (Iconology, or Description of Universal Images after the Antiquity and other places), dedicated to Cardinal Salviati. The work was published six times between 1593 and 1625 and became a bestselling treatise in Italy, France, and across Europe.

Related Literature:

P. Buscaroli, C. Ripa, Iconologia, Milan, 1992, pp. 318-319.