JR (Nineteenth Century)
The Gathering of Manna; a Maiolica dish, made in Urbino c.1525 and now in the collection of the V&A [7680-1861].
Watercolour and gouache. Signed with initials. Illustrated: C. D. E. Fortnum, A descriptive catalogue of the maiolica, Hispano-Moresco, Persian, Damascus, and Rhodian wares in the South Kensington Museum: with historical notes, marks and monograms, 1873, Ill. opp. p.534.
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The famous first catalogue of maiolica in the the V&A was begun by Sir John Charles Robinson (1824-1913) but finished by C. D. E. Fortnum after a falling out between Robinson and the Museum. The catalogue was a landmark peice of scholarship, but the identity of 'JR', who made the beautiful illustrations to the text, remains a mystery.
This work appears in the Exhibition:
BRITISH WORKS ON PAPER 2024