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Plate with Hannibal's Army Crossing the River Ebro

c. 1540-1560
Workshop of Guido Durantino (Italian (active Urbino), documented 1516–1576)
This plate is from a large and impressive service decorated with events from the life of the Carthaginian general Hannibal. The blank area at the top of the rim was likely intended to hold the coat of arms of the family who commissioned the service. The complexity of the composition, and a rhyming explanatory couplet on the back of this plate and other pieces from the set, suggest the importance of the commission and the probable wealth and influence of the unknown patron.Couplet: Annibale passato il fiume Ibero, / Piu Terre acquista a l'Africaon / impero. (Translation: Hannibal crosses the River Ebro to acquire more territory for the African empire.)

Object Details

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