By the mid-sixteenth century, Italians were unrivaled as makers of elaborate vessels with intricate painted decoration. This large vase is among a small number signed "made in Urbino in the workshop of Orazio Fontana," one of the best-known specialists in such ware. The basic materials are simple: earthenware covered with lead glaze on which tin-enameled colors are painted. The form, based on metalwork vases, combines a wheel-turned body with cast handles shaped as snakes. The medallions show carefully painted biblical compositions, including a scene of the Tower of Babel. In contrast is the surrounding decoration with elements ranging from the nonsensical to the outrageous, which combine to offer a lively example of the grotesque style, the fanciful language of ornament inspired by ancient Roman wall painting first uncovered in the 1480s. The Museum also possesses a signed mate to this vase, although the quality of their design and painting is very different. The unidentified painter of this example is notably superior, being among the most accomplished of later Renaissance ceramic artists. Dean Walker, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections (1995), p. 122.