Sir Richard Wallace's maiolica: Sources and display

Abstract

This article is concerned primarily with the provenance, history and display of Sir Richard Wallace's collection of 150 pieces of predominantly sixteenth‐century Italian maiolica as established through various forms of documentary evidence. Discussion of this subject is preceded by an account of the circumstances in which Wallace's broader art collection evolved and followed by a survey of the display of maiolica in frames from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, including pieces in Wallace's collection. The article concludes with a discussion of the potential benefits of developing an international database for recording the provenance history of Renaissance maiolica as provided through information supplied by labels and inscriptions on the works of art themselves.