A rare example of a flower pot “a mezzaluna” produced by the manufactory of the refined painter Pasquale Rubati, who opened a factory in Milan in 1756 to compete with Felice Clerici.
The flower pot with a complex, as well as original and practical, shape was used to hold flowers while creating an orderly arrangement. As it could also be leant against the wall, its use went beyond simple table centerpieces, but rather it could also be placed in functional and decorative locations.

The maiolica pot is decorated with rocaille motifs and commas in relief to adorn the edges. The upper part is perforated in a radial pattern to contain and support the flowers. The mold, indicated in the original inventories as “fioriere a mezzaluna”, was later recognised as being in use in 18th century Milanese manufactories, as demonstrated by some of the specimens preserved in the Museum of Applied Arts of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. (R. Ausenda,a cura di, Musei e Gallerie di Milano. Museo d’Arti Applicate. Le ceramiche. Tomo secondo, Milano 2001, pp. 230-231, n. 261).
The polychrome decoration at the base features a raised border with elongated “C” shapes painted in manganese, in shades of purplish-brown and black. These motifs are repeated along the upper rim, connecting with rocaille patterns painted in manganese with more or less blended brushstrokes. At the center of the vessel, three delicate floral decorations dominate and symmetrically fill out the crescent shape, accompanied by small insects painted in cobalt blue. The floral bouquets, in which the orange colors of the iron stand out, are distinguished from the usual compositions as they resemble, in terms of decorative taste, the products of contemporary European porcelain manufactories.
In terms of composition and morphology, the flowerpot finds a parallel in a specimen published by Gregorietti in the catalog of the renowned exhibition on Lombard maiolica held at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in 1964. (G. Gregorietti, Maioliche di Lodi, Milano e Pavia, catalogo della mostra, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milano 1964, n. 370).

Maiolica and porcelain production in the eighteenth century belonged mainly to the great royal families or in any case to the noble families who made the manufacture of ceramic works a source of prestige. In Milan, under Maria Teresa of Austria, the time period witnessed a real opening-up to new industrialists who, by virtue of the privatizations granted by the government, assumed a real business risk, giving life, albeit not without conflict, to flourishing factories and to production which was among the most elegant and most requested at the moment and which still today remains object of collection.

Bibliography:

• R. Ausenda, a cura di, Musei e Gallerie di Milano. Museo d’Arti Applicate. Le ceramiche. Tomo secondo, Milano 2001, pp. 230-231, n. 261;
• G. Gregorietti, Maioliche di Lodi, Milano e Pavia, catalogo della mostra, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milano 1964, n. 370.