Sixteenth-century Dukes and Duchesses of Urbino: From the credenza to the guardaroba

Professor Timothy Wilson

In the sixteenth century, potteries in the Duchy of Urbino produced some of the most sophisticated and virtuoso of all Renaissance maiolica. The Della Rovere Dukes actively supported the artistic pottery industry in towns of the duchy - Urbino, Castel Durante, Pesaro, and Gubbio - and on occasion used it for diplomatic gifts. Close looking at the evidence shows that the successive Duchesses were actively involved in generating and administering prestigious commissions.