Grand, 19th Century, Della Robbia Medallion

Extremely large, hand molded, painted, and majolica-glazed, relief sculpture "Tondo" (meaning "art in the round") after famed Renaissance artist, Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525) whose iconic images of the same, decorate the loggia of the Ospidale degli Innocenti in Florence, Italy (see photo). The piece is stamped three times on the reverse: "Cantagalli Firenze (Italy)".

Noted, Italian pottery expert Walter Del Pellegrino says: "Terracotta, in comparison to the industrial white clays used in mass production, is rough and very dense. It must, by its nature, be worked entirely by hand. Modern machines would be damaged by its demanding composition. This means that the terracotta must be hand worked into the molds and when the clay is dry it must be removed from the molds by hand. This process limits production numbers to a fraction of that created by industrial clays using machinery. Most pieces found with this mark appeared in the early Cantagalli Catalog."