Fig. 28.—Plate. Myrrha fleeing from her Father.
Fig. 28, a plate, painted on grey ground, is inscribed on the reverse with the name of the place and the date 1548.
CASTELLI
The manufactory of Castelli, a small town in the Abruzzi, north of the city of Naples, was still flourishing towards the end of the 17th century. Francesco Saverio Grue, a man of letters and science, became about this time director of this Neapolitan maiolica fabrique. The ware was boldly ornamented with subjects, correctly designed and well painted; sometimes the landscapes were delicately heightened with gold. His sons and brothers continued to add lustre to his name for nearly a century. Francesco Antonio Grue’s works, which have dates, range from 1677 to 1722, the subjects being principally scriptural and mythological. Luigi Grue, about 1720-1740, painted landscapes and figures. Ioanes Grue or Grua painted scriptural subjects from about 1730 to 1750. Saverio Grue was the re-inventor of gilding on fayence; some of his pieces are dated 1749 and 1753. His earliest paintings are without gold, consisting of classical subjects and mottoes on plaques. C. A. Grue was a painter about the same time.
Fig. 29.—Bowl and Cover.
18th Century.
Fig. 30.—Ewer and Basin.
18th Century.
Fig. 29, a bowl and cover, painted with nude figures after Annibale Caracci; and filled in with fruit, foliage, and cartouches, is signed “Liborius Grue P.”