Featured 16th Century Italian Majolica Pilgrims Flask Signature Help

Hi! I was Hoping Walter Del Pellegrino could help me on this one. I believe it to be a 16th Century Italian Majolica Pilgrims Pottery Flask which has a very stylized Rooster Artist Signature on Base. I believe its to early to be a Cantagalli Piece but you are the expert. Any Information would be Highly Appreciated! Thank You! Gary Knudtzon

 

Wow! Love it. Certainly looks like bottles said to be from that period. To amuse the rest of us until Walter educates us:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/563512972096327318/visual-search/?x=12&y=12&w=381&h=483

 

I can only chip in that the scene is the birth of Venus, or just after, when she is standing on the shores of Cyprus at Paphos. Jove is looking down from Olympus.

On the other side, cupids are trumpeting her arrival.

 

Good heavens! Lots of condition issues, yet look at estimated vs. realized price:

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder...andled-pilgrim-flask-and-5322144-details.aspx

 

One in the Walters:

https://art.thewalters.org/detail/37839/pilgrim-flask-with-mercury-and-psyche/

Have to say, lots of serpent handles, but no others so flamboyant as this. A warning sign?

 

VS.....

 

Decent repro, I reckon. Base is all wrong for age, especially given how clean it is, there's no damage at all, which is highly unusual and the decoration simply isn't fine enough.

 

It is the base that troubles me. It's much cleaner than many of my coffee mugs.

 

Exactly. That terra cotta ought to have the grime of centuries embedded.

 

I think that is probably supposed to be a Cantagalli mark (which would be no earlier that 19th C) but I have to say that I'm in the "it looks wrong to me" camp. I'd love to be wrong so maybe Walter will weigh in.

 

I know zilch about this, but the look of the bottom was bothering me too. As I looked at others, so did the extreme vividness of the colors and those dungeon & dragons handles, which would not function very well as handles if you were wanting to actually pick it up.

 

The mark is meant to fool you. It is not a Cantagalli piece but still of good quality. This item is not from China or the far east but rather it was most likely created in Croatia during the last ten years.

 

That region has also been a problematic producer of glyptic 'antiquities'.