beaker

“Grotesque,” commonly used to denote something bizarre or absurd, is essentially an art term. It specifies an ornament of tendrils intertwined with creatures composed of human, animal, and plant shapes. By the time of Raphael (1483–1520), artists in Italy rediscovered this decorative pattern, which had originated in ancient Rome. It survived in the Domus Aurea, the remains of which were buried in the ground and therefore described as grottoe. Hence the name “grotesque” (Italian, grottesca). Renaissance grotesque ornaments remained popular for at least 100 years. They provided infinite possibilities for fantastic designs. Grotesque ornaments usually did not bear hidden meanings. Instead, they were applied for decorative purposes. The colorful decoration of the footed beaker shown here consists of two pairs of intertwined figures of half-human and half-plant shape. We do not know whether the addorsed white heads of some animals (possibly dogs) on either side of the bowl were intended merely as decoration, or whether they had some additional function, such as a reference to a coat of arms.