A painted enamel tazza - The Feast of Dido

By Pierre Reymond, Limoges, 1550
Monogrammed P.R. and dated 1550

Provenance:
-Baron Mayer de Rothschild, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire;
-Hannah de Rothschild, wife of Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire;
-Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire,
Its sale: Sotheby Parke Bernet, Mentmore Towers, vol. 2, Works of Art, 18 May 1977, lot 1117;
-Henry Kravis Collection, New York.

Note: a red label with a golden border under the base and bearing the number 77.

The scene of the feast offered by Dido queen of Carthage to Aeneas is after a famous engraving by Marcantoni Raimondi after Raphael, published circa 1515-1516. Representing ten episodes of Virgil’s Aeneid, it is known by the name of Quos Ego which are the first words of verse 135 of Book I: "Quos Ego ...! Sed motos praestat componere fluctus”. These words uttered by Neptune in threat to the rebellious winds which are unleashed on Aeneas’ fleet, can be translated thus: "Whom I ... But it is better to first to calm the troubled sea". Thus, the god calming the waves is illustrated in the center of the engraving of Raimondi and several pieces in painted enamel reflect the success that the model received in Limoges. However, it was the Feast of Dido, illustrated in the lower right part of the engraving, which was widely spread by Limoges enamellers, foremost among them Pierre Reymond. Indeed, the latter particularly privileged the scene, notably on its tazze of which many examples are still preserved today.