Rare Spanish Carafe

Found in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, this Spanish carafe is hand-painted in cobalt blue on cream earthenware, the body decorated with a heraldic crest of a crowned castle tower wreathed in scrolling baroque foliage. The painting is in the Spanish talavera tradition, where armorial pottery has been made since the 16th century and a family crest on a pitcher meant something - a household, a name, a wedding, a saint's day. Carafes like this lived on the dining table holding wine or water, the crest facing whoever was being honoured that night. Sylvie sets it on a kitchen counter with a long handful of florals, the crest facing the room.