Vienna Manufacture, Four Porcelain Plates, 19th Century

Decorated with polychrome subjects. Gilding highlights on each piece: a frieze of triangles, marlis decorated with foliage. A thick border borders the plates. Four mythological scenes are depicted at the bottom of the plates including the story of Rinaldo and Armida, Appeles and a scene representing a muse holding a child. Some lack of gilding.

The story of Rinaldo and Armida is represented twice on two plates from the set. In one, we see Armida and Rinaldo which is sleeping. In the other, a knight wakes up Rinaldo depicted as a woman.

Rinaldo and Armida:

The story of Renaud (Rinaldo) and Armide (Armida) is found in song 16 of the poem “Jerusalem Delivered” by Torquato Tasso, known as Le Tasso, (1544 – 1595).

Armida, daughter of the king of Damascus, Muslim magician, wishes for the defeat and death of the Crusaders. Through her enchantments, Armida has already attracted many knights seduced by her beauty to her enchanted island to change them into animals. Rinaldo, mythical founder of the House of Este of Ferrara, is the hero of this crusade and his departure from the Christian camp, like that of Achilles in the Iliad, plunges the crusaders into helplessness and misfortune. Armida meets Rinaldo, but falling in love with him she takes him to her enchanted island where through her artifices she keeps him in love dependence. To do this, she uses a crystal mirror in which Rinaldo only sees the beauty of his lover and a belt woven with all the feelings of Love, which keeps him even more attached to Armide.

Taking advantage of the sorceress's absence, two knights, Ubolde and the Dane, responsible for bringing him back to Jerusalem, present him with the diamond shield in which Rinaldo finally sees himself as he has become, effeminate and languid, covered in jewels. and perfumes. Once again the Paladin he was before, he fled this island where love kept him chained. Armida notices this and using sighs, complaints and tears, tries in vain to hold him back. After her departure she makes her island disappear and leaves on her magic chariot to reach her palace in Syria.

As it
19th century

Dimensions:
Diameter: 23 cm