"This handbook is an introduction to Italian Renaissance ceramics. These colorful and highly decorative wares form a distinctive and significant part of the artistic achievement of the period." "The Fortnum collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, is outstanding in its quality and range. In this selection the author illustrates fine and characteristic pieces by leading artists in the major centres of production. In his detailed commentary on each piece he provides documentary and bibliographical information, and relates the subject matter of the painted scenes to the wider artistic culture of the time." "Like its companions in this series, Maiolica serves as a scholarly presentation of the finest pieces from a major collection, while at the same time providing a valuable general introduction to this most vivid and culturally illuminating of the 'minor arts' of Renaissance Italy. It is an expanded and updated edition of the book first published in 1989, incorporating most recent additions to the Museum's collections."--BOOK JACKET.