ded with light blue and yellow, sometimes
traced in dark blue on a paler grey-blue glaze (called _berettino_) or
painted in darker tints on a ground of orange or full yellow, the
Faventine arabesques form a conspicuous feature of the early wares of
this century. Honeysuckle patterns and interlaced lines drawn in pure
white on a toned tin-enamel (white on white or _sopra-bianco_
decoration) commonly appear on the sides of the deep wells of the
dishes, while in the centre is a single figure, a coat of arms, or a
small figure-subject. A similar treatment, without the _sopra-bianco_,
was accorded to the fruit-dishes, shallow bowls on low feet, &c., with
moulded gadroons or scalloped sides, which are generally attributed to
Faenza or Castel Durante. The workshops of Siena were also noted for
delicately painted grotesques and arabesques, with a rich
brownish-yellow or deep black ground. At Gubbio, too, the "grotesque"
decoration was practised with marked success. Other developments of this
style are the "_a candelieri_" designs, in which grotesques were
symmetrically arranged round some central subject, such as a candelabrum
or vase, and "_a trofei_" in which trophies of arms, musical
instruments, and other objects were symmetrically disposed, or arranged
in studied disarray throughout the design; these patterns are generally
associated with the wares of Castel Durante and Deruta. Lovers' gifts,
dishes in which the whole space is occupied by a portrait bust of a girl
or man, with the name and a complimentary adjective inscribed on a
ribbon in the background, were common to Faenza, Castel Durante and many
other factories. Elaborate figure-subjects also were attempted early in
the century at Faenza and with no little success, as may be seen from a
dish in the British Museum, which is entirely occupied by the scene of
the death of the Virgin, after a print by Martin Schongauer, delicately
painted in shades of blue, and dated about 1500.

In the early Faventine school the outlines of the figures are almost
always traced in blue, even when they are laid on the grey-blue
_berettino_ ground, and blue was the prevailing colour of the shading
and details. In the third decade of the century the style affected at
Urbino superseded that of Faenza. The majolica painter's palette was now
complete; in addition to the primitive blue, manganese-purple,
transparent green and yellow, we find black, white, orange, greens of
varying shades, brown