Tile with Montefeltro emblem

A square ceramic tile, uncoated, produced using a mold featuring the emblem of flaming torches on two opposing corners. The remaining corners bear the initials of Federico and the title of duke in capital letters.
Two similar examples with the emblem of Federico da Montefeltro are housed in the Museum of Palazzo Venezia (inv. 1161/1 and 1161/2). 
The tile originates from the Palazzo Ducale in Gubbio, where 275 similar tiles that once adorned the palace roof are still preserved. In the early twentieth century, the Balducci family, then owners of the palace, sold many tiles on the antiques market. 
The emblem's design has been attributed to Francesco di Giorgio Martini, who used tiles made according to the measurements of a Urbino foot as a “model to measure the entire courtyard, from the windows to the columns, to the distance between columns, linking the various dimensions through proportional ratios” (Capannelli 2008, pp. 187 and following). A connection has been suggested between the obscure meaning of the flames and the biographical events of the young Federico during his stay in Venice, where he joined the Compagnia della Calza (Sannipoli 2008, pp. 272 and following). There is no precise information about the place of production although it is likely to be a furnace in the Duchy of Urbino.

Luca Pesante

Fair.

Family insignia of Duke Federico da Montefeltro (1422–1482).

Palazzo Ducale di Gubbio; 
Rome, Collezione Evan Gorga, 1948;
Roma, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, 1948.

Bernini Dante, Embrici eugubini, in «Faenza», LXXXIV (1-3), 1998, pp. 147-153;
Capannelli Spartaco (a cura di), Il Palazzo Ducale di Gubbio e Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Gubbio 2008;
Sannipoli Ettore, Dipinti, ornamenti, simboli e altro, in Capannelli Spartaco (a cura di), Il Palazzo Ducale di Gubbio e Francesco di Giorgio Martini, pp. 227-295.