Istoriato plate - Nero having his mother, Agrippina tortured

The Italian majolica were received by their owners as occasional – engagement, wedding or birth – gifts, and served as decorations. A typical decoration of the colour majolica was the istoriato, presenting one or sometimes several scenes in a narrated fashion. The illustrated stories are mostly classic antique existing compositions were taken from painters and engravers.
From the four plates of the museum painted with similar coats of arms – Nicolas Rebenhaupt von Suche, governor of Lower Austria and his wife, Genoveva Lamparter, daughter of the Württemberg councillor – this one depicts Emperor Nero as he has his mother tortured and executed.