Figure

About this object

Narrative

The sea in 15th and 16th-century Portuguese history has exerted a strong influence on the pottery of Laurinda Pias. During that time the Portuguese discovered sea routes to India and Brazil. They navigated the oceans from the northern Atlantic to the shores of Australia, and ventured inland across Africa. Laurinda has sculpted the outstanding protagonists of this period of exploration, including this ceramic bust of Camões. Luís Vaz de Camões is generally considered Portugal's greatest poet. He is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads).

Physical description

Green glazed ceramic bust of a male (Luís Vaz de Camões) with a protruding nose and lip, a long beard, and an eye patch over the right eye. He wears a crown of leaves encircling his head and a ruffled collar with seven buttons. There is a quill pen on the side with “LUSIADAS” inscribed on the shaft.