Trencher

Nº inv.: CE1/00648

This carving board is covered with a green and manganese glaze. This type of piece was first manufactured in Paterna at the end of the 13th century, after the conquest of Valencia by Jaime I in 1238. The craftsmen were both Muslim and Christian, but with Muslim predominance. The combination of green, black or purple was not a novelty; it dates from the Caliphate period, as already seen in the Zafa de Cervatillo. However, there was a difference in terms of the shape, due to the change in domestic habits, and traditional Muslim styles took on Medieval Christian characteristics.

The green and manganese ceramics from Paterna combine Muslim tradition with gothic elements of Western Christian art and depict different motifs: anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, plant, architectural, epigraphic, heraldic and medicinal.

In this piece, the decoration depicts two figures, male and female, facing each side of an axis, representing the hom or tree of life, and flanked by pine cones and stalks of symmetrical leaves. This piece was made in Paterna and dates from the 14thcentury.

On display in the Sala de cerámica cristiana medieval (Medieval Christian Ceramics Room), second floor.