Palazzo Davanzati - Mibac 1450

Lo Scheggia painted this birth tray, or ‘desco da parto’, in 15th century Florence. These trays were commissioned to celebrate a birth, usually a first-born, and were often given to the new mother, accompanied by sweets and gifts. The image of the two babies wrestling is a visual cue about masculinity and the expectations that would have been placed on Florentine boys and men. By depicting the children naked, the artist draws on a classical tradition that associates the nude figure with ideas of virtue and heroism. The heraldic symbols in the background are important, too, telling us something about the family for whom the painting was commissioned. The history of this object, how it was made, and its status as a symbol of cultural attitudes in Florence is what interests me most. Studying household inventories and family records would allow us to understand more about the social context of the painting.