Piero De Medici's The Triumph Of Fame

When first approaching the subject matter of the desco da parto, or birth tray, one finds a crowded, and slightly chaotic throng of people centered around one elevated figure. This central figure is a female sporting a draped white robe and short blonde hair, along with a dark halo and two large wings, clearly denoting that she is the mythologized personification of Fame for which the piece has been named. The figure stands perfectly straight upon a fountain of trumpets, holding two items in her hands. In her right hand she brandishes a massive sword whose tip is the highest point of the painting. In her left hand she holds a small golden statue, of a small blind folded cherub like figure whose raised arms brandished a small bow, certainly
Along the borders of the central image is a designed motif of multicolored feathers, a symbol often found in works commissioned by Piero De’ Medici. On the reverse side of the birth tray, we find a similar design of three feathers, of the similar color scheme as those of the border of a yellow, brighter red, and an ivory or dark red color. Weaving across the three feathers is a draped banner which reads in latin “SEMPER”, meaning “forever”, likely a claim on the longevity of Medici reign in Florence. In the top left and the top right corners of the reverse side, we find two family crests, presumably those of the parents of the newly born Lorenzo, with the top left crest brandishing the notable Medici pale, or eight pills, a dynastic emblem recalling the ancestral medical profession of the now wealthy banker family. The subject matter in the central vessel of the birth tray, coupled with the personalized familial motifs, serves as a clear marker of the shifting project of fine arts at the time, which began the production non-religious, patron based works