which they are painted. The well-known plate (in the woodcut) on which a painter is represented engaged in executing the portraits of a noble personage and his lady, who are seated near,and which were supposed to be intended for Raffaelle and the Fornarina, is a fine specimen of the work of perhaps the most able artist engaged at this pottery. This beautiful example is now in the South Kensington museum, acquired from the Bernal collection.
At Siena also admirable works were produced but we are disposed to think that their inspiration was derived from Caffaggiolo, whence also her potters probably received instruction in the application of the stanniferous enamel. Some pieces of the latter end of the fifteenth century are with probability ascribed to Siena, and dated pieces as early as 1501. Tiles also from the same fabrique are remarkable for the excellence of their grotesque borders on an orange yellow ground, having centres painted with great delicacy: some unusual examples having a black ground to their decorative borders.
Rome and the south of Italy do not appear to have produced meritorious works in this field, during the period of its greatest excellence in the northern and Tuscan states; and it is not till the dispersion of the artists, consequent upon the absorption of the Umbrian duchy into the Pontifical states, that we find a Durantine establishing a pottery at Rome, and producing in 1600 an inferior repetition of the grotesque style so admirable in the hands of the Fontana, half a century earlier at Urbino. The decadence was rapid; an increased number of inferior potteries produced wares of a lower price and quality; the fall of the ducal houses which had so greatly encouraged its higher excellence as a branch of fine art, together with the general deterioration in artistic taste, alike tended to its end.
A revivalin the production of native decorative earthenware took place in various parts of Italy, as also in the rest of Europe. The efforts made to imitate true porcelain were reflected by improvements in the quality and decoration of enamelled earthenware, and in the last century we find potteries in various pacts of Piedmont and Lombardy, Venice, Genoa and Savona, Urbino and Pesaro, Siena, Castelli, Florence and Rome, producing wares of greater or less artistic excellence. But although careful drawing is occasionally found, as on some of the pieces painted by Ferdinando Maria Campana at Siena, from the prints of Marc Antonio, and some charming designs with borders of amorini among foliage, and subject pieces of great merit from the Castelli fabrique; and although the “technique” of the manufacture is also of great excellence; the ornamentation wants that masculine power of colouring and vigour of the renaissance, so strikingly apparent upon the better productions of the older furnaces, and the admirable delicacy and richness of effect to be seen upon the earlier works.
The endeavours made throughout Europe to discover a method of making porcelain, similar in its qualities or approaching to that imported from China, had begun in the sixteenth century. In this direction also royal encouragement was of the greatest value, and we find that first in the field of discovery was, as naturally might be expected, that country in which the enamelled earthenware had previously reached its highest perfection. Under the patronage of the Grand Duke Francis I. about 1580, experimentswere made which at length resulted in the production of an artificial porcelain of close body and even glaze. The existence of such a production and the history of its origin have been revealed to us only within the last few years, and we are indebted to Dr. Foresi of Florence for having made this discovery, so interesting in the history of the ceramic arts. He had noticed and collected some pieces of a porcelain of heavy nature and indifferent whiteness, decorated in blue with flower and leafage pattern of somewhat oriental style but at the same time unmistakably European, on some of which a mark occurs consisting of the capital letter F, surmounted by a dome. The earliest recorded European porcelain had heretofore been that produced by Dr. Dwight, at Fulham, in 1671, and at St. Cloud in France, about 1695, but the specimens found by Dr. Foresi were manifestly not attributable to either of these or any other known sources. Further researches brought to light a piece of the same ware on which the pellets of the Medici coat were substituted for the more useful mark, and led to a search among the records of that house. Dr. Foresi was rewarded for his trouble by the discovery that the above-named duke had actually caused experiments to be made, and had established a private fabrique in connection with his laboratory in the Boboli gardens. The Magliabecchian library yielded an important manuscript compilation by some person employed by the duke, giving the nature of the composition and details of the production of this ware. The marks on the pieces explained the rest. The Medici arms and the initials F. M. M. E. D. I. I., reading “Franciscus Medici Magnus Etruriæ Dux Secundus,” on one important piece now in the collection of the baron Gustave de Rothschild of Paris, clearly attached it to his reign, while the letter F, the initial of the city, and the dome of her cathedral of which she was so proud, equally pointed to the place of its production.
Another exceptionally fine and interesting piece has recently been acquired in Italy by signor Alessandro Castellani. It is a shallow basin in the centre of which the figure of St. Mark, withthe lion, is painted in the usual blue pigment, and in a manner which stamps it as the work of a master’s pencil. What makes this specimen particularly interesting is the existence of a monogram composed of the letters G. and P. which is painted on the volume held beneath the lion’s paw, while on the reverse of the piece the usual mark occurs, as given in the accompanying facsimile. It has been suggested that this monogram may be that of Raffaelle’s great pupil, Giulio PippidettoRomano, and that, as it has been stated that he occasionally painted upon enamelled earthenware, this piece may be considered as his work. That the design was from the hand of that master is probable, and that its execution was by able ceramic painters is equally so: but Giulio Romano died in 1546, whereas the Medici porcelain does not appear to have been perfected before 1580.
This Florentine porcelain is especially rare; scarcely thirty examples being known to exist. Three of these are at SouthKensington, and one is in the possession of the present writer. It is of value to our subject, not merely as an important episode in the narrative of the rise and progress of ceramic industry in Italy but from its exceptional nature, as one at least of the specimens was decorated by an artist whose handiwork is to be recognised upon pieces of the Urbino enamelled earthenware. The fine “Brocca” 15 inches high, belonging to the baron Gustave Rothschild, is surmounted by an elegantly formed handle springing from grotesque winged masks, modelled in relief. The body is decorated with two belts of grotesques, divided by a narrower one, on which are masks and scroll ornaments; beneath these is a band divided into arched panels or compartments, in each of which is a flower in somewhat Persian taste. These grotesques are executed with great freedom and force and at the same time with a careful finish and delicacy, and in the manner of an unknown painter who worked at the botega of Camillo Fontana.
It remains to us only to notice the productions of the present day, many of the more meritorious of which are only imitations (in some instances, we regret to say, produced for fraudulent purposes) of the more excellent works of an original period of art: and to give some account of the mode of manufacture, the forms and uses of the pieces, and the manner of their decoration.
The first successful attempt at re-producing the Italian enamelled pottery of the renaissance from original models was, we believe, made at Doccia (the manufactory belonging to the Marquis Ginori) near Florence. The greater number of these pieces were ordered by an unprincipled dealer of that city who supplied the models, and by whom and his agents they were more or less scratched, chipped and otherwise “doctored” to look old, and so imposed upon unwary purchasers at high prices. The writer recollects some of these specimens which were, years since, offered to him at Leghorn by an English tradesman of position (himself possibly deceived), to which a family history had been attached, theirreputed owner (it was said) being under the necessity of parting with them. Since that period the productions of Doccia have improved, the lustre pigment has been re-produced, and these revivals have been justly admired at various international exhibitions of art and industry as legitimate works of the manufactory.
But a still better imitation of the metallic lustre of Gubbio has been produced by an artist of that city; and at Siena some excellent copies of tiles and other pieces have been made; so also at Faenza. Bologna, too, has made copies of the rilievos of Della Robbia which, like those produced at Doccia, may be purchased new of the makers, or found, scratched and dirty, in various curiosity shops throughout Europe, ready to pass for old, some of the worst being occasionally signed as by Luca to enhance their interest. It is to be regretted that a few of these forgeries, as well as admirably executed terra-cottas, have found their way into public museums under a false passport.
At Naples reproductions of the wares of Castelli are well executed.
In France the excellent reproductions of Persian and Rhodian wares by Deck, and some good imitations of the Italian enamelled and lustred pottery by various artists; and in England the pieces produced by Minton, Wedgwood, and other manufacturers, have led to modifications and adaptations, resulting in an important development of this branch of artistic pottery.
Weare fortunate in possessing a manual of the Italian potters’ art of the sixteenth century, in the manuscript by the “Cavaliere Cipriano Piccolpassi Durantino,” as he signs his name on the title page of his work. Nearly all the information on this branch of the subject, conveyed to us by Passeri and subsequently by Sig. Giuseppe Raffaelli and other writers, has been gathered from that manuscript written in 1548. We think we cannot do better than go at once to this fountain head, and epitomize the information it conveys, upon the manner and materials, upon the forms and decoration, of maiolica.
After a “prologo” in which the author defends himself from the invidious remarks of others, he tells us how the earth or clay brought down by the riverMetaurowas gathered from its bed during the summer when the stream was low, and by some was made into large balls, which were stowed in holes (terrai) purposely dug in the ground; by others it was previously dried in the sun; here it remained to mellow and purge itself from impurities, which otherwise would be injurious. This same method of gathering the material for the foundation of the wares was adopted at many other places. At Venice the earth of Ravenna and Rimini is worked, although they frequently use that dug at Battaglia, near Padua, but for the better sort that of Pesaro.
Our author enters into further details of the method of gathering the potters’ clay where there are no rivers, by digging a succession of square pits connected by a channel in the depressions between hills, into which the earth, washed by showers of rain, is refined in its passage from pit to pit. For inferior wares the earth is then collected on a table and well beaten with an iron instrument, weighing twelve pounds, three or four times, being kneaded with the fingers as a woman would in making bread, and all impurities carefully removed. Afterwards it is formed into masses, from which a piece is taken to work upon the wheel or press into moulds. If the earth is too “morbida” it is placed upon the wall or house top, on sieves, through which it is washed by the rain, and gathered in old broken vases, &c., placed beneath.
For making wares “all’ urbinate” (meaning probably with a white ground) the dug clay ought to be white, for if of a blue colour it will not take the tin glaze; this, however, is not objectionable if it is to be covered with a slip of “terra di Vicenza” (a white clay), a method which he terms “alla castellana.” But it is the reverse with the clay gathered from the beds of rivers, the blue in this case being of the better quality.
It is difficult for us now accurately to apply the names which he gives to the variously shaped pieces, and the more so, as we are informed that in our author’s time various names were attached by different artists and at different potteries to the same form. Thus the “Vaso a pera” was also known as “Vaso da due maniche” and “Vaso Dorico;” and the body of such a vase was by some made in one piece, by others in two or three, making joints at the lower part and at the insertion of the neck, and uniting them by means of lute (barbatina). Vases and jugs with pyriform bodies, moulded handles, and shaped spouts, or lips, were known as “a bronzo antico” (fig. 1), their forms, doubtless, being derived from the antique bronze vessels discovered in excavations.
Some of these pieces have a stopper fitting into the neck by a screw, the worm of which is worked upon it by means of a piece of wood (stecca) formed with projecting teeth, the interior of theneck being furnished with a corresponding sunken worm. The details of all these methods are illustrated on the third table of
Fig. 1.Fig. 2.
Fig. 1.Fig. 2.
Fig. 1.Fig. 2.
his atlas of plates. After telling us that thealbarello(fig. 2), or drug pot, universally known under that name, is made of different sizes and always of one piece, our author describes the manner of
Fig. 3.Fig. 4.
Fig. 3.Fig. 4.
Fig. 3.Fig. 4.
forming theVaso senza bocca(fig. 3), a sort of puzzle jug with hermetically fixed cover on the top and an opening beneath the foot, from which an inverted funnel rises inside the body of the vase. To fill it, the piece must be turned upside down and the liquid poured into the funnel below, and may be again poured outat the spout when required, in the ordinary way, the vase having been placed upright.
It is hardly necessary to give a list of different forms, but we may follow our author in his description of that set of five, or sometimes nine separate pieces, which, fitting together, form a single vase (fig. 4). These sets, known as “scudella da donna di parto” or “vasi puerperali,” were made for the use of ladies in their confinements, and consist of the following pieces:—(1.) The broth basin orScodella, on raised foot. Over this fits the lid (2), which also does duty as a plate (Tagliere) for the roll or slice of bread; inverted over this is the drinking cup. (3),Ongaresca, upon the foot of which fits the salt cellar,Saliera(4), surmounted by its cover (5). The particulars of the arrangement of the nine pieces are not given. Single portions of these are to be found in collections, but the present writer is not aware of any one complete set having been preserved.
Using either themugiuoloor thescudella, the mass of clay placed upon the disk is revolved by the wheel and fashioned into form with the hands, assisted by variously shaped pieces of flat wood (stecche) and moulding tools of iron (serri) all of which are figured in Piccolpasso’s designs.
The forms of the seggers,case(that is, cases made of fire-clay and pierced with holes, in which the finer wares are baked, being thus protected from dirt or accident in the furnace), and the composition of the clay of which they were made, as also of thetagli,punte,smarelle,pironi, &c. variously formed tripods and supports for holding the pieces to be fired, are given us in detail. The clay consists of a mixture of the red earth used for coarser wares and the white, which is reserved for vases and finer pieces.
Shaped pieces with ornaments in relief, masks, spouts, handles, &c. are formed in moulds made of plaster of Paris (gesso) upon the original models. The mould being ready, the potter’s clay is formed into a cheese-shaped mass of a diameter suitable to thesize of the mould; from this slices are cut by means of a wire worked over two pieces of wood of the thickness of the required slice, and placed at either side of the cheese of clay. A slice of even thickness being thus obtained it is pressed by the hand into the hollows of the mould; that for the other side of the piece is then steadily pressed over the clay which occupies the corresponding mould, and the excess exuding from the edge between is neatly cut away. The foot would be similarly formed in another mould, and subsequently attached to the bowl by means of lute (barbatina). This lute is made of the finer quality of clay, much worked and allowed to dry, then mixed with a certain quantity of the shearings of fine woollen cloth, kneaded with water and diluted to the consistence of thick cream.
To make shaped vases or ewers (bronzi antiche) a mould is formed to each side of the piece, uniting longitudinally at the handle and spout; the clay pressed into each of these is neatly cut from the edge by means of thearchetto, a wire strained across a forked stick, and joined to the corresponding side withbarbatinaby which also the handle, formed in another mould, is attached to the piece, the inside being smoothed at the joint by means of a knobbed stick (bastone). The pieces known as “abborchiati,” such as salt-cellars with ornaments in rilievo, are made in the same manner, as are also the “smartellati” or tazze, &c. formed after the manner of pieces in beaten metal (repoussé) with bosses and radiating compartments in relief. The basket-like pieces (canestrella) were similarly moulded.
In his second book Piccolpasso gives the receipts and methods of preparing the glaze and colours, commencing with the “marzacotto,” the silicate of potass or glass, which is the foundation of all glaze. We are then told the manner of constructing a reverberatory furnace in which the tin and lead can be oxydized, and which is built of brick with an earth called “sciabione,” probably a sort of fire-clay. It consists of an elongated square structure divided longitudinally into two compartments, in one ofwhich is placed the fire, while the other is occupied, on a higher level, by a shallow tray or trough made oftufo, a volcanic stone, or of brickwork, to contain the metals, upon and over which the flame of the burning wood is made to play in its passage to the draft hole at the end.
The construction of other furnaces is his next subject. They were built of brick and of an elongated quadrilateral plan, divided into two stories by an arched floor, pierced to allow of a free circulation to the heat; the upper chamber, which is higher than the lower, is furnished with four small openings on the upper part of either side (vedette) and nine similar ones in the vaulted roof; the lower chamber has a well or depression sunk about one foot beneath the surface to receive the ashes from the fire, and both it and the upper one have an arched opening or feeding door (bocca) at one end. The dimensions usual at Castel Durante were six feet long by five wide, and six high, but in Venice they were larger, for, says Piccolpasso, “I have seen one at the house of Mº Francesco di Pier ten feet wide by twelve long, outside, having three openings to feed the fire.”
In the upper chamber the wares are placed for baking, the finer sorts being enclosed in the seggers (case) piled one above another, and the coarser arranged between, supported by pieces of tile, &c. and so packed as to fill the chamber as much as possible without impeding the free current of the fire. This is the first baking, and at the same time the pigments, prepared as previously described, are submitted to the action of the fire in the upper part of the furnace. The opening to the upper chamber is then roughly bricked and luted up, leaving only a small orifice (bocchetta) in the upper part. The small lateral openings (vedette) are also closed, and those in the roof loosely covered with pieces of tile. The vases containing the mixture of sand andfecciafor making themarzacottoare then placed upon each other under the furnace at the further end (probably in the lower or fire chamber). All being prepared, and invoking the name of God, “usoChristiano,” with the sign of the cross, take a handful of straw and light the fire made of well-dried wood placed in the lower chamber, and which must be gradually increased for four hours, taking care that it is never pushed too much, lest the pieces run or become too hard to receive the glaze. The furnace should be of a clear heat all throughout and so continued for about twelve hours, drawing away the ashes from below with the “cacciabragie” or rake. When sufficiently baked let the fire burn out, and remove the cinders that all may become cool.
We must refer to the Introduction to the large catalogue of the maiolica collection at South Kensington for further extracts, quoting here one sentence only where the author says, “And now I will give you the ‘sbiancheggiati’ that is made in Lombardy, bearing in mind that the earth of Vicenza is used, making the design on the white earth; I would say with a style of iron of this kind (gives design), and this drawing is called ‘sgraffio.’”This is an interesting passage connecting as it does these incised wares with the fabriques of Lombardy, to which, from the character of the designs upon the earlier pieces, we have always assigned them.
In his third book Piccolpasso goes into further details of the glaze and colours, manner of painting, firing, &c.
The “bianchetto” which is only once baked, and the other colours, being removed from the furnace, are triturated with water on a “piletta” or hand colour mill, or by means of a pestle and mortar, to reduce them to a fine powder, and passed through a horse-hair sieve. Some grind them on a slab of porphyry which is even better. The green pigment may be baked two or three times. The “zallo” and the “zallulino,” after once or twice baking, are covered with earth and again baked in the hottest part of the furnace.
The white enamel glaze, having been properly milled and fined through a sieve, is made into a bath with water to the consistency of milk. The pottery baked in biscuit is taken out of the furnace,and after being carefully dusted with a fox’s tail is dipped into this bath of glaze and immediately withdrawn, or some of the pieces may be held in the left hand while the liquor is poured over them from a bowl. A trial piece should show the thickness of glove leather in the adhering coat. The “invetriatura” having been thus applied and the pieces allowed to dry are now ready to receive the painting. This is executed with coarser and finer brushes orpenelli, made of goats’ and asses’ hair, and the finest of the whiskers of rats or mice; the ordinary wares being held in the left hand or on the left knee and the finer in wooden cases, lined with tow, to prevent rubbing. A different brush must be used for each colour. The painters generally sit round a circular table suspended from the ceiling so that it may turn round, and upon this the different pigments are placed.
The painted pieces after being dried in a clean place, taking care that the “bianco” is not chipped or rubbed off, are painted withzallulinoon the outer edge and are then ready to receive the “coperta” or outer glaze. The liquid of the bath must be thin, as a translucent coating only is required over the colours; into this the pieces are dipped, and being again dried are ready for the final firing.
In a supplement Piccolpasso gives us an account of the manner of makingmaiolica, and it will be observed that throughout his narrative he has never applied that term to the painted and glazed wares produced at his own botega, or at any of the others to which he refers.
He tells us that he feels he ought not to omit the account of it which he has received from others, although he has never made or even witnessed the making of it himself. “I know well” he says “that it is painted over finished works; this I have seen in Ugubio, at the house of one Maestro Cencio.” The portion of the design which is to receive the lustre colour is left white at the first painting; thus, a figure in a grotesque whose extremities are to be lustred will only have those parts painted which are to becoloured, leaving the extremities merely sketched in outline upon the white ground; these, after the colours have been set by firing, are subsequently touched with the lustre pigment. The process of firing differs from the former one, because the pieces are not enclosed in seggars but are exposed to the direct action of the flames.
The furnace also is differently constructed, the fire chamber square in form, having no arched roof pierced with holes but only two intersecting arches of brick to support the chamber above, the four corners being left as openings for the free current of the flames. Upon these arches is placed a large circular chamber or vessel, formed of fire-clay, which fits into the square brick structure, touching at the four sides and supported on the intersecting arches beneath, but leaving the angles free. This inner chamber is pierced in all directions with circular holes, to allow the flames free passage among the wares. The method of building these furnaces is kept guarded, and it is pretended that in it and the manner of firing consist the great secrets of the art. Thescudelliare packed with the edge of one against the foot of another, the first being supported on an unglazed cup. The furnaces are small, only from three to four feet square, because this art is uncertain in its success, frequently only six pieces being good out of one hundred; “true the art is beautiful and ingenious, and when the pieces are good they pay in gold.” The fire is increased gradually, and is made ofpallior dry willow branches; with these three hours firing is given, then, when the furnace shows a certain clearness, having in readiness a quantity of dry broom cease using the willow wood, and give an hour’s firing with this; after, with a pair of tongs remove a sample from above. Others leave an opening in one of the sides by which a sample or trial, painted on a piece of broken ware, can be removed for examination, and if it appears sufficiently baked decrease the fire. This done, allow all to cool, then take out the wares and allow them to soak in a lessive of soap-suds, wash and rub them drywith a piece of flannel, then with another dry piece and some ashes (of wood) give them a gentle rubbing, which will develope all their beauty.
“This is all, as it appears to me, that can be said about the maiolica, as also about the other colours and mixtures that are required in this art.”
Wehave given in the last chapter a very brief abstract or epitome of the interesting manuscript of Piccolpasso, which offers us a perfect idea of the manner and comparatively simple appliances under which the beautiful examples of the potter’s art were produced in Italy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Therationaleof these processes is clear enough and requires no comment; but we may perhaps remark that whereas the fixing of the glaze and colours in the ordinary process is merely produced by a degree of heat sufficient to liquefy and blend them, in the case of the metallic reflection a different effect is requisite, and different means adopted. The pigments consist partly of metallic salts, which being painted on the wares, after exposure to a simple heat for some time, have then directed upon their glowing surface the heated smoke given off by the fagots of broom; this smoke being in fact carbon in a finely divided state has great power, at a high temperature, of reducing metals from their salts; painted on the wares these are thereby decomposed, leaving a thin coat of mixed metal, varying in colour and iridescence from admixture with the glaze and other causes, and producing the beautiful effects so well known.
The various names by which the Italian pottery of the renaissance has been known have in some instances arisen from, as they have also led to, error. “Faenza ware,” doubtless, had its origin from the town of that name, although its French equivalent “faïence” may either be a translation of the Italian, or may be derived from a town in Provence, called “Faiance” or “Fayence,” a few miles from Cannes and Fréjus, where potteries are stated to have existed from an early period. “Urbino ware” and “Umbrian ware” explain themselves as connected with those important sites of the manufacture, while the name of “Raffaelle ware” was doubtless derived from the subjects after his designs, with which so many pieces were painted, and from the grotesques after his manner. A very beautiful drawing of his school, and which has been ascribed to Raffaelle’s own pencil, is in the royal collection at Windsor. It is for the border of a plate, and consists of a continuous circular group of amorini, dancing in the most graceful attitudes.
Scripture subjects are perhaps more general upon the pieces of early date, particularly those of Faenza, on which designs from Albert Dürer, Martin Schön, and other German painters are found, executed with the greatest care; such subjects were also used at Caffaggiolo. The spirit of the renaissance awakening a passion for the antique declared itself in the numerous representations from Greek and Roman history and mythology, scenes from Homer, the metamorphoses of Ovid, and the like, which formed the main stock subjects for the wares of the Umbrian fabriques, excepting always the sacred histories delineated so admirably by Orazio Fontana and others, from the designs of Raffaelle and his scholars. It was among the artists of this duchy that the habit of writing the subject on the back of the piece chiefly prevailed, with specimens of curious spelling and strange latinity. Transmutation of subject is not rare, as the burning of the “Borgo” for the siege of Troy, and others. The forms appear to have varied considerably at different localities of the craft, partaking of a classic origin, mixed with some orientalism in the earlier and gothic forms in the more northern pieces; but upon all the exuberance of fancy and rich ornamentation characteristic of the Italian “cinque-cento” is made evident, as it is upon the furniture, the bronzes, and the jewellery of that artistic period.
There can be little doubt that the maiolica and finer painted wares were looked upon at the time they were produced as objects of ornament or as services “de luxe.” The more ordinary wares ordozzinalewere doubtless used for general domestic purposes in the houses of the higher classes, but the finer pieces decorated by better artists were highly prized. Thus we find that services were only made for royal or princely personages, frequently as presents. Some of the choicest specimens in our cabinets were single gift pieces; small plates andscodellewhich it was then the fashion for gallants to present, filled with preserves orconfettito ladies. Many of these are of the form known astondino, small, with a wide flat brim and sunk centre; in this the central medallion is generally occupied by a figure of Cupid, hearts tied by ribbon, or pierced by arrows; or by joined handsand similar amatory devices, or with a shield of arms and initial letters. The borders are painted with grotesques and trophies, among which sonnets and music sometimes occur, and medallions with love emblems, portraits, and armorial bearings. Theseamatoriipieces also occur as large plates and deep saucers, the surface of each entirely covered with a portrait of the beloved (as in the engraving p.63) accompanied by a ribbon or banderole, on which her name or a motto is inscribed, often with the complimentary accompaniment of “bella,” “diva,” “paragon di tutti,” &c. Jugs, vases, and other shaped pieces were also decorated in a similar style.
We find in maiolica all objects for table use: inkstands, ornamental vases, and quaint surprises; salt-cellars of curious forms; jugs of different size and model; many kinds of drug pots and flasks; pilgrims’ bottles, vasques, and cisterns; candelabra and candlesticks, rilievos and figures in the round; in short, every object capable of being produced in varied fancy by the potter’s art: even beads for necklaces, some of which are in the writer’s possession, decorated with knot work and concentric patterns and inscribed severallyANDREA·BELLA=MARGARITA·BELA=MEMENTO·MEI·; these last, the only examples known, are finished with considerable care and are probably of the earlier years of the sixteenth century.
There is little doubt that many of the pieces ostensibly for table use were only intended and applied for decorative purposes (like the vase in the woodcut p.131), to enrich the shelves of the “credenza,” “dressoir,” or high-backed sideboard, intermingled with gold and silver plate, Venetian glass, &c. Such pieces were known as “piatti di pompa” or show plates, and among them are some of the most important and beautiful of the larger dishes and bacili, as well as the more elaborate and elegant of the shaped pieces.
Persian, Damascus, and Rhodian Wares.
Ina previous chapter we have traced the origin or parentage of this section of wares to the glazed pottery and artificial semi-porcelain of Egypt, and we have seen that in Assyria and at Babylon siliceous glazed tiles were used for wall decoration. Whether in Persia and in India a similar manufacture existed at that early period we have at present no exact knowledge, but we are told by the Count Julien de Rochchouart in his interesting “Souvenirs d’un voyage en Perse” that he possesses a brick glazed of dark blue colour, with cuneiform characters in white, which was found among the ruins of the ancient city of Kirman. The mosques of the 12th century in that country, particularly that at Natinz, are covered with glazed tiles of the most perfect workmanship and artistic excellence, with coloured and lustred decoration. Later examples—of the earlier years of the 17th century—specimens of which are in the Kensington museum are also beautiful, and the fashion, though in a degenerate form, is revived in that country at the present day. The piece of glazed pottery supposed to have been of ancient Hebrew origin and now preserved in the Louvre is also of this nature, and it is suggested by M. Jacquemart that the Israelites may have acquired the art in Egypt.
The varieties of pottery known under the names of Persian, Damascus, Rhodian, and Lindus wares, composing a large family, may be classified assiliceous or glass-glazedwares. The leading characteristics are—
1. A paste composed of a sandy and a white argillaceous earth, and some alkali or flux, greatly varying in their relative proportions, and producing degrees of fineness and hardness from a coarse sandy earthenware to a semi-vitrified translucent body, the latter being in fact a kind of porcelain of artificial paste.2. A glaze formed as a true glass, of siliceous sand and an alkali (potash or soda), with the addition in some cases of a small quantity of oxide of lead or other flux.
1. A paste composed of a sandy and a white argillaceous earth, and some alkali or flux, greatly varying in their relative proportions, and producing degrees of fineness and hardness from a coarse sandy earthenware to a semi-vitrified translucent body, the latter being in fact a kind of porcelain of artificial paste.
2. A glaze formed as a true glass, of siliceous sand and an alkali (potash or soda), with the addition in some cases of a small quantity of oxide of lead or other flux.
Such is the general, but by no means the constant, definition of the component ingredients of all the varieties rightly classed together as members of this group, for there can be no doubt that great variations occurred in their composition at different periods and places, and some examples of the finer kinds of Persian, Arabian, and perhaps of Damascus wares are met with in, or under, the glaze of which the oxide of tin has been used to produce a white and more even surface.
A large amount of information about Persian ware is conveyed to us in the work of the comte de Rochchouart who, during a residence of some years in Persia, gave great attention to its ceramic productions of former and of present times. After establishing the fact of the former production of at least four distinct kinds of Kaolinic porcelain, he minutely describes ancient varieties of faience of which the polychrome pieces are the more rare, the blue and white less so; he mentions one uncommon variety, believed to have been made at Cachan, as having a paste of red earth covered with a stanniferous enamel of great beauty, and painted in cobalt under a glaze highly baked; they ring like metal. We do not recollect having seen an example of this variety. Marks imitating those on Chinese porcelain occur on pieces painted in cobalt blue on white. He further tells us that the ancient faience of Persia is as admirable as the modern is detestable, notwithstanding it retains a degree oforiental elegance. The industry at present is carried on at Nahinna; at Natinz, where pottery has been made for some hundred years, and where some of the finest was produced but now inferior; at Cachan, turquoise blue, and many-coloured; while Hamadan, Kaswine and Teheran make inferior wares, the latter being the worst.
We do not derive any information from M. de Rochchouart on the subject of the lustred wares, except in his description of the tiles of the mosque of Natinz of the 12th century; nor do we learn anything of that variety of creamy white pottery having the sides pierced through the paste but filled with the translucent glaze, and which is believed to be the Gombrōn ware of Horace Walpole’s day. But he gives interesting information on the subject of the tiles used for decoration, of which the finest are those mentioned above; those of Ispahan and of the period of Shah Abbas (1585-1629) being also admirable for their exquisite design.
The Persian glazed pottery known to us may be divided into:
A. Wares, generally highly baked, and sometimes semi-translucent. Paste, fine and rather thin, decorated with ruby, brown, and coppery lustre, on dark blue and creamy white ground. Engravedp. 68is a very curious and characteristic example: unfortunately imperfect. It is in the Kensington collection.B. Wares, of fine paste, highly baked, semi-translucent, of creamy colour and rich clear glaze, running into tears beneath the piece of a pale sea-green tint. Its characteristic decoration consisting of holes pierced through the paste, and filled in with the transparent glaze: the raised centres, &c. are bordered with a chocolate brown or blue leafage, slightly used. This is supposed to be the Gombrōn ware.C. Wares, frequently of fine paste, and highly baked tosemi-transparency: the ground white; decoration of plants and animals, sometimes after the Chinese, in bright cobalt blue, the outlines frequently drawn in manganese; some pieces with reliefs and imitation Chinese marks also occur; this variety is perhaps more recent than the others.
A. Wares, generally highly baked, and sometimes semi-translucent. Paste, fine and rather thin, decorated with ruby, brown, and coppery lustre, on dark blue and creamy white ground. Engravedp. 68is a very curious and characteristic example: unfortunately imperfect. It is in the Kensington collection.
B. Wares, of fine paste, highly baked, semi-translucent, of creamy colour and rich clear glaze, running into tears beneath the piece of a pale sea-green tint. Its characteristic decoration consisting of holes pierced through the paste, and filled in with the transparent glaze: the raised centres, &c. are bordered with a chocolate brown or blue leafage, slightly used. This is supposed to be the Gombrōn ware.
C. Wares, frequently of fine paste, and highly baked tosemi-transparency: the ground white; decoration of plants and animals, sometimes after the Chinese, in bright cobalt blue, the outlines frequently drawn in manganese; some pieces with reliefs and imitation Chinese marks also occur; this variety is perhaps more recent than the others.
We assign the nameDamascusas the chief centre of a large class of wares which were also made, in all probability, in Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Asia Minor, &c., and among which pieces of Persian manufacture may be included from our want of exact knowledge of their technical differences; a certain general character pertaining to the whole class. There can be no doubt that Damascus was an important producer of this pottery, whichwas known to the commerce of the 16th century as “Damas” ware, and we have examples, in silver mountings, of the period of queen Elizabeth. It would be well, therefore, to revive the term “Damas” or “Damascus ware” for this family, of which the true Damascus and Rhodian are only local varieties, in preference to the misapplied general name of “Persian,” by which they have been known.
The paste varies in quality more than in kind, being of a grey white colour and sandy consistence, analogous to that of the Persian wares. The decoration is more generally rich in colour, the ground white, blue, turquoise, tobacco colour, and lilac, sometimes covered with scale work, with panels of oriental form or leafage, large sprays of flowers, particularly roses, tulips, hyacinths, carnations, &c., the colours used being a rich blue, turquoise, green, purple, yellow, red, black. The forms are elegant; large bowls on raised feet, flasks or bottles bulb-shaped with elongated necks; pear-shaped jugs with cylindrical necks and loop-handle; circular dishes or plates with deep centres, &c. An interesting example of the highest quality of this ware is in the writer’s possession, and is described and figured in colour in vol. xlii. of the “Archæologia.” It is a hanging lamp made for and obtained from the mosque of Omar at Jerusalem, signed and dated June 1549.
Two leading varieties are known in collections: namely,Damascus proper; known by its evenness of surface and rich glaze with subdued but harmonious colouring, certain tones of which are peculiar to this variety; for example, a dull lilac or purple, replacing the embossed red so conspicuous on the Rhodian, and used against blue, which is of two or three shades, the turquoise being frequently placed against the darker tone; a sage green is also characteristic. The dishes of this variety usually have the outer edge shaped in alternating ogee.
This kind is much more uncommon than the other,RhodianorLindus, to which the greater number of pieces known incollections as “Persian ware” belong. It is to Mr. Salzmann that we owe the discovery of the remains of ancient furnaces at Lindus, in the island of Rhodes, from the old palaces of which he collected numerous examples. This variety, although extremely beautiful, is generally coarser than the former, and the decoration
more marked and brilliant. A bright red pigment, so thickly laid on as to stand out in relief upon the surface of the piece, is very characteristic and in many cases is a colour of great beauty; the predominant decoration of the plates consists of two or three sprays of roses, pinks, hyacinths, and tulips, and leaves, sometimes tied together (as in the woodcut) at the stem and spreading over the entire surface of the piece in graceful lines; the border frequently of black and blue scroll work. Ships, birds, andanimals, are also depicted; and a shield of arms occurs on some pieces.