Sunday, October 19, 2014

Majolica (Delftware,Faience)

Majolica may refer to
Tin-glazed pottery, decorated earthenware pottery with an opaque white glaze.
Maiolica, a type of tin-glazed pottery made in Italy.
Victorian majolica, brightly coloured earthenware pottery with a clear lead glaze

Tin-glazed pottery is pottery covered in glaze containing tin oxide which is white, shiny and opaque. (See tin-glazing.) The pottery body is usually made of red or buff colored earthenware and the white glaze was often used to imitate Chinese porcelain. Tin-glazed pottery is usually decorated, the decoration applied to the unfired glaze surface by brush as metallic oxides, commonly cobalt oxide, copper oxide, iron oxide, manganese dioxide and antimony oxide. The makers of Italian tin-glazed pottery from the lateRenaissance blended oxides to produce detailed and realistic polychrome paintings.
The earliest tin-glazed pottery appears to have been made in Iraq in the 9th century, the oldest fragments having been excavated during the First World War from the palace of Samarra about fifty miles north of Baghdad. From there it spread to Egypt, Persia and Spain before reaching Italy in the Renaissance, Holland in the 16th century and England, France and other European countries shortly after.
Tin-glazed (Majolica) plate fromFaenza, Italy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin-glazed_pottery








The development of white, or near white, firing bodies in Europe from the late 18th century, such as Creamware by Josiah Wedgwood and porcelain, reduced the demand for Delftware (Holland), faience (France) and majolica.
The rise in the cost of tin oxide during the First World War led to its partial substitution by zirconium compounds in the glaze.

Maiolica is Italian tin-glazed pottery dating from the Renaissance. It is decorated in bright colours on a white background, frequently depicting historical and legendary scenes
The name is thought to come from the medieval Italian word for Majorca, an island on the route for ships bringing Hispano-Moresque wares from Valencia to Italy. Moorish potters from Majorca are reputed to have worked in Sicily and it has been suggested that their wares reached the Italian mainland from Caltagirone.An alternative explanation of the name is that it comes from the Spanish term obra de Malaga, denoting “[imported] wares from Malaga”.orobra de mélequa, the Spanish name for lustre.
A Hispano-Moresque dish, approx 32cm diameter, with Christian monogram "IHS", decorated in cobalt blue and gold luster. Valencia, c.1430-1500. Burrell Collection

Victorian majolica is earthenware pottery made in 19th century Britain, Europe and the USA with molded surfaces and colorful clear lead glazes.
Victorian majolica was originated by Mintons Ltd, who exhibited it at the Great Exhibition of 1851 under the name Palissy ware
The public came to call Minton's Palissy Ware majolica warePalissy ware dropped out of use and majolicastuck. In the 1880s, the curators of the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) tried to clear up the confusion by reviving the Italian pronunciation maiolica for Italian tin-glaze. 
Minton majolica swan vase
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_majolica

For more majolica:
http://wanelo.com/vintage_vogue_team/collections/majolica

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