Italy

Proto-majolica from South Italy, 1250-1300
- source Olympia Museum

There were three major types of Italian earthenware decoration, lead, tin-glazed and sgraffito. Most early Italian glazed wares prior to 1350 had a lead glaze. Prototype tin-glazed wares were produced in South Italy as early as 1250-1300, using Islamic technology directly from North Africa, following imports of their wares from about 1200.

The first documentary evidence of tin glazing in Italy was found in the Gubbio area in Umbria, Italy, which was known to have been making Bucchero pottery in the 4th century BC. This showed they were producing tin-glazed wares there in 1326 AD. Deruta is reported to have manufactured such tin-glazed wares in 1290 AD. Decoration on early wares up to about 1420 AD mainly had geometric motifs and sometimes stylised animals.

Early Deruta Albarello - source Authentic Deruta

When the Europeans captured Toledo in 1085 AD, the information in its magnificent library was eventually brought north and subsequently reached Italy to make a major contribution to the Early Renaissance in the early 14th century. The Renaissance did not have a specific start and end, but was at its height from around 1400 to 1600 AD, and it was initially centred on Florence. It brought to an end the Medieval Period. A further impulse was given to the Renaissance on the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD with the influx of the Culture of its expatriates. Because of the Black Death in Italy in the 14th and 15th centuries, a lot of earlier pottery (13th to early 15th) was destroyed as it was thought to be unclean. It is possible this same reason explains the lack of pottery in India in favour of metal or organic utensils (large leaves as plates).

Decorative tin-glazed pottery was also exported from Moorish Spain through Mallorca to Italy in the 13th century and called “majolica”, the old name for the island, as the Italians thought it was produced rather than trans-shipped through there. Italian copies of “majolica” wares were first produced around 1350 AD. The painting was initially done in two colours, green and purple. Painting was carried out on the dry but unfired tin glaze that required great skill as the tin glaze surface absorbs the paint, so errors could not be erased. In Orvieto, Umbria, early tin-glazed wares were decorated with Islamic motifs in green and purple, and during the 15th century other colours were added including blue. Decoration included masks, animals and foliage, with traces of Eastern influence. Before 1450, potters in Florence produced majolica decorated in dark, thick blue paint in the Gothic style, especially using oak leaves, inspired by Spanish decoration. Because tin was expensive, some vessels had the painted designs on the reverse covered with a lead glaze, and only used the tin glaze on the front.

Urbino plate, Castel Durante, 1520-70 AD
- source Lille Museum, Wikipedia via vassal

The best period for Italian majolica is said to be from 1440 to 1540 AD and it is renowned for its strong, vibrant colours and most skilled artists, probably vying with the Classical Greeks for technical competence. The albarellos (pharmaceutical jars) were particularly good examples. Also in the 15th century, figures and groups were made using the same technology, particularly by the della Robbia factory that was noted for its fine quality and brilliantly coloured glazes. By the end of the 15th century the colour range of green, blue and purple had expanded to include yellow (antimony), orange (antimony and iron) and brown (manganese). White was provided by the tin glaze itself, while red was available from iron, but not very successfully. After 1500 AD Florentine production centred on Caffagiolo, Tuscany, where they succeeded in introducing a bright red pigment.

The colours were not the same before and after firing, so the painters needed skilful imagination to achieve the right final colouring. Fine wares were given a further coating of a lead-based glaze containing lead oxide, sand, potash and salt, and then fired for a third time, which improved the final brilliance.