L 1^ — M A I O L I C A Bonbon HENRY F K O W D E OxFOiiD U.MVEUSITY PuESS WAREHOUSE Ajien Corner, E C. MACMII.LAN & CO., 66 FIFTH AVENUE Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/maiolicahistoricOOfort GUBBIO : M. GIORGIO AND NICOLO DA URBINO MAIOLICA A HISTORICAL TREATISE ON THE GLAZED AND ENAMELLED EARTHENWARES OF ITALY, WITH MARKS AND MONOGRAMS ALSO SOME NOTICE OF THE PERSIAN DAMASCUS, RHODIAN, AND HISPANO-MORESQUE WARES BY C DRURY E. FORTNUM HON. D.C.L. ; HON. KEI.I.OW Ol" OUF.KN's COLLEGE, OXON VICE-PRKSIDENT OF THE SOCIETY (JE ANTllil ARIES HON. VICE-TRESIUENT OF THE ROYAL ARCHAEOLOUKAL ISbTlTUTE, ETC. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS O X I' OKI) AT TIIK CEAklONDON PRESS 1896 Oxford TRINTED AT THE CLARENDON TRESS r,Y HORACIC HART PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY m GETT/ mm LIBRARy TO HIS OI.D AND MUCH HONOURED FRIF.ND SIR AUGUSTUS WOLLASTON FRANKS K.C.B., LITT.D., F.R.S. ; PKESIDF.NT OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, FTC, ETC. WHOSE KNOWLEDGE IN EVERY BRANCH OF ANCIENT CERAMIC AND OTHER ARTS IS AS EXTENSIVE AS IT IS PROFOUND, AND TO WHOSE BOUNDLESS LIBERALITY OUR NATIONAL MUSEUM IS SO DEEPLY INDEBTED THIS VOLUME IS OFFERED IN DEDICATION AND WITH AFFECTIONATE REGARD BY ITS AUTHOR P R E F A T O R ^' T^HE objects critically and historically considered in the present work are the glazed and enamelled pottery pro- duced in Italy during the later decades of the fifteenth and the course of the sixteenth centuries ; some account has also been given of those earlier wares of Oriental origin from which the Italian potters may have acquired improved methods of production or enrichment. By tlie courtesy of the Lords of the Committee of Council on Education I have been permitted to make free use of the Descriptive Catalogue of Maiolica and kindred wares in the South Kensington Museum, i)repared by me at the request of their j^redeccssors in office, and published in 1872; and in availing myself of this permission I have endeavoured to graft on the- old stock all important newer matter bearing on the subject, at the same time pruning away whatever might be deemed sui)ernuous or erroneous. I am also indebted to their Lordships for the use of the facsimile blocks of marks and monograms prepared for that earlier work ; to these several others not then known to me have been added. VIU PREFATORY During the quarter of a century that has elapsed since the compilation of the historical introductions and special notices of potteries for the Catalogue of 1872, important additions have been made to our knowledge by the researches of assiduous investigators in Italy and elsewhere, followed by the publication of documents and treatises relating to the various local potteries, and to the history of the master potters and artists to whom we owe so many beautiful examples of ceramic skill. The later publications of Jacquemart, of Garnier and De Mely, of Young and Beckwith, Ris-Paquot and Jaennicke, have been examined; those of Malagola, Corona, and Argnani carefully analyzed, as also Genolini's quarto on the general history of Italian wares. The several special works on local Italian ceramic history, the valuable contributions of the Marchese Campori, of Signor Urbani de Gheltof, of Dr. Frati, Umberto Rossi, and other erudite Italian investigators ; of MM. Piot, Darcel, and Molinier among the French, and Mr. Wallis's finely illustrated volumes on the history of early Persian pottery, have all yielded important detail. Many minor contributions to the literature of the subject have not been overlooked ; and, while reprinting the older list of works of reference, I have added a second, accompanied by critical remarks upon some of the leading works comprised therein. In the course of the intervening quarter of a century we have had to record the loss of many of the older authorities on the ceramic arts. Birch, Riocreux, Delange, Davillier, Jacque- mart, De Jouy, Marryat, Lazari, Darcel, Piot, D'Azeglio, have passed away, and comparatively few new hands have taken up, PREFATORY ix with equal enthusiasm, the subject once so fresh and interesting in discovery. The older collectors— the pioneers — Sauvageot, Soulages, De Bruge Dumenil, Walpolc, Bernal, had long since left the scene, followed by many ardent amateurs of our own time, whose collected specimens, for the most part dispersed, were gathered in by others and dispersed again. Not so with the National Museums; those dispersions of private gatherings have been the opportunities for their enrich- ment, and the increasing interest felt in, and the historical importance of late years attached to, the minor productions of Renaissance art, have led to the acquisition of examples for our own central and local Museums, as for those of other countries. Many also have been acquired by generous gift or bequest: the fine specimens presented by Sir A. Wollaston Franks, and those bequeathed by the late Mr. John Henderson, and by Mr. I'Y'lix Slade to the British Museum, may be specially referred to ; as may those of M. Sauvageot and the Baron Charles Davillier to the Louvre. I have made only casual note of some of the many more or less successful reproductions of the ancient wares, by modern potters working their own i)rivate ovens, or b}' producers on a larger scale. Of these last the Ginori at La Doccia were early in the field, and some of their most successful pieces were ' cooked ' by nefarious dealers to look old, and sold to the unwary as originals. Of reproductions of the Urbino wares decorated with grotesques, and some copies of Faenza plates, X PREFA TGR Y wc have seen none more excellent than those made by Sig. Cantagalli at Florence, and painted by his best artists. The illustrations of the present volume exhibit specimens of the writer's own collection, now, for the most part, in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. To many friends he is indebted for valuable information and kindly aid. To each and all of these he would offer his sincere thanks. He cannot, however, refrain from special mention of the trouble taken by one of them, Mr. A. C. King, F.S.A., late of the South Kensington Museum, in facilitating arrangements with the authorities of that Institution for the use of the materials under their control. CLASSiFir:D cOx\ti:nts PART 1 INTRODUCTION VAUB Chat. I. IIistoricai. Notick 1-45 II. Modes of Productio.n, &c. 46-68 III. Collections 69-77 I. WARES OF ORIENTAL ORIGIN A. Siliceous Glazi d. . 79-94 Persian, Damascus, and Rhodian Wares .... 80-85 Persian, 85: Siculo-Arabian, 89: Damascus, 91 : Anato- lian, 92: Rhodian, 93. B. Stanniferous Glazed. I IlSl'ANO-MoRESQl'E 95-115 Malaga, 99: Majorca, 101 : Valencia, 103: Maniscs, 106: Various, to8, ct stcj. : Siculo-Morcsqui, 114. II. EUROPEAN WARES A. Plumbeous ok Li.ad Gla/i d'. B. Stanniferous or Enamelled W.\res. riALlAN WARES Sgraffiati, &c 116-120 Painted Wares : — Chap. I. Tuscany 121-139 Florence, 121 : Delia Robbia, 123: CafTagi^iolo, 124: Siena, 133: Pisa, 138: Asciano, 139: Monte Lupo, 139. ' Mczza inaiolica is classed in sequence of local production with the tin-glazed wares. xu CLASSIFIED CONTENTS Chap. II. III. PAGE T, ... 140-225 Duchy of Urbino • • • • • Pesaro, 140: Gubbio, 156: S. Natoia, 17° : Gualdo, 172 Castel Durante, 173: Urbino, 188 : Cittadi Castello, 224: Borgo San Sepolcro, 224: San Quirico d'Orcia, 224. „ . . 226-244 States of the Church Diruta, 226 : Bagnorea, 235 = Fabriano, 236 : Foligno, 237 : Spello, 237 : La Fratta, 237 : Viterbo, 238 : Loreto, 238 : Rome, 239. 24'^-283 IV The Marches +00 Faenza, 245: Forli, 270: Rimini, 280: Ravenna, 281: Bologna, 282: I mola, 283. „ . . 284-294 V. Northern Duchies t Ferrara, 284 : Este, 291 : Modena, 292 ; Sassuolo, 292 ; Regg'io, 293; Scandiano, 293; S. Possidonio, 293: Mantua, 294. VI. Venetian States o o Venice, 295: Treviso, 305: Bassano, 306: Nove, 308: Padua, 309: Candiana, 311 : Verona, 312. VII. Lombardy, Piedmont, and States of Genoa . . . 314-331 Milan, 314 : Lodi, 316 : Pavia, 317 : Turin, 322 : Albissola, 323 : Vinova, 325 : Vische, 325 : Mondovi, 326 : Pollenzo, 326 : Genoa, 327 : Savona, 328. VIII. Neapolitan States • • ' 332-344 Naples, 332 : Castelli, 336 : Palermo, 341 : Caltagirone, 341 : Saracenic Potters in Southern Italy, 342: Minor Fabriques, 343. IX. Local Italian Potteries of Minor Importance . . 345-349 X. Literature 35° 357 CLASSIFIED CONTENTS Xlll P A R T II MARKS AND MONOGRAMS p.ir.E Sgraffiati 12 Tuscany 2-20 Caffaggiolo, 2 : Monte, 16: Siena, 16: Pisa, 18: Monteliipo. 18: Asciano, 20. DuciiY OF Urbino ........... 20-76 Pesaro, 20 : Giibbio, 26: Castel Durante, 49: Urbino, 54 : Borgo San Sepolcro, 76 : San Quirico, 76. Statf.s of the Church 77-87 Diruta, 77: Bagnorca, 84 : Fabriano, 84: Vitcrbo, 85 : Rome, 86. I iii: Marches 88-122 Faenza, 88 : Forli, 116 : Ravenna, 121 : Fcrrara, 121 : Rimini, 122. Venetian States 123-136 Venice, 123: Treviso, 130: Bassano, 130: Nove, 131: Padua, 132: Candiana, 135: Verona, 136. LoM hardy 136-138 Milan, 136 ; Pavia, 137 : Lodi, 138. Piedmont ..... 138-140 Turin, 138: Vinovo, 139: Moiulovi, \ \o. States of Geno.\ ........... 140-144 Savona, 140. Neapolitan States 144-148 Naples, 144: Palermo, 146: Castelli, 146. Uncertain Marks and Monograms on Pieces unknown or insuf- ficiently DESCRIBED I49-I54 Works consulted . . 155-161 Additional Works consulted or referred to .... 162-167 General Index 169-189 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS GuBBio, M. Giorgio, and Nicolo da Urbino. (Catalogue No. C. 431) Frontispiece I. Ewer of Medici Porcelain. Circa 1582. (No. 298) . . 45 II. Flask. Persian Lustred Ware. Late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. (No. 30T) . . . . . . 85 Plate. Persian Lustred Ware. Late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. (No. 302) ...... 85 III. Basin. Persian Translucent ('Gombron'?) Ware. Seven- teenth century. (No. 310) 91 Tazza. Damascus Ware. Sixteenth century. (No. 314) IV. Jug. Damascus Ware. Sixteenth century. (No. 315) . . 93 Plate. Kutaya Ware. Sixteenth century. (No. 319) . . 93 V. Candlestick. Rhodian. Sixteenth century. (No. 326) . . 95 Circular Dish. Rhodian. Sixteenth century. (No. 320) . 95 VI. Circular Dish. HisrANO-MoRESouE. Fifteenth or early six- teenth century. (No. 331) ....... 103 Ewer. Hispano-Moresoue. Fifteenth or early sixteenth century. (No. 336) 103 VII. Plateau. Sgraffiato Ware. Fifteenth or early sixteenth century. (No. 401) . . . . . . . . .119 Plateau with raised Central Flower. Fifteenth or early six- teenth century. (No. 402) .119 VIII. Plate. Caffaggiolo or Faenza. Sixteenth century. (No. 409) . 124 Plateau. Caffaggiolo. Early sixteenth century. (No. 407) . 124 IX. Bust of St. John. Caffaggiolo. Sixteenth century. (No. 408) . 129 Jug with Arms of the Alessandro degli Alessandri Family. Caffaggiolo. Sixteenth century. (No. 405) .... 129 LIS I OF ILLL ST RATIONS xv PI.AIE TO PACE PAGE X, Plateau. Mutius Scaevola, '/// Ga/zW/zo ,Vt'//rt«o, 1547.' (No. 410) 131 Plate. The Creation of Eve. By Ferd. Maria Campani. Circa ij^o. (No. 4171 131 XI. Tazza. The Creation of Animals. Lanfraiico. Pcsaro, 154.0. (No. 418) 148 Circular Dish. Lanfranco of Pesaro. O'm/ 1544. (No. 420) . 148 XII. Plateau. Gubbio, Early sixteenth century. (No. 426) . . 162 Tazza. Hercules and the Hydra. By M. Giorgio. C/'/ra 15 15. (No, 429) 162 XIII. Tazza. Head ok a Saint. M. Giorgio. Gubbio, dated 1520. (No. 430) 166 Tazza. The Young St. John. Gubbio. Circa 1536. (No. 435) 166 XIV^ Plate. The Calumny of Apelles. Ascribed to Nicolo Pelii- pario. Circa 1515. (No. 474) . . . . . .178 Tazza. Tiberius receiving Tribute. By Nicolo da Urbino. Circa 1525. (No. 442) . . . . . . . .178 X\'. Tazza. The Flight into Egypt. Inscvihcd ' in Cash/ Diiraii/c, 1526.' (No. 507) 184 Plate. I Iercui.es and the Hydra. Signed ' In bo/cga di Af. Ciiido Dtiraiiliiio in Crhiiio, 1535.' (No. 508) 184 XVT. Plate. The Bull of Perillus. Ascribed to Orazio Fontana. Circa 1540. (No. 445) 214 Circular Dish. The Flight of Xerxes. Signed ^ j^" 1537. By Fr. Xanto. (No. 448) 214 XVH. Plate. St. John at Patmos. Urbino. Circa 1550. (No. 455) 220 Basin, By Alfonzo Patanazzi. Urbino, Circa 1590, (No. 460 220 X\T11. Vase. Casa Pirota. Faenza. O'm/ 1520. (No, 476) , . 259 Plate. Shield of Arms of (?) Altoviti and Soderini. Casa Pirota. Faenza. Circa 1520, (No. 475) .... 259 XIX. CuiMD RIDING A I loiiBv-HuKSE. Facuza. Circa i^'20. (No. 515) 264 Tazza. The Triumph of Time. Signed ' lialdasara Maiiara /■a /I.' Faenza. Circa 1530. (No 482) 264 XX. Tazza. Dance of Cupids. After tlic jirinl by Marc Antonio (Bartsch, 217), but altered in the background. Faenza or Castel Durante. Circa 1525. (No. 486) 267 XXI. \'ase. Grotesques. 'Ry ' M. Dionicdc Dnranti in Roma M 1) C (No. 465) 301 Circular Dish. A Mikm.md. X'cnice, dated i6 Oct. 1540. (No. 492). 301 ERRATA AND CORRIGENDA PART I. P. 35, 1. 4 from bottom : for Palimpario nad Pellipario. P. 48, !. 2 from bottom : for Pietro Gay read Pietro Gai. P. 71. At Pesaro the Mazza Collection is now the property of the Municipio, by whom it was purchased from the Hospital. P. 183, 1. II from bottom : for is of read may be. Monte Lupo. In a inventory of objects belonging to Lorenzo de' Medici at his death in 1492 we find ' Quattro infrescatoi' ^ Due alberelli grandi,' ^ pin piattelli, scodelle, scodellim, et altri vasetti, titite le dette stoviglie soiio di terra, lavorate a Montelupo, bellaj. 4.' PART II. MARK.S. Urbino. On a tazza in Mr. Salting's Collection, ' 1543 la niorte di Pelio ■ in Urbino ■ Pi' The capital letter • F • is on a plate ; architecture and a coat of arms ; in the collection of Mr. H. A. Neck. Is ascribed by Chaffers. Faenza. The wing of a bird (?) on a tazza, inscribed ^ Nero die fa barrare la inadre! Ascribed by Chaffers to Faenza, by Mrs. Palliser to Urbino. A man's bust in profile, beneath which is a label inscribed but illegible, and above Mcccccxxxv. Christ rising from the tomb. Soltykoff Collection. Chaffers. The capital letters N R are on a fine plate in the Campana Collection, Neptune. Chaffers. We do not know these pieces. Venice. On a plate in the Davillier Collection the Mark No. 422 is developed into a garofalo flower, the letters A and F being formed by the leaflets. A TRKATIS1-: ON M A I O L I C A I N T ROD U C T I O N CHAPTER I Historical Notici:' T^ROM a very remote period of human existence, anterior to all record, except that afforded by the stone implement, the primitive ornaments of teeth and shells, and the rudely formed and ill-baked crocks that accompany the buried bones of the dead, the potter's art declares itself as one of the earliest and most required by prehistoric man. At first but rude and sun-dried or ill-baked vessels of coarse clay, occasionally ornamented with concentric and transverse scratches, they gradually developed to the exquisite forms and decoration of the Greek vases ; but it would seem probable that, however universal the production of vessels of baked clay, the art of applying a vitreous covering or glaze was an invention which emanated from the East, from Egypt or from India, Babylon, or Assyria. It is true that on the Greek, Etruscan, and some Roman pottery a subdued and hardly apparent glazing was applied to the surface of the ' This notice is in great part a reprint of South Kensington Museum, but with correc- that in our Catalogue of the Maiolica in tlie tions and additions derived from new lights. 2 MAIOLICA pieces, but it is so slight as to leave a barely appreciable effect upon the eye, beyond that which might be produced by a mechanical polish, and so thinly laid on as almost to defy attempts at proving its nature by chemical investigation ; it is, however, supposed to have been pro- duced by a dilute aluminous soda glass \ without any trace of lead in its composition, the greater portion of which was absorbed into the substance of the piece, thereby increasing its hardness and leaving only a faint polish on the surface of the ware. Of such is that numerous class of potteries, among which will be found the elegant productions of Greece and of Italy in Etruscan and Roman times; but with these we are not now occupied^. In Egypt and the East the use of a distinct glaze {invetriatiira of the Italians), covering the otherwise more porous substance of the vessel, appears to have been known, and to have arrived at great perfection at a very remote period. It was, in fact, a superior ware, equivalent to the porcelain of our days, and from the technical excellence of some of the smaller pieces has been frequently, but wrongly, so called. It will, perhaps, be as well, before entering further into the considera- tion of the subject, to define and arrange the objects of our attention under general heads. Pottery {Faycnce. Terraglia), as distinct from porcelain, is formed of potter's clay mixed with marl of argillaceous and calcareous nature {argile-snblciise ou calcarifere) and sand variously proportioned, and may be classed under two divisions : Soft {Faycnce a pate tendre), and Hard {Fayence a pate dure) according to the nature of the composition, or the degree of heat under which it has been fired in the kiln. What is known generally in England as earthenware is soft, whilst stone ware, queen's ware, &c. are hard. The characteristics of the soft wares are a paste or body which may be scratched with a knife or file, and fusibility, generally, at the heat of a porcelain furnace. ' History of Ancient Pottery, by Samuel Catalogue of the Greelc Vases in the Birch, F.S.A., London, 1858, i. p. 24; ii. Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, by Pro- Appendix, p. 402. fessor Percy Gardner, Litt. D. fol. Oxon. We may here refer to the valuable 1893. INTRODUCTION 3 These soft wares may be again classified under four subdivisions : — 1. Unglazed {matles). 2. Lustrous (litsirees). 3. Glazed {veriiissees). 4. Enami:i.led {cmaille'es). Among the first three of these subdivisions may be arranged all the ancient pottery of Egypt, Greece, Etruria, and Rome ; as also the larger portion of that in general use among all nations during mediaeval and modern times. We have already alluded to the first two, but it is with the glazed and the enamelled wares that we shall be occupied, namely, with subdivisions 3. Glazed {vcniissc'cs), which may be again divided into — Section A. Vitreous, or Glass Glazed {si/ ice uses). ,, B. Plumbeous, or Lead Glazed (plonibifircs). 4. Enameli,ed [nnaillc'cs), or Tin Glazed (slantiifiTcs). Although this may be accepted as a fundamental classification of the wares, we sliall find that modifications occasionally occur, where a certain amount of the tin oxide is used, both witli the siliceous and the plumbeous glazing. In these subdivisions the foundation is in all cases the same, the mi.xed clay or 'paste,' or 'body,' varied in composition according to the nature of the glaze to be superimposed, is formed by the hand, or on the wheel, or impressed into moulds, then slowly dried antl baked in a fiirnace or stove, after which, on cooling, it is in a state to receive the glaze. This is prepared by fusing sand or other siliceous material with potash or soda, to form a translucent glass, the composition, in the main, of the glaze upon the wares under Section A. The addition of a varying but considerable ([uantity of the oxide of lead, by whicli it is rendered more easily fusible, but still translucent, constitutes the glaze of Section B, whereas the further addition of the oxide of tin produces an enamel of an opaque white of great purity, and is the characteristic glazing of the wares under subdivision 4. In either case the vitreous substance B 2 4 MAIOLICA is reduced to the finest powder by mechanical and other means, being milled with water to the consistency of a cream ; into this the dry and absorbent baked piece is dipped and withdrawn, leaving a coating of the material of the bath adhering to its surface. A second firing, when quite dry, fuses this coating into a glazed surface on the piece, rendering it lustrous and impermeable to liquids. The two former of these glazes may be variously coloured by the admixture of metallic oxides, as copper for green, iron for yellow, &c. ; but it is nevertheless translucent, and shows the natural colour of the baked clay beneath. Vitreous or Glass-Glazed Wares. . Of the first (Section A), the vitreous, silico-alkaline, or glass-glazed wares, we have stated that they were of very ancient date, and in all probabihty had their origin in the East, in Egypt, Babylonia, or Phoenicia ; indeed the discovery of glass, which has always been attributed to the latter country, would soon direct the potter's attention to a mode of covering his porous vessel of baked earth with a coating of the new material ; but the ordinary baked clay would not take or hold the glaze, which rose in bubbles, and scaled off, refusing to adhere to the surface, and it became necessary to form the pieces of a mixed material, consisting of much siliceous sand, some aluminous earth, and probably a small portion of alkali, thus rendering it of a nature approximating to that of the glaze, and to which the latter firmly adhered. In some instances, in the finer examples, which may probably have been exposed to a higher temperature in the oven, the glaze and the body of the piece have become so incorporated as to produce a semi-translucent substance, analogous to some artificial porcelains. It has been suggested that occasionally the glaze may have been rendered more fusible by the admixture of a small portion of oxide of lead, but we have the authority of M. Brongniart, and of Dr. Birch, for stating that in Egypt, when this ware was being made in its greatest perfection, the use of lead in glazing seems to have been unknown ^ 1 Brongniart, Traite des Arts Ceramiques, 2nd ed., Paris, 1854, i. p. 505. Birch, Ancient Pottery, p. 67. INTRODUCTION 5 In its nature this glaze is translucent, and accordingly we find that where ornament is used, the design is executed directly on the 'biscuit' or unglazed surface of the piece, which then receives the vitreous covering, through which it is apparent. By means of an oxide of copper the exquisite turquoise blue, ' scarcely rivalled after thirty centuries of human experience,' was produced The green colour was, perhaps, produced by another oxide of the same metal ; violet by manganese or gold, yellow by silver, or perhaps by iron, and the rarer red by the protoxide of copper. It was brought to its greatest perfection in Egypt, but we also find that bricks and vases similarly glazed were made by the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and Persians. Sir Henry Layard figured examples of moulding for room decorations, and patterns and designs of large size, executed upon glazed bricks or tiles, from the palace at Nimrud, each having its appropriate portion of the figure -, and others bearing inscriptions denoting that 'This is the great palace of " Asaraden-pal ' The magni- ficent frieze, representing a procession of the royal guards, now preserved in the Louvre, for which Museum it was obtained during his excavation of the great palace at Susa by M. Dieulafoy, is another important example. Throughout Babylonia the sites of ancient buildings afford fragments of a similarly glazed pottery. Those brought from Borsippa by the Abbe Bcauchamp, in 1790, were analysed by MM. Brongniart and Sal- vetat, by whom the glaze was found to contain neither the oxides of lead nor tin, but to be an alkaline silicate with alumina, coloured by metallic oxides'*; while a more recent analysis of Assyrian examples, by the late Dr. Percy, shows that with a base of silicate of soda, or soda glass, and oxide of tin, the opaque white has been produced", being the earliest recorded example of 'enamelled' ware, ami one which would be properly classified unde r the fourth subdivision. It would seem, however, that it was thus used as a means of producing a white colour more than as an habitual glazing. The same method was seemingly used at Susa ' Boudet, Notice Hist, dc I'Art dc la Verrerie nc cn Egypte. Dcscr. dc I'tgypte Antiq. Mom. toin. ii. p. 17. * Layard, Monuments of Nineveh, fol.. Lend., 1849, pis. 84, 86, 87. ' Layard, ii. p. 180. * Hrongniart, Traitc, ii. pp. 80. 90. Cat. Mus. Trac. Geology. 8vo. London, 1855- 6 MAIOLICA on the guards' frieze above referred to. A small quantity of oxide of lead was also found in the blue glaze on tiles from Babylonia. The three circular walls of the palace at Babylon were, according to Ctesias, covered with richly coloured representations of the hunting expeditions and battles of Semiramis and Ninuas; and Herodotus tells us that the walls of Ecbatana in Media were painted of seven colours, statements confirmed by the discoveries at Nineveh, and by that of M. Place at Khorsabad, where a wall some five feet in height and twenty long was still standing, faced with glazed bricks representing men, trees, animals, &c. in colour. At Warka, supposed to be the ancient Ur of the Chaldees \ Mr. Loftus discovered numerous coffins or sarcophagi, piled one upon another to the height of forty-five feet, of peculiar form, and made of terra-cotta glaze.d with a siliceous glaze of bluish-green colour. Formed somewhat like a shoe, an opening is left at the upper and wider end for the insertion of the body, and closed by an oval lid, which, as well as the upper part of the coffin, is ornamented with figures and plants in relief. They are supposed to be of the Sassanian period. The metallic lustre in decoration was applied apparently at an early period upon pottery glazed with siliceous coating, and appears to have established itself, if it were not invented, as some suppose, in Persia. From fragments found by Mr. Wallis at Fostat, the site of ancient Cairo, where a fabrique seems to have existed of very early time, we are led to believe that this mode of enrichment may have been originally of Egypto-Arabian rather than of Persian origin 2. On speci- mens from Arabia it is also found, and its use in combination with this glaze seems to have preceded its use on wares coated with the stanni- ferous enamel, by the potters who accompanied the conquering Arabs into the Balearic Islands, Spain, and Sicily. In Northern India, at Sind, and in Persia, wares are made at the present day of precisely the same character as the ancient pottery under consideration. Pieces from the former locality are composed of a sandy ' The mounds of Mugheir are now jhe Dawn of Civilization, 1894. believed to be the site of Ur ; Warkh of . h. WalHs. Notes on Early Persian Uruk. For references &c. see Maspero, Lustred Wares. INTRODUCTION 7 argillaceous frit, ornamented with pattern in cobalt blue, beneath a sili- ceous glaze. Indeed their agreement in technical character with some of the pottery of the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians, and with that produced in Syria and Persia during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, is most remarkable. Persia also produces inferior wares of the same class, which, as well as those from India, are now articles of import into Europe. This, probably the most ancient mode of glazing, was the parent of all those wares now known as Persian, Damascus, Rhodian, Lindus, &c. ; we shall further follow their history in the introductory notice to those classes of pottery. Plumbeous or Lead-Glazed Wares. Of the second section (B) are the silico-plumbeous or lead-glazed wares, the most common, and at the same time, the most widely spread branch of the family in Europe ; indeed throughout the northern and western countries lead, in combination with glass, seems to have been the earliest and perhaps, until the fourteenth century, the only means known of glazing soft pottery. We have seen that Dr. Percy discovered a certain amount of lead in some of the blue coloured glazes of liabylonia, which he suggests as having 'probably been employed as a flu.v ' ; if so, this might have been the germ of its general adoption for the purpose of producing a more easily fusible, and therefore a more ready and more manageable coating ; but in tlie ICast it does not seem to have supplanted the more elegant and purer siliceous glaze. Fragments of Graeco-Roman j)ottery from Tarsus, lamps and vessels from the neighbourhood of Naples, and other examples of a highly glazed pottery from various antique sites, which has all the appearance of a plumbeous composition, are preserved in collections; some of these attest a very high degree of excellence in modelling, and in the artistic application of the vitreous coat, which is translucent, of green, brown, yellow, and occasionally of a dull red colour. Of such Nos. 155-156 and 198 of the P^ortnum Collection in the Ashmolean Museum are specimens. 8 MAJOLICA The paste of which these examples are formed is to all appearance an ordinary potter's clay, generally of a buff colour, and in no way similar in character to that of the Egyptian or Assyrian wares, glazed with a true glass; and in these instances the adhesion to the surface, and perfect adaptability of the vitreous coating to the irregularities of the shaped and moulded pieces, prove its affinity for the paste of which they are made, and indirectly, that its composition is not the same as that of the Egyptian or Persian glaze. This inference is corroborated by analysis, which proves that lead oxide was used in its composition. It is not unlikely that it may have been introduced by Greek potters into Southern Italy. We learn from the monk Theophilus that the art of decorating fictile vessels with vitreous colours was practised by the Byzantine Greeks, who probably carried it into Italy ^. This statement in all probability refers to the lead-glazed wares, and not to the tin enamel, the former of which, as we have seen, was known earlier than his time to the potters of Tarsus, Pompeii, &c. ; and it is reasonable to believe that the art was never lost in Italy, where, from the eighth and ninth centuries, it would appear to have been the only glaze known and in use, until the introduction or discovery of the stanniferous enamel. We find accordingly that the earliest glazed Itahan wares, the sgraffiati, the painted, and the mezza-maioltca, are covered with this description of vitreous surface. That it had become established in the north of the Peninsula is proved by the fact that a plate dug up at Cividale del Friuh, and now preserved there, is inscribed with Lombard characters scratched upon the glaze {^grafiti sulla vetrina'), and believed by Lazari to be of the eighth century ^. The researches of the Abbe Cochet at Bouteilles near Dieppe ^ have revealed the fact that glazed pottery was in use in the north of France in the Anglo-Norman period of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. But on the other hand. Professor Argnani is of opinion that there is no evidence of the use of the lead glaze anterior to the twelfth » Arts of the Middle Ages, ii. eh. i6. - Vin. Lazari, Not. della raccolta Correr. Translated by Robert Hendrie. 8vo. Venice, 1859. London, 1847. Archaeologia, xxxvi. p. 266,xxxvii.p. 417. INTRODUCTION 9 century in northern Italy, when these ' scodcllclti' were produced. Early in 1300 the wares improved, and the use of an engobe of white earth became general. The two colours, yellow from iron, and green from copper, were in use As before stated, this glaze is composed of silica, with varying proportions of potash or soda and of oxide of lead, by which addition it is rendered more easily fusible, but remains transparent. To obtain a white surface was, however, desirable, the colour of the paste beneath the glaze being generally of a dull red or buff, and ill adapted as a ground for the display' of coloured ornamentation. To supply this want, before the invention of the tin enamel, an intervening process was adopted. A white argillaceous earth of the nature of pipe- clay was purified and milled with water, and thus applied over the coarser surface of the piece in the same manner as the glaze ; again dried, or slightly fixed by fire, it was ready to receive the translucent coat, through which the white 'slip' or 'engobe' became apparent. It is easy to conceive that by scratching a design or pattern through this white applied surface to the darker clay beneath, before fixing in the fire, a ready mode of decoration presented itself, without the use of colour, to be covered by but visible through the glaze ; hence the early incised or ' sgmffiaio ' ware, one of the primitive modes of decorating glazed pottery. Churches built at various places in Italy during the eleventh and twelfth centuries were decorated with discs and ' ciotolc ' of glazed and painted terra-cotta, some of which are ornamented by the ' sgraffiato ' process. Passeri states - that pottery works existed from the earliest periods in the neighbourhood of Pesaro, as proved by remains of furnaces and fragments of Roman time, and tiles with the stamp of Thcodoric ; that during the dark ages the manufacture was neglected, but that it revived after 1300, and that it then became the fashion in that city to adorn the church towers and facades with discs and 'bacini' of coloured and glazed earthenware ; a practice which had been in use at Pisa and other cities as early as the eleventh or twelfth century. The mythical state- ' F. Argnani, Ccrainichc c Maioliclic - G. Passeri, Istoria dcllc pitturc in Ma- Facntinc, 410, Facnza, 1889, p. 13. joiica fattc in Pesaro. 8vo. Pesaro, 1857. lO MA 10 Lie A ment that this custom arose from the conquest of the Balearic Islands by the Pisan fleet in 1115, and the use by the Pisans of the prize of Majorcan pottery to adorn their churches in grateful commemoration of the victory, has been proved in the main to be questionable \ no examples of what we know as Moresque ware being traceable in any of the churches of Pisa, Bologna, Rome, or elsewhere. One piece of siliceous glazed Oriental ware was found m situ on a church built in 1107, but all the rest are of coarse native manufacture, ornamented with rude painting in colour or 'sgraffiato' work, and covered with a lead glaze; thus confirming the belief that this kind of ware was produced and in use in various parts of northern and central Italy, perhaps from the eleventh or the twelfth century, and it is fairly presumable that it had never been entirely lost, but, perhaps locally, known from Roman times, and so con- tinuously to the eighth century, the presumed date of the plate found at Friuli. It is needless to say that it has never since been lost. Of these discs or ^ scodelletti or bacini' with which the fagades and machicolated cornices, as well as the ' campanili,' of many churches in various parts of Italy are decorated, much has been written, and romantic statements have been handed down to account for their origin, more particularly with respect to those on the churches of Pisa, where they are more abundant than in any other city. It has been supposed by recent writers, that some of these discs at Pavia, and one in the church of Sta Francesca Romana in Rome, are of lustred ware. These were known to and carefully examined by the writer many years since, the conviction on his mind being that the seeming metallic 'reflet' was only the effect of decomposition of the glaze, pro- ducing that iridescent effect so often seen on pieces of antique glass. Sismondi's story of the attack upon Majorca by the Pisan fleet, and its return triumphant about Easter, 11 15, bringing its captive king and a rich booty, among which were dishes of the celebrated Moorish pottery there made, which in pious gratitude the Pisans built into the towers and fagades of their churches, is a pretty myth ; but, on a careful exami- nation, the writer could find no trace of Moorish pottery, nor, with one ' See a paper on this subject by the xlii., in which are designs copied from writer, published in the Archaeologia, vol. some of the Pisan roundels. INTRODUCTION II exception, other than a coarsely painted and incised lead-glazed ware\ apparently of native Italian origin. Moreover, it now seems doubtful whether such wares were then produced in the Balearic Islands. Passed, writing in the last century, states that the Duomo and the churches of S. Agostino and S. Francesco at Pesaro are so ornamented, and at the Badia di Pomposa. Specimens occur also at Sta Maria in Ancona, in Pavia at S. Michele, and also at S. Pietro in Ciel d'oro, at S. Primo, S. Teodoro, and S. Lazzaro, S. Lanfranco and Sta Maria di Betlemme in Borgo Ticino, all churches of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. They are mostly of white ground with arabesques of brownish yellow {lionato bitju), birds, crosses, knots, stars, &c., some having a blue ground, and man}- such are without ornament (v. Lazari, op. cit.). At Pisa they are found on several churches, and are also to be seen at Rome, Bologna, and many other places. In the museum of the Brera at Milan are two from the church of S. Simpliciano in that city. Occasionally, and indeed frequently, circular and square slabs of porphyry and serpentine were used on the same building, concurrently with the glazed earthenware, as on the tower of Sta Maria Maggiore at Rome, and on that of Sta Francesca Romana. This mode of en- richment to the architecture of the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries is in accordance with that produced by the enamelled discs and inlaid stones on reliquaries and other church plate of the same period. The only instance observed by the writer of the occurrence of these 'bacini' of glazed ware in domestic architecture is seen over the windows of the Palazzo Fava and of another j)alace in Bologna. This mode of decoration ceased entirely during the course of the fourteenth century, but restorations of lost pieces have been executed in more recent times. Passed instances the use of glaze on tiles upon a tomb in Bologna, opposite the church of S. Domenico, dated about iioo ; and he further states — but we know not upon what authorit}- — that it was about the 3-ear 1300 thai the nicthod of covering the clay with a 'slip' or ' engobe ' of white earth (Avvvi di Sou Giovaiiiii in Sifiia), or the coarser earth of ' Archaeologia, vul. xlii. 12 MA 10 Lie A Verona, was first adopted. Slightly baked, it was glazed with ' marzacotto ' (oxide of lead and glass) ' applied wet and again fired ; and this glaze was variously coloured yellow, green, black, and blue, by iron, copper, man- ganese, and cobalt. A similar method of coating the rough and porous baked clay seems to have been known also at a very early period in the north of Europe, and to have been in use throughout France, Germany, and England. Enamelled or Stanniferous-Glazed Wares. It was found that by the addition of a certain portion of the oxide of tin to the composition of glass and oxide of lead the character of the glaze entirely alters. Instead of being translucent, it becomes, on fusion, an opaque and beautifully white enamel, the intervening process of covering the surface of the clay with a stratum of white earth before glazing being unnecessary. It, moreover, was found to afford a better ground for the application of colour as ornament. The process of application was the same as for the 'slip'; after immersion in the enamel bath, and subsequent drying, the painting is applied upon the absorbent surface, the piece being then subjected to the fire, which, at one application, fixes the colours and liquefies the glaze. This is the ' enamelled ' pottery {cmaillees) of subdivision 4, by far the most important group of the glazed wares, being susceptible of decoration by the lustre pigments, as well as by painting in colours of great delicacy, and comprising the Hispano-Moresque, the true Maiolica, and the per- fected earthenware of Italy, &c. We have seen that the first trace of the application of oxide of tin to produce a white opaque glazed surface is to be met with upon Babylonian or Assyrian bricks ; but we may be disposed to think that it was then used merely as a pigment to produce a white colour, and was not adopted as an application to pottery for the production of a white ' There seems to be some confusion in common salt ; the other states that it the composition of the marzacotto as stated contained calcina di piombo, in fact a coperta. by Piccolpasso and Passeri. From one We suspect that their names were fre- \ve learn that it consisted of sand and feccia quently synonymous, potash), with the occasional addition of INTRODUCTION 13 opaque ground capable of receiving coloured enrichment by painting in other pigments. A corroboration of this idea would seem to exist in the fact that throughout Asia Minor, Syria, Persia, and Egypt, a purely stanniferous-glazed pottery has never been generally adopted, or taken the place of that simple and beautiful siliceous coating, so dexterously applied, and with such richness of effect, upon the Persian and Damascus wares. Perhaps, absorbed and lying dormant in remote localities for centuries, it may have been learned or rediscovered by the Arabs. How it travelled, when and where it was first used, and to what extent it was applied, is still doubtful. We meet with an occasional fragment, generally upon mural decoration and of uncertain date, till at last it becomes palpably appreciable in the Moorish potteries of Spain and probably of the Balearic Islands. The late Baron J. Ch. Davillier, in his excellent work on the Hispano- Moresque pottery \ states that he has not been able to discover any piece, which could reasonably be ascribed to a date anterior to the four- teenth century. In this he differs from the opinion of the late M. Demmin, whose dictum was perhaps not always based upon the soundest authority. In Valencia, however, anterior to its conquest by Jayme I of Arragon, in 1239, potteries had long been established, and were of such importance that that monarch felt himself bound to protect the Moorish potters of Xativa (San Filippo) by a special edict. We must bear in mind the fact that tiicre were two periods of Mahommedan sway in Spain, the first on the expulsion of the Gothic monarch^' by the Arabs, and the estab- lishment of the Caliphate at Cordova, in the eighth century (a. d. 711). Of the ceramic productions of this early period we have no accu- rate knowledge, but we should expect to find them of similar character to the siliceous glazed wares prevalent in Egypt and the East. Senor Riaflo tells us of fragments and pieces found at Cordova bearing arabesques in green and black on whitish ground ; and at Granada a fragment of the eleventh century with inscription, &c., one of Persian character, but probably Spanish ^ The second period is after an interval of five centuries, in 1235, ' Histoirc des Faiences Hispano Mo- ^ j. F. Riaiio, Tlic Industrial Arts in rcsqucs a reflets metalliqucs. Paris, 1861. Spain. 8vo. London, 1879. MAIOLICA when the Moors founded the kingdom of Granada, having driven out the Arabs. Then first appear the wares usually known as Hispano- Moresque, for we find the tiles of the Alhambra dating about 1300, the Alhambra vase about 1320, and abundant continuous examples of tin- glazed wares of Moorish origin, until the period of the conquest of the country by Ferdinand and Isabella, after which the pottery becomes more purely Spanish and speedily falls into decadence. We shall renew the consideration of these wares under the head of Hispano-Moresque pottery. The existence of tin ores in considerable abundance in Spain may have led to the rediscovery or to the adoption of the stanniferous enamel. We have no positive proof of its use on pottery at an earlier date in any other country since the period of the Babylonian bricks. It seems probable that the wares produced during the early Arabian occupation in Spain were siliceous glazed, but that the use of the tin enamel became adopted by them, or by the Moorish potters who took their place, after their expulsion in the thirteenth century. Can it be that the so-called Siculo-Arabian or Siculo-Persian wares are really the production of the Arabian potters, in Egypt and afterwards in Sicily, in Spain or in Majorca, before the use of the tin enamel was adopted by them or by their Moorish successors ? And may there not also be some foundation for the story of the Majorcan dishes being built into the Pisan towers? and may not the single specimen of siliceous ware found by the writer in the church of Sta Cecilia in that city, which certainly was placed there early in the twelfth century, be one of those dishes brought from Majorca by the Pisans at a time anterior to the use of the tin enamel in that island ? (See woodcut, p. 15.) This fragment is part of a shallow basin which had been inserted above the Moresque arch of a lateral door; the basin had been broken, only about one-third remaining fixed ; the fragment was already detached, and was resting on the lower part of its plaster setting. It is of a siliceous frit of stony colour ; the design, in black, is painted on the smoothed surface of the unglazed body ; the whole is then covered by a rich, thick, and hard siliceous translucent glaze of sapphire-blue colour. For more full particulars see the writer's paper in vol. xlii. of Archaeologia. INTRODUCTION With the carhest use of stanniferous enamel glaze in Europe, is generally associated a decoration by metallic lustre, produced by the reduction of certain metallic salts in the reverberatory furnace, leaving a thin film of metal on the surface, which gives that beautiful and rich effect known as rcjict nictalliquc, nacre, canqiaiitc, ri(bitio, rcvcrbcraio, &.C., and in England as lustred ware. We have seen that on tiic siliceous or glass glazed pottery of the East, the origin of which is assuredly anterior to, and its use more general than, tliat of tlic enamelled wares under consideration, this metallic decoration was practised in Egypt and in Persia, as also on specimens supposed to have been produced by Oriental potters in Sicil}'. Erom fragments discovered among the ruins of Eastern towns long since destroyed, it is proved to have been known at a very early period, probabl}- anterior to the use of the tin enamel except as a pigment. In Italy the use of the metallic lustre colours was apparently known and practised previously to the extended use of the tin enamel, for we have abundant examples of early ' mezza-maiolica ' from the potteries of Pesaro or Diruta, glazed only with the oxide of lead and glass, which are bril- liantly histrcd with tiie metallic colours. None of these can, however, be referred to an earlier date than the latter half of the fifteenth century. Of whom, then, did the Italian potters learn this art? No historical record is known to answer this question, and we are forced to suppose i6 MAIOLICA that the name by which this lustred ware was known at the time, and in the country of its production, reflected that of the place from which it or its makers were derived. Accordingly we find that the coarser lead- glazed and lustred ware was known as ' mezza-maiolica,' while that more nearly resembling its original, by the use of the tin enamel, was known as ' Maiolica.' That the Moorish potters conveyed this knowledge, and that the Italians named their ware after that from the island of Majorca, whence it may have been first introduced, would seem to be a reason- able conclusion. A very early, perhaps the earliest, use of this term occurs in the Extraits des Comptes et Memoriaux du Roi Rene, published by Lecoy de la Marche, Meubles du Chateau d'Angers, 1471 — 'item 11 Dec. 144'], pour trois platz de terre de Mailloreqiie i florin six gros.' M. Jacquemart, however, thought it equally probable that, although the Majorcan wares were well known in Italy, this art may really have been communicated by Persian potters, or their pupils coming to the eastern ports of Ital}^, and that the style of decoration on the early Italian lustred wares is more Persian than Moresque. M. Darcel suggested that, after the conquest of the island of Majorca and of the province of Valencia at the end of the thirteenth century, it is reasonable to suppose that Moorish potters may have passed into Sicily and Italy, and thus have introduced the metallic lustre and the tin glaze. Knowing as we now do, from the researches of Mr. Wallis and others, that wares lustred on the siliceous glaze were made at Old Cairo, probably as early as the eighth or ninth century, and believing that such potters accompanied or followed the Saracenic conquerors of Sicily, producing similar works in that island, it is equally probable that on their advance into southern Italy the art may have accompanied them, and through them have been communicated to the central Italian potteries. We incline, however, to M. Darcel's suggestion, that Moorish potters introduced their art into the potteries of central Italy. In confirmation of this opinion it is a remarkable fact that, during his examination of the refuse-heaps from the ancient potteries of Diruta, M. Emile Molinier, among other fragments of lustred wares identical in make and decoration with the well-known ' bacili ' attributed to INTRODUCTION 17 Pesaro and Diruta, discovered one or more pieces, in decoration, glazing, and make, equally identical with the Hispano-Moresque wares. Either this fragment was part of an imported piece, a specimen at the fabrique, or it was actually made there by a Moorish artist ; and if so, some others of like kind may have been produced at Diruta, and passed current as Valencian ware, from which it would be difficult to distinguish them. The general term 'Maiolica' or 'Majolica' has long been and is still erroneously applied to all varieties of enamelled earthenware of Italian origin. We have seen that it was not so originally, but that the term was restricted to the lustred wares which resembled, in that respect, those of the island from which they had long been imported. It is a curious fact, proving their estimation in Italy, that nearly all the specimens of Hispano-Moresque wares which adorn our cabinets and enrich our museums have been procured in that country, comparatively few pieces having been found in Spain. Scaliger ' states, in reference to the Italian pottery as comparable with the porcelain of China, that the former derived its name from Majorca, the wares from whence are most excellent. Fabio Ferrari also, in his work upon the origin of the Italian language, states his belief ' that the use of majolica, as well as the name, came from Majorca, which the ancient Tuscan writers called Maiolica.' Thus, Dante writes ^ — 'Tra 1' isola di Cipri c Maiolica,' showing the then mode of spelling the name of the island, and it would seem but natural to call an imitation of its produce 'a la Maiolica.' Moreover, we know that Moorish artisans, persecuted by the King of Leon and Seville, emigrated to the Pajial States and elsewhere, and that among them were potters who would carry their art with them, introducing it to the countries which offered them a home. As before stated, the terms 'maiolica' and ' mezza-maiolica ' were originally restricted to the lustred wares, but towards the middle of the ' Julius Cxsar Scaliger, lib. 15. Exotericarum Exercitationuin ex. 92. Quoted by Passed, as also by Marryat, who gives the extract in full at p. 18. Inf. xxviii. 1. 82. C i8 MAIOLICA sixteenth century they seem to have been generally applied to the enamelled earthenware of Italy. The Germans ascribed the discovery of the tin enamel glazing, after the night of the dark ages, to a potter of Schelestadt, in Alsace, whose name is unknown, but who died in the year 1283'. In the convent of St. Paul at Leipzig is a frieze of large glazed tiles, with heads in relief, the date of which is stated to be 1207. The potter's art is said to have developed in that country at an earlier period than in Italy; but the riUevo architectural decorations, monuments with figures in high relief, and other works executed at Breslau in 1230 and believed to be of terra-cotta, are not so, as we were informed by the late Mr. Alexander Nesbitt; and the monument to Henry IV of Silesia, who died in 1290, said to be in that material, is really of painted stone. We do not know whether the potter of Schelestadt was acquainted with the stanniferous enamel ; but M. Piot^, as evidence that it was in use in the fourteenth century, refers to a work, the Margarita Preciosa, written in 1330, in which a recipe is given for the composition of potter's glaze, ostensibly in use at that time, ' videmus cum plumbum et stannum fuerunt calcinata et combusta, quod post ad ignem congruunt convertuntur in vitrum, sicut faciunt qui viirificant vasa figuli! We must not, however, forget the admirable mouldings and other architectural ornaments executed in rilievo of terra-cotta, of a durability that has stood the test of time, which were produced in various parts of Italy, particularly Lombardy, at that period ; nor that the necessity for a glaze in that country was less urgent than in the more humid climate of the north, and was met by the compactness of the material and the sharpness of the rilievo. Later, at Nuremberg, the elder Veit Hirschvogel was born in 1441, living till 1525, and to him the use of the tin glaze was known. Speci- mens ascribed to his hand, and dating from 1470, are preserved in museums. At Strehla there is a pulpit of glazed terra-cotta of the date 1565, and at ' Annales Dominicanorum Colmariens. (1283), Urstis. Script, rerum Germ., vol. ii. p. 10. ^ Cabinet de I'Amateur. INTRODUCTION 19 Saltzburg is the wonderful chimney-piece of the fifteenth century, still in its original position in the Schloss. At that time, also, Hans Kraut, of Villengen, in Swabia, produced good works, but it is probable that many of these larger examples are covered with an admirably manipulated green or brown glaze, which is produced without the admixture of tin. That the composition was known at an early period in Germany is proved by the foregoing extracts, and confirmed by recent research, but hardly justifies M. Aug. Demmin's statement, that whereas it was in use in the fifteenth century in numerous cities of Germany, it was not intro- duced into Italy until the sixteenth century! ' forgetting Luca della Robbia's first great and admirable work executed in 1438, three years before the birth of Veit HirschvOgel. In Italy, history has always awarded the honour of its discovery to Luca della Robbia, and however recent observation may have proved that its use was known in some of the Italian potteries before his time, there can be no doubt that his was not merely an application of a well-known process to a new purpose, but that he really did compound an enamel of peculiar solidity and whiteness, specially adapted to his purpose, and somewhat different from that in use at any of the potteries of his time. Proceeding with the general history of the manufacture in Italy, we have seen that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries native ware was produced in various places, examples of which are occasionally disinterred, or still exist in the towers and faqades of churches. These are lead- glazed, rudely painted, or coloured with yellow and green, and in some instances sgmffiato (specimens of which are in the South Kensington Museum) ^ proving that the use of a white 'slip,' or ' engobe,' was known in Italy at that period, as affirmed by Passeri and corroborated by Argnani. The former further asserts that in 1300 the art assumed a more decorative character, under the then Lords of Pesaro, the Malatestas. Having thus attained an even opaque white surface, the development of its artistic decoration steadily advanced. The colours used were yellow, green, blue, and black, to which we may add a dull brownish ' Guide dc I'Aiiiatcur de Faiences et Porcelaincs. Paris, 1867. Catalogue, p. 72, Nos. 14. 71. C 2 20 MA 10 Lie A red, noticed on some of the Pisan 'bacini.' Passeri states that the reflection of the sun's rays from the concave surfaces of these 'bacini' at Pesaro was most briUiant, and hence it has been wrongly inferred that they were enriched with metaUic lustre. We have already stated our belief that this effect may arise from an iridescence of the surface of the soft lead glaze partially decomposed by the action of the atmosphere. The difficulty of distinguishing the finer examples surfaced by means of a slip, from the enamelled wares, by the eye alone, adds to the per- plexity in endeavouring to ascertain the approximate relative age of undated pieces of the niezza and of the tin glazed pottery. In the refectory of the ci-devant convent of Santa Maria in Pomposa, near Commacchio, is a fresco by Giotto (a. d. 1276-1336) representing a banquet; on the table stands a jug of Italian form decorated with a branch of leafage or flowers, probably in blue, on the front, and with chevron ornament, &c., behind. It declares a well advanced art, and would seem to be rather an enamelled than a mezza ware. Again, in the picture by Pietro Laurati (1282-1340), Monks in the desert — Uffizi gallery. No. 12 — a jug is represented of almost indentical form and decoration with that just described. In the Gazzetta del popolo di Firenze of Sept. 24, 1874, a broken jug is described, as seemingly of stanniferous glaze, decorated with a shield of arms in relief, left unglazed, bearing a lion rampant, and stems bearing pine cones, also in relief but glazed. It is oviform, with projecting spout (the handle lost) and inverted trumpet-mouth foot. This vase, which belonged to the Duke of Verdura, was found in an underground prison, in which Ghinozzo di Sassoforte was starved to death by Aldobrandini, under the tower of the Castle of Sta Flora at Amicata in the district of Siena ; this vault had not been disturbed since the early years of the fifteenth century. At Faenza were found by Professor Argnani those boccali bearing the arms of Astorgio I, Manfredi, with the special impresa the liocorno crest adopted by him in 1393, and not used by any other of that family : Astorgio died in 1405. These jugs, some surfaced with the tei^ra biauca, some with the tin enamel, but both bearing the same impresa, would indicate a period of transition in the potter's art. They must have been made between 1393 and 1405. Other early pieces exist, INTRODUCTION 21 of inconsiderable merit, but perhaps of earlier date than any inscribed with the period of their production. The extremely interesting but coarsely executed pavement in the Carracciolo chapel of San Giovanni Carbonari at Naples, seemingly of stanniferous glaze, is considered by M. E. Molinier to have been executed about 1440. We trust that the plaque which formerl}- existed in siln over tlie door of the post-house at Urbania (Castel Durante), built by Cecco Gatti in 1440, is still there. It represented the arms of the Feltrc, and was inscribed ' Ospcs Ciccus Gattus Salvcrc tc jiibet' Next in sequence of date would probably come the plate in the Sevres Museum, representing Cavaliers, and marked -f-}-- 1-+ • 1 1 1 1 • 1 1 1 1- which is presumed to signify 1448. Signor Urbani de Ghcltof has figured and described a fragment of the tile pavement, formerly in the church of St. Elena at Venice, executed for the Giustianini family about 1440 1450. The earliest distinctly dated piece known to the writer is the plaque now in the Hotel Cluny, from the Castellani collection, on which a shield is depicted bearing a cock, of black colour, holding a fleur-de-lis in its beak, and dated 1466. It may perhaps be of Faenza, as certainly is that in the same museum, the well-known votive plaque on whicii the sacred monogram is surrounded by the legend ipltolilli^-tiC-EaffnollO-ati- !)onoi-cnitici-ct-»)ancn'9^!cl)nchc<-fccir-ficfi-ano- 1475. We have always considered this i)la(iue as of Faen/.a'. Mm. jacquemart and Darcel were disposed to attribute it to Cafllciggiolo, but Professor Argnani and Dr. Malagola have conclusively established its Faentine origin and history. In the Sevres Museum is a coarsely executed plaque bearing the arms of the Orsini family, and inscribed N ICOL AUS • ORSl N I • +-f ++ • 77- ' M. Einile Molinier, in liis small but interesting and valuable volume, La CdTamiquc Italienne au XV. siecle, has so highly complimented the present writer on his Catalogue of the South Kensington Collection, that he regrets the more having been accused by M. Molinier (doubtless from erroneously reading the passage in that work) of agreeing with Messrs. Jacquemart and Darcel in attributing this plaque to Caftaggiolo : at p. 473, line 9, it is stated that he was 'not convinced' that it is rightly so attributed by those learned writers, 'instead of to Kacnza, to which it has hitherto been allotted.' 22 MA 10 Lie A We next have, in sequence of date, the well-known and much discussed pavement in S. Petronio at Bologna, the admirable work of the Faentine artists Betini, in 1487. As also that in the Bentivoglio chapel of S. Giacomo Maggiore, of 1490. But the beautiful tiles now preserved in the museum at Parma, which formerly were a pavement in the convent of San Paolo, and are so accurately described and illustrated in M. Emile Molinier's La Ceramique Italienne au XV. siecle, may even be of rather earlier time ; he would assign them to about 1482. About that date also is the curious plaque in the Louvre, representing the patron saints of the shoemakers, Saints Crepin and Crepinien, which we considered as perhaps of the character of the earlier works of Forli. The ' Don Giorgio ' plate at Sevres, about which strange surmises have been brought forward, is dated 1485. In the South Kensington Museum is the singularly beautiful plaque, which we unhesitatingly ascribe to one of the most able of the ceramic painters of his time, M. Jero of Forli, representing the Virgin and Child, and dated 1489. Again, we have a coarsely painted plaque, with coat of arms of the Ouirini family, sustained by angels and inscribed THEOBALDUS • QJJIRINUS RECTOR MCCCCLXXXX. It is in the museum at Sevres. The South Kensington Museum possesses a circular disc, probably of Tuscan fabrique, bearing the arms and inscription, with date {sic) MCCCC9I • ANDREA • Dl • BONO. The same Museum possesses another disc, probably Faentine, of the Casa Pirota ; the sacred monogram occupies the centre, and on the border fil-1491 • G • A. The late Monsignore Cajani had a plaque, which we well recollect examining when in his possession ; it represented the Virgin and Child, behind whom is a drapery and two cherubs. It is figured in Delange and Darcel's Recueil on plate 14, and is dated 1492, SANCTA • MARIA • ORA • PRO • NOBIS . It is a poor production. M. Molinier refers to a fragment in the possession of Dr. Bode ; it is a portion of a jug of similar form to several which have been attributed to Caffaggiolo or other Tuscan source, and is dated 1493. A piece, dated 1498, INTRODUCTION 23 part of a plate, belonging to the late Baron Ch. Davilier and bequeathed by him, is now in the Sevres Museum. It represents a group of persons in costume of the fifteenth century, &c., within a border. To complete this list of works of the fifteenth century we may mention some sepulchral inscriptions and subjects painted on tiles, referred to by Malagola. They are at Faenza: one is to Antonio Porcari in the cloister of the convent of S. Domenico, with the family arms and date 1498; the other represents Christ, with the instruments of the passion, and is inscribed HOC • EST • SEPVLCRVM • MACISTRI • ANDREE-DE-BARBERIS. 1499. An angle tile, purchased at the Castellani sale for the South Kensington Museum, bears a shield of arms, the letters S. R., and the date 149-, the last figure having been broken away. M. Molinier, in his valuable work above quoted, carefully describes all these examples, in sequence of date, several of which were previously little known to students of Italian ceramics. We quite agree with him in his estimate of the interest and value of these early pieces. He also reminds us of the pavement in the Delia Rovere Chapel in .Santa Maria del Popolo, at Rome, on some of the tiles of which the peacock feather and double scroll decoration occurs, which we used to consider as probably of early l\iscan origin, but which Professor Argnani shows us was in use on equally early pieces found at Faenza, and which he so well figures on plate XI of his admirably illustrated work '. But, notwithstanding the early date of some of these pieces, particularly those found at Faenza, which were assuredly made between 1393 and 1405, the advanced state of the art in Tuscany is proved by the perfect adaptation of the stanniferous enamel both to rilievo and plain surfaces, and the masterly use of colours thereon by Luca dclla Robbia as early as 1438. Sir, then Mr. J. C. Robinson, in his catalogue of the Italian Sculpture at South Kensington, has given a sketch of the life and works of Luca della Robbia and his family, and a description of the specimens ascribed to them and then possessed by that Museum ; the majority of these are works of sculpture, but among the rest are the to)i(^i, circular plaques of enamelled ' Argnani, op. cit. 24 MAIOLICA pottery, painted on the plain surface, with allegorical representations of the months, as he believed by the hand of Luca della Robbia himself. We quote his description of them from page 59 of that catalogue: — ' Nos. 7632-7643. Luca della Robbia. A series of twelve circular medallions, in enamelled terra-cotta, painted in chiar'oscuro, with imper- sonations of the twelve months. Diameter of each, i foot lol inches. ' In Vasari's Life of Luca (ed. Le Monnier, p. 67) will be found the following passage (translated) : — ' " Luca sought to invent a method of painting figures and historical representations on flat surfaces of terra-cotta, which, being executed in vitrified enamels, would secure them an endless duration ; of this he made an experiment on a medallion, which is above the tabernacle of the four saints on the exterior of Or San Michele, on the plane surface of which he delineated the instruments and emblems of the builder's arts, accom- panied with beautiful ornaments. For Messer Benozzo Federighi, Bishop of Fiesole, in the church of San Brancazio \ he also made a marble tomb, on which is the recumbent effigy of the bishop and three other half-length figures besides, and in the pilasters of that work he painted, on the flat, certain festoons and clusters of fruit and foliage so skilfully and naturally, that, were they even painted in oil on panel, they could not be more beautifully or forcibly rendered. This work indeed is truly wonderful ; Luca having so admirably executed the lights and shades, or modelling of the objects, that it seems almost incredible a work of such perfection could have been produced in vitrified enamels." ' Note. — " One of these pictures may be seen in a room of the building- belonging to the superintendents of the Duomo. It is over a door on the left of the entrance, and is a lunette composed of three pieces, representing the Eternal Father in the centre, with an angel on each side, in an attitude of profound adoration." Mr. Robinson observes: 'We have here a record of the fact of Luca having, simultaneously with his enamelled terra-cotta sculptures, also practised painting in the same vehicle on the flat, or, in other words, the art of majolica painting. The monumental works before mentioned are now extant to attest the truth of this account. ' Now S. Francesco de Paolo, below Bellosguardo. INTRODUCTION 25 ' From a careful and repeated study of the above-named works on the spot, and Hkewise from the internal evidence of the technical qualities of the vehicle, terra-cotta, enamel pigments, &c., the writer has now to add to the list of Luca's productions, in this especially interesting branch, the series of medallions, doubtless united originally in a grand decorative work. Each roundel is a massive disc of terra-cotta, of a single piece, evidently prepared to be built into a wall (or vaulted ceiling) of some edifice. Round the margin of each is a decorated moulding, in relief, of a characteristic Delia Robbia type. The surface within the narrow border is flat or plane, and the designs are painted in two or three grisaille tints on a blue ground, of the usual quiet sober tint affected in all the backgrounds and plane surfaces of the rilievo subjects. 'The subjects consist of single figures of contadini or husbandmen, impersonating the agricultural operations of the Florentine country, char- acteristic of each month of the year; and although invested with a certain artistic charm of expression, the various figures, each of which exhibits a different individual character, may be taken as life portraits of the sturdy Tuscan peasants of the day. A band or fascia forming an inner border round each subject, is ingeniously and fancifully divided into two unequal halves, one being of a lighter tint than the general ground of the composition, and the other half darker, thus indicating the night and the day ; the mean duration of each for every month, being accurately computed, set off on the band accordingly, and noted in written characters on the upper or daylight part, whilst the name of the month is written in large capital letters at the bottom in white, on the dark ground of the nocturnal portion. The sun pouring down a cone of yellow rays, accompanied by the sign of the zodiac proper to each month, is also seen on the left of the upper part of each margin, and the moon on the lower half opposite to it. ' The execution of these designs exactly resembles that of the admirable bistre or chiaroscuro drawings of the great Italian masters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, two tints of blue being used for the outlines and shadows, while the lights or heightcnings are put in with pure white in the same large and facile style. In the somewhat lengthy proportions of the figures and other characteristics these compositions display a direct 26 MAIOLICA analogy with the style of design of the earlier works of the master in Florence ; a certain resemblance to the manner of Jacopo della Quercia is perhaps to be traced, especially in the draperies. 'Vasari further tells us that one of the principal works of Luca was the decoration, in enamelled terra-cotta, of a writing cabinet for Piero di Cosimo Medici, the ceiling of which was coved {mezzo toiido), and together with the pavement, was entirely in glazed terra-cotta, so perfectly put together that it appeared to be one piece. This cabinet no longer exists, but there is another allusion to it in a manuscript preserved in the Magliabecchian library (MS. Trattato d' Architettura del Filarete, nel libro 25 written by a contemporary of Luca, who says, " his (Cosmo's) cabinet {istudietto) was most ornamental, the pavement and the sky (cielo) of enamelled terra-cotta, ornamented with beautiful figure subjects, so that whoever enters it is struck with admiration." ' See notes to Vasari, ed. Le Monnier, pp. 65 and 291. INTRODUCTION 27 ' It is suggested, therefore, that these medalHons originally formed part of the system of decoration of this celebrated cabinet. In any case, that these roundels are actually the work of Luca della Robbia appears as certain as anything not absolutely authenticated can be. ' Piero de' Medici, who, according to Vasari, commissioned Luca to construct the writing cabinet in the palace built by his father, the great Cosmo, died in 1469, having succeeded his father in 1464, so that the execution of the work would be somewhere betwixt these dates. Antonio Filarete (MS. already quoted, p. 65), however, seems almost to indicate that it was Cosmo, and not his son, for whom the cabinet was constructed ; and if so, it might have been executed at a much earlier period of Luca's career. Our medallions, indeed, if we regard the style of the written characters of the inscriptions, have rather the aspect of works of the first than of the second half of the fifteenth century'.' Vasari states that Luca, by the application of this invention to plain surfaces, as well as to his admirably modelled rilievos in terra-cotta, faceva C opere di terra quasi cicrnc. Luca della Robbia was born in the year 1400 (Vasari says 1388). His works in marble, in terra-cotta, and bronze are remarkable for tiieir classic purity of sentiment. The well-known frieze of the singing boys in the museum of Uffizii, at Florence, executed about 1435-45, and the tomb below Bellosguardo (1456), are fine examples in the former material ; and the bronze gates of the sacristy of the Duomo in that city, commissioned in 1464, are his only known and admirable work in metal. His merits as a sculptor were ' ' It will not have escaped notice, never- anterior to them, and tiiat in fact the latter theless, that Vasari says it was only towards application was the result of early essays the end of Luca's career, that he turned his as a goldsmith-enameller on metals, and as attention to painting on terra-cotta. The a Majolica painter.' notorious inaccuracy, however, of the famous (In reference to this footnote the present ciironiclcr in respect to similar statements, writer would remark that Vasari's inaccu- dcprivcs tiic objection of any weight ; racy in the above-quoted statement is besides, in other parts of the life of Luca, conlirmed by the date of the Bellosguardo he alludes to some facts at variance with the tomb, erected about 1456, some eigiitccn assumption. It is in every respect more years after Luca's first recorded work in probable that the practice of painting in this enamelled sculpture, and twenty-five years vehicle was coeval with Luca's earliest before his dcaih.) essays in enamelled sculpture, if not indeed 28 MAIOLICA of the highest order, but he does not appear to have had that inventive faculty in composition for which his great rival Ghiberti was remarkable, almost to excess. Hence, perhaps, he was less esteemed and patronized ; but his force of character is shown in the originality of his adaptation on a large scale to modelled surfaces, and the improvement in the composition of the stanniferous enamel, with which his name must ever be associated. That the nature of the Delia Robbia enamel is different from that used upon the pottery produced at various fabriques may be seen by a comparison of the two surfaces. The greater degree of opacity and solidity in the former is a marked variation from that in general use; so also with the surface of his painted tiles. Perhaps the nearest approach is that on the earlier productions of the Caffaggiolo furnaces. Andrea della Robbia, to whom his uncle's mantle descended, also painted occasionally on plane surfaces, as may be seen on tiles which cover the flat surface of a ' lavabo' in the sacristy of the church of Sta Maria Novella, in Florence ; this was before ascribed by Mr. Robinson to Luca, but subsequently proved to have been erected by Giovanni, although probably a work of Andrea's best time. But the works of the Della Robbia family are not a subject whereon to dwell in this volume \ We would merely note the fact that in 1520 their art was in decadence, under the hand of Giovanni, the son of Andrea, Luca's nephew, and that during the first quarter of that century various original artists and imitators produced works in the same manner, derived from the earlier models of the Della Robbia, and the works of some other contemporary sculptors. By Giovanni's brother Girolamo it was introduced into France, where the Chateau de Madrid was decorated by him under the patronage of Francis I. One 'Niculoso Franciso' took the art to Spain, and adorned the church of Santa Paolo at Seville with bas-reHefs in the manner of the ' For further information on the Della II. i. 127, and other works ; and recent Robbia the reader is referred to Barbet de papers by Professor Allan Macquard, and Jouy, Les Della Robbia, post 8vo, Paris, published by him in the American Jour- 1853, and to Cavallucci, I. and Molinier, Les nal of Archaeology, January to March Delia Robbia, fol. Paris, 1884 ; also to 1894, et ante. Dr. Bode, in Archivio storico dell' Arte, INTRODUCTION 29 Delia Robbia, from the style of which the late Baron Ch. Davillier and the writer suggest that he was, possibly, a disciple of that school'. In Italy, Agostino di Antonio di Duccio worked at Perugia in 1459-61, where he executed enamelled bas-reliefs on the fa<;ade of the church of S. Bernardino, and in S. Domenico. Pier Paolo di Agapito da Sassoferrato is said to have erected an altar in this manner in the church of the Cappucini at Arcevia, in the diocese of Sinigaglia, in the year 1513. An able modeller, as well as artist potter. Maestro Giorgio Andreoli, of Gubbio, of whom we shall speak more in detail under the heading of that fabrique, also executed works in the manner of the Delia Robbia. The practice of enamelling large works, modelled in terra-cotta, would seem to have gone out of repute, fallen into decadence, and ceased in production before the end of the first half of the sixteenth century ; not perhaps so much from the secret of the glaze being known onl}', as we are told, to the descendants of the Delia Robbia family, as from the want of demand for works in that material ; the fashion had passed away. From the increased encouragement afforded to the production of artistic pottery, furnaces and botcf^he had been established in various parts of northern and central Italy, particularly in Romagna, in Tuscany, and in the lordship of Urbino, where the manufacture was patronized at an early time by the ruling family, as also by the Sforzaat Pesaro. Here, if we may believe Passeri, the use of the metallic lustre would appear to have been developed; but we have as little historical evidence of the date of its earliest use as of the tin enamel. Before that great improvement was generally adopted by the numerous potteries of Italy, the pearly, the golden, and the ruby lustre colours would seem to have been produced at Pesaro, at Diruta, and perhaps at Gubbio, where, if not earliest introduced, it attained its greatest perfection. Pesaro being a coast town of the Adriatic, and one where furnaces had long existed, would form a ready asylum for oriental emigrants fleeing from persecution in their own country, and it is reason- able to suppose that from them the use of these metallic pigments may have been acquired; accordingly we find that the decoration on the ' The execution of bas-reliefs, figures, been habitual anterior to the use of the and groups at various fabriques, painted stanniferous enamel at those potteries, and coated witii lead glaze, appears to have 30 MAIOLICA early pieces is oriental to a marked degree. Painted wares had been produced anterior to the use of those metaUic pigments, and among them specimens are occasionally found showing Persian influence in their design. We are told by Passeri that the Princes of the house of Sforza, who had purchased the lordship of Pesaro from the Malatesta family, encouraged the development of the art, and that the ' mezza-majolica' continued to improve from 1450. Special privileges were granted in i486 and 1508 to manufacturers of Pesaro, whose wares were then famous, as well as those of other chief cities of the lordship of Urbino. The pieces of that period, produced at various places, have a certain general resemblance in the clumsy fashion, the dry archaic style of drawing, and the outlines traced in manganese black or zaffre blue, with which last the shadings are also indicated ; the flesh is left white. A certain rigidity but truthfulness is observable in the design, crude and wanting in relief, but precise and free from timidity. A moresque border frequently surrounds a coat-of-arms, portrait busts in profile of contemporary princes, or that of a saint or heathen goddess, the sacred monogram, &c., and amatory portraits of ladies, with a ribbon or banderole, on which the fair one's name is inscribed, with a complimentary adjective, as ' Bella,' ' Diva,' &c. ; such are the principal subjects of these early bacili, the correct attribution of which to any particular fabrique is a matter of extreme difficulty. The admirable ' madre perla ' lustre of the pieces so enriched, changing in colour and effect with every angle at which the light is reflected from their brilliant surface, is the leading characteristic and special beauty of this class of wares, which must have been in great request and produced in considerable quantity. Pesaro and Diruta lay claim to their production, and each fabrique has its champions. Messrs. Piot and Emile Molinier wholly discredit the statement of Passeri. Having found fragments of lustred ware at Diruta, which is acknowledged to have been a great producer of it, they conclude that Pesaro had no such claim. We prefer waiting until a thorough examination of the sites of the old potteries at Le Gabice, some miles from Pesaro, has given such strong negative evidence as would render a more conclusive answer to this question. These bacili are nearly all of the same size and form ; large heavy dishes of flesh-coloured clay, with deep sunk centres and a projecting circular INTRODUCTION 31 ' giretto ' rim behind, forming a foot or base ; this is invariably pierced with two lateral holes, for the purpose of introducing a cord by which to suspend them, proving that they were valued more as decorative pieces {piatti da pompa) than for. use upon the table; the back is covered by a coarse yellow glaze, the front having a surface whitened by slip and painted as above described. The rim is sometimes ornamented in com- partments {a quartierc\ or with chequered ' chevrone ' or imbricated patterns, or conventional flowers, &c. They are accurately described by Passeri in his seventh chapter, who concludes somewhat hastily, from their uniform size, shape, style of decoration, and the character of the metallic lustre, that they were by the same artist, unknown by name, but who worked at Pesaro about the end of the fifteenth century, probably not knowing that similar wares were then produced by the rival potteries of Diruta. We shall consider these more in detail when treating of the wares of Pesaro, Diruta, and Gubbio. Dennistoun, in his Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, states that in 1478 Sixtus IV wrote to Costanzo Sforza, in acknowledgement of a present of 'Vasa Fictilia,' which he says for the donor's sake he prizes as much as if made of gold or silver, instead of earthenware most elegantly wrought. Gaye, Carteggio, i. 304, records a letter from Lorenzo the Mag- nificent to Roberto Malatesta, thanking him for a similar present, and saying, ' they please me by their perfections and rarity, being quite novelties in these parts, and are valued more than if of silver, the donor's arms scr\ ing daily to recall their origin.' This probably refers to the metallic lustered ware then seemingly unknown in Tuscany. Careful investigations of the records of Italian families, and the archives of the many towns at which potteries formerly existed, have already' thrown considerable light on the establishment of the various fabriques, and the marks and characteristics of their productions ; but at present we can only form an approximate opinion, from the comparison of the various pieces existing in public and private collections with signed examples by the same hand. From Passed, the earliest writer on the history and development of the manufacture, we are forced to draw largely, accepting his statements unless controverted b}^ tangible evidence or reliable docu- mentary matter, and making allowance for a considerable amount of local 3^ MAJOLICA bias, the Carita del nativo loco of which we find too much in Italian local history. His information, in that direction, is perhaps more valuable than that conveyed by the interesting MS. of Piccolpasso, the latter work being almost exclusively confined to the details of the manufacture, giving us but small instruction as to the relative dates and productions of the many potteries at which artistic works were executed at the time he wrote. He was, for his lights, a scientific potter, but not an historian, or collector and student of the ceramic productions of other times and other 'boteghe.' We agree in believing with Passed that the potteries of Pesaro were of very early date, probably anterior to Gubbio, and think that some weight may be given to his statement, that the use of the lustre pigments was introduced from the former to the latter fabrique, where it attained to unsurpassed excellence under the able management and improvement of M" Giorgio, but whether the furnaces of Faenza and Forli were of earlier or subsequent establishment to that of Pesaro is still matter for conjecture. That works existed at Faenza at a very early date, and that they developed to an important degree, both as to the quantity and quality of their produce and their influence abroad, is unquestionable. But although producing at the latter end of the fifteenth and early in the sixteenth centuries some of the most exquisite examples of artistic decora- tion, and of the perfection of manufacture in this class of ceramics, we are unable to find a record of its use, or examples of pottery decorated with the lustrous metallic tints which can, with probability, be ascribed to the Faenza furnaces. The same remark applies to all the products of the numerous potteries on the northern side of the Apennines, and indeed, speaking generally, its use appears to have been almost confined to Pesaro, Gubbio, and Diruta, for although some rare examples exist which may have been produced at Caffaggiolo, and perhaps elsewhere, they are quite exceptional, and may be experimental pieces. The Piedmontese and Lombard cities do not appear to have encour- aged the potter's art to an equal extent in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries ; neither can we learn of equal excellence attained in Venice till the establishment of Durantine and Pesarese artists at that city in the middle of the latter period. Perhaps commerce did for the Queen of the Adriatic, by the importation of Rhodian, Damascus, and other Eastern INTRODUCTION 33 wares, what native industry supplied to the pomp and luxury of the hill cities of Umbria ; for it must be borne in mind that the finer sorts of enamelled or glazed pottery, decorated by artistic hands, were only attain- able by the richer class of purchasers ; more modest wares, or wooden trenchers, and ancestral copper vessels, contenting the middle class. The Northern Duchies, as Ferrara, Rimini, Ravenna, &c., also encouraged the art, but to a smaller extent than that of Urbino. The history of the development, perfection, and decline of the ceramic art of the Renaissance in Italy, is so intimately connected with and centred by that of the Dukedom of Urbino, that in tracing its progress we should also briefly call to memory the fortunes and the failures of that noble house. In 1443 what had been but an unimportant mountain fief was erected into a duchy, and the house of Montcfeltro ruled a fair territory in the person of the infamous Oddantonio, the first Duke of Urbino. On his violent death, in 1444, Federigo, his illegitimate brother, succeeded to the dukedom. Of enlightened mind, as well as of martial capacity, he developed the native capabilities of the country, and gathered about him at the court of Urbino the science and learning of the period, lie married in 1460 Battista Sforza, and built a noble castellated palace at Urbino, celebrated by Vasari, for the embellishment of which he invited the leading artists of the day. The beautiful stonework tracery of the staircase, of arabesque or more properly 'grotesque' design, with dancing cupids, trophies, and heraldic fancies— among others the English Order of the Garter, with which he was invested in 1474— is remarkable ; the ' intarsiatura ' of the doors, and other sadly injured but still beautiful remains of the decoration of this picturesque building, attest the admirable taste and magnificence of its first owner. A patron of all art, and a great collector \ he encouraged the manufacture of the maiolica wares, which flourished under his reign. On his death, in 1482, his son Guidobaldo I, who married in 1488 Elizabetta Gonzaga of Mantua, continued his father's patronage to the ceramic artists of the Duchy, although much occupied in the Italian ' It is recorded as cliaracteristic of this in., and contains 979 leaves of parchment, prince, that the only share of the spoil he forming together a thickness of nearly would receive on taking the city of Volterra a foot, and requiring two men to carry it. was an illuminated Hebrew Bible, now in (Dcnnistoun's Memoirs of the Dukes of the Vatican ; it is of large size, 23 in. by 16 Urbino.) 34 MA 10 Lie A wars consequent on the French invasion by Charles VIII. He lost Pesaro and Faenza to Cesar Borgia in 1502, who in the following year surprised Urbino, plundering the palace of valuables to a large amount. In 1503 Guidobaldo was restored, and resided there till his death in 1508. He also was a Knight of the Garter of England, invested in 1504. Passed states that fine maiolica (by which he means that covered with the tin enamel) was introduced into Pesaro about 1500 ; and that there is some reason for believing that the new process came from Tuscany. It differed materially in composition and manufacture from the ' mezza-majolica ' wares ^, to which it was very superior, and was known as ' Porcellana,' a name applied at that period in Italy to the choicer description of enamelled earthen- ware ^. Passed also states that in the inventory of the ducal palaces a large quantity of painted ' maiolica ' vases were included under this name. The superior whiteness of the enamel, more nearly approaching to that of Oriental porcelain, was probably the reason for its adoption ; but we must not confound the term, as used in this sense, with its technical meaning in reference to a decorative design known as ' a porcellana.' The introduction of the new enamel, which afforded a better ground for painting, did not cause the use of the bright metallic colours and prismatic glaze to be relinquished at those potteries where it had become established, but it appears to have stimulated a development in the artistic productions of other places. The ' botega ' of Maestro Giorgio at Gubbio seems to have been about this time a great centre of the process of embellishment with the golden and ruby metallic lustres ; and, indeed, we have little knowledge of artistic pottery produced at that fabrique which is not so enriched. From some technicality in the process of the manufacture, some local advantage, or some secret in the composition, almost a monopoly of its use was there established, for we have the evidence of well-known examples, that from the end ' We think there must be some error in quahty of the same kind, instead of being Passeri's statement that the glaze of the restricted to its earlier signification, viz., 'mezza-majolica' consisted of forty parts the lustred, painted, and incised wares, of oxide of tin, and that of the finer ware, coated with a 'slip' or 'engobe,' instead or ' porcellana,' of sixty ; or that, after the of a stanniferous enamel, general use of the tin enamel, the term ^ Campori, Notizie della Maiolica e della 'mezza-majolica' was applied to an inferior Porcellana di Ferrara. Modena, 1871, p. 39. INTRODUCTION 35 of the first to the commencement of the last quarter of the sixteenth century, many pieces painted by the artists of Pesaro, Urbino, and Castel Durante, were sent to Gubbio, there to receive the additional enrichment of the lustre colours. Pieces, referred to more particularly in the notice of their respective fabriques, signed in blue by the artist Francesco Xanto and others, have been subsequently lustred at Gubbio, and again signed in the metallic pigment by the ' Maestro ' of that ' botega.' At Diruta also its early use appears to have been extensive, though later, not to so exclusive a degree, nor on wares of such high character, as at Gubbio ; neither are we enabled, by the possession of examples, to conclude that the works of other fabriques were sent to Diruta for that additional embellishment. The crude drawing of the earlier ware was slowly unproved ; in 1502 tiles executed for the Palace at Pesaro were but of sorry design ; but it developed by the introduction of half tints, the colouring of the drapery, and in the composition of the groups of figures, inspired by the works of Timoteo della Vite and other artists of the Umbrian school. At Pesaro the art appears to have attained its highest perfection at the botega of the Lanfranco family, about 1540-45. The establishment of the Ducal Court at Urbino naturally drew more favour to the potteries of that city, and of its near neighbour Castel Durante. The latter of these appears to have been a scat of this industry from the end of the thirteenth centur}', and subsequently to have furnished not only large quantities of glazed earthenware, but also works of the highest artistic merit. On this subject we learn much fnjm the work of Signor Giuseppe RaffacUi ', who gives important historical information, derived from local documents and registers, and an extensive list of artists and potters engaged at various periods in the work. Castel Durante not only produced fine wares at home, but artists of great ability emigrated from her, establishing themselves at various places. Hence originally came Nicolo Palimpario, one of the most able artists of his day, who took the name of Nicolo da Urbino on his establishment in that city; the father and the head of the 'Fontana' family, the most important producers of the higher class of decorative pottery at Urbino. ' Memoric dcllc Majoliche lavorate in Castel Durante. P'crnio, 1846. D 2 36 MA 10 Lie A At Venice Francesco Pieragnolo in 1545, accompanied by his father, Gian-Antonio da Pesaro, formed a ' botega,' but his wares are not among the earliest dated pieces made in that city, where we know that M°. Ludo- vico was producing admirable works five years previously, as also did M°. Jacomo da Pesaro in 1542. A member of the Fontana family, Camillo, younger brother of the celebrated Orazio, went to Florence, and another M°. Camillo to Ferrara in 1567 by the request of the then reigning Duke, Alfonso II. In 1600 we find ' Maestro Diomede Durante ' had a pottery at Rome, producing pieces painted by Gio. Pavlo Savino, in the style of the Urbino grotesques on white ground, which had been brought to such perfection by the Fontana family. Another artist of this family, Guido da Savino, is stated to have previously established himself at Antwerp. At Urbino the shaped pieces, the vases, cisterns, &c., were of large size, admirably modelled, and richly 'istoriata' with subjects from sacred and profane history, poetry, &c., the produce of the celebrated Fontana 'botega' being perhaps the most important. Here also worked the able artist Francesco Xanto, from 1530 to 1541 (latterly in the pottery of Francesco Silvano), so many of whose painted pieces were subsequently decorated with ruby and gold lustre at Gubbio. From 1520 to 1540 the art continued to flourish in this Duchy, and retained great excellence till 1560. At Castel Durante, which was raised to the rank of a city in 1635 by Pope Urban VIII, taking the name of Urbania, several ' boteghe ' existed, one of which was under the direction of the Cavaliere Cipriano Piccolpasso, who, himself an artist and a Professor of Medicine, was doubtless well advanced in the chemical knowledge of his day. He worked about 1550, and has left the important and interesting MS., entitled Li tre Libri dell' Arte del Vasajo \ before referred to, now in the Library of the South Kensington Museum. It is to be regretted that this work, so valuable and instructive on the .subject of the processes of production and decoration, and containing so many illustrative designs by the hand of its author, gives us so little historical information of the development of the art in the Duchy of ^ This MS. was printed and published at at Paris in i84i,both editions with engraved Rome in 1857, and a translation in French copies of the numerous designs. INTRODUCTION 37 Urbino, and still less in other localities of Italy, many important potteries being entirely ignored. Passeri draws largely from this MS. Guidobaldo I was succeeded in the dukedom by his nephew, Francesco Maria Delia Rovere in 1508, who, incurring the resentment of Pope Leo X, was obliged by Lorenzo de' Medici to retire from his duchy into Lombard}', but was reinstated in 1517. Rome was sacked in 1527, and history accuses that Duke of having connived at rather than interfering to prevent that horrible act. He died from poison in 1538 at Pesaro, whither he had retired after a reverseful life and reign. His Duchess was the talented Leonora Gonzaga, daughter of Francesco Marquis of Mantua. She built a palace near Pesaro, known as the 'Imperiale,' richly decorated by able artists, among whom was Raflfaelle dal Colle, whose designs were also adopted for the maiolica ware. The frequently repeated error of ascribing the actual painting, as also the making designs for this ware, to the great Raffaelle Sanzio, may probably have arisen from similarit}?^ in the Christian names of these artists. The development of the manufacture in the Duchy of Urbino may be considered to have attained its culminating point about 1540, after which, for some twenty years, it continued in great excellence both as regards the ' istoriati,' and more particularly the shaped pieces decorated with the so-called 'Urbino arabesques ' on a clear white ground; subjects painted in medallions, surrounded by grotesques of admirable invention and execution, after the style known as ' Raffaellesque.' But excellent and highly decorative as are the finer products of this period from the furnaces of the Fontana of Urbino, or of the Lanfranchi of Pesaro, to the true connoisseur they want tlie refinement, the expressive drawing, the exquisite finish and delicacy, the rich colour, and the admirable design of the earlier works produced at the Casa Pirota in Faenza, at F'orli, and Castel Durante, at Caffaggiolo and Siena, and by M". Giorgio at Gubbio, in the latter years of the fifteenth and the first quarter of the sixteenth centuries, many of which rival in beauty the exquisite miniature illuminations of that palmy period of Italian art. The sen-ice of the Correr Museum in Venice, formerly supposed to have been painted by an unknown artist of Faenza, and dated 1482, but now believed to be an early work by Nicolo da Urbino, at Castel Durante, is of this high quality. In the South Kensington 38 MAIOLICA Museum are works seemingly of this botega, particularly a plaque or tile, on which is represented the Resurrection of our Lord (No. 69, '65), which is worthy of being ranked with the highest productions of pictorial art. The borders of grotesques on the plates of this earlier period differ greatly from those of the Urbino factories of the middle time, being generally grounded on dark blue or yellow, and executed with great delicacy of touch and power of colouring ; the centres of the smaller pieces usually occupied by single figures, small medallion subjects, portrait heads, amorini, shields-of-arms, &c. ; frequently they were intended for 'amatorii' or love tokens. Some of the most careful and highly finished productions of M". Giorgio are of this early time, before he was in the habit of signing with the well-known initials M° G" ; the earliest so signed being the admirable St. Francis tazza in that Museum, dated 1517. We may therefore affirm that the choicest works in Italian pottery were produced during a period which extended from 1480-90 to 1520 or 1530; thence till 1550 was its meridian, although some fine works were produced at Urbino by the Fontana till 1570 ; before which time we find that the ruby lustre had been lost, and rapid decadence of design and execution reduces all to painful inferiority. Guidobaldo II, who had succeeded to Francesco Maria in 1538, wanted the force of character and the nice appreciation of the higher literature and art which had distinguished his father ; but he was a great patron of the ceramic productions of his Duchy, and sought to improve the designs used by painters on pottery by the introduction of subjects of higher character and composition. With this view, lavish of expense, he bought original drawings by Rafifaelle and the engravings of Marc Antonio from that master's designs. He also invited Battista Franco, a Venetian painter, highly lauded by Vasari for his knowledge of antiquity, and who says of his drawings, ' nel vero per fare un bel disegno Battista non avea pari,' that he was unequalled. The Duke used to make presents of services of maiolica to contem- porary princes and friends. One, given to the Emperor Charles V, a double service, is mentioned by Vasari, the vases of which had been painted from the designs of Battista Franco; another, from the Duchess to Cardinal Farnese. Franco is stated to have remained, and died in the INTRODUCTION 39 Duke's service. Raffaelle dal Colle prepared designs, and cartoons were ordered from the great artists of Rome, as recorded in letters addressed by Annibal Caro^ to the Duchess Vittoria in 1563, and by II Casa as mentioned by Passeri. A service was also sent to Philip II of Spain, which, it is said, was painted by Raffaelle Ciarla and Orazio P'ontana after the designs of Taddeo Zuccaro. Another service, of which pieces are extant, was given by the Duke to the Frate Andrea da Volterra, his confessor. For the Spezieria, or medical dispensary, attached to his own palace, he ordered a complete set of vases and drug pots ; and for these, designs were prepared by B. Franco and Raffaelle dal Colle, and executed at the botega of Orazio Fontana, by whom some of the pieces were painted. They were subsequently presented by Duke Francesco Maria 11 to the Santa Casa at Loreto, where the greater part of them are still preserved. The story tells us that they were so highly esteemed by Christina of Sweden that she offered to buy them for their weight in gold, after a Grand Duke of Florence had more prudently proposed an equal number of silver vessels of like weight. They are described by D. Luigio Granuzzi -, and some of them were engraved by Bartoli. Orazio F'ontana, the great artist potter and painter of Urbino, worked for the Duke from 1540 to 1560, and carried the art to high perfection ; for a more detailed account of his family the reader is referred to the notices on Castcl Durante and Urbino. The extravagant expenditure of the Duke rendered it necessary for him to contract his establishment, and Raffaelle dal Colle left his service. Orazio Fontana and Hattista Franco were dead, and works of an inferior class only were produced from the designs of the Flemish engravers. From 1580 the decline of the art was rapid. It met with small encouragement from Duke Francesco Maria II, who succeeded in 1574, except during his residence at Castel Durante, where it still, though feebly, survived. ' Vide Annihal Can>, l.cttcrc, vol. iii. Loreto. dall' Arciprctc U. Luigio Granuzzi. ■ Rciazionc istorica dclla Santa Casa in Loreto, 1838. 40 MAJOLICA He abdicated in favour of the Holy See, and died in 1631. The rich collections of art still remaining at Urbino became the property of Ferdi- nand de' Medici, who had married the Duke's granddaughter, Vittoria, and were removed to Florence. Artistic manufactories had, in addition to those of the Umbrian Duchy, greatly increased in various parts of Italy under the encouragement of powerful local families ; but none appear to have attained to higher excellence than those of Tuscany. Passeri ^ states that ' Majolica fina ' was known in Florence long before it was manufactured at the Umbrian potteries. Of the older potteries at Faenza he takes little note. At Cafifaggiolo, under the powerful patronage of the Medici, and at Siena, some of the most excellent pieces of this beautiful pottery were produced, rivalling, but not surpassing, the finer works of Faenza, from whence originally Caffaggiolo was probably supplied with artists. The Tuscan pieces are remarkable for their rich enamel, for the force and brilliancy of the colours, and for the execution and design of the grotesque borders and other decoration ; a deep rich blue, a peculiar opaque but bright red, and a brilliant yellow, are characteristic pigments on these pieces. The existence of Cafifaggiolo has been made known to us only by inscription of the name on some few pieces preserved in the cabinets of the curious. From their style, and the mark accompanying the inscription, we are enabled to detect many examples, some of which bear concurrent testimony in the subjects connected with the history of the Medici family, with which they are painted. The well-known plate on which a painter is represented executing the portraits of a noble personage and his lady, who are seated near, and which were supposed to be intended for RafiFaelle and the Fornarina — this beautiful example is now in the South Kensington Museum, acquired from the Bernal Collection — is a fine specimen of the work of perhaps the most able artist engaged at this pottery. At Siena also admirable works were produced, but we are disposed to think that their inspiration was derived from Cafifaggiolo or Faenza. Some pieces of the latter end of the fifteenth century are with probability > Istoria, p. 27, ed. Pesaro, 1857. INTRODUCTION 41 ascribed to Siena, and dated pieces as early as 1501. Tiles also from the same fabrique arc 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 works of high merit in this field, during the period of its greatest excellence in the Northern and Tuscan states; and although we have record of earlier establishments, it is not till the dispersion of the artists, consequent upon the absorption of the Umbrian Duchy into the Pontifical States, that we find signed and dated pieces, the work of a Durantine established 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 ; and 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 decline. Passeri laments the taste which denounced maiolica as vulgar, and supplanted it by Oriental porcelain, then becoming more attainable. Hut we must bear in mind that the wares of Italy had really become inferior and coarse, from the causes above narrated ; and although he naively and strongly expresses himself against the preference given to the Chinese wares decorated with paintings ' no better in design than those on playing cards,' and thus showing ' the degeneracy of an age when the brutal predominates over the intellectual faculty of man he perhaps did not make allowance for the fact that specimens of the good period of the art, alone really admirable, were only in the hands of the great, and that the designs of the immortal Raflaelle, as copied by the later maiolica painters, were but poorly representative. Moreover, the superior hardness and excellence of Oriental porcelain over glazed earthenware could not but be apparent ; and the worthy Abbe was perhaps too much biassed in favour of his beloved pottery, then onl\- collected by virtuosi, and preserved in museums. ' Passeri, cli. xx. 42 MAJOLICA Passeri's influence, and that of others, prompted a revival in the produc- tion of native decorative earthenware in various parts of Italy, as 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 parts 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, after the prints of Marc Antonio, and in some charming designs with borders of amorini among foliage, and subject pieces of great excellence from Castelli, Naples, Venice and Savona ; and although there is great excellence also in the 'technique' of the manufacture, 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 which is to be seen upon the earlier works of Faenza, Castel Durante, Caflaggiolo and Siena. The endeavours made throughout Europe to discover a method of making porcelain, similar in its qualities or approaching to that imported from China, had commenced in the fifteenth century. In this direction royal encouragement was of the greatest value ; and we find that early in the field of successful discovery was that country in which the enamelled earthenware had previously reached such high perfection. Under the patronage of the Grand Duke Francis I, about 1580, experiments were made which at length resulted in the production of an artificial porcelain of close body and of even glaze. The existence of such a production, and the history of its origin, have only been revealed to us within the last fifty 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 pieces 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. D wight, at Fulham, IMRUDLCTIUX 43 in 1671', and that of St. Cloud in France, about 1695; but the specimens found by Dr. Foresi were manifestly not attributable to either of these, or to 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 usual 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 connexion with his laboratory in the Boboli Gardens. The Magliabecchian Library yielded an important manuscript compilation, by some person employed b}' 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 Etruria; 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, acquired in Ital}' by Signor Alessandro Castellani, is a shallow basin, in the centre of which the figure of St. Mark, witli the 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., painted on the volume held beneath the lion's paw ; while on the reverse of the piece the usual mark occurs. ' 111 tlic patent granted to John Dwiglit on April 23, 1671, occurs tlic passage : ' Tlic mystery of transjiarcnt earthenware, coninionly known by tlic name of porcclainc or China and Persian ware, as also the mistcric of the stone ware vulgarly called Cologne ware,' &:c. It is a question whether the 'Persian ware' here spoken of is the 'Gonibron' ware, or a true Kaolinic porcelain made in, or imported from, Persia. The beautiful coloured earthenware now usually known as Persian and Rhodian, was highly prized at that and an earlier period in England, as is proved b^- extant spt» 12 Piomho (oxide of lead) 10 J) 12 n 14 Zaffara nera M 0 n I 2I ' And now I will give you the " sbiancheggiati," that is made in Lombardy, bearing in mind that the earth of Vicenza is used, as has been said of the colours of Castello — Rena . . lbs. 5 Piomho . . lbs. 10 making the design [dipingasi) on the white earth, when they shall have had the earth of Vicenza ; I would say with a style of iron of this kind (gives design), and this drawing is called " 5^ra^o (p. 41). 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. Neither need we follow our amorous Maestro through all the poetic rhapsodies of his 42nd page, in which he tells us that he has undertaken the work to relieve his mind from constant thought of his beloved lady, whose various charms he compares, in high-flown eulogy, with all that is glorious in nature and in art ; for, says he, ' the more I seek to free myself from amorous thoughts by the combination of a piomho and a stagno, to my soul the beautifully proportioned features of my "bella amata " constantly appear, reflected, as it were, in the various colours ; but I know no lustre that would paint her golden hair, or black that is not inferior to that of her beauteous lashes. The flash of her divine eyes is comparable to nothing but the scintillation of the sun's rays. The beautiful " bianco di Ferrara " appears black, harsh, and red when placed beside her smooth and delicate arm ; and for her smile ! art is incapable of producing any object that could cause a fraction of the happiness which it conveys. ' INIRODUCTIOX 59 Oh ! admirable potter, whose art not only fashioned the cold clay into forms of beauty, and clothed them with colour ' rich as an evening sky,' but drew poetic simile from earthy mixture in mentally painting her charms, which hand could not portray. How gladly would we possess one of those love tokens, those tondini, with Cupid in the midst, or hearts united by the silken ribbon, or the piercing dart, or inefficient portrait of your ' bella incognita,' upon which you must have expended all your artistic power to make it worthy of her acceptance and of the reward of that 'dolcissimo riso.' In his third book he goes into further details of the glaze and colours, manner of painting, firing, &c. The biaiiclielto, which is only once baked, and the other colours, being removed from the furnace, are triturated with water on a pilctla, 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 porphyr}', which is even better. The green l)igmcnt may be baked two or three times. The zallo and the zalhtlino, after once or twice baking, are covered witli 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 consistence 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 iiiinicdiately withdrawn, or some of the pieces may be held in the left hand, and the liquor poured over them from a bowl. A trial piece should show the thickness of glove leather, in the adhering coat. The itiveirialitra having been thus applied, the pieces are allowed to dry, and are now ready to receive the painting. This is executed with coarser and finer brushes or pcnclli, 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 diflferent brush must be used for each colour. The painler;^ generally sit round a circular table, 6o MA 10 Lie A suspended from the ceiling, which turns round, and upon which the different pigments are placed. The outlines and shadows are painted with a mixture of zallo and zaffara nera in the proportions of 2 parts of the former to \ and of the latter, the first mixture producing the lighter tint known as mista chiara, the second a darker colour, the misfa scum. With the former the sketch is made, and the shadows put in ; with the other you retouch and finish. In the absence of zaffara nera make a mixture of equal quantity, composed, one half of good zaffir and one half of manganese, to add to the zallo. For a tree, dead flesh, stones, and certain roadways in full light, take of — Zallulino, 2. Biancheiio, 3 or 4 parts. For timber or woodwork, and some roads, with the stones reddened, Zallo, I. Bianchetto, i\ or 2. For the sky, the sea, steel, and other iron, &c. Zaffara, i. Bianchetto, 2 or 3. For ploughed land, street, ruins, and stone work, Mista chiara, 1. Bianchetto, 2. For green fields, certain foliage, or shrubs, in sunlight, Zallulino, i. Ramina, 2. For the hair, Zallulino, 2. Zallo, i. The painters, nevertheless, vary these proportions, and the pigments are used lighter or darker as they may require. Piccolpasso states (p. 48) that as yet a red colour is unknown to their art, but that he has seen it used in the ' bottega di Vergiliotto in Faenza,' beautiful as cinnabar, but it is deceitful or uncertain. It is made by grinding bolo-arminio with red vinegar, and painting over the zallulino. This may probably be the rich red, notable upon some of the wares attributed to Faenza, and also abundantly used at Caffaggiolo. Certain precautions, we are told, are necessary in using the bianco INTRODUCTION 6r fermrese, which is apt to have air bubbles, being apphed twice as thick as the ordinary enamel, and moreover can only be painted over with the black and blue zaffir, the former for outlines, the other for shading, using only zallnlino and zallo for finishing the subject. From the excellent Ferrara white invented by Duke Alfonso, we are led to consider the method of glazing ordinary common pans and other vessels. P/bw^o (oxide of lead) Ihs. 3 21 or 20 Rcna (sand) ... ,,2 7,. 8 /Vrmfcm (oxide of iron) . oz. i\ lbs. i ,, i this being, in fact, nothing more than tlic ordinary yellow coloured lead glaze used for the inside of common red earthenware in England and elsewhere. To return to the painted pieces ; these, after being dried in a clean place, taking care that the bianco is not chipped or rubbed off, are painted with zallnlino on the outer edge, and are then ready to receive the copcria or outer glaze ; the composition of this, corresponding with the enamel, has been already given (p. 57\ and it is milled and prepared in every way like the bianco. The bath, similarly prepared, must be more liquid, as a tiiinner translucent coating only is required over the colours ; into this tiie pieces are dipped, precisely as in the former process, and being again dried, are ready for the final firing. F'or this purpose the furnace, after being well cleaned, is lined under the arching with a luting, composed of sciabionc, a sort of fire-clay mixed with asses' dung, and iron scales from the blacksmith. The furnace is then filled with the wares in their seggers, &c., in which the pieces are supported by points or pironi, tripods, triangles, &c., made of clay, as on the first baking, and the fire applied in the same way by the lower chamber. Care is required in packing the furnace, that it be full without overcrowding, and that a free current be left for the heat to pass among all the pieces, filling spaces not occupied by the seggers with crude wares, colours to be baked, &c., as before. After prayer and thanksgiving Id God, commence the fire, not, however, without observing the state of the moon, for this is of the greatest 62 MAIOLICA importance. Those who are old and experienced in the art state that you should avoid firing at the waning of the moon ; the fire will want in brightness, as the moon wants in splendour. Avoid also doing it at the period of the aquatic signs of the zodiac, as this is very perilous. The heat is to be increased little by little, avoiding smoke in the furnace; and after about eleven hours of firing open one of the side vedette, and see if all is bright and clear within. This do also with the others ; and should one part be less heated than another, place additional fuel at that end, opening the upper orifices in the roof, that the draught may be increased in that direction. When all is equally fired, allow it to go down, but in order to examine whether it has succeeded, take the vedetfn, a long iron rod, at the end of which is a socket, in which place a piece of dried willow wood ; introduce this at the lateral openings and it will take fire, illuminating the interior, and enabling you to examine the state of the wares. Our author finishes his third book by referring to a series of designs in his atlas, illustrative of the styles of decoration; they are as follows: — Trofei. — Arms, musical instruments, books, tools, &c., spread over a coloured ground ; of very general use, particularly in the State of Urbino. Rabesche. — Arabesques of oriental derivation, after damascened work, generally upon a light ground, and more in use at Venice and Genoa. Cerquafe. — Wreaths and diapering of oak branches, and acorns ; much used in the Duchy of Urbino, in compliment to the reigning family, Delia Rovere. Generally in dark yellow on a blue ground, and frequently encircling a central medallion. Grotesche. — Male and female figures, with foliated limbs and in grotesque combinations, with animals, &c. ; on white, and on coloured grounds. /o^/Zi?.— Leafage covering the surface. Genoa and Venice. Fiori. — Flowers intertwined, with birds in cama'ieu. Venice. Frutti. — Fruits mixed with foliage, similarly used. INTRODUCTION 63 Foglie da dozzena.—K coarser variety' of foglic on inferior wares. Much made at Venice. Paesi. — Landscapes, with buildings, &c. Also frequent at Venice and Genoa. Porf^/f?;/.— Light scroll-work, foliated and with flowers, in blue on a white ground. Tiraln. — Strapwork or interlacings, mixed with light foliated scrolls on a white ground, with or without a central white ornament. Sopra Bianco. — More accuratcl}' called 'bianco sopra bianco,' Grecian honeysuckle, and various ornament painted in a white pigment on a white ground. Oiiarlicir. — Foliated decoration, in equal compartments, radiating from the centre. Groppi, con fondi e sema. — Strapwork interlaced to form figures, or to enclose medallions with busts, S:c., on a darker ground, and intermixed with foliated ornament. CandclUcre. — Grotesques arranged with symmetr}', generally about a central foliated stem. Much used in the Duchy of Urbino. In a supplement Piccolpasso gives us an account of the manner of making niajolica, and it will be observed that throughout his narrative he has never applied that term to the painted and glazed wares pro- duced 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, wliich he has received from others, although he has never made, or even witnessed the making of it himself (' non ch' io ne abbia mai fatto ne men veduto fare '). ' I know well,' he says, ' that it is painted over finished works; this I hav^e seen in Ugubio, at the house of one Maestro Cencio ' ; except that 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 be coloured, leaving those extremities merely sketched in outline on the white ground ; these, after the colours have been set 64 MA lO Lie A by firing, are subsequently touched with the lustre pigment, composed as follows : — Rosso da Majolica. A. B. Terra Rossa . . . oz. 3 6 Bolo Arminio . . . ,, i o Feretto di Spagnia . . ,, 2 3 Cinabrio . . . . o 3 To the second mixture B (called ' majolica d' oro ') add a carlino of calcined silver, grinding them all together, then place them in a pipkin, with a quattrino^, and fill with red vinegar, in which they are to macerate until the latter is all consumed ; it is then again ground up with more vinegar, and applied with a brush to those parts of the design to be lustred. The process of firing differs from the former one, inasmuch as the pieces are not enclosed in seggers, but are exposed to the direct action of the flames. The furnace 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 sup- ported 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. The scudelli are 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, fre- quently only six pieces being good out of a hundred ; ' true the art is beautiful and ingenious, and when the pieces are good they pay in gold.' Only three varieties are produced, golden, silver, and red ; other ' Small copper coin. INTRODUCTION 65 colours can only be given by the other method. Tlic fire is increased gradually, and is made of palli or 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 (gincstre 0 vogliani spartio) cease using the willow wood, and give an hour's firing with this ; afterwards, with a pair of tongs remove a sample from above. Others leave an opening {vedctta) 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 dr}' witii a j^iece 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 tiie tiiajolica, as also about the other colours and mixtures that are required in this art.' The foregoing is an abstract or epitome of this curious and interesting manuscript, which gives us a perfect idea of the manner, and comparatively simple appliances, under which these beautiful and highly decorative examples of the potter's art were produced in Italy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The rationale of 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 diflferent effect is requisite, and different means are 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. K 66 MAJOLICA Scripture subjects are perhaps more general upon the pieces of early date, particularly those of Faenza, on which designs from Albert Diirer, Martin Schon, and other German painters are found, executed with the greatest care ; such subjects were also used at Caffaggiolo. The Renaissance spirit, awakening a passion for the antique, declared itself in numerous representations from Greek and Roman history and mythology, scenes from Homer, the Metamorphoses of Ovid, and the like, which formed main stock subjects for the wares of the Umbrian fabriques, excepting always the sacred histories delineated by Orazio Fontana and others, from the designs of Raffaelle and his scholars. 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. It was among the artists of this Duchy that the habit of writing the subject on the back of the piece chiefly prevailed, and instances of curious spelling and strange Latinity frequently occur. Transmutation of subject is not rare, as the burning of the ' Borgo ' for the siege of Troy, and others. Nor need we here give illustrations or enter into many details of form ; they appear to have varied considerably at different localities of the craft, all 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 maioHca 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 or dozzinale were doubtless used for general domestic purposes in the houses of the higher classes, but the finer wares decorated by better artists were highly prized. Thus we find that services of such pieces were only made for royal or princely personages, frequently as presents from the reigning prince of the State in which they were produced. So also at Sevres and at Meissen, although it does not appear that the Italian fabriques were maintained in the exclusive hands of royalty, except perhaps in some few INTRODUCTION 67 instances. Some of the choicest specimens in our cabinets were single gift pieces ; small plates and scodellc, which it was then the fashion for gallants to present, filled with preserves or confetti, to the ladies of their choice. Many of these are of the form known as tondino, small, with a wide flat brim, and sunk centre ; in this the central medallion was generally occupied by a figure of Cupid, hearts tied with ribbon or pierced by arrows, the fedc or joined hands, and 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. These ainalorii pieces also occur as large plates and deep saucers, hacinetti or tazze and fndticre, the surface of which is entirely covered with a portrait of the beloved, accompanied by a ribbon or banderole, on which her name is inscribed, with the complimentary accompaniment of 'bella,' 'diva,' 'paragon di tutti,' &c. Other such pieces are decorated in the manner of the tondini, curious amatory sentences and emblems being introduced among the ornaments. Jugs, vases, and other shaped pieces were also decorated in a similar style. A curious example, formerly possessed b}' the Marquis d'Azeglio, is figured in Delange's Recueil (pi. 8); it is a bell made of this pottery, and inscribed 'Bella dei Belle.' There is little doubt that many of the pieces ostensibly for table use were only intended and applied for decorative purposes, to enrich the shelves of the 'credenza,' 'dressoir,' or high-backed side-board, intermingled with gold and silver plate. Venetian glas.s, &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 ns the more elaborate and elegant of the shaped pieces. All objects for table use : inkstands, ornamental vases, and quaint surprises; salt-cellars of curious forms; jugs of various size and model; drug pots and flasks in great variety; pilgrims' bottles, vasques, and cisterns {riufrcscatoio^, candelabra and candlesticks, rilievos and figures in the round; in short, every object capable of being produced in varied fancy by the i)()tter's art ; even to heads for necklaces, or whorls F 2 68 MAIOLICA for spinning {fusciarolli), some of which are in the writer's collection, decorated with knot work and concentric mouldings, and inscribed severally ANDREA • BELLA = MARGARITA • BELA; = MEMENTO • f^E • ; these and similar examples in the British Museum, are finished with considerable care, and are probably of the earlier years of the sixteenth century. CHAPTER 111 COLLLCTIONS Italy. COLLECTIONS of the finer examples of Italian Majolica and enamelled pottery must have been formed in various royal and noble palaces at the time of their production, specimens received as presents, and others purchased in encouragement of the art, being without doubt prized and guarded for their ornamental excellence. Perhaps the most extensive collection of this nature may have been that of the Dukes of Urbino, which eventually in great part would seem to have reverted to the Medici famil}', at Florence, on the marriage of Vittoria, granddaughter to Francesco Maria II, with Ferdinand de' Medici after the Duchy had been absorbed into the Pontifical States. It is probably the remainder of this collection which now forms so rich an assemblage of the wares of the Urbino fabriques, belonging to the Italian Government, and exhibited in the Museum of the Bargello, in Florence. We shall enter more into a detailed consideration of this collection under the head of Urbino. Perhaps from this same cabinet came some of the fine Urbino pieces which are said to have been pro- cured from Cosimo III de' Medici, by his friend Sir Andrew Fountaine, and which formed a portion of the rich collection formerly at Narford Hall, but since dispersed. The vases of the ' Spezieria,' attached to the palace at Urbino, ordered by Duke Guidobaldo II, of the Fontana family, were presented by 70 MAIOLICA Francesco Maria II to the Santa Casa at Loreto, where they are still in great part preserved. (See Urbino.) Until within the last thirty years many of the Italian palaces contained specimens of these wares, which had been in the possession of the families from the time of their production, but the greed of collectors and the demands for public museums stimulated the activity of dealers throughout Europe, and almost every house in Italy has been ransacked for its ceramic and other treasures. The need or cupidity of the owners, or the necessities of the division of property after death, have in too many instances caused them to part with these heirlooms ; so much so, indeed, that England and France now possess more specimens of these wares than remain in the native land of their production. The decline of taste for the objects of the ' cinque-cento,' which super- vened upon their decadence, followed by troublous times, and the devastating wars of the last century, caused many of these pieces to be stowed or hid away in lumber closets, or cellars, and it is only within the last half-century that many of them have again been brought to light. Such was the case at one of the Roman palaces, where an oval cistern of the largest size and highest quality of Urbino ware, two smaller ones, and several large dishes and other pieces, among them a fine lustred Xanto, were, not forty years since, unearthed from a cellar. Some few amateurs and antiquaries, as Passeri, gathered stray pieces, while others continued to adorn the inhabited or desolate show rooms, the plates being frequently mounted in frames, and hung as pictures on the wall. The Bargello Collection at Florence is the only important one in that city. A few pieces still remain m some of the palaces, as a fine Urbino dish in the Corsini, and a few other pieces in private hands. The Villa Albani at Rome had a rich collection, but most of these passed to Mr. Barker, and were some years since dispersed. In the Barberini palace is an oval vasque of the largest size, and some other pieces. Some few private amateurs possess specimens. Naples and the South of Italy have but little except of the later wares of that city and of Castelli pre- served in the Museum at St. Elmo. The sale of the rich collection of the late Signor Alessandro Castellani was the last great event of that nature in the Eternal City. It took place in 1884. lyTRODUCTlON 71 Arezzo possesses in the city museum a room full of examples, among them a very fine early Faenza plate, some by Xanto, and other good specimens of Castel Durante and other fabriques. At Ravenna, in the Library, are some pieces. At Siena is the collection of Signor Alessandro Saraceni ; among the rest a fine plate with the monogram of Orazio Fontana. At Volterra there were some examples in the Casa Maffei. At Gubbio the Rangbrasci are said still to possess some specimens ; and Count Baglioni, at Perugia, we believe, yet has a cabinet. At Fermo, it is said that the de' Minicis still retain examples, but Urban ia no longer possesses those of their historian, Sig. Giuseppe Raffaclle. The Gallery at Modena possesses some choice pieces from the Castle at P'errara. At Pcsaro is the large collection at the Hospital for Incurables, bequeathed to that institution by the Cavaliere Mazza, among which are some fine examples. They have been lately described by M. fimile Molinier. Bologna, in the Museum of the University, has a choice collection, made . chiefly under the guidance of Sig. Frati, to which we have had frequent occasion to allude. The Delsette Collection, so ably catalogued by Sig. Frati, has been entirely dispersed, but the tiled flooring of the Marsigny Chapel in S. Petronio is now well cared for, as also is that in the Bentivoglio of S. Giacomo Maggiorc. At Venice the Correr Collection has the important series of early plates, now assigned to Nicole da II rhino. An exquisite ewer by M. Giorgio, and other fine specimens are described in the excellent catalogue by its late lamented director, Sig. V. Lazari, and since by M. E. Molinier. The tiles in a chapel of S. Sebastiano are noteworthy. Brescia, in the Museum, has a Giorgio, and others were in the Palazzo Bronomi. Milan, in the Brera, has a few fine examples. Those in the Library of the Trivulzio Palace were unfortunately destroyed by an accidental fire. 72 MAIOLICA Spain. At Madrid there are specimens in the Dispensary of the Escurial, and in the Museum. The Comte di Valencia and Sig. G. de Osma have Hispano-Moresque. At Seville, La Cartuja contains the collection of M. Pickmann. Gei^many. Dresden. In the Japan palace there are some i8o examples; but the wares of Italy of the better period are but poorly represented in that rich assemblage of ceramic productions. Berlin has a large number (some looo pieces) in her Museum, but we do not know that their classification and catalogue is yet complete. Dr. Reichenheim and the Hainauer private collections. Ludwigsburg possesses the examples mentioned by Goethe, and Hanover, that bequeathed by the late M. Kestner. Brunswick, in the ducal palace, also has an extensive collection, which suffered much breakage and loss consequent upon the wars of the first empire. It still has some fine pieces, but the same want of catalogue and arrangement exists as in the other German museums, Munich, in the National Museum. Nuremberg ; also Frankfort, the H. Seckell collection. Sigmaringen, in the Museum, and near Cassel, at Wilhelmshohe, are a number of pieces, as also at Wil- helmsthal. Holland. The Hague, in the well-known collection of china, possesses a few good pieces of Italian ware, particularly a Castel Durante circular dish finely painted. Sweden. Stockholm possesses some good examples in her Museum, some of which are illustrated in Delange's folio work. Russia now has the Basilewsky collection, and specimens are in the houses of some of her wealthy nobles, among the non-resident of whom are possessors of collections in other countries. INTRODUCTION 73 France. The Louvre Collection is rich in number, amounting to over 650 pieces, among which are many of the greatest beauty and interest. It was ably catalogued by the late M. Alfred Darcel, whose work is frecjucntly referred to in these pages ; but we look forward to the promised new catalogue by M. Emile Molinier. The Hotel Cluny is also rich in its Italian pottery, having many pieces of note, which are referred to. Some highly interesting specimens are preserved in the rich Ceramic Museum at Sevres. The private collections, like many of those in England and Italy, have been greatly scattered within the last few years. Those of Debruge Dumcnil, Soltykoff, De Sellieres, Pourtales, Visconti, Rattier, and Louis Fould and many others have passed under the auctioneer's hammer, while that of M. Sauvageot is absorbed, by his bequest, into the Louvre. The last great sale was that of the rich Spitzer collection. There yet remain many which are very rich; among them may be particularly mentioned those formed by the Barons Saloman, Alphonse, Adolphe, and Gustave de Rothschild, the last one of the finest in Europe; Prince Ladislaus Czartorisky; M. Ch. Schaeffer has a fine collection of Persian and Rhodian ware. There are examples also in the possession of MM. — S. Bardac. Doucct pere. M. and R. Kann. Doctor Belliol. Foule. Lange. M. G. Berger, Gaillard. Leroux. Le Blanc. Gavet. Ch. Mannheim. BonafTe. Paul Gognault. Rochard. Bonnet. Alfred Gcrcnte. Martin le Roy. Chabri^re. Leopold Goldschmidt. At Rouen, M. Dutuit has a rich cabinet of Italian potter}', and there are specimens in the Museum of that city. At Tours, M. Gnicrche; and at Lyons, the Baron Vitta. 74 MA 10 Lie A England. The choicest representative collection of Italian pottery in England, and perhaps in the world, is that in the British Museum ; although not extensive (about three hundred specimens) it is remarkable for the artistic excellence of the examples, the many pieces signed by the painters, and the illustration of almost every period and fabrique of the art. The nucleus of this collection is a piece which came into the Museum by bequest of Sir Hans Sloane, its original founder. At the dispersion of the Bernal Collection the attention of the Trustees was directed to this branch of ancient art, in which our National Museum was sadly deficient, and we owe to the knowledge and keen perception of then Mr., now Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks, the accumulation of this invaluable series, the which, moreover, he greatly enriched by numerous donations from his own choice cabinet. More important in regard to numbers, and perhaps equally so with respect to choice specimens, is the South Kensington Collection, the descriptive catalogue of which we wrote in 1872. The writer well recollects the consultation held and the examination of the first piece about to be acquired for the New Museum (the fine St. Francis plate by M°. Giorgio) by the amateurs and connoisseurs to whom it was shown at Marlborough House in 1854. The Bernal sale followed, and the Soulages Collection was acquired by purchase. But it is to the untiring energy and acute discernment of then Mr., now Sir J. C. Robinson that we are indebted for the selections made from the Bernal and various other sales, and for the important examples purchased by him in Italy and elsewhere. In the Museum of Economic Geology are a few examples illustrative of the application of natural materials to art purposes, some of which are interesting, and are referred to under the respective fabriques to which they may belong; and in the Soane Museum is a quoted specimen. In the Art Museums of Edinburgh and Dublin are examples. Liverpool, in the Mayer; Brighton, in theWillett; and Oxford, in the Fortnum Collection at the Ashmolean Museum. INTRODUCTION 75 Private Collections. As in France and Italy, the dispersion of private collections has been painfully frequent during the last few years in England. With the exception of Mr. Fountaine's, no special cabinets of majolica or Italian pottery existed in England half a century ago. Horace Walpole, at Strawberry Hill, had several fine pieces in his extensive and very miscellaneous collection, as was the case at Stowe and some other noble mansions. The dispersion of the Strawberry Hill collection was a great event, and prices were deemed high, although perhaps not one tcntli, or in some instances one fiftieth, of what they would now realize. The sale of the contents of the Duke of Buckingham's seat at Stowe also brought many choice specimens into the market, and served to enrich other cabinets, particularly that of Mr. Ralph Bernal, at whose death his also was brought to the hammer. This sale was a great e\ ent ; no such extensive and choice collection had ever been sold in England, and it occurred at a moment when the attention of antiquaries and connoisseurs was keenly directed towards the arts of the Italian Renais- sance. The Trustees of the British Museum, and the Committee of Council on Education, then forming the museum at Marlborough House, had their attention directed to this unusual opportunity for enriching the national collections ; amateurs and dealers, antiquarians and dilettanti, flocked from all parts of England and the Continent, the collection being so rich in all the various categories of art objects. Competition was great, and prices far exceeded those of Stowe and Strawberry Hill. Some of the choicest specimens in the British and the South Kensington Museums were acquired on this occasion, the greater part having been purchased by our Government. Since that period many other cabinets have been disposed of in London, as the Montcalm, the Uzielli, the Marryat, and others. The Marquis d'Azeglio sold his collection in Paris, and that of Mr. Barker has passed into the possession of Mr. Cook of Richmond (Visconde de Montserrat), with the exception of some few pieces. The late Mr. Addington parted with his fine examples, as did also Mr. Moriand. The oldest, and at the same time the richest, private collection of 76 MA 10 Lie A Italian pottery in this or in any other country was that belonging to the late Mr. Andrew Fountaine, of Narford Hall, in Norfolk, and its wealth was enhanced and supported by an equally rich assemblage of the faience then known as of Oiron or Henry Deux, now St. Porchaire ; of Palissy, of Nevers, and of the enamels of Limoges. This royal and noble company had a chamber exclusively devoted to its display, but, alas! all have since been dispersed by public sale. Mr. Marryat, in his History of Pottery, described the room in which it was then contained, but since then the late owner built a larger for its reception. The old octagon was, when the present writer was Mr. Andrew Fountaine's kindly-welcomed guest, entirely filled with Oriental porcelain, opening from the smaller drawing room, which formed a wing to the larger ; at the end, a new oblong octagon, of increased size, had been constructed, entirely of stone and metal. Here the collection was ranged on shelves around, niches above affording convenient placement for the larger Italian and Nevers vases, while encircling the floor the great Palissy and Urbino cisterns, &c., formed a fitting basement. As in the smaller octagon, it was lighted from above, and communicated with the drawing-room by a door formed of one large sheet of plate glass. The effect was very rich. It is not necessary to enter into any detail of the numerous remarkable examples which this room contained, but some notice of the history of so remarkable a collection may be given. Its original founder. Sir Andrew Fountaine, inherited Narford Hall from his father, who had built it, and who had there cultivated the friendship of Pope, rendering his house ' the rendezvous of living genius and a repository for works of art and learning.' Sir Andrew travelled much, long residing in Italy, where he was highly in favour with the grand Duke Cosmo HI de' Medici, in the earlier part of the last century. From him it is believed that Sir Andrew may have acquired some of the finer specimens of Limoges and Nevers, as also probably of the Italian pottery. His love for art was greatly in advance of the period, extending, as it did, to objects of this class, then comparatively little appreciated, a circumstance which, aided by his own knowledge, enabled him to form so rich a collection. On his return to England, Narford became a museum of pictures and other works of art, where Sir Andrew INTRODUCTION 11 cultivated the society of the learned, and enjoyed the friendship of Swift, who mentions him in the Journal to Stella in terms of high regard. He died in 1753 The collection had been, moreover, greatly added to by the late Mr. Andrew Fountaine, who, altering and enlarging the house, availed himself of the opportunities offered by the sale of the Bernal and other cabinets of note, to make important additions to its art treasures. Passing to younger and inappreciative successors, it was dispersed by auction at Christie's in 1884. The richest private collection now in England is that made within the last few years, from the dispersion of other collections at home and abroad, by Mr. Henry Salting, who kindly allows it to be exhibited, for the public benefit, at the South Kensington Museum. The following amateurs possess (1895) more or less extensive collections of the wares which form the subject of this volume, many of whose specimens are referred to in its pages : — Amherst, Lord. Attree, C. Berney, the Rev. T. Cook, F. (Visconde de Montserrat). Coutts, Baroness Burdett. Currie, David. F'alkener, E. Fortnum, C. Drury E. Franks, Sir A. Wollaston. Godman, F. Ducane. Gosford, Earl of. Holford, R. S. Hope, Mrs. H. T. Huth, Louis. Layard, Lady. Leigh ton, Sir F. Locker, F. Lampson. Lombo, Evans. Maguirc, H. Mayer Collection, Liverpool. Mills, J., of Norwich. Norfolk, Duke of. Parker, Montagu, of Chudleigh. Pfungst, H. Ram, Stephen. Rothschild, Baron Adolph de, and others of the Rothschild family. Spencer, Earl. Stanhope, H. Scudamore. Swaby, J. Tabley, Lord de. Taylor, J E. Wallace, Lady. Wallis, H. ' Chalmers' Biographical Diet. See also Bowles' cd. Pope, vol. v. p. 302; Swift's Works, Index. GLAZED WARES (VERNISSEES) OF () R I i: N T A L ORIGIN Siliceous, Vitreous or Gi.ass-gi.azkd Wares THIS division comprises tliose varieties of pottery known under the names of Persian, Damascus, Anatolian, Rhodian, and Lindus wares, also certain pieces supposed to be of Sicilian make, wliicli have been denominated Siculo Arabian. Presuming, as we do, that these wares all derive from the same origin, probably Egyptian, and are branches of the same family, varied in technical character by the localities, the circumstances, and the material substances that entered into their composition, we have endeavoured to treat of them as branches of one great family, firstly, considered as a whole, and following those branches in their separate sub-divisions. The leading characteristics of these wares are : — 1. A paste or body composed of a sandy red or white argillaceous earth and some alkali or flux, greatl}' \ar3 ing in their relative proportions, and producing degrees of hardness and fineness of texture from a coarse sandy earthenware to a semi-vitreous translucent body, the latter being, in fact, a kind of porcelain of artificial paste. 2. A glaze composed as a true glass, of siliceous sand and an alkali (potash or soda), with the addition, in some few cases, of a small quantity of oxide of lead or other flux. Such may be taken as 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. Doubtless great variations occurred 8o PERSIAN, DAMASCUS, AND RHODIAN WARES in their composition at different periods and localities of production ; we find examples of the earlier Persian tiles, and perhaps of Damascus and Anatolian wares of the sixteenth century, in or under the glaze of which the oxide of tin seems to have been used to produce a white and more even surface. Carefully conducted chemical analysis is still needed ; but after an attentive examination of many pieces of presumably ' Damascus' wares, the writer is led to think that the paste, carefully selected and prepared, was occasionally washed with a thin slip of stanniferous or other white material, upon which the design was painted, and again covered with a rich translucent silico-alcaline or glass-glaze. Persian, Damascus, and Rhodian Wares. In the introductory chapters we ascribed the origin or parentage of the wares of this section to the glazed pottery and artificial semi-porcelain of ancient Egypt, produced at least as early as the eleventh dynasty ; {c. B.C. 2500); we have also seen that siliceous glazed and enamelled bricks were used for wall decoration at Babylon and in Assyria. At what early period a similar manufacture existed in Persia or in India we have no exact knowledge ; we only have the evidence afforded by fragments found among ruins at various ancient sites. If not previously known, its mode of production might have been learnt in Persia from Assyrian potters at the conquest of that country by Cyrus. Probably also the Egyptian arts had much influence on those of Persia during the occupation of Egypt by Cambyses ; as also when Ochus again conquered Egypt (b. c. 340), taking back with him much valuable booty. There was, moreover, a large commerce between those countries in remote time. One of the earliest monuments existing of the ceramic art of Persia is the polychrome rehef, brought by M. Dieulafoy from the king's palace at Susa, and now in the Louvre. These slabs are of the period of the Achaemenian dynasty (b. c. 560-331), but their style of modeUing denotes the influence of the Ionian cities of Asia Minor, although the general design is rather that of Assyria and Babylon. Their beautiful colour and certain details of their ornamentation are as distinctly Persian. Count Julien de Rochechouart tells us, in his interesting Souvenirs d'un Voyage en Perse, that he possessed a brick of dark blue glazed surface, having cuneiform characters in white, which was found among the ruins of Kirman. It has been supposed that metallic lustre as an enrichment had been observed on some of the Babylonian bricks, but their iridescence PERSIAN, DAMASCUS, AND RIIODIAN WARES 8r has since been ascribed to the effect of decomposition, rather than to a truly metaUic glaze. Recurring to Egypt, we learn that Professor Petrie found a plate in the Fayoum, believed to be of the third century; it bears in the centre, on an ivory-white ground, an ox or antelope, with plants, flowers, &c., in Manganese purple ; the border has a sort of wave ornament, with turquoise edging and back ; it would seem that the designs used upon some of the early Persian tiles may have been derived from a similar source. We also trace a similar sentiment in the decoration of some of the Fostat fragments, and on the vases from Sicily, which we ascribe to a Siculo- Arabian origin ; if not so, they may perhaps have been of old Caircne fabrication imported into that island. We are less inclined to attribute them to Persian potters working in their own land or in Egypt, believing rather that the art emanated from the latter country to Persia and elsewhere. Mr. Wallis' describes some plates with vitreous glaze, found on the site of an ancient Persian town, and having decoration analogous to that of the same vases. Among the pieces found at Susa, is a dish of siliceous glaze, with a triangular, perhaps mystical, figure in blue and green, painted on pale grc}' ground ; it was found with coins of the Sassanian dynasty, and may be of a time previous to the Arabian conquest : it has not the metallic lustre. The pottery discovered by M. Dicuhifoy is for the most part believed to be of Parthian origin ; it is covered by blue, green, or cream coloured siliceous glaze of self colour, and has distinct affinit}' with inferior Egyptian ware. We learn from Herodotus, that the Achacmenian monarchs brought artizans from conquered countries into their own, and, doubtless, some had come from Egypt, from Chaldaca, and Babylonia. The Parthian pottery found at Susa was probably made during a period of comparative decline. Art revived under the Sassanian monarchy, and although so little is known of the minor arts during those periods, we may presume that the productions of the potter improved with the rest; moreover refugees from Byzantium— the ceramic productions of which empire, as also their works in glass, are so little known to us — may have introduced methods of colouring and decoration to the country of their adoption, tiien ruled by Khosroes. In Arabia, the tiles on Mahomet's tomb and Mosque at Medina, of the year a. d. 707, one of which is in the Museum at Sevres, seem to be glass glazed, and not stanniferous. The tide of Mahommedan conquest in the early part of the seventh ' H. Wallis, Notes on Karly Persian Lustre Wares, parts i, 2, 3. London, 1885 9. G 82 PERSIAN, DAMASCUS, AND RHODIAN WARES century spread from Mecca through Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt, and Persia; and again, under the disciples of Omar, through Egypt and northern Africa, to Spain and other parts of southern Europe. With the exception of these last, the other countries were native seats of this form of ceramic industry from the earliest ages ; and it is quite as reasonable to suppose that these nomads learnt the art from those they conquered, as that they were its teachers, and that, as did the Jews of old, they employed artizans from among the people they had subdued, to erect the buildings and to fabricate the ob- jects which they required, and which it may be questioned whether they were themselves then capable of executing. Absorbing by conversion, or enslaving the unconverted, they were all-powerful to apply the arts of every place and every people to their special need, engrafting thereon their own particular taste in design, or applying thereto any special knowledge which they may have originated or elsewhere attained. We must not, however, forget that the Arabs, in certain branches of the sciences and arts of those days, had special knowledge which would accompany them and be adapted in the countries they had conquered. The moribund arts of ancient Egypt were revived and modified by the Arab invasion, and it is not improbable that by means of their chemical knowledge the metallic lustre was produced and applied on the surface of important pieces of their pottery. Thence its adoption and use extended, spreading east- ward to Persia and westward to Sicily and Spain. Mr. Wallis refers to texts describing lustred wares made at Fostat in the first half of the eleventh century. Fostat was destroyed in the year 564 of the Hegira (a. d. 1147). The rubbish heaps around that old city's site have been Mr. Wallis' happy hunting ground, and both he and Mr. Frank Dillon have unearthed fragments of wares of similar technical production and character of ornamentation— some with, some without metallic lustre enrichment — to those vases and albarelli brought from Sicily, and which we have distinguished under the name of Siculo-Arabian. Overflowing the northern shores of Africa the Arabian wave passed westward into the Balearic Islands and to Spain. At Cordova the mosque remains which was commenced in the eighth century by Abd-el- Rhaman the king. Sicily and various spots in southern Italy were occupied, and the conquerors generally known as ' Saracens ' brought with them into Europe the arts they had previously known and those they had adopted. We have alluded to the piratical king of Majorca and his conquest by the Pisans in 11 15; he was, in all probability, an adherent of the Moorish princes of the Almohadi dynasty, who conquered the Arab or Saracenic successors of Abd-el-Rhaman and came to an end under Mutamed- PERSIAN, DAMASCUS, AND RHODIAN WARES 83 al-Allah in 1038. With that period the history of the Hispano-Moresque wares probably commences. To return to tiie Egypto-Arabian and l-'ersiaii pottery. We have described a piece of purely Oriental ware which the writer found inserted m the wall above a lateral arch of horseshoe form at the church of Sta Cecilia in Pisa, the onl}' example of the many Inuini in church towers and facades in various parts of Italy which had a real claim to Saracenic origin. This church was consecrated in i roy ; the victory said to have been gained by the Pisans over the pirates of Majorca was only eight years subsequent. It is not, therefore, unreasonable to suppose that this was really one of those ceramic trophies said to have been brought home by the victors and inserted as a memento and offering over that church door. If so, it may be an example of the higher class of early wares made by the Saracenic invaders of the Balearic Islands, in the second decade of the twelfth century. This beautiful fragment is figured and described at page 1.', of our introductory notice. Spreading eastward and westward, gaining power and establishing their authority in all the more important centres of civilization and luxury, the Mahommedans displayed their religious fervour in the erection of gorgeous buildings for the observance of their creed and of colleges for its culture: on these were lavished all the resources of the arts they had at their command ; and we find that in Egypt some of the earliest mosques had Coptic Christians for their architects, while at Damascus and elsewhere Christian buildings were converted to their use. We believe, moreover, that where a large building was erected, potters and designers of tile decoration were taken from elsewhere to the work, and the necessary simple furnaces there erected ; it is not so probable that tiles would be carried from Damascus or from Cairo to decorate the Mosque of Omar at Jerusalem (also perhaps originally a Roman or Romano-Christian structure), as that the potters were brought to the spot, there to fabricate their tiles for the particular design of the building. A great impetus was thus given to all the constructive arts; and, of whatever blood, Arab or Syrian, Egyptian or Persian, the designers of these admirable works may have been, they have rarely if ever been surpassed in decorative excellence. At Nice, in Anatolia, the minaret of the mosque erected about 1389 is thus decorated; at Konieh (the ancient Iconium) in Asia Minor the mosque, built from 1074 to 1275, is also partly lined with tiles; Broussa has tombs of perhaps as early as the thirteenth century; Constantinople is rich in examples of various date ; and those at Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, and in Persia have already been referred to When such G 2 84 PERSIAN. DAMASCUS, AND RHODIAN WARES works were executed at large centres, it is reasonable to suppose that potteries were for the time established, at which vessels for domestic use and ornament were also produced ^ Nassiri Khosrau (1035-42) had noted lustred wares in the bazaars of Misr (old Cairo); he states that at Misr faience of all kinds was made, some so fine and diaphanous that you could see your hand through it, when held to the light, &c. ; and also that they were decorated with colours which are analogous to those on a stuff called bongalemoitn, the nuances changing according to the position in which you place the vase. This would seem to refer to a subdued or madreperla lustre. From the remarks in Sefer Nameh's - account of the travels of Nassiri Khosrau we may infer that lustre ware was not then known in Persia, as he for the first time sees it at Fostat in the eleventh century. The Calatayad makers are referred to by Edresi in his description of Africa and Spain, written about 1154. Ibn Batoutah (1350) refers to the ornamental glazed tiles in Persia where they are called Kashany; he sees them at the Meshed Ali, at Tabruz, and at Kalhat; but it is yet doubtful whether Kashany was a lustred or a coloured ware. Mr. Wallis tells us that non-lustred tiles are now known at Constantinople as Kishaniah. Describing Kashan in 1 178-1229 Yacoub, the Persian geographer, states, ' Quashan is a city of Djebal, twelve farsakhs from Goum, three days from Ispahan and four from Ardistan. The beautiful faience known as gaschi is made here.' Mr. Wallis is of opinion that ceramic art in Persia was inferior, in the middle of the eleventh century, to that of Egypt ; but that between that time and the end of the twelfth it had improved and had, perhaps, supplanted the Egyptian. From the statements of these various writers, and particularly through the careful researches made by Mr. Wallis at Fostat, and the confirmatory evidence afforded by fragments which he unearthed from the rubbish heaps of the ancient city, with some proof also of their local production, we are inclined to the opinion that the lustrous enrichment was probably of Egypto-Arabian origin and invention rather than Persian. The siliceous ' The writer has himself found pieces of Jerusalem, Petra ; and in Egypt at Assouan vessels of this ware, some to all appearance and elsewhere. of very early date, and at considerable Sefer Nameh, Relation du Voyage de depth, on the sites of nearly all the more Nassiri Khosrau ; traduit par Ch. Schefer, important cities of Syria and Egypt— as 1881, p. 151. Damascus, Baalbec, Tyre, Sidon, Caesarea, PLAT E I I PLATE. PERSIAN LUSTRED WARE Late XVI or Early XV JI Cenlury 85 glaze was native to that country, and we learn that among the Arabs a certain knowledge of chemistry existed, which may have led to the discovery of this method of enrichment b}'^ painting such portions of the surface as were required to be lustrous with solutions of salts of copper and silver, which being reduced by the action of heated wood smoke in tlie furnace, left a metallic film of greater or less intensity and variety of tint according to the circumstances of apjilication and the effect of firing. Mr. Wallis thinks that this lustrous enrichment may have been known even in the early centuries of the Christian era. In Egypt it would seem that the ceramic art declined, while, on the other hand, it rose to great perfection in Persia under the Seljoukee dynasty, who also invaded Egypt and Syria, and raised Persia into renewed prosperity. PERSLIN. Until 1876 very little was known in Europe of the earlier lustred tiles and other wares of Persia ; about that time the amateurs of Paris and of London were surprised by the amazing beauty and intricacy of design on those gorgeous tiles, with dark blue or creamy white ground, on which the beautiful Persian lettering stood out in full relief, surrounded by a diapering of infmite fancy and richness of effect. We have already referred to the enamelled bricks of Babylonia, as also to the grand reliefs from the Susan Palace, highly coloured and in ])arts glazed with ;i stanni- ferous enamel. We find no such use of tin o.xide among the monuments and wares of Ancient Egypt. May it not therefore be inferred that the Persians derived that metliod from a Baljylonian or an Assyrian source? Of the architectural or domestic pottery of Persia from the period of the Achaenienian monarchs until the eleventh or twelfth century we know absolutely nothing but a few fragments of uncertain date found on the sites of ruined habitations. With the Mahommedan contjuest the art probably revived, but we have no dated examples anterior to the eleventh or twelfth century, when tiles for architectural decoration replace the more cumbrous enamelled brick. Though probably not of Persian invention, we find the metallic lustre in general and dexterous use as early as the thirteenth century, or perhaps even in the twelfth. IMiis was during a period of national pros- perity under the rule of the Atta Begs, soon to fall beneath the destructive advance of Ghenghis Khan, by whom, however, the arts were encouraged and artizans from various countries introduced. The tiles of that period are of the greatest beauty, and ecjually admirable for design and execution ; the 86 PERSIAN lustrous enrichment and colouring being perfectly executed upon a stanni- ferous or otherwise whitened surface, covering the red body and beneath a siliceous glaze. Mr. Wallis suggests that, as it was considered derogatory in Byzantium, during her prosperous days, to drink or eat from vessels of other material than gold or silver, in her declining years, when the precious metals were absorbed, the potters would copy designs from the gold and silver smith, and the lustred ware became a cheap but showy substitute for the precious vessels which had previously enriched the CrcdcHza. The forms and surface ornamentation of the Persian pottery in the thirteenth century were analogous to that of the metal vessels of the time, but with the potter's adaptation suitable to the material he handled. Metal ewers, cups, &c., supposed to be of Mesopotamian or Cairene production, of which there is a rich collection in the British Museum, as also those made at Damascus, Mosul, and the Persian cities, are decorated with circular and ogee panels on which kings and ladies are represented, concentric belts with foliation, in which birds and animals appear covering the intervening ground of the piece, and with occasional inscriptions between ; human and animal forms are there without restraint, as upon some of the earlier painted tiles. Their workmanship is the pure handicraft of the individual wandering artist, and it may be inferred that from these works the potter derived much of the design for his decoration in the lustre pigments. Mr. Wallis writes of Persian design — 'the purity of outline defining the contour of the Greek statue or circumscribing the ideal forms displayed on the Greek vase is beyond its reach ; yet it is at home in the graceful sinuosities of ornament, and can weave with masterly hand the subtleties of those intricate interlacings so dear to the Oriental mind.' Of such are the elaborate patterns covering the surface of those tiles between the raised letters of the inscription. At Rhages or Rhei, two leagues from Teheran, these tiles of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are found, and were probably there made. Also at Kashan on the road from Nam to Malthus, and on the Mosque of Natinz of the twelfth century. Dr. Mechin was of opinion that the Arabs brought the art of applying the lustre with them when they conquered Persia, but it was new to Nassiri Khosrau in the eleventh century. Except from representations in illuminated manuscripts and fragments found on sites of occupation, we know very little of the Persian pottery for domestic use of that earlier period ; and not till about the sixteenth century, with rare exceptions, can we ascribe those pieces now in our public and PERSIAN 87 private collections. They were for the most part produced, after another period of decadence, under the dynasty of the Sefis, chief!}' under the energetic reign of Schan Abbas II, who encouraged the potter's as well as other arts. In the productions of this period the use of the tin enamel is almost entirely discontinued, and a pure siliceous glaze is generall}' used. From the palace of Ferabad near Ispahan, destro^'ed in 1721, have been brought those well-known tiles with figures of that monarch on horseback and with hawk on hand, in low relief; or with elegantly arranged and embossed flowers, modern reproductions of both of which are now abundantly supplied. Other s|)ecimens are cup.s, basins, flasks, iiic, some having dark blue, others creamy white ground, on which intricate designs of trees, foliage and flowers with animals and birds cover the entire piece (see pi. 2); and of pieces without metallic lustre the South Kensington Museum possesses the richest collection in Furope, the invaluable result of Colonel R. Murdoch Smith's and Mr. C. Purdon Clarke's assiduous gatherings in various parts of Persia, of which the former gives much information in his 8vo volume on Persian Art \ as also on the renewed fabrication of wares in recent time. The majority of the pieces of blue and white decoration are of the later sixteenth and .seventeenth centuries ; and on some of them are marks frec|uc'ntly imitative of Chinese, or in that character by Chinese hands. Another variety, of which fine examples are |)reser\'ed in the British Museum, gifts from the Henderson and Franks collections, and others in the South Kensington Museum is the so-called ' Gombron Ware' of Horace Walpole's day (see pi. 3I. In illustration of the former knowledge of tliese wares in Fngland the late Mr. Alex. Nesbitt informed us tiiat at Drayton lIou.se in North Hants are portraits of the latter half of the seventeenth century, of a man and a woman in Persian costume by whose sides are long-necked bottles 'of unmistakable Persian lustre ware' with patterns of the same character as those on plates in his, in the writer's, and in the Brilish Museum and South Kensington collections. The classification of Persian glazed pottery is one of considerable difficulty, but may be roughly stated in periodic sequence as below:— A. Architectural decorative bricks faced with subjects in relief and coloured by a stanniferous enamel. B. Fragments of early but uncertain date, with rude ornamentation (if plants, men, and animals beneath a siliceous glaze. ' Col. R. Murdoch Smith, Persian Art (Soulli Kensington Handbooks), 8vo, London. 88 PERSIAN C. The richly painted and lustred tiles of the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries; of coarse body, siliceous glazed over a stanniferous wash. D. Painted and lustred tiles and wares of the sixteenth century (Sefis dynasty). E. White wares, highly baked, semi-translucent and with rich siliceous glaze (' Gombron ware '). F. Wares with decoration in blue or grey on a white sandy body beneath a siliceous glaze. Some with Chinese marks or their imitation. G. Modern reproductions. We do not pretend to give more than a few marks which have been observed on pieces of Persian ware. Very few are known on those of the earlier and better times. On the blue and white pieces of com- paratively recent production marks occur frequently in imitation of those on Chinese porcelain. On many of the pieces in the rich collection of the South Kensington Museum such marks are seen in varied form, but we have not ventured on their reproduction. Marks. Persian. Inside a pot with cover, spout, and loop handles, decorated in red lustre on a rich blue ground; the name of the maker ' Hatim ' thus written. Franks Coll. Brit. Mus. On a bottle with pierced shoulders, painted with flowers, pinks, &c. ; in green, blue, and red. Of good period (later sixteenth century ?), possibly of Syrian or Rhodian make. Franks Coll. Brit. Mus. Remarkable in its resemblance to that on the wares of Cafaggiolo. t^ra . I-". On one of two shallow basins of modern Persian faience, of good quality — rude landscape in blue on white ground. The mark on the back reads ' Hasin Ali 1261 ' corresponding to our 1845. SICULO-ARABIAN 89 On the similar basin - landscape after the 'willow pattern,' reads, 'Miihamed Ali 1278,' i.e. 1861 a. D. These may be of the Nahinnc fabriquc. Both in Franks Coll. Brit. Miis. On a flask — deer among foliage in cobalt blue on white ground. Of good quality and probably of seven- teenthccntury. Fortnu in Coll. Ashmolean Mus. SICULO-ARABIAN. We have seen that the rubbish heaps of Fostat yielded to the dig,q;crs fragments of lustred and phiin wares, many of which agree singularly in character of technique, both as to body and glaze, with those vases, which, having been ahnost all foimd in or brought from Sicilv, we formerly concluded ' and still believe to have been made in that island ; and to which we gave the name of Siculo-Arabian. Of these are the fine oviform vases in the South Kensington Museum, illustrated in the Catalogue at page 36; four vases of similar form which passed from the Castellani collection to the Hotel Cluny ; one in the British Museum from our own ; some in the Godman Collection ; some in Sicily, and a few elsewhere. Of those still rarer pieces, decorated with lustrous enrichment on dark blue ground, are the two similarly oviform, 'the Falconer vases', now in the South Kensington Museum; one or two were in the possession of the Duke of Verdura at Palermo ; two albarelli now in the rich Godman collection ; one illustrated in Delange's folio as belonging to Madame Yvorne; and some fragments. We may here remark that this form is not to be found in Persian pottery; it is derived from the joint of bamboo, used as a vessel for the transmission of drugs, &c. from Arabia and the East to Cairo and else- where, and was adopted as a model for drug-pots in Ital}' and in Spain ; an indirect confirmation of the Sicilian rather than the Persian origin of the pieces in question. These are all of the same character of fabrication ; a sandy argillaceous paste of dull white colour, tough in texture and sometimes very hard, probably from excess of firing; the outlines t)f design in black; the glaze ' Catnl.of Maiolica, (."vie, in South Kensington Miisciuii,8vo, 1872, p. 11. 90 SICULO-ARABIAN thick and hard, translucent, and running in tears about the base of the piece. The inscription generally more imitative than readable, but when so, only exclamatory, or wishing happiness to the possessor, and in Cufic or imitative Cufic form. Mr. Wallis tells us that upon some of the fragments found at Fostat, with decoration a reflet on white ground, the glaze was found to be stanniferous : such pieces were probably of another age. We do not think it is so on those now under consideration. Prince Filangieri, whose description of the technique of similar pieces still in Sicily exactly agrees with that above given, further states that the glaze is a soda glass. In a foot-note^ we quote the words of Prince Filangieri descriptive of one of these interesting early vases. In this he refers to them as of Caltagirone, as though it were an accepted fact that at least some such were made at that place. He refers also to Trapani, Girgenti, Castro Giovanni, and Mazzara as probable sites of their production and whence specimens have been obtained. The question arises, were these vases made in Sicily by the Saracenic potters of the earlier conquest of the island in 827, during the course of that occupation and before the Moorish wave had again flooded the islands with another Mahommedan race, whose ceramic works have also left their traces of seeming local manufacture ; or were they imported from, and the production of, those potteries at old Cairo, where the fragments yielded by the Fostat rubbish-heaps doubtless originated ? Strongly Persian as they are in many characteristics, we know of no similar pieces brought from that country ; the difference between those enriched with the metallic lustre and the plainer pieces is solely in that enrichment ; and the period of their production would appear to be approximately concurrent in all the known examples. ' Op. cit. p. 73. ' Circa ai Vasi di Calta- girone in Siciiia il piii superficiale esame del lor carattere li allontana dalle faenze propriamente dette, giacche la loro pasta molto silicea, e piii che dura, e quasi cotta a niodo di un gres assai fine. II loro liscio consiste in una vernice piii che durissima, e richiamante le vernici alcaline a base di soda. I disegni poi condotti sulla loro invetriatura, sono a mezzo di un contorno nerastro, come nei disegni dell' epoca bisan- tina, o della scuola italiana di pittura della nianiera molto prima di Cimabue.' ' Una tal sorte di Vasellame ornata a tralicci, a modo dei vasi cinesi, lunghesso gli spartimenti verticali, cui e messa la lor superficie, ha una sistema di fascie orizzon- tali sul face dei fregi, che ne dintornano la parte inferiore e lo esterno della gola, cui collegasi al collo. Dette fascie orizzon- tali sono messe, parte a caratteri cufici, procedenti da destra verso sinistra, alternati superiormente da stemmi ed intrecciamenti di linee geometriche nei modi i piu bizzarri e parte a campi ver- micolati.' PLATE III TAZZA. DAMASCUS WARK Xy/ Century 91 Is it not equally reasonable to presume that, with the Saracenic invaders, came some of those potters who had previously' worked in Egypt, and that tliey, establishing themselves in the newly conquered island, were the makers of these vases at one or other of the localities re- ferred to, and during the period previous to the invasion of the Moors? Ik'lieving such a presumption to be probable, we classed these curious, but somewhat coarse, pieces as Siculo-Arabian, and we propose to continue that name as a distinctive and appropriate appellation. DAMASCUS. This name has been used as a generic term, covering or including all those wares of the siliceous glazed family, except the Persian, and including such as were probably made in Turkey, Syria, Asia Minor, Rhodes, &c., a certain general character in form and ornamentation [)ervading the whole class. There can be no doubt that Damascus was an important producer of this |)Ottery, which was kncjwn to the commerce of the sixteenth century and earlier as ' Damas ' ware, and examples exist having silver mountings of the period of Queen Klizabeth '. W'e know moreover that Timour Hey took with him from Damascus in 1402 'men who made bows, glass, and earthenware,' and that at TinKJur's banquets at Samarcand food was served in vessels of 'gold, silver, earthenware, glass and porcelain-'; and accordingly we learn from Vamber^' that won- derfully beautiful tile work was to be seen in the Mosques of Bokhara and Samarcand. Constantinople and Bnnissa were also large centres of the manufacture. We suggested, in the Catalogue of the South Kensington Collection of Maiolica, &c., at i)age 9, the propriety of reviving the term ' Damas ' or ' Damascus' ware for this family, in preference to the misapplied general name of Persian, only warranted from the Persian mo///, more or less apparent although modified, which we Hnd in the lloral designs on the varieties of these wares. That suggestion has been generally adopted, ' Loans Exliib. Cat. Nos. 3280-1, p. 292. ' A Rri^naiill Morel ponriin put de Damas Damascus ware was known in France in pldii dr i^iiii^^nnbre iwrf, ij-'c' tiic fourteenth and fiftccntii centuries, as 1420. Inv. clu Due dc Bourgoync : evinced in tlic inventories of those periods. ' Uiis; pot de tenr dc r ouvrai^c dc Damas Thus : — blanc et blue, ganiie le pie, et couvercle que 1380. Inventory of Ciiarlcs \' : est de jasprc, (f argent dore, un aiise de ' Ung petit pot de tcrreeii faani .'v:c., c.x. xcii. I02 HISPANO-MORESQUE WARES productions, after praising the porcelain recently brought from China, admires what he calls their imitations made at Majorca. ' So much so,' says he,' that it is difficult to distinguish the false from the true(!), those of the Balearic Islands not being their inferiors in form or brilliancy, even surpassing them in elegance ; it is said that such excellent ones are now brought that they are preferred to the most beautiful pewter utensils for the table.' ' We call them " majolica," changing one letter in the name of the Balearic Island, where we are assured that the most beautiful are made.' Interesting testimony to the importation of these wares into Italy and the knowledge of their origin, as also to the derivation of the term applied to the home manufacture of Pesaro, Diruta, and Gubbio. M. Davillier makes some further remarks and quotations on this term, and upon the story of the bacini which adorn the Pisan and other churches, confirming the views of the writer, as expressed in his paper on that subject \ and instancing a plate in the tower of the church of Santa Francesca-Romana, near to the Basilica of Constantine at Rome, as the only example having the metallic lustre. The writer well knows the example alluded to, and at first formed the same opinion as M. Davillier; but repeated observations of it, in different lights, have caused him to alter that opinion, and to conclude that it was devoid of metallic lustre, but that, from partial decomposition of the glaze by the action of the atmosphere, it had acquired a degree of iridescence, which, at that height, might be readily mistaken for ' reflet metallique.' Such is also doubtless the case with those at Pavia and elsewhere which, on too hasty observation, have been described by later writers as lustred. Although presumably of much earlier date, we know no record of Major- can pottery occurring till that of Giovanni di Bernardi da Uzzano, the son of a rich Pisan merchant, who in 1442 wrote a treatise on commerce and navigation, published by Paquini ^, in which he speaks of the manufactures of Majorca and Minorca, particularly mentioning faience, which, adds he, ' had then a very large sale in Italy.' There was a great commerce between these islands and Italy, as instanced by Capmany^, who cites several authors in support of his statements, particularly Balducci-Pegolotti, who gives a list of towns in ' Read before the Society of Antiquaries on Feb. 16, i860. Proceedings, vol. i. p. 94, but by an oversight not published in the Archaeologia till 2nd series, vol. xlii. p. 379. When that paper was written, the writer well knew the roundels in the church towers of Pavia, at Rome, Bologna and elsewhere, about some of which notices have since been written announcing them as newly observed ! - Paquini, Delia decima, &c. Lisbon and Lucca, 4to, 1765. ^ Capmany, Memorias Historicas. Barce- lona, torn, iii, 4to. 1780. PLATE VI CIRCULAR DISH. HISPANO-MORESQUE XV 01' Eai-ly XVI Coiltiry EWER. HISPANO-MORESQUE XV or Early XVI Century VALENCIA Italy having commercial relations with Majorca in the fourteenth centur}'. That island possessed at that period 900 vessels, some of 400 tons burden, and counted some 20,000 sailors. Muratori' states that at the commence- ment of the fifteenth century Pedro Santon, a Catalonian corsair, commanded a ship with a crew of 500 men. These proofs of commercial intercourse between Spain and Italy would readily account for the quantity of Hispano- Morcsque ware found in the latter country'. M. J. M. Bover de Rostelli of Majorca has found evidence that the principal scat of the manufacture was at ' Ynca,' in the interior of the island ; and in confirmation of that discovery some plates have been observed by M. Davillier in collections on which the arms of that island are represented. One such, he states, is in the Hotel Cluny ( No. 2,050), and is probably of the fifteenth centur}'. It is Moresque in style, with illegible inscriptions, in an odd mixture of the Arabic and Gothic characters; the lustre is of a red colour, the arms in the centre. He is mistaken in referring to another example in the British Museum; no piece bearing the arms said to be of that town, and communicated by a resident in the island, is in that collection. These arms are, paly, gules and or, on a fess argent, a dog in the act of bounding, sable. There would seem also to have been a fabrique at I\ii;a, for\'argas-, in his description of the Balearic Islands, says : ' It is much to be regretted that Ivi^a has ceased to make her famous vases of faience, destined for exportation as well as for local consumption.' But of their precise nature he gives us no information, and we have no knowledge. The generally accepted idea that lustred wares were produced in and exported from the Balearic Islands, sustained, as it would appear to be, by the statements above quoted or referred to, has been disputed by Don Alvaro Campaner y Fuertes in a letter to the late Baron Davillier. VALENCIA. This kingdom was in the time (jf the Romans noted lor its works in pottery, those produced at Saguntum, the present Murviedro, near to the city of Valencia, having a great reputation at that period according to Pliny, who at book XXXV. ch. 12 of his Natural History mentions the jasper red pottery of Saguntum, where 1,200 workmen were employed '. To these, after the occupation of the Goths, succeeded the Arab ' Muratori, Rcriim Italicaruni Scriptores. See a work on this pottery by the l ol. Milan, 1723. Comtc Antonio dc Luniiarcs dc Valcarcel, ^ Vargas, Descripcion dc las islas Bale- published in 1779. arcs y Pityusas. 410. Madrid, 1787. HISPANO-MORESOUE WARES workmen who accompanied the Mussulman conquest in 711. Again, when the Moors were, in 1239, subjected to the Christian domination under ' layme ' I of Aragon, surnamed ' el conquistador,' the potter's art was considered of sufficient importance to claim a special charter from the king, who granted it to the Saracens of Xativa, a small town of the kingdom, now called San-Felipe. This charter^ provides that every master potter making vases, domestic vessels, tiles, ' rajolas ' (an Arabic name for wall- tiles, synonymous with ' azulejos '), should pay a ' besant ' annually, and freely pursue his calling. We cannot agree with M. Davillier in thinking that lustred pottery was not made in this province anterior to the fifteenth century, and that it was introduced from Malaga. In 1442 Giovanni di Bernardo da Uzzano refers to the wares brought from Spain, which were then highly esteemed in Italy ; he describes them as a white ware, covered with ornament of golden lustre and with capricious lettering ; they were so much esteemed at Venice that ship-loads were imported every year. In 1437 a law was passed forbidding the importation of lavori di terra, but excepting correziioli (crucibles) and wares de Maiolica. This law, which is referred to by the late Sir Wm. Drake in his notes on Venetian Ceramics, p. 11, as in force in 1455, is older than the mention of it by Uzzano. In 1474 a still stronger decree was passed prohibiting importation of any earthen wares, with the exception of crucibles and Majolica che viene da Valenza. This is believed by Sig. Urbani de Ghelt of to be the first application of the word Majolica to denote a class of wares, viz. those enriched with the metallic lustre (see pi. 6). Marineo Siculo^, writing in 1517, devotes a chapter to the utensils and other objects of faience made in Spain, in which he states that the most esteemed are those of Valencia, which are so well worked and ' so well gilded '; whilst Capmany {op. cit.) records a decree of the Municipal Council of Barcelona in 1528, relative to the exportation of faience to Sicily and elsewhere, and in which 'la Loza de Valencia' is named. Antonio Beuter, in his Chronicle printed in 1530, mentions the places whence the potter's earth was procured, and says it is ' extremel}^ good at Paterna, Manises, Quartae, Carcre, Villalonga, Alaquaz, &c., so much so that Corebus, the inventor of pottery (according to Pliny), could not make better at Athens ; they equal the vases of Corinth, and those of Pisa, ' Cited in the Coleccion de Documentos Memorables de Espaiia, Alcala de Henares. Ineditos of D. M. Salva, torn, xviii. Folio, 1539, Lib. i. fol. v. v°. Lucio Marineo Siculo, De las Cosas VALENCIA of Pesaro, or elsewhere do not surpass them for beaut}' nor for fine workmanship.' Again, Barreyros, a Portugese, in his Chorographia \ praising the pottery of Barcelona, says that it is 'even superior' to that of Valencia. And in 1564 Martin de Vicyana- speaks of the town of 'Biar' as having fourteen potteries, where vases, dishes, S:c. were made for the use of the district and for exportation. The town of 'Trayguera' had twent^'-three fabri(|ues where large vases and other objects of earthenware were made. Both these towns are in the province of Valencia. Escolano'', another Valencian writer, speaks of the wares made from time immemorial with great elegance of workmanship at ' Paterna,' where, he states, the Christian population is mixed with the Moors; also the 'bourg d'Alaquaz,' where beautiful enamelled (vidriados) ware was made; and ' Manises,' famous for its enamelled faience and 'azulejos'.' The small towns, previously mentioned b^' Beuter, he also names, but par- ticularly praises the wares of ' Manises,' as being so beautiful and elegant 'that,' says he, 'in exchange for the faience that Italy sends us from Pisa, we send vessels to that country laden with the wares of Manises.* Another writer, Fr. Diago, in 1613, after jjraising the wares of Paterna and Carcre — among them large tiles for roofing lustred with brilliant copper colour, some of which are now to be seen on buildings not anterior to the seventeenth centur}', as the cupola of tiie church at Manises and others at Valencia — speaks specially of the faiences of Manises, 'so well gilded and painted with such art that all the world is enamoured with tlicm, so much so that the Pope, the Cardinals, and the Princes send their orders hither, wondering that with simple earth such exquisite things can be made.' The expulsion of the Moors in 1610 by Philij) 111 gave the fatal blow to this industry, as we learn from contemporary authors that many of the banished artisans were potters ('olleros'j. From time immemorial St. John the Evangelist has been particularly venerated at Valencia, and in the grand processions of Corpus Christi the emblematic eagle is carried, holding in its beak a banderole, on which is ' Barreyros, Cliorograjiliia dc Akums I.Uf^arcs. 4to. Cniiiibra. ''■ Martin dc Vicyana, Cronica dc Valencia. Valencia, fol. 1564. ■' Escolano, 1 listeria dc la Insignc y Coronada Ciudad y Regno dc Valencia. Folio, Valencia, 1610. ' These ' azulejos ' were exported to \ arious countries ; there is a pavement formed of them in the Mayor's Chapel at Bristol (see Lysons' Antiq. of Glou- cestershire). One, from Haccombc Church in Devonshire, is in the British Museum. lo6 HISPANO-MORESUUE IV A RES inscribed the first sentence of iiis gospel : ' hi principio crat Verbuni ct Verbinn erat apiid Deiim! On some pieces of Hispano-Moresque ware this sentence is inscribed, and the eagle sometimes covers the front, sometimes the back, of certain pieces. There is therefore reason to infer that such pieces were made in one of the fabriques of Valencia ; and if so their style would be, to a considerable extent, t3^pical of the Valencian pottery. The decoration was probably inspired by the wares of Malaga, and it is likely that many of the pieces of the fifteenth century, bearing inscriptions in Gothic characters with animals, &c. in blue, may be of this fabrique. Thus in the British Museum is a plate (figured in Marryat, p. ii) painted with an antelope and Moresque ornament in blue, and with the stnta ratalina guartia noe. Others occur, though very rarely, with Spanish inscriptions. In the province of Valencia, at Murcia, and at several other places, we are told that excellent lustred wares were made, but that none were such important centres of the art as Manises. Eximenus, writing of Valencia in 1499, says, ' The twenty-seventh excellent thing is, that some artificial objects are made there, which bring great renown to the country, &c. . . . but above all in the beauty of the golden pottery so splendidly painted at Manises, which enamours every one so much, that the Pope and Cardinals and the Princes of the world obtain it by special favour, and are astonished that such excellent and noble works can be made of earth.' In our classification of the lustred wares of Oriental derivation, made for the South Kensington Museum Catalogue in 1871, we were led to believe that a peculiar kind of enamelled earthenware, covered with a dark blue glaze, and enriched with foliated vermicular diapering of rich coppery lustre, all or nearly all the few known pieces of which had been procured in Sicily, was an insular production by Moorish potters of the fifteenth century. We ventured to class it as such under the term of Siculo- Moresque Subsequent information afforded to our much regretted friend the late Baron Charles Davillier, shortly before his death, revealed the fact that these pieces were a production of Manises, and probably of somewhat later date than had been supposed. The finest example known is a tazza ' Vide S. K. Cat. of Maiolica, p. 65. VALENCIA now in the South Kensington Museum, of whicii there is a woodcut engraving in that work. Mr. (now Sir) J. C. Robinson remarks on this piece in the catalogue of the Soulages Collection: 'This tazza is the finest specimen which has yet appeared of a variety of Maiolica ware of great rarity, and of the origin of which little is known with certainty. It is grounded with a deep blue translucent enamel, and covered, both inside and out, with a minute scroll diaper pattern in copper-coloured lustre, arranged in zones. From the fact of this, and all the other specimens of the same ware hitherto obser\x'd, having been brought from Italy, and from the unmistakable evidence of the shapes of the pieces, which are decidedly in the style of that countr}', and apparently of the first half of the sixteenth centur}-, the Italian origin of this ware may be held to be established.' lie then refers to the approximation, in colour, of the ground, and the somewhat coppery lustre, to that of some Persian wares, the material of which is a siliceous frit covered by a vitreous glaze. It is quite possible that such pieces ma}' have inspired, and been used as the originals from which their decoration was derived, while the forms were at the same time modified, to meet the Renaissance spirit and taste of the period of their production in Spain, and not in Italy as that able connoisseur suggested. In illustration of these remarks by Mr. Robinson, the reader is referred to pages 85 and 89 of this work, on the Persian and Siculo-Arabian wares, where the similarity of technical characteristics, and the theory that the latter may be of Sicilian origin, but the work of Arabian artisans, are considered. It is worthy of remark, from a technical point of view, that the transparent blue glaze of the specimen now illustrated is applied over an 'cngobe' or thin wash of tin oxide or white clay which conceals the dark colour of the ijod}'. In the original Oriental specimens, on tlic contrary, it is generally a|)plied at once upon the ware, which is of a grc^-ish white colour, and highl}' siliceous. Another and even larger, though less perfected, example was in the hands of Messrs. Sasson ; a barrel-shaped fountain, for wine or water, with orifice for tap below : on the wider part two lions are depicted in coppery lustre, face to face, surmounted by a coronet; the rest of the surface is covered with the vermicular diapering in coppery lustre, which is found on all the pieces known to us. The British Museum has some albarclli from the Henderson Collection, and there are others in the Louvre. Two small plates of this variety are in the Fortnum Collection at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. It is worthy of note that on some of the io8 HIS PA NO-MORESO UE WA RES pieces of this ware the (G) scroll in lustre colour occurs on the reverse ; could it be from this that the same scroll, so frequent on the lustred wares of Gubbio, may have been suggested? Aragon. — Senor Riano refers to a deed, executed at Calatayud in 1507, by one Muhamed ben Suleyman Attaalab, an artificer in gold lustre ware, engaging himself with Abdallah Alfoguey, to teach him that industry in four years and a half. They were both of the Moorish suburb of Aragon. At Muel, in the province of Aragon, near Saragozza, this industry was practised in 1585. Henrique Cock gives an interesting account, in his travels at that date, of the process then in practice for the production of these lustrous wares. He states, 'The earthenware sold at Zaragoza is thus made; first the vessels are fashioned of the local clay and they are baked in a proper oven ; removed, they are glazed with white and then polished ; afterwards make a wash of certain materials in the following way, — take 25 lbs. of lead (one arroba), add 3 or 4 pounds of tin, and as much of a sand found there- about ; fused into a glass, and after broken into small pieces ; pounded into a fine flour and kept for use.' This is doubtless the enamel glaze, but the action of the furnace in the oxidization of the two metals is not properly stated. It is noteworthy that previous to the application of the stanniferous enamel the piece is 'glazed with white and then polished'; this implies the application of a ' polished ' engobe beneath the enamel glaze. Afterwards to gild the pottery, he writes, ' take strong vinegar, mix with about one shilling of silver in powder, vermilion and red ochre and a little wire (or wine?}; when mixed paint on with a feather and rebake. But a more accurate account of the process is to be found in a MS. in the British Museum, referred to by Seifior Riano (Egerton No. 507, MS. fol. 102). Count Florida Blanca, in 1785, wishing to establish a factory of lustred wares at Madrid, had the following report (epitomized) furnished to him from Manises: — ' After baking, the pottery is glazed with white and blue, the only colours used except gold ; if it be painted on gold colour it can only be on the white glaze after twice baking; they are then lustred and baked with dry rosemary only. The white glaze is made of lead and tin fused together in a special oven ; after properly baking they become like an earth, and are then mixed with an equal weight of sand ; fine salt is added, again baked, and when cold pounded. The only good sand is from a cave at Benalquacil near Manises. For best glaze twenty-five pounds of lead and six to twelve of tin, and half a bushel of powdered fine salt ; VALENCIA less tin for an inferior quality. Five substances are required for the gold colour; copper three ounces, the older the better; silver about (as much as) one shilling, also old; sulphur three ounces; red ochre, and of strong vinegar a quart ; three pounds (of twelve ounces) of the scoriae left after this pottery is painted with gold colour (and doubtless baked) is added to the mixture. They are mixed thus, — a small quantity of sulphur is put into a crucible with two small bits of copper and between them a silver peseta ; the rest of the sulphur and copper is then added, ]:)laced on a fire, and made to boil until the sulphur is consumed and burnt away ; take off the fire, and when cold pound very fine ; the red ochre and scoriae are then added, mixed, and again pounded ; mixed in a basin with enough water to make a pasty consistence, it is then applied to the vessel with a stick (or brush ?). The piece is then baked for six hours.' At the commencement of the seventeenth centur}- the X'alencian wares had lost nearly all their Moresque character, and the employment of the copper lustre only was retained, designs with figures in the costumes of tiiat period, and coarse leafage, birds &c., with rococo ornaments. In 1780 Mr. Talbot Dillon, in his Travels in Spain, states that at Manises, a pretty village two leagues from V'alencia, the people, mostly potters, make a beautiful faience of a copper-coloured gilding. In t8oi Fischer, a German traveller, speaks of the same wares, and M. Davillier found its last producer at Manises, one ' layme Cassans,' who varied his duties to his guests as a small innkeeper by making lustred pottery, with a simple wheel and small furnace, his wife assisting him in the decoration of the pieces. It would thus appear that although the fabri(|ue of Malaga may have been more ancient, that of the province of N'alencia was one of the most important in Spain. But many other potteries existed, as at Barcelona, whence Ilieronymus Paulus, in 1491, writes, speaking of the faience of that place, as having been long esteemed and sought after even at Rome Talavera seems however to have been an important producer, b}- the statement of Marineo Siculo. We first find its productions mentioned in 1560, and again in 1573, when a fine white glazed pottery was made there, supplying the country round ; it was also exported to Portugal and to India. A red potter}- was also produced at Talavera, and of later time wares painted in blue and other colours on the white ground, some in imitation of Chinese patterns, others after the manner of Savona and of Rouen. Works existed at Triana ; Puente del Arzobispo ; laen ' .\pucl Schdtt, Hispnnia Illiistrata, toni. iii. i.jgi no HISPANO-MORESOUE WARES in 1628 ; Toledo under Ignacio de Velasco in 1735 ; also at Segovia and Zamora. At Ivic^a the Royal ordinances refer to vessels of fine earth curiously worked, which were protections against poison. At Alcora, about 1726, a large work was established by Don Buenaventura Pedro de Alcan- tara; privileges were granted and the business thrived, producing some three hundred thousand pieces annually of various kinds. Lustred ware was made in 1749, as also porcelain. These various productions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are referred to by Senor Riafio, who also tells us that in 1768 King Charles III founded and encouraged works at La Carolina and La Carlota in Andalusia, as also the well-known Buon Retiro at Madrid. That these Hispano-Moresque wares were imported into England is proved by fragments found in London, on one of which, in the British Museum, is represented a man in the costume of the period of Henry IV of England, about 1400. Makers' names have never been observed upon pieces of this pottery, and marks are very rarely met with. On the back of two small plates with deep centres, in which is painted a shield of arms bearing a crowned eagle with open wings, in blue, the rest of the surface being diapered with small vine or briony leaves and interlaced tendrils in concentric order, of golden lustre on the creamy white ground, are the accompanying marks. These pieces are similar, perhaps of the same service, probably of Malaga or Valencia, and of the fifteenth century ; they are now in the writer's collection at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. A mark hke to the first is on a piece in the Salting collection. In the British Museum, from the late Mr. Henderson's rich collection, VALENCIA is a vase, on one side of which is the inscription: ' Illustrissimo Signore Cardinale D'Este in Urbe Roma.' It is probably one of those pieces of Manises manufacture spoken of by F'r. Diago in 1613. Mr. Chaffers also gives us marks occurring on a piece, probably of the same fabrique, then in Mr. Reynolds' Collection. They consist of a hand, and the date 1610, in a circle on the face of the piece, and the letter M, surmounted by an O, on the reverse. The others given as marks in that useful work are probably only ornamental devices. The Louvre and the Hotel Cluny at Paris contain fine e.xamples of this potter}', as also the Museum at Sevres; and in the British Museum are specimens of considerable interest, already referred to ; also a fine dish, having the arms of Castile and Leon impaled with Aragon, which may have been made for Eleanor, daughter of Pedro IV of Aragon, Queen of John I, King of Castile and Leon, married 1375, died 1382; and a sort of bihcroii, with spouts at the sides. Both of these are engraved in Mr. Marryat's work. The Soutli Kensington Museum is rich, but perhaps the finest collec- tion in I-lngland is that of Mr. E. Ducane Godman, richer in examples of Persian, of tiie so-called Siculo-Arabian, and of 1 1 ispano-Moresque than an}^ public or private collection in luirope. Mr. Salting also has many fine examples. A foreign and distinct character of artistic ])roduction was introduced, at Seville, by Niculoso Francesco, an Italian, who also in an inscription informs us that he was a Pisnno. The taste for the Italian Renaissance was spreading into Spain, partly through the introduction of Dello and other painters, and particularly by the return of Alonso Berruguete after his sojurn in Italy ; moreover, we learn from Vasari that works of the Delia Robbia bofc/ra had been sent to Spain by merchants, and that Luca had forwarded to the king figures, in the round, of enamelled terra-cotta, and some in marble. We have notice also of the large exportation of Italian wares from Pisa, &c., into Spain. .Some pieces of the wares of Urbino, S:c., exist in collections, on wliich the arms of Spanish families are painted ; two such, doubtless part of a service, were in the possession of Baron Anton}' de Rothschild in London; they are fine works of the Eontana school of Urbino, i)erhaps by Orazio, and represent subjects from Aniadis de Gaule ; on each is the shield of arms of a Spanish house. But to Niculoso Frnuccsco Spain owes two of the finest and most original monuments of the ceramic art of the early sixteenth century which have been preserved to our times, viz. the altar front and i/ossn/c 112 HISPANO-MORESOUE J FARES in the chapel erected by Ferdinand and Isabella in the Alcazar at Seville, and the rich facade to the door of the church of Santa Paula in a suburb of that city. His earliest recorded work is the tomb of Monsignore Lopez, in the church of Santa Anna at Triano, the seat of the Sevillian potteries on the other side of the river ^ It consists of a picture, painted on tiles, and representing the deceased, recumbent and holding a book between his hands ; on either side of the pillow a peculiar quadrangular knot ornament is painted, which suggests a somewhat varying figure occurring on pieces of Faentine and Caffaggiolo make (South Kensington Museum Catalogue, No. 8963, '63). The inscription states, ESTA • FIGURA • I • SEPULTUF.A • ES • Dl M:S0 • LOPEZ • EN • EL • AGNO • DEL • MIL • CCCCCIII • The work next in date, and far superior in execution, is the altar in the Alcazar. The frontal bears a central roundel, on which is represented the Annunciation, with surrounding wreath of fruits and leafage; this is sustained on either side by a female figure holding a flambeau and with scaly termination, ending in scroll-work and a cornucopia ; above are shields bearing the royal arms; the yoke and motto T ANTO • MONT A • ; the fasces of arrows; the crowned F; and the crowned Y or double J. The dossale consists of a large central picture representing the salutation of Mary and Elizabeth, surrounded by a framing, on which is painted the tree of Jesse, between classic mouldings; again beyond are grotesques after the manner of the Loggie, and on either side the yoke and motto, and the arrows, are depicted on wreath-surrounded roundels. On a banderole is the signature NICULOSO • FRANCISCO • ITALIANO- ME • FECIT, and above, on the left, AGNO-DEL-MIL - CCCCCl.li • This remarkable work of ceramic painting is on tiles carefully joined and covered with a rich glaze, the colouring admirably managed, and the execution masterly. The general design would seem to have been inspired, and in much copied, from an illuminated manuscript or a painted glass window of Flemish character. The decoration of the portal of Santa Paula is a work of singular beauty ; the moulded brick-work in two colours is in itself a master- piece, the tile covering extending outside the arch from he capitals of the Gothic pilasters. This broad band is grounded with grotesques of the greatest variety and careful execution in dark blue, green, yellow, and white upon a rich orange ground, reminding one of the finer pieces of the Siena fabrique ; upon this are seven roundels after the manner of the ' Pedro de Medina, writing in the first half of the sixteenth century. His work, Libro de Grandezas y Cosas Memorables de Espagna, gives curious details of the making of faience at Seville, in chapter xxii. VALENCIA Delia Robbia, having subjects in relief of white and coloured enamel, each surrounded by a garland of fruits, leafage, &c. in colour. Above the arching but beneath the cornice, on a grounding of tiles tinted as a fleecy clouded sky, on either side an angel in white enamelled ware is standing on a bracket of lustred surface ; above each of these is a square panel bearing the sacred monogram in relief of Hispano-Gothic lettering, also of lustrous surface, sustained each by a kneeling angel in white. Surmounting the cornice are alternating cherubs, winged heads, and flambeaux of white enamelled ware. Over the door is a shield sustained by an eagle and bearing the royal arms, of white marble, relieved against a ground of painted tiles; on its right the yoke and motto, on its left the arrows are painted each on a shield. This grand work is inscribed by its maker, N ICULOSO • FRANCISCO • ITALI ANO • ME • FECIT ■ IN • EL • AGNO • DEL • 1504; and again in another place 1508, and elsewhere NICULOSO • PISANO. The effect upon the eye of this rich portal, when seen in the full blaze of a Sevillian sun, is gorgeous indeed, but well harmonized and softened by the judicious use of colour and the negative toning of the brickwork, upon which it rests as a richly jewelled crown. It is not offensively glaring, as one feels, at first sight, the general effect of the Delia Robbia friezes on the hospital at Pistoia. The fourth and only other known work by this master ceramist is over the door of the Convent of Nuns, Las Monjas de Santa Paula, in an outskirt of Seville. It is a large picture painted on tiles representing the saint, nimbed and clothed in a long mantle. She holds a book between her hands; there is a border of trofei, and the date, 1504. It is framed in a wide border of brickwork of two colours ; on each side is the inscription SANTA • PAULA • ; below are the arms of Portugal and Spain and those of the foundress Yasabel Knriquez. These works are accurately described by the late Baron I. C. Dax illier in the Gazette des Beaux Arts (vol. xviii. 28), and, with the exception of the last, were studied and greatly admired by the writer in 1884. He partially agrees with his lamented friend in the ojMnion that Faenza or Caffaggiolo may have been the schools at which Niculoso learnt to mature his art ; in that art he may have been first grounded at his native Pisa, but the writer is inclined to think that the knotted ornament on the tomb of Lopez may refer to Faenza, or to Faentine artists working in Tuscany, and that Niculoso may probably have graduated under the Delia Robbia, and also learnt some scheme of colouring after the manner of the Siena botega of M". Benedetto. We nuist, however, bear in mind tliat at Faenza, in the vault of the Cathedral, are enamelled rilievos in the Delia Robbia manner, but which are believed to be of Faentine production I 114 SICULO-MORESOUE WARES between 1474-7 ^- Could Niculoso have had anything to do with these works previous to his emigration to Spain ? In the British Museum is a plate, on which is painted a helmeted male head heightened with lustre and having scrolls of lustre on the back, after the manner of some Hispano-Moresque pieces. This plate is stated to have been so long in private possession before it was presented to the Museum, that all suspicion of modern imitation is denied. It is such a piece as might have been produced by an Italian maiolica painter, working at a fabrique where Moorish wares were still made, and possibly from the Niculoso botega. Of other artists working in Spain, mention , is made of Juan Flores, a Fleming, who painted tiles for the royal palaces at Madrid, at the Pardo, and at Segovia; he was master tile-maker to Philip II, in 1565. (Riano.) SICUL 0-MORESQ UE. The evidence afforded by excavations and investigations in Sicily is ably put together by Prince Filangieri, in his report to the Minister of Public Instruction on this subject^. The most ancient pieces of what is supposed to be Siculo-Moresque pottery are those found in 1864, on demolishing the church of S. Giacomo la Marina at Palermo, and those found over the vault of the Martorano in 1870 ; the Martorano dates from the twelfth century, and these are believed to be contemporary. They bear imitation Arab mottoes. In the Verdura, Scala, and Salinas collections are other specimens, as also in the Museum at Palermo. They have certain marks, as * Ahnton' made of earth ; ' ton moJitawa' impermeable clay ; ' iin-a-mali' plastic clay ; and some names of makers as ' Ibrahim ' and ' Bami.' Two notable examples are at Mazara, one in the house of Count Giovanni Burzio; the other in the sacristy of the church of the Madonna del Paradiso. Prince Filangieri refers to Marryat, 'History of Pottery and Porcelain,' ed. 1857, p. 14, for illustration of a piece in the Sevres Museum ; he further states that these all resemble in form and make the celebrated Alhambra vase ; the inscriptions are in large Cufic character, ' lillahi-l-molk^ the power is in God ; on the Burzio vase ' Success ' in Arabic, a usual expression on Mussulman ornamental inscriptions in Sicily or elsewhere. There may be some slight confusion of the siliceous and stanniferous ^ Vide Carlo Malagola, Memorie Storiche ^ Gaetano Filangieri, Principe di Sa- sulle Maioliche di Faenza, p. 464. F. Ar- triano, II Museo Artistico Industriale e gnani, Le Ceramiche e Maioliche Faentine, le Scuole OfRcine de Napoli ; Napoli, fol. Faenza, 1889, p. 21. 1881. SICULOMORESOUE M^ARES wares in these references to specimens in collections, but for the most part they would appear to be similar to, if not actuall}^, the workmanship of Moorish potters in Spain, with which country Sicily was in intimate political connexion. The distinct proof of the fabrication of similar Moorish pottery in Sicily is yet wanting, and the exact agreement of the above- quoted examples with the well-known varieties of Hispano-Morcsque pottery would rather lead to an adverse conclusion. Porous water jugs or coolers, probably of the sixteenth century, and of the same form as the well-known Rhodian pyriform jugs with loop handle, and which have elegantly designed openwork strainers inside the neck, are doubtless the workmanship of Moorish hands or their descendants in Sicily, where they arc occasionally found. I 2 EUROPEAN PLUMBEOUS OR LEAD GLAZED AND STANNIFEROUS OR ENAMELLED WARES HIS mode of ornamentation, one of the most primitive and universal i- in a ruder form, appears but little on the early glazed wares of our own country ^ ; of those of France a fine example, attributed to the fourteenth century, is preserved in the Museum at Sevres, and is figured in De Brongniart and Riocreux's quarto volume on that collection, M. PI. xxix. 3, as also at page 104 of M. Jacquemart's Merveilles de la Ceramique, part 2. In Italy it was brought to a high degree of perfection, not merely as a manner of ornamenting pottery, but applied on a large scale to mural decoration. It appears to have been in use from an early period, examples of a coarse kind occurring among the plates incrusted in the towers of churches of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries at Pisa and elsewhere, and it was probably in use before, or coeval with, the earliest rudely painted wares. Of such are a small bowl of Sgraffiato or incised ware. No. 14. '71 in the South Kensington Museum ; four leaves and zig-zag border, incised and coloured with green and brown on the creamy white ground ; it is one of those smaller pieces inserted in the church towers of Pisa and other cities of Italy, mention of which is made in the Introductory chapter. This and another were procured at Pisa by Sig. Fezzi, we are not informed from what church, and it is difficult to assign an exact date ; but they are in ITALIAN Sgraffiati, Graffiti, or Incised Wares. * In the British Museum is a dish rudely incised, and dated 1699; also portion of a small jug. ITALIAN INCISED IVARES 117 all probability not later than about 1300. The other is a small bowl of glazed earthenware, No. 15. '71 in the same Museum; leaves and a rude leafage border outlined in manganese, and dashed with green and 3'ellow brown ; thirteenth or fourteenth century : although not ornamented with sgraffio, this piece is clearly of the same period and manufacture as the preceding, and is from the same source. The reader is referred to a paper in the Archaeologia of the Society of Antiquaries, vol. xlii, p. 379, for further information on this subject. Its method, as applied to pottery, is described by Piccolpasso in his manuscript, and consists in covering the previously baked ' biscuit * of ordinary potter's clay with a 'slip' or engobc of the white marl of Vicenza, by dipping it into a bath of that earth milled with water to the consistence of cream ; when dry this white covering, fixed by a slight baking, is scratched through with an iron instrument showing the design in the red colour of the clay against the superimposed white ground. It is then covered with an ordinary translucent lead glaze composed of sand, lib. 5, lead (oxide), lib. 10, and clouded with ^-ellow and green by slight application of the oxides of iron and copper. Piccolpasso says : ' Now I intend giving you the wliitc which is used in Lombardy. Here is the white, bearmg in mind that the earth of Vicenza is used (as a slip) as has been said of the colours of Castcllo painting or designing on the white earth, when they have had the earth of Vicenza, I would say with a style of iron of this kind (gives figure), and this drawing is called ssj^raffio .' From this passage we learn that it was not a mode of decoration exclusively confined to the fabrique of Citta di Castello ; and accordingly Signor Raffaelli considers that ' sgraffio * was also made at Castel Durante. From a careful examination of many examples of the incised wares, we are of opinion that they were produced at several places ; it was indeed a more simple manner of ornamentation than painting in colour, and therefore more likely to be used at smaller local potteries. At Pavia fragments and whole pieces have been dug up, and were in the possession of the late Sig. Camillo Brambilla and others, proving a local fabrique of such wares. There appears to be a considerable range in the dates of various specimens in collections, some of which arc probably among the earliest examples of Italian decorative pottery that have descended to us ; others may be of the middle or last quarter of the fifteenth century, and are highly characteristic ; upon them great skill is shown in the combination of figures and foliage in rilievo, with the incised ornamentation. Nearly all the pieces of this particular variety are probably the work of one bolcs^a, and are ii8 ITALIAN INCISED WARES distinguished by the character of their designs ; a border of mulberry leaves, shields of the ' Pavoise ' or kite form, one on a fine dish in the British Museum being charged with the biscia of the Visconti ; the impresa on the other is the flaming bomb-shell adopted by Alfonso d'Este in 1512. A sort of Gothic character is seen in some of the leafage mouldings, costumes of the North of Italy in the fifteenth century, lion supporters and other details which connect them with the North Italian art, and we have little hesitation in believing that they were produced in Lombardy or the Venetian mainland. The above-quoted passage from Piccolpasso is confirm- atory of that opinion, and Sir J. C. Robinson, describing a fine example, an inkstand belonging to Lord Spencer, advances a similar opinion in the Catalogue of the Special Loan Exhibition of 1862 (p. 401). Work of another manner may be observed on pieces of a somewhat more recent date, among which is one in the South Kensington Museum bearing the arms of the city of Perugia. These may with considerable probability be ascribed to that neighbour- hood, perhaps to Citta di Castello, but we cannot, with some writers, find any authority for classing all the incised wares as the produce of La Fratta. Two fine examples of the former type are in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford (Fortnum Coll., see pi. VII), one having raised foliage in the centre and incised ornamentation on both sides; one also, of the latter manner, with sgrajfio decoration of oak leafage surrounding a figure of the Virgin. Some other examples, by other hands, afford no clue to the locality of their production. Of such is a sort of barrel or cylindrical bottle in the British Museum, divided internally into compartments, and inscribed outside ' viN nero ' ' vin bian ' ' olium azetto ' and the date 1525. In the Castellani Collection was a lamp formed as a human foot, with sgraffiato ornamentation covered by a brown enamel. It was signed C. F. F. 1659. P. Bastiano. A circular dish, exhibited in the ' Loans Court ' of the South Kensington Museum as * Intra ware,' was of coarse workmanship, the design a bunch of flowers in the centre and others on the border. It appeared to be of recent workmanship, and, if from the neighbourhood of Intra on the Lago Maggiore, may be the reminiscence of an ancient Lombard handicraft. The late Marquis d'Azeglio had a curious inkstand of this ware. Of the more important examples, the Louvre possesses a fine cup on raised stem and supported by three lions, in the interior a man, habited in the costume of the fifteenth century, stands playing a mandolin between two females, one of whom sings while the other plays the tambourine ; the raised and incised mouldings on this piece are very characteristic. It is engraved in M. Jacquemart's Merveilles, pt. 2, p. 206. PLATE VII PLATKAU. SGKAKKIATO VVARK XV /»■ Early XVI Cetiliiry I'LATEAi: WITH RAISED CENTRAL KLOWER XV or Early XVI Century ITALIAN INCISED WARES 119 In the Hotel Cluny is a cup of the same character, with other examples. The Museum at Sevres also has specimens. In the British Museum are some fine dishes, one of which is remark- able for the admirable execution of the work ; on it arc represented figures in the costume of the fifteenth century, festoons of fruit and other ornaments. On the other, already referred to, are the figures of a gentle- man and a lady, who plays the viol, in the costume of the fifteenth or early sixteenth century, standing dos-a-dos; on her side is a ' Pavoise * shield bearing the biscia or serpent of the Visconti, while he supports himself on one bearing the flaming bomb shell, the imprcsa of Alfonso d'Este, borne by him at the Battle of Ravenna in 1512. One of the most highly finished and elegant examples of this mode of ornamentation which has come under our notice, is a ' hanap ' or ewer, which was sold in Paris some years ago, and was since in Mr. R. Napier's Collection at Shandon (No. 2984). A curious ware having the appearance of ' sgraffiato,' but not really ornamented by that method, is described among the Hispano-Morcsque pottery in the South Kensington Museum, No. 1459, page 61. At Pavia, in the second half of the seventeenth century, a family of amateur and artistic potters - for it has hardly been shown, although suggested, that they established a fahn'ca fur commercial production — decorated many pieces, large and small dishes, 6i:c., of a ware the body of which is of red colour, covered with a white slip and ornamented, by means of the graving iron, with various subjects and decorative designs, the whole generally covered by a rich treacle-brown glaze. The execution of these works, though careful, is by no means of a highly artistic character ; they were probably, fur the most part, made for presents. The minute history of the whole family is to be read in the pages of Camillo Brambilla, whose elegant work ' does more than full justice to its subject. The dates of these pieces are from 1676 to 1694, they arc by three members of the Ciizio family, viz. Giovan Aii/otiio Barnaha, Giovmnii Brizio (a Canonico), and Antonio Maria, a Presbyter and proto- notarius. In the Montferrand Collection was a dish having the Virgin anlaces to hold two missing cruets are inscribed OLIO and ACE TO. At the back and on either side of the handle is a mark which denotes that it was made for the service of a Grand Duke of Tuscan}'; it consists of the grand ducal crown encircling two palms and a branch of laurel. This was the tiii/>rcsa of Cosmo de' Medici, son of Giovanni, who was created Grand Duke by the pope in 1569. The mark is copied by Chaffers from the Merveilles de la Ceramique, pt. 2, p. 141, and somewhat resembles a mark on some of the Venetian wares of later time. Signor Genolini places it among the Venetian marks, Tav. x.xiii. No. 378, without any reference. ' Notizic Lstorichc cd Artisticlic sulla Ccramica Italiana, 8vo, Roma, 1889, p. 64. 124 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES M. Natilis Rondot^ has shown us that Itahan potters established works at Lyons in the sixteenth century, and there produced istoriati and other pieces in the Urbino manner. Of those potters the first recorded was a Florentine, one Benedetto Angclo di Lorenzo (1512-1536), and with him some others were associated. A Maestro Giorgio (1529-1554) is also recorded, the only one with that distinction. Jean or Jovan (probably Giovanni) 1512-1518; and Bastiano di Antonio his brother (1523 and 1536-38); also Battisto di Gregoire {Gregorio ?) 1529 and 1556-62. CAFFAGGIOLO. Those who have travelled, as we were wont ere railroads had been formed in Italy, by the old post road from Bologna to Florence, will probably recollect a stern but picturesque machicolated building, standing not far from the last post-house before reaching the Tuscan capital. Built by Cosmo de' Medici, this villa was one of the favourite resorts of Lorenzo; and at Caffaggiolo the young Giovanni, afterwards Leo X, was educated by Politian. Within those walls also the beautiful Eleonora di Toledo was murdered by her husband, Pietro de' Medici, in 1576. It was the ill-indited name of this castello scrawled upon the back of a plate, and, until the discovery of others more legibly written, read as that of its painter, which proved that at this spot a fabrique had existed and im- portant and highly artistic works had been produced. The occurrence of a monogram upon several, and the comparison of their technical details, led to the recognition of others, revealing the fact that this fabrique had existed from an early period in the sixteenth century, if not earlier, and was then productive of a large number of pieces of varying quality. In further proof of the existence of this fabrique, which in all probability was specially belonging to the Medici family, and of its activity in 1521, the late M. Eugene Plot published^ the translation of a letter communicated to him by the late Com™ Gaetano Milanesi, of Florence ; this letter is from J. F. Zeffi, the agent of Lorenzo de' Medici, addressed to Francesco da Empoli, and reads — ' Spectabilis vir. Une lettre pour Antonio di Bernardo de" Medici est jointe a celle-ci, faites qu'il la rcfoive. On lui envoie en outre deux ecuelles avec leurs couvercles, qu'il ni'a fait demander. On envoie aussiune e'cuelle et son couvercle ^ Natalis Rondot, La Ceramique ' Gazette des Beaux Arts, T. xxiv. 2^ Lyonnaise. Paris, 1889 ; Les Potiers de periode, La Ceramique Italienne de la terre Italiens a Lyon. Lyon, 1892 ; Les Collection Spitzer. Faienciers Italiens a Lyon. Lyon, 1895. PLATE VIII Pl.A 1 KAT. t AKKAf.clOLO luirly .V; V CfHiiiry CAFFAGGIOLO 125 pour Marc- Antonio Ghondi, et qiiatre petits vases pour Giovanmaria que notre niaitre, Lorenzo, liii envoic. Faites que chacun ait le sien. ' Vous direz a Carlo Aldobrandini que ses vaisselles soiit cuitcs ct que je les lui enverrai bientdt. J. F. Zeffi.' ' Le 26 Septembre, 1521, in Cafaggiuolo. At the back is written ' Spectabili viro Francesco da Enipoli in Firenze.' There can be but Httle doubt that this pottery was a creation of the Medici, and derived its methods of production, and probably some of its earlier and better artists and their designs, directly from Faenza. In this opinion we are confirmed by that of the late M. Alfred DarceP in the last paper that he wrote, by the late M. Eugene Fiot by Sir A. W. Franks, and by M. Emile Molinier. The period of its first foundation, and whether any minor pottery previously existed in its immediate neighbourhood, are yet unknown to us. It is a somewhat important fact that, although many are of early style, no piece of a 'mezza' ware confidently assignable to this establishment is known to the writer ; all that have come under his notice are enamelled with the white stanniferous glaze, no instance of the use of an 'engobe ' or ' slip ' having been observed. It is moreover worthy of note that neither Piccolpasso nor Passeri mentions Caffaggiolo, although both refer to Faenza for the abundance and excellence of her wares, another testimony to the precedence of the latter potteries. It is also a curious fact that neither Vasari, Roscoe, nor Rossetti mentions Caffaggiolo as a ceramic fabrique ; although the former praises Faenza and Castel Durante. We will now proceed to consider the evidence afforded by the following examples : — On a plate formerly in the Fountaine Collection, Cupid pla3'ing on a flageolet in the centre, with border of grotesques on dark blue ground, and dated 1531, we have on its imbricated reverse the crossed circle of the Casa Pirota in P'aenza accompanied by a trident. In the Spitzer Collection was a plate described by M. Emile Molinier in the large illustrated Catalogue, PI. 2— Pyramus and Thisbe the subject, with border of cherubs, trophies, &c., imbrication on the reverse, and the trident accompanied by a small circle, also presumably of the Casa Pirota. And again, from the same rich collection we have two plates, one ' Gazette des Beaux Arts, T. ix. 3' periode. La Ceramique Italicnne. " Gazette des Beaux Arts. T. xxiv. 2*' periode. La Ceramique Itaiienne. Coll. Spitzer. 126 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES representing a triumph, with monsters and masks on the border, and marked behind J Chafagglolo with the trident beneath. On the other, grotesques on blue ground and signed beneath /;/ Chafaggiiolo, with the well-known combined S and P mark of that fabrique above, and the trident below. Again, we have among the excellent illustrations which are so important a feature of Professor Argnani's work ^ on tav. viii. fig. ii. and iii, the design of a ' Scodellotto' with tin glaze, and bearing the mark of a P, ascribed by him to the second half of the fifteenth century, and found at the Palazzo Sforza in Cotignola ; and on tav. xvi the representation of another fragment signed with an ill-formed P, and in possession of that author, its place of discovery not recorded, but presumably of Faentine origin ; also on the same tavola two fragments of similar style in decoration, around the Medici steuitna, on each of which is the mark composed of the barred ^, its upper member turning into an S above ; both these latter having been found in the Castello at Caffaggiolo. The mark of a large P alone occurs on the plateau No. 8928. '63 in the South Kensington Museum, on which Pope Leo X is portra^^ed in procession, and which can hardly be of other than the Medici pottery. The P with a paraph occurs on a plate in the Pesaro Museum (Molinier), and on one referred to in the South Kensington Museum Catalogue at p. 98. Its occurrence on pieces with or without the written name of the fabrique Caffaggiolo, and combined with the paraph and the S-formed top is well known. The above facts would seem to imply a connexion between the artists working at Faenza and, perhaps subsequently, at Caffaggiolo, and it has occurred to the writer that, at an early stage of the latter establishment, an artist, or the artists of a bofega, who had used the P simple, or with the paraph, may have been brought from Faenza to the Medici fabrique, where they again adopted the P as a mark on their works, which thus became the master mark of the botega, modified from time to time under circumstances and for reasons to us unknown. The trident is less conspicuous, occurring on but few pieces, and we can hardly agree with M. Molinier in thinking that it may have been the earliest mark used at Caffaggiolo, its use at Faenza as late as 1531 being proved by the mark on the Casa Pirota plate above referred to as formerly in the Fountaine Collection. That the importance as to amount of produce at the Caffaggiolo pottery has been overestimated by some writers, there can be but little doubt, and that many pieces have been ascribed to its furnaces which really were ' Federigo Argnani, Le Ceramiche e Maioliche Faentine, 410, Faenza, 1889, CAFFAGGIOLO 127 the produce of those at Facnza or Forli, is equally probable. It was this tendency, on the first recognition of its wares, that led the late M. Jacquemart to overestimate its ceramic importance, and brought down upon him the too severe comments of Professor Argnani in his valuable work ^ The late M. Darcel was less impulsive and more cautious ; and although occasionally differing from those high authorities, the present writer now feels satisfied that much which he supposed of Tuscan origin was really the produce of Faenza and other neighbouring potteries. But it has remained for a comparatively recent Italian writer to exaggerate the importance of the Caffaggiolo botcga, as against those of Faenza, in a degree that would have surprised those older authors. Sig. Genolini - presumes that as Cosimo de' Medici built that castello early in the fourteenth century, it must have been a source whence the .streams of ceramic art flowed to the Marches, to Umbria, and to Central Italy. The works at Faenza must therefore have been but an offspring from the Tuscan pottery, instead of, as we of the older school believe, probably the earliest, most abundant and excellent in point of art, of any of the centres of ceramic pro- duction in Italy, and that Caffaggiolo in great measure emanated therefrom. In truth the more we study examples left to us, the less we are inclined to dogmatize as to their precise origin ; to quote from a paper in the Gazette des Beaux Arts by the late M. A. Darcel ', whose knowledge and discrimination is well known to all real connoisseurs, ' Mais a mesure que Ton etudie de plus pres la ceramique italiennc, on devient plus prudent et Ton a I'attribution moins facile que jadis.' The imaginary discovery made by Dr. Carlo Malagola ' that these pieces were the produce of a Faentinc botcga, the Ca-P'aggioli, and as strongly supported by Professor Argnani, was a mere house of cards, which has fallen beneath the criticisms and evidence brought forward by MM. A. Darcel, Piot, Dr. Umberto Rossi, Emile Molinier, and the present writer; and it is to be regretted that their painstaking and otherwise valuable contribu- tions to the ceramic history of Italy should have been so far marred by that too frequent but ill conceived patriotism, the ' carila del nativo loco! The leading characteristics of the Caffagiolo wares are a glaze of rich and even quality, and purely white ; the use of a very dark cobalt blue of great intensity, but brilliant as that of lapis lazuli, frequently in masses as a grounding to the subject, and it would seem laid on purposely with a coarse brush, the strokes of which are very apparent. A bright ' Op. cit. p. 125. pcriodc, p. 971. Angelo Genolini, Maioliclic Itaiianc. ' Dott. Carlo Malagola, Mcmoric Storiche 4to, Milano, i88r, p. 50. snilc Maioliclic di Faenza 8vo. Bologna, ^ Gazette des Beau.x Arts, T. xviii. 2" 1880. 128 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES yellow, an orange of brilliant but opaque quality, a peculiarly liquid and semi- transparent copper green is also found, and another characteristic pigment is an opaque bright Indian red; a brown and a purple are also used. The use of the metallic lustre seems to have been tried at Caffaggiolo, or elsewhere, applied to some of the pieces, but from the extreme rarity of examples bearing the mark of, or fairly ascribable to, that establishment, we may perhaps infer that only a few experimental pieces were made, and that this method of enrichment was but little used. No. 7154 in the South Kensington Museum is an important example, having the mark. M. Darcel refers to others so ascribed. As might be expected, the arms, emblems, and mottoes of the Medici family frequently occur, and occasionally the letters S. P. Q. F. are introduced on labels for ' Senatiis populusque Florentiniis! M. ' Jacquemart believed that some of the early groups, &c., in rilievo and in the round, and early plaques bearing the sacred emblem, the majority of which are generally ascribed to Faenza, may be of this botega. The British and the South Kensington Museums are rich in fine specimens of this ware of various date and great variety, some of which are among the most beautiful examples of the potter's art. It is remarkable that we have no recorded names of the artists who painted these beautiful pieces, and it is only at the latter end of the sixteenth century that we find mention of Giacomo and Loys Ridolfi of Caffaggiolo, who emigrated, with other potters, from the then less encouraged manufactories of Italy, to try their fortune in France, M. Jacquemart, quoting from B. Fillon, tells us that these potters or painters founded a fa'iencerie in 1590 at Marchecoul, in Bretagne. We will now shortly notice some of the more important pieces of those wares in public and other collections. Two large and finely painted early dishes were presented by Mr. Franks to the British Museum ; they were probably made early in the sixteenth cen- tury: on one is a group of saints, Benedict, Scholastica, Mauro, and two others, after an engraving by Benedetto Montana, on red ground with a border of leafage moulding and peacock's feather ornament, which curiously connects it with those pieces which we formerly assigned to some Tuscan furnace, possibly Caffaggiolo. (See ante, p. 121.) On the other is the subject of the Judgement of Solomon. The colours on these pieces are very rich, with much of the characteristic red pigment ; the drawing, bold and firm, has an archaic tendency which points to an early period. The earliest dated piece having a mark and with reason believed to be of this fabrique, is a plate in the style of Faenza, with border of PLATE IX juc; vvrni arms of the alessandro degli alessandri family. .V(V Cciittiry CAFFAGGIOLO CAFFAGCrOLO 129 grotesques and central shield of arms, in the painting of which the characteristic red pigment is used, and on which is the date 1507, with the mark, that curious combination of letters P, L, and O, shown in facsimile in the appendix. It belonged to Baron Gustave de Rothschild, of Paris. Another is dated 1509. The letters S. P. O. F. occur among the ornaments. M. Jacquemart considered as of the first period, those pieces having letters allusive to the Florentine republic, the Medici arms and emblems. The motto of Giuliano de' Medici ' Glovis ' also occurs, which the late Mrs. Bury Palliser deciphered as ' Si Volg,' — ' it (fortune) turns,' when read backwards Of the early period are those pieces in the South Kensington Museum bearing the shield of the Medici, and the curious representation of the procession of Pope Leo X of that family. A fine plate, painted perhaps by the same hand, having for subject the Flagellation, after Diirer (?), with rich border of grotesques, S:c., passed into the collection of M. Basilewski from that of Monsignore Cajani ; it has a mark on the reverse. (See Mark No. 20.) Some of the most characteristic pieces of the fabrique bear a mark composed of the letters P and S, with a paraph ; such is the mark upon one of the lustred pieces in the South Kensington Museum ; and it also occurs on a flask in the British Museum, from Mr. Henderson's Collection. One also having this mark, and bearing the arms of the Medici, is noticed by M. Jacquemart, but is unknown to the writer. We can hardly agree with M. E. Molinier in reading this monogram as ' Semper,' seeing that it would appein- to have developed from the P sim|)le or P with a paraph, tiie mark |)rcsuiiKibly brought from Faenza to Caf- faggiolo ; and we also find upon others these letters, occurring separately or combined with others, as A and F. Of painted pieces, a fine dish, once in the Basilewski, now in the G. de Rothschild - Collection at Paris, with a subject of prisoners round the throne of a conqueror, has the word ' GON ICLA ' on a boat, on which also is a cupid holding a dolphin ; the border of the piece is decorated with genii, among arabesques, on a blue ground. In the former collection is a fine example which is figured on pi. 30 of M. Delange's Recueil. It represents Diana visiting the sleeping End3 niion, apparently after a design by Sandro Botticelli ' ' Giuliano, liaving been appointed Gon- inijircsc niilitari cd amorose, Lyons, 1574, to falonicr to tiic Church, wished by this motto whicii work tiic late M. Darccl iiad been to show that fortune, wiiich previously had recently referred by his friend M. E. frowned upon him, had now turned in his Bonnaflc for an explanation of the motto, favour.' (Note, Marryat, p. 82.) Mr. Marryat (Gazette des Beaux Arts, T. ix. 3<' pcriode, or Mrs. Bury Palliser may have derived pp. 119, 120, note.) this translation from the Dialogo dcll' ^ Mely. \). 125. 130 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES and engraving by.Robetta ; the border is covered with a crowd of genii on a dark blue ground, and it bears the usual mark. One in the Alphonse Rothschild Collection in Paris has, in addition to the mark, a trident, and the name In CJiafaggiiiob, fantastic birds and a border of genii, grotesques, &c., covering the piece, which is figured in Delange's Recueil, pi. 25. A small plate, formerly in the Narford Collection, is marked with a trident and the letter O. On another in the Alphonse Rothschild collection is the same mark and name of fabrique, but spelt with a G instead of C. A beautiful little plate, admirably painted with grotesques, a candelieri, on blue ground, belonged to Count Nieuwekerke ; it is well represented by a woodcut in Jacquemart's Merveilles de la Ceramique, pt. 2, p. 127. In the Castellani Collection was a plate (diam. 45 c.) having the Cap- poni (?) arms, and, in an arabesque border, open books, two of which are inscribed ' Semper vivat ' ; coarse work ; mark, the PS with two cross-bars above ' hi ChaffagiuoUo! M. C. Gerente had an unusual example, with central medallion of the Emperor Nero, surrounded by interlaced ornament in blue on a white ground. On the reverse is a ribbon inscribed CAFAGIOLI, between the twice repeated usual mark. The letters S. P. Q. R. and S. P. Q. F. occur on cartouches among the ornamental interlacings, together with the arms and tiara of Leo X, and the motto ' Sempe Glovi ' (Delange pi. 26). It is now in the Hotel Cluny. A fine bowl in the British Museum, decorated on blue ground with cupids, &c., medallions containing the devices of the Medici family, and their shield of arms with other ornaments, is an interesting specimen. A large carelessly painted dish, in the same collection, subject Abel's sacrifice, has the word ' GLOVI S ' and the letters S. P. Q. R. on the altar, and on the reverse the name, curiously spelt, In Chafaggilolo, between the ordinary mark twice repeated. The name seems to have been spelt in various ways, as ' Caffagiulo,' ' Cafagiol,' ' Caffaggiolo,' ' Chaffaggiolo,' ' Chafaggilolo,' &c. A fine plate, which belonged to Baron Lionel de Rothschild, by the same hand as No. 2990 in the South Kensington Museum, at the back of which two crossed quivers, a bow and arrows are represented. The letters AD in a circle are on one formerly belonging to Mr. Addington, with border of cupids on blue ground and shield of arms in the centre. In Mr. Salting's very rich collection is a plate, one of several acquisitions from the Spitzer Collection recently sold at Paris. On it Judith is repre- PLATE .X. IHE CREATION OF EVK. BY FERD. MARIA CAMPANI Circa 1710 CAFFACGIOLO sented on horseback, attended by her servant who carries the severed head of St. John ; on the back are scrolls. The usual monogram above 'Jap" in Cliafn^i^uolo' and the trident beneath. Tliis would seem to be the signature of one Jacopo, as pointed out by M. Piot in the Gazette des Beaux Arts, T. xxiv, 2" periode, p. 389, if not intended for the word fafo badly writ. The letter P, crossed by a paraph, also occurs. A plate in the Delsette Collection, No. 85, with the Fontana arms was so marked. The combination of P and A, which occurs on an early piece in the South Kensington Museum, would seem also to have been a mark in use at a later time, as it occurs on some pieces in the Louvre (Nos. 150, 151), ascribed by M. Darcel to this pottery. The letter S alone occurs on a jug in the Fortnum Collection (see i:)late ix), and on a dish, subject Coriolanus, with border of trophies, and dated 1546, and some other pieces. (Chaffers.) The letter G, as also M, is found on pieces in the Louvre (Nos. G 143, 144, 153), which were ascribed by M. Darcel to Caffaggi(jlo. We do not know these specimens. M. Jacquemart, differing from M. Darcel, considers one in the Louvre (No. G 518), marked with a rude P, to be of Caffaggiolo lustred ware; but we agree with M. Darcel in ascribing it to Gubbio, perhaps to M. Prestino. On a plate in the Fortnum Collection, from the Montferrand, representing the story of Mutius Scaevola, and a border of dogs hunting wild animals in a woody landscape, are the marks of the fabrique, the letters A. f , and the place ' /// Cinlcano 1547,' a small 'castelK)' a few miles distant from Caf- faggiolo. (See plate X.) Another plate by tiie same hand ' in Chaffaggiolo,' is in the South Kensington Museum (No. 6656, '60), and another is in the possession of M. Dutuit. M. Delange, in his Appendix to Passcri records a piece dated 'in Chafaggiolo fata Adj 21 di Juiiio, 1570,' the latest dated example that wc have seen noted. The plate in the South Kensington Museum on which the statue of St. George by Donatello is represented (No. 1726) is of great interest, as is that (No. 1717) on which a ceramic painter is shown at his work in presence of a gentleman and lady, probably personages of high standing whose portrait he may be taking. It is to be regretted that he refrained from recording their or his own names, and was content with affixing only the monogram of the fabrique at the back of tiie piece. ' Ilistoirc dcs Pcinturcs sur Majoliquesfaites^ Pesaro ; traduite par II. Dclangc. Paris, 1853- K 2 132 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES The beautiful plate with central subject of Vulcan forging arrows, and elegant border of grotesques, masks, cupids, &c.. No. 2990 in the same Museum, is probably by the same hand as the two last referred to, and is a fine example. The large jug having the Medici arms on the front and other devices of that family (No. 1715), is remarkable for its excellence of glaze and colour, as well as for its historical associations. Of a later period are the two vases Nos. 321 and 322, which, if not made at Cafifaggiolo or other hotcga under the patronage of the Medici, may have been the work of Nicolo Sesti at Florence or at Pisa. We may here refer to the tiled floor in a small room of the Pitti Palace at Florence, which is entirely decorated in fresco by Pietro da Cortona; in the centre of the pavement is the subject of the triumph of Bacchus : one of the tiles is signed ' Benedetto Bocchi fecit! This may probably be of Florentine production about 1640. That the fabrique of Caffaggiolo was known in the first half of the last century is proved by an interesting extract from the Descrizione della provincia del Mugello, "by Dr. Giuseppe Maria Brocchi (Firenze, 1748), published by II Cav" Umberto Rossi in the Arte e Storia (Firenze, 31 Maggio 1890) in his review of the work by Professor Argnani. ' Da un antico piatto di maiolica molto bello, di due bracchia e mezzo di giro fabbricato nel 1544, il quale era gia alia pieve di Faltona ed ora conservato appresso di me, in cui si vedono con molte fiorami e rabeschi dipinte le armi delle nobilissime famiglie fiorentine Rinuccini e Pazzi, si viene in cognizione che in detto luogo di Cafaggiolo vi fosse anticamente I'arte di lavorare simili terre, essendovi scritte nel medesimo piatto le sequenti parole, alquanto pero scorrettamente, come si vede : fato adi primo di fraio nel 1544 ; i gafagiuollo. Inoltre sotto le medesime parole vi e la presente cifra {il solito monogramm) la quale pur si vede raddoppiata dietro al medesimo piatto, supponendosi che possa in essa esprimersi il nome dell' artifice da cui fu parimente scritto ancor per di dietro, con lettere molto maggiori fato in Gafagiollo. Da questo modo di scrivere Gafagiuollo e Gafagiolo colla lettera G invece della C e dal raddoppiamento della lettera / sembra che I'artefice fosse forestiero, non pronunciando il nome di Cafag- giuolo come si usa qui : ed e molto probabile che fosse fato venire di fuori da alcuno della famiglia de' Medici per introdurre in quella loro villa di Cafaggiuolo I'arte di fabbricare le maioliche.' Towards the end of the fifteenth century artificers came from Faenza and were established in Tuscany, and about that time the Caffaggiolo fabrique probably began to work. To Faenza, therefore, the merit is due of giving a new impulse to the making of maiolica in Tuscany, and by reason of this fact the wares assigned to Cafaggiolo and Florence, and those of Faenza, SIENA 133 have such close affinity. Nevertheless they have certain distinct character- istics, differing in the mode of treating the ornamentation and the colour. The Faentine wares have their special manner, the Tuscan have their own (Um" Rossi). Two fabriques were established probably succursal to Caffaggiolo, one at Gagliano as proved by the signed plate in the Fortnum Collection ; another at Monte, a place still inhabited, l3'ing half way between Gagliano and Caffaggiolo. To this probably belongs the Clun}- plate falo in Monte with tridents round the inscription ; it is of the second half of the sixteenth century, a coarse imitation of the Urbino manner. The last record of Caffaggiolo is the plate referred to by Delange, and said by to him be dated 1570. Francesco de' Medici occupied himself in the production of the new porcelain by artizans brought from Faenza. After his death Nicolo Sesti, one of those artists, obtained from the Grand Duke P'erdinando I permission to continue the production of maiolica and of porcelain in Florence and at Pisa. By him probably are the large vases and two pilgrims' bottles in the South Kensington Museum, by us attributed to Tuscany and probably Caffaggiolo, as also the vase belonging to Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, on which is inscribed the name of its local production ' Pisa.* SIENA. The first record we have of the ceramic arts at Siena occurs in a notice which we referred to in 1872 in the South Kensington Museum Catalogue, at p. 128. ' Passeri, at chapter x. p. 37 quotes a notarial deed, dated 6th July, 1462, by the notary' Sepolcro Sc|)()Icri, b}' which a partner- ship was formed between X^Mitura di Mastro, Simone da Siena di Casa Piccolomini, and Mattco de Raniere da Cagli, for the purpose of enlarging business premises, and developing a pottery at Pe.saro. Passeri suggests that this may have been the means of introducing the use of the tin enamel, which he believed to have come from Tuscany.' This deed, as also the following, are referred to by Sig. Toti, in a com- munication to a periodical Gli Studi in Italia, Roma, July and August 1881; by Molinier in 1883; and by Urbani de Gheltof in 1889. It does not however tell us that Mastro Siinonc was a ' vasaio,' but such is pre- sumable from the deed. In 1528 the statiito of the crafts of the 'vasai' and the 'orcio/ni" of Siena was destroyed, and a commission was formed, of which Luca di ' Istoria dcllc rittuic in Maiolica, fattc in Pcsaro, cel. 1857, p. 33. 134 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES Bernardino, Marcantonio di Giovanni, Andrea da Faenza, Francesco di Luca, and Filippo di Paolo, were members, to compile a new statute which was approved in 1529. In the Gazzetta del Popolo Firenze, 24 Sett. 1874, No. 267, is the description of a broken boccale, which belonged to the Duca di Verdura and was found beneath the largest old tower, the prison, at the Castello di Sta Flora of the Aldobrandeschi, near Monte Anicata, in the neighbour- hood of Siena. This Castello was built about tlie year 830 a. d., and became a palace in the sixteenth century. In the prison tower of that palace Ghinozzo di Sassoforte died of hunger. The jug is, seemingly, a work of the fifteenth century, and appears to be covered with a stanniferous glaze, the handle is lost, an unglazed shield in relief beneath the spout bears a lion rampant, at the sides are flowers in relief and glazed. This interesting early piece is possibly the product of a Sienese pottery. In agreement with these records are the dates found upon tiles, forming a pavement to the chapel of Sta Caterina, figured in the folio work^ by Sig. A. Busari and A. Toti, and fully described by M. Emile Molinier^. This pavement, which was originally an offering given by the Borghesi at the end of the fifteenth century, may probably not have been commenced till the period of the first dated tile 1504, and possibly not completed till the second date 1509. Renovations seem subsequently to have been necessary, and tiles, evidently copied from the earlier originals, are dated 155 . . (the last figure illegible). About 1533 it was repaired, and there is record that M. Domenico di Giovanni was paid 10 soldi, 9 den. 5 ^ per sua fadicha di avere acconcio lastnco.' Again in 1600 a more important renovation took place ' Li operai desiderosi die aiico qiicsto si conducesse a perfettione allogarono tal lavoro a M". Girolamo di Marco vasaio in Pantaneto (a quartiere of Siena) quale fahrico in tutto pezzi n" ire mila sessantuno, e monto tutto il lavoro e il far lo spazzo lire mille dugento cinqtianta' ; and again on others of coarser workmanship is the date 1651. M. Molinier describes this pavement as being painted in blue, green, and yellow on an ochre ground, figures of genii riding monsters, centaurs with dolphin tails, &c., and that it was specially made for this chapel, as the occurrence of the letters S. C. (Sta Caterina) with the often found S. P. Q. R. on one of the tiles, would seem to prove. Some quite modern restoration occurs, the tiles of which M. Molinier thinks may have been made at Doccia; we would rather suppose that they may have been the work of the druggist Pepi, whose clever reproductions we recollect seeing some thirty or more years since at Siena. ' A. Busari A. Toti, La Casa di Santa Caterina in Siena. Folio, Siena, 1880. ^ Emile Molinier. Les Maioliques Italiennes en Italie. 8vo, Paris, 1883. SIENA 135 In tone of colouring and in character of design the tiles of the Petrucci palace pavement, some of which are in the Louvre ' and some in the South Kensington Museum'-^, and which bear the date 1509, agree with those of Sta Caterina, but the border, instead of being on an ochre, is on a black ground, which we again find on a fine dish in the British Museum also bearing the Petrucci Stcmma. A considerable number of pieces, seemingly the work of one able hand, have been variously assigned to the furnaces of Faenza, of Pesaro, and of Caffaggiolo; to the first from a general similarity in the character of their design, but on a more distinct knowledge of the former existence, and of the works produced at the fabriquc of Caffaggiolo, their manifest affinity led to an assumption of the same origin. On the other hand, the initials I. P., occurring in large characters on the reverse of some of the pieces, were presumed to be those of the words In Pesaro, and led to their being mistaken for others reall}' painted at the Lanfranco works at Pesaro, and signed with the same initials, but in a smaller form, and standing for 'jiaconio pinsur' the name of the artist. These last, then unknown to collectors, were cited b^^ Passeri, who was supposed to refer to the? far more beautiful works now under Cf)nsideration. One of these, a plate (No. 11. 67 in the South Kensington Museum, from the Marryat Collection), is a choice example of ceramic art and shows to what a high degree of artistic and of technical excellence, with com- paratively speaking coarse materials and appliances, the Italian potters of the latter end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries arrived. It was the culminating period of renascent art in Italy, and the influence of the great painters and sculptf)rs of the time was pulsating through every branch of ornamental handiwork. Full of the richest colour, yet harmoniously toned and mellowed, the effect of the whole piece is very pleasing, while the largeness of treatment and at the same time the accuracy of the ornamental details are trul^' admirable. We have in fact all the qualities found in the illuminated miniatures of the period, as far as the limited number of pigments applicable to enamel painting on earthenware would permit. In tiie centre is a figure of St. James the Great; the saint is clad in a loose tunic of ]-)urple colour, etigcd with yellow ; a mantle of white, shaded with blue, falls over his left shoulder, and is gathered in folds round the lower part of his body by the left hand ; with the right he grasps a clasped volume coloured j-ellow. Sandals are on his feet, and his long hair, falling in ringlets over the back, and like the beard coloured orange, is surmounted b}- the nimbus of bright ' Darcel, Notice, p. 103. No. G in ct scq. - Nos 4915 to 5386-"57. 136 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES yellow. He is walking in a landscape, with a rude stone-built and thatched erection on his left; tall spare trees, very characteristic of the artist, shrubs, &c., are delicately sketched in blue heightened with yellow. The border is enriched with grotesques, among which pyramidal foliated masks are conspicuous, cleverly rendered and relieved upon the rich orange ground. On the reverse are the large capital letters I. P. This plate would appear to have been one of a service probably made for some church dignitary, as all that are known have subjects of religious character. The Bernal Collection contained two : that with the figure of St. Bartho- lomew is in the British Museum ; the other, the subject of which is the Magdalen praying, was in the possession of the late Mr. Bale, and is now in that of Mr. Salting. Two others were in the Marryat Collection, of which the piece under consideration is one \ the other represented Santa Lucia. Although not so carefully executed, the religious subjects on the pieces Nos. 1785 and 7537, in the South Kensington Museum and the similarity in the colour and ornamentation of the borders, might suggest their having formed part of the same service. The initials I. P., which at the suggestion of Passeri were generally misinterpreted as ' in Pesaro,' in the case of these plates have no allusion whatever to that fabrique ; in fact, it is highly probable that Passeri never saw one of this service ; but, in ascribing pieces having those same initials to the Pesaro artists, he was perfectly correct, as is proved by a plate in the Bologna Museum, inscribed at the back with a description of the subject, and as having been made at the Lanfranco fabrique of Pesaro by * Jacomo Pinsiir! The initials of this Jacotno Pittore , at once supply the letters, seen doubtless upon some other piece and quoted by Passeri, whose statement has been misapplied by subsequent critics to the initialled pieces under consideration {vide Pesaro). These larger initials are not, we believe, those of the painter of these plates, as we find, on one of his finest in the British Museum (Henderson bequest), the letters F. O. I. equally distinct ; we believe rather that they were those of the owners. Its subject is that of Mutius Scaevola before Porsenna. (See Mark No. 45.) A comparison of these examples with the drug pot, dated 1501 (No. 1569), and the pavement tiles (Nos. 4915-5386), as also with the small a porcelan plate, No. 4487, South Kensington Museum, and all with each other, leads to the belief that one Maestro Benedetto of Siena was the producer of all these pieces, and, as in the case of Maestro Jeronamo, of Forli, was the head of an establishment at which works of high artistic excellence were painted. ' See coloured plate. South Kensington Museum Catalogue, p. 132. SIENA 137 The acquisition of that plate, No. 4487, the painting of which in blue camaicu is assuredly in the manner of the finer examples above referred to, and which is signed on the reverse ' fafa i Siena da in' bencdetto,' affords us conclusive evidence of the origin of the various pieces in question. It has for central subject an old man seated contemplating a skull held in his right hand, surrounded by interlacing in white and blue ' tirata ' and with scroll-work border, all in blue a porcclan. This highly artistic piece is very interesting as proving the existence at Siena of a ' boicga' at which at least one artist of great excellence must have worked ; that this artist was M". Benedetto, the head of the pottery, is also very probable, and if so, the painting of this piece was by his hand. The drawing of the central figure, which probably represents one of the Hermits of the Desert, is masterly, and finished with the greatest care; it is executed in a blue of rather low tone, and heightened with touches of white laid on with great nicety; the trunk of a tree is behind him, and beyond is a desert landscape, with one small tree delicately outlined in the manner of the artist who signs I. P. In the Catalogue of the South Kensington Museum the connexion of these several examples is minutely traced in their separate description, that and the British Museum possessing th(; more important specimens that we know of this master's work ; we need only therefore generally observe, that they are worthy of being ranked among the most excellent productions of the potter's skill in Italy during the earlier years of the sixteenth century, and that, in respect of their technical characteristics and the tone and manner of their colouring and design, they are nearly allied to the pro- ductions of the Caffaggiolo furnaces, perhaps based upon a F'aientine origin. We are glad to find that M. E. Molinier agrees with us in this opinion. We are indebted to Dr. Lessing for notice of a plate in the Berlin Museum (K. 1751), the centre occupied by Cupid and a boy, the border with grotesques ; reverse, scale pattern in colours and a mark nearly similar to that on Fabriano pieces. By him it is ascribed to Siena. We lose sight of the Sienese pottery for two centuries, when it again appears under the then best ceramic painter in Italy, Fcrdinando Maria Campani, who is saitl, but we do not know on what exact authority, to have worked also at Castelli and at San Quirico. A piece signed by him is in the South Kensington Collection, and we give the facsimile of his signature upon another in the British Museum (see marks). His subjects, as in that instance, were frequently taken from the ' Bible Series ' of Raffaelle, as rendered b}' Marc Antonio's engravings, and from the works of the Carncci. Bar. Tcrchi, Romano, also worked at Siena, and a piece in the Chamber of Arts at Berlin is said to be signed ' Tcrenzio Romano Siena, 1727.' We 138 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES suspect that this inscription may have been wrongly read, as has been the case with that on a plaque in the South Kensington Museum, which is ascribed to the fabrique of San Quirico, and is clearly signed ' Bar. Terchi Romano.' Sig. Urbani de Gheltof, perhaps not knowing the above described examples and influenced by the fact that the late M. Darcel had, in 1864, classed such pieces among those of Caffaggiolo, is doubtful of the existence of an early fabrique at Siena; M. Darcel's opinion had since been modified. Sig. Urbani states that from 1775 to 1778 Biagio Bertolini and Giovanni Battista Vannini had a manufactory of maiolica at the furnaces of La Santis- sima ; the business did not succeed, and was ceded to the Ceccarelli family. We have already referred to the reproductions of Bernardino Pepi, who commenced in 1847, and who also made enamelled reliefs in the manner of the Delia Robbia. His partners Egisto Paladini and G. Mazzuoli made maiolica after the old manner. PISA. There can be little doubt that potteries existed in the neighbourhood of this important commercial city, and it is more than probable that the painted and incised bacini, which ornament her church towers and facades, are mostly of local manufacture in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries. On this subject we must refer the reader to the Introductory chapter, and to the remarks on Persian and Hispano-Moresque wares. Among the latter, references will be found to two writers who stated that a commerce existed between Valencia and Pisa, from whence faience was imported into Spain in exchange for the wares of that country. It does not, however, follow that this faience was entirely of Pisan production, although exported thence. Antonio Beuter \ praising the wares of Spain, says that they are equal in beauty to those of Pisa and other places. This was about 1550. Early in the next century Escolano says, speaking of the wares of Manises, ' that in exchange for the faiences that Italy sends us from Pisa, we export to that country cargoes of that of Manises 2.' In the Collection of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, of Paris, was a large and well-formed vase, with serpent handles, under which the name PISA is inscribed on tablets. It is much in the manner of the later Urbino wares, having grotesques on a white ground. We now know that, after the death of Francesco de' Medici, Nicolb Sesti obtained permission ' Beuter, Aiit., Cronica, cap. viii. pp. 84, 85. ' Escolano, Historia, &c. de Valencia. Folio, Valencia, 1610. PISA, ASCI A NO. MONTE LUPO 139 from his successor, Ferdinand I, to continue the production of maiohca and of porcelain in Florence and at Pisa. To his fabrique therefore this vase may reasonably be ascribed, as also those in the South Kensington Collection on which are the arms of the grand Duke Ferdinand. Signor Genolini ' makes the extraordinary mistake of assigning to Pisa of the '/r/wm r/ofrt ' the well-known twelve roundels of the months which are believed to be by Luca della Robbia, and which have been in the South Kensington Museum for some quarter of a century ; they were acquired for that museum by Sir J. C. Robinson from the Campana Collection. He doubles his error by stating that they are in the Louvre. ASCIANO. Quoting from Brongniart - who refers to a passage in the life of Luca della Robbia, in which it is stated that he found at that place a pottery with good furnaces, whicii enabled him to com|)letc on the spot a large altar-piece which he was making for the ciiurch of tiic Miiiori Conventual i, M. Jacquemart thought it probable that such a pottery must have left some examples of its produce ; but it by no means follows that they were other than ordinary tcrraglia. We have note of a vase of white body with moulded service and green snaky twisted handles, on which are the initials ' F. P. Asciani xii. Maj 1600,' also of a plate which was in the Passalaqua Collection, decorated with blue and yellow leafage and with a central shield of arms; on the reverse was inscribed in capital letters ' F. F". D. Fortunatus, Philligellus, p. Asciani 1578 dies 30 Augusti.' MONTE LUPO. This small town, at the opening of the \'al tl'Arno inferiore, and on the road from Florence to ICmpoli, has long been known as a producer of glazed wares, for the most part of inferior artistic merit. The few pieces signed by their painters are indeed remarkable for their ugliness and rude execution. To Monte Lupo, however, a ware of superior character has been assigned, but we know not on what authority. It is highly glazed, of treacle brown or black colour, and ornamented by subjects painted in oil colours, with gilding enrichments; many of the pieces being of very elegant form. Signor Giuseppe Raffaelli, however, informs us that such wares were l)roduced at Castel l)urante. Certain pieces, marbled on tiie surface in imitation of tortoise-shell or agate, were supposed to be of Monte Lupo ; but Piccolpasso tells us that such also were produced at Castel Durante. ' Angclo Genolini, Maioiiciie Italianc. 410. Milan, 1881, p. 11 \. TraitO dcs Arts Ccramiqucs. Paris, 1877. CHAPTER 1 I DUCHY OF URBINO PESARO 'HE epitome of Passeri's history of the pottery of Pesaro, which we 1 compiled in 1872, needs Httle alteration in itself ; and indeed, although the opinion of some writers is strongly adverse to many of his statements, the value of his work is so considerable that we make no apology for its reproduction, but with additional notes. There can be no doubt that one or more manufactories of glazed earthenware existed at Pesaro, or in its immediate outskirts, from a very early period, and that it probably succeeded to works established there in Roman times, the remains of which have occasionally been brought to light ; but with the exception of the recorded names of certain potters, occurring in deeds and records preserved among the public archives of the city and elsewhere, we are uninformed and unable to recognize the produce of these earlier potteries, or to know their characteristics. Anterior to 1540 we have no signed and dated example, and should therefore be reduced to the position of entire ignorance as to their previous productions but for the work of the indefatigable archaeologist Giambattista Passeri. Born at Farnese in the Campagna di Roma in 1694, where his father, of a patrician family of Pesaro, practised as a physician, and educated at Rome, he subsequently settled in his parental city, and published his Istoria delle pitture in Majolica fatte in Pesaro e in luoghi circonvicini, in 1758. To him we are indebted for the notice of the potters above alluded to, and in his work he gives us an account of the mode pursued in the manufacture ; much of which, however, he appears to have derived from the earlier MSS. of Piccolpasso. He tells us that the large early bacili enriched with a iuadrcperla lustre, which he exactly describes in his seventh chapter, p. 25, were the PES ARC) 141 produce of Pesaro ; and in corroboration he states that many of them are painted with the coats of arms and portraits of the members of noble Pesarese families, instancing one with the arms of the 'Bergnana' family then preserved in the Casa Olivieri. It has been objected to Passeri's statement, that he was probably influenced in his writing by that local partiality wrongly deemed patriotic', in favour of the native city of his family, and that he ascribed to her furnaces what may in equal likelihood have been produced at Diruta or Gubbio. Notwithstanding this tendency to exaggerate in favour of his beloved Pesaro, his erroneous statements, repeating in many instances those of others, as in the attribution of the discovery of the stanniferous enamel to Luca della Robbia, derived from V'asari, Passeri's errors and exaggerations were no worse than those made by other writers of more recent time and better opportunity for corrective information ; we cannot but feel that Passeri's work was one that opened the road to that field of inquiry which has since occupied so many able investigators. We should indeed be sorry to endorse M. luiiile Molinier's too severe judgement on that work, nor that ' il faut surtout se garder de prendre au serieux un livre qui fait encore autorite, cet abominable manuel de Passed,' neither can we agree in his dictum 'or il est aujourd'hui demontre par tous ceux qui se sont occupes serieusement de la question que jamais a Pesaro on n'a fabrique de faiences a reflets metalliques - '. We were glad to find that, in one of his later communications to the Gazette des Beaux Arts, the late M. A. Darcel rather inclined to agree with us in an opposite conclusion which we had always maintained. But subsequently, at page 137 8 of vol. vii, third period of the same periodical, he writes ' cependant nous avions reconnu, en Otudiant les produits des ateliers de Faenza, que c'etait d'eux que devaient etre sorties toutes les pieces archaiques ; qu'elles fussent ou non revalues de ces jaunes a relicts mctallic|ues ', to the exclusion of Diruta and Pesaro, a conclusion hardl}' in accordance with documentary evidence or ascertained fact. Passeri wrote in the middle of the last century, when the art was no longer in existence, and its specimens were only preserved in the cabinets of the curious ; but he was a man of erudition and research, and may have had means of obtaining local information with which we are unacquainted ; we think therefore that, as his statements have not yet been met by ' Recent instances of the strong bias of this local patriotism are to be found in the worivs of Dr. Malagoia and Professor Argnani on the potteries of Kaenza, both of wliich are otherwise sucli valuable additions to the iiistory of the Italian wares. * La Ccraniique Italicnne au xv" siecle, p. vi. Paris, 1888. p. 46. ' Gaz. Beaux Arts, T.xviii. 2" pOriode, p. 978. 142 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES proofs of their total incorrectness, or by counter statements of greater weight, we are justified in accepting them until additional light be thrown upon the subject. He tells us that remains of antique furnaces, and ruins of a vase shop of classic times, with fragments of red and black wares, and lamps marked with the letter G, were found in the locality known as the ' Gabbice,' where the Lanfranchi works were afterwards established in the sixteenth century, and where the earth is of fine quality. Upon the latter subject he quotes from Piccolpasso, who states that the Pesaro potter's earth was even sent to Venice. He traces its use in the time of the Goths, and states that it again revived under the government of the Malatesta, and that soon after a mode of adorning the churches was adopted, by the insertion of discs or ' bacini ' of earthen- ware, at first simply glazed with the oxide of lead, but that coloured ones were subsequently used. He says that in his time the churches of St. Agostino, the Duomo, and S. Francesco were so ornamented,^ and he also refers to a tomb at Bologna opposite S. Domenico of about the year 1 100, as being decorated with glazed tiles. Referring to the town archives, relative to the trades of ' Figoli,' * Vasai,' and ' Boccolari,' he finds that on Feb. 12, 1396, one ' Pedrinus Johannis a Boccalibus ' of Forli is recorded as then living at Pesaro. The wares then produced were made by covering the crude baked clay with a slip or engohe of white earth, the ^ terra di San Giovanni' from Siena, or with that of Verona, and glazing it with ' marzacotto' a mixture of oxide of lead, sand, and potash. The colours used were yellow, green, manganese black, and cobalt blue, from zaffara of the Levant. During the government of the Sforza, the manufacture greatly developed and was protected, for on April i, i486, a decree was made prohibiting the introduction of earthenwares for sale from other parts, except the jars for oil and water (ch. 6). The original of this edict is still preserved at Pesaro; it is in Latin and may be thus rendered: 'Be it enacted, that whereas our illustrious Lady Camilla and most illustrious Signor Giovanni Sforza d'Arragona, Count of Pesaro are desirous to ^ See historical notice, page 9, and a paper by the writer published in the Archaeologia, vol. xlii, p. 379. ^ Giovanni Sforza was an illegitimate son of Costanzo Sforza, who had no issue by his wife Camilla. He succeeded to his father in 1483 through the intervention of Pope Sixtus IV, on condition of paying an annual tribute of 750 crowns to the papal see. His father's widow Camilla was generous enough to receive him as her own son, and used her influence with his subjects to induce them to acknowledge him as their sovereign. As soon as he attained maturity he repaid this lady's kindness by depriving her of all authority and banishing her from Pesaro. He married Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, and was soon after- PES ARC) benefit the city of Pesaro and to favour the citizens in all just demands: And whereas the art of vase makinj? was formerly practised in the said city and carried to greater perfection than in any other part of Italy, and still produces extensively at Pesaro, attracting the admiration of all Italy and other countries: By command of these most illustrious potentates, it is forbidden both to citizens and foreigners (be their station what it may) to import any earthen vessels whatsoever, whether for ornament or otherwise, manufactured be3'ond the city and territory of Pesaro, with the exception of oil and water jars ; and that a fine of ten livres of Bologna be imposed for ever}' infraction of tiiis law besides the forfeiture of all or any such foreign made ware,' &c. &:c. This was confirmed in 1508 In 1510 a document enumerates 'Maiolica' as one of the trades of Pesaro, naming also ' vasai,' and ' bocca/ari' ; and we must bear in mind that there is good reason for believing that at that period ' Maiolica ' was a name technically understood as appl3'ing only to the lustred wares. It is also noteworthy that in this edict no exception was made in favour of Valencia wares as was the case at Venice, where the production of the metallic lustre was not known. Passed states that about 1450 the vivd/ {a.i.i a or glazing had already begun to perfect itself under the Sforza, when those early pieces were wards driven from Pesaro by Caesar Borgia, his wife's brother. He returned after the dcatii of Ale.xandcr VI, and died at Pesaro in 1510, leaving (by liis second wife Ginevra Tiepolo) a son, Constanzo II, wlio died in 1512, at the age of tliree years. (Marryat, ed. 1868, p. 102.) In the late Mr. Kountaine's Collection at Narford Hall was a dish supposed to commemorate the passing of this edict ; on it arc portraits believed to be of the young Sfin'za and Camilla da Marzana, and above them is a scroll representing the edict. This piece, which had passed from the Narford info a foreign collection, was sold at Paris in May 1894, and actiuircd by Mr. Salting at the somewhat iiigh price (with commission) of /^490. The supposition as to who are the persons represented is quite without authority, but it is a fine example of early ustred ware, probably by an early master working at Gubbio, or previously at Pesaro. Doctor Carlo Malagola refers to four large plates, which are preserved in the Museum attached to the Biblioteca Classense at Ravenna, among other pieces of maiolica hitherto unknown to connoisseurs ; on one is the supposed portrait of Caterina Riario Sforza, with a verse from Petrarch on a banderole z'ifa, iiisiir.' (See Mark No. 69.) By the foregoing quotation fiom a deed, we have seen that this S:achomo' was the sun ol M". Girolamo. and succeeded him in the ITALIAN PAINTED J FARES possession of the house, &c. This signature also shows that the initials occasionally seen on pieces by Passeri were not intended to signify ' in Pesaro,' but the work of lachomo, painter. The following examples may also be ascribed to his brush. A plate in the Louvre (Sauvageot Collection, No. G. 232) with emblematic figures of music and astronomy, inscribed at the back — 'El pianete de Merciirio fato in Pesaro! There is no date on this piece, but from the subject it was probably of the same service as that mentioned by Passeri {see ante), as having the inscription '/. panette di niarte fatto in Pesaro 1542, in bottega di maestro Gironinio vasaro, I. P.' In the British Museum are two examples apparently by the same hand. One representing the fable of Circe and her companions, and inscribed — De pico e de Circae fato in pesaro (See Mark No. 74.) the other — como apollo tolse la vaca a argano fato in pesaro (See Mark No. 75.) A tazza, with the subject of Callisto beaten by Diana and her nymphs, is in the Basilewski Collection, and is illustrated in Delange's Recueil, pi. 79. It is inscribed ' Fatto in Pesaro 1544.' We have not seen this plate, but judging from the print, it would appear to be superior to the work of lacomo. M. Jacquemart (Merveilles de la Ceramique) mentions one with Samson and the Philistines, dated 1545. Another, painted with the triumphal march of the Emperor Aurelius, was in the Soltikofif Collection, and signed ' Fatto in Pesaro 1552.' Next in sequence is a plate which was in the possession of M. Dutuit at Rome, and formerly belonged to the Marquis D'Azeglio ; the subject Mutius Scaevola, the design of which is superior to the painting; it is inscribed— PESARO 153 1566 MVT. SCE. PlSAVRl. M. Jacqucmart mentions one, Camillus throwing hi.s sword into the balance, inscribed — ' vcc vicfis (/i pisauro ' but without date ; and another, undated, is mentioned by Delange in his supplement to the translation of Fasseri, representing a con(|ueror dragging a captive queen behind his car — ' Fafo in Pt'saro.' It is, nevertheless, extremely difficult, without actual comparison, to distinguish between the isluriatc pieces of the Lanfranchi fabric|ue at Pesaro, and many of those produced at Urbino in the Fontana furnaces, and it is indeed more than probable that some of the artists not absolutely interested in the botcij^a were occasionally em|)loyed at either place Another corroboration of Passeri's statement, and of the importance of the Lanfranchi establishment, occurs in an anonymous document published by the Marquis Giuseppe Campori ^. It is preserved among the archives of Modena, and is dated Fesaro, Oct. 26, 1660. It relates how the Duke of Modena had been entertained at the house t)f the Signora Contessa Violante 'con tutta quclla (iotiivslicltczza," which he desired; how he was presented with six bacili filled with delicacies made b^* the nuns, sent to him by the daughters of the Countess, and which were kept in the dishes. That, some of his family wishing to buy maioliche painted by Raffaelle of Urbino, a great quantity of bacili and tazzoiii was brought to them, not by Rafiaelle, but painted by a certain ancient professor of that kind of painting denominated ' // Gabbiccio,' Ic fitnnio portatc qniii quantith di bacili c di tazzoni o fnitticir, iio/i i^ia di Naffacllo, ma dipinti da un talc antico profcssorc di tale pittura dcnoiuinato ' // Gabbiccio," who, as the Marquis Campori suggests, was probably that Girolamo di Lanfranchi the maestro of the establishment at the Gabice. It then goes on to relate that these dealers in antiquities, like some of their brethren of the ' Wc Icani from M. B. Filloii tliat an artist Faiciicicrs Italicns a Lyon an X\'l° Siccle, of I'csaro, one Giovanni Franirsco, settled in Lyon, 1895, viz. France. He and other Pesaro Totters arc Giovanni Francesco da Pesaro (1557- 1575), named in M. Natalis Rondot's LaCcramiqiic Cristoforo Pesaro (1561-1573), and Lyonnaisc, 8vo, Paris, 1889, in liis Poticrs Constantino Pesaro (1565-1573). de Tcrre Italicns a Lyon an scizicinc "' Notizic dclla Mainlira e dclla I'orcellana Siccle, 8vi>, Paris, 1892, and in his Les di Fcrrara. Mudcna, 1871. p. 142. 154 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES present day, asked too much money, to wit, a hundred doble for a rinfres- caiore, certainly well painted, but for which they offered twelve! And that they only succeeded in acquiring another rinfrcscafore and a large turtle, that would serve as a basin or a dish, painted with grotesques and figures on the bowl and the cover, for which they paid 22 doble. The Marquis Campori observes that the cover of this tartaniga was sold not long since in Modena to a foreign amateur; and once, when in Florence, the writer learnt that such a piece was then in the hands of Sig. Rusca of that city. He had himself seen at Rome the lower portion of a large turtle- or tortc>ise-shaped dish in the Palazzo Barberini, which might perchance belong to that cover or be the other half of a similar piece. A carapace of great beauty was sold in Paris at the Castellani sale in 1878, fetching 25,000 francs, but did not agree with the Barberini piece ; it may probably be that formerly in the possession of Rusca. The lower portion of another was in the possession of Godfrey Wentworth, Esq., of Woolley Park near Wakefield. Passeri tells us how rapidly the art declined after 1560, wanting the encouragement of a reigning ducal court; he also ascribes much evil influence to what he considers the bad taste of preferring the unmeaning designs of the Oriental porcelain, which was greatly prized by the wealthy, and the painting after the prints of the later German school of Sadeler, &c , in preference to the grander works of the old masters ; the landscapes were, however, well executed. He also gives us a history of the revival of the manufacture in his own time under the infiuence and encouragement of the cardinal prelate, Ludovico Merlini. In 1718 there was only one potter at Pesaro, Alfonzo Marzi, who produced the most ordinary wares. In 1757 Signor Giuseppe Bertolucci, an accomplished ceramist of Urbania, in conjunction with Signor Francesco de' Fattori, engaged workmen and artists and commenced a fabrique, but it was soon abandoned. Again in 1763 Signors Antonio Casali and Filippo Antonio Caligari, both of Lodi, under Passeri's influence came to Pesaro, and were joined by Signor Pietro Lei da Sassuolo of Modena, an able painter on faience, and on August 13 established a fabrique producing wares of great excellence hardly to be distinguished from the Chinese. The worthy Passeri concludes with a hope that he ma}' succeed in establishing a school of design for subjects, with the assistance of the Abbate Giannandrea Lazzarini, one of the most able ' Maestri di Pittura.' The following examples of the wares produced under that revival are worthy of record. PESARO '55 A small plate or stand for a broth basin, in the Ashmolcan Mus. (Fortnum Coll.) decorated on the white ground with flowers and birds slightly raised in relief and painted, and with other flowers delicately painted on the flat surface, is inscribed in small letters on the reverse — C. C Pesaro 1765 P. P. Lj. This can be no other than the mark of the last firm spoken of by Passeri, the upper initials standing for Casali and Caligari, and the lower for I^inse Pietro Lei. It is carefully executed, but weak in colour, and in shape and general st^'le in the manner of the other fine Italian enamelled earthenwares of the last century. A plate in the possession of Miss Lockwood at Rome has a similar mark ; it is more imitative of porcelain and of considerable technical excellence; the ground is dark blue, covered with foliated ornament incised into the paste, filled in with gilding, and enclosing panels painted with children, flowers, &c. Jugs inscribed with verses in modern Greek were made for that market. Urbani de Gheltof informs us that Casali and Caligari ceased partner- ship, each opening a botega on his own account. In 1812 Marino l-'rongini a workman from the Casali, who had opened a work on his own account, ceded it to Ditta Benucci and Lacci. The Casali works passed to one Paolucci and were closed in 1849. The Caligari to Magrini and Co. who reopened it in 1870. Mazzolari Donati and Rizzoli opened a work in 1780 under the name of Ditta Reggiani and Co. at which Pietro Lotti painted, and Pietro Gai who, in 1848, discovered the secret of tlie metallic lustre. In 1864 the Marquis Giacomo Mattei opened a fabri(|ue of wares in imitation of the ancient in the name of the Casa Albani, and, with the assistance of Pietro Gai, produced good specimens of lustred wares painted by the Bertoz/ini. The Molaroni and the Societa Ceramica di Pe;5aro produced imitations of the ancient pieces. ' Notizic sulla Ceramica Ualiaiia. Roma 1889, p. 205. ITALIAN PAINTED WARES GUBBIO In our notice of the works produced at Gubbio, written for the Catalogue of the South Kensington Museum in 1872, we stated the results of much careful enquiry, comparison of specimens, and con- sultation with the most able students of ceramics at that time. Recent investigation by others does not materially alter those conclusions ; we can therefore hardly do better than quote in c.xtcnso what was then written. Although probably not one of the earliest fabriques of Italian enamelled and painted wares, Gubbio undoubtedly holds one of the most prominent positions in the history and development of the potter's art in the sixteenth century. This small town, seated on the eastern slope of the Apennines, was then incorporated in the territory of the Dukes of Urbino, under whose influence and enlightened patronage the artist potters of the duchy received the greatest encouragement, and were thus enabled to produce the beautiful works, of which so many examples have descended to us. Chiefly under the direction of one man, it would seem that the produce of the Gubbio furnaces was for the most part of a special nature, namely, a decoration of the pieces with the lustre pigments, producing those brilliant metallic ruby, golden, and opalescent tints, which vary in every piece, and which assume almost every colour of the rainbow as they reflect the light directed at varying angles upon their surface. That it was of a special nature, and produced only at a few fabriques almost exclusively devoted to that class of decoration, is, we think, to be reasonably inferred from Piccolpasso's statement, who, referring to the application of the ' Majolica ' pigments, writes ' Non cU io lie abbia mai fatto ne Jiicn veduto fare.' He was the Maestro of an important botcga at Castel Durante, one of the largest and most pro- ductive of the Umbrian manufactories, within a few miles also of those of Urbino, with which he must have been intimately acquainted and in frequent correspondence. That he, in the middle of the sixteenth century, when all these works were at their highest development, should be able to state that he had not only never applied, or even witnessed the process of application of these lustrous enrichments, is, we think, a convincing proof that they were never adopted at either of those seats of the manufacture of enamelled artistic pottery. By inference, confirmed by the evidence of the existing wares themselves, we may conclude that they were only used at the three known furnaces of Pesaro, Diruta, and Gubbio ; perhaps with the rare exception of a few experimental pieces GUBBIO 157 made at Caffaggiolo and elsewhere. Although much modified and improved, these lustre colours were not invented by Italian artists, but were derived from the potters of the East, probably from the Moors of Sicily, of Spain, or of Majorca. Hence the name ' Majolica,' which, as we learn from Piccolpasso (Suppl. p. 72 of MS.), was originally applied only to wares having the lustre enrichment; and it is probable that this distinctive appellation was more or less in use until the decline of the manufacture. Since then the term has been more generally applied, all varieties of Italian enamelled pottery being usually, though wrongly, known as ' Majolica.' At Gubbio there appears to have been a Cullci^io of Vnsni in 1300, according to the ' Libri delle Riforme' of Gubbio, and that ware was made by one Lxiccolo di Giovanetto Andreiiccoli, who in 1348, as Vasarins Vasonim pktoriDii, had concessions granted'. The art of applying these metallic pigments is stated by Passeri (ch. 7, p. 22, 2nd ed. 1857) to have been known at Pesaro, where he states that those early bacili, decorated with the armorial bearings and portraits of the governors of Pesaro under the rule of the House of Sforza, were produced and enriched with the beautiful madreperla and ruby lustre. And he further states that this secret art was taken thence to Gubbio about the year 1518, and was lost some thirty years later. Although proved to be inexact in some respects, we ha\e no positive evidence to contradict this statement of the early use of the lustre colours at Pesaro, and accept Passeri's statcMiient in the main in the absence of more authentic and definite information. I liis (juestion has been further considered in our notices on Pesaro and on Diruta, to which place some modern writers are disposed to ascribe all these earl}' lustred hacili. In dates we shall soon discover that he is at fault. The Gubbio fabrique was in full work previous to 15 18; but that some of the early harilt, apparently the work of one hand, were made at Pesaro, whence perhaps the artist and the secret passed to Gubbio, is far from improbable. The reason for this emigration is not known, but it may be surmised that the large quantity' of broom and other brushwood, necessary for the reducing process of the reverberatory furnace in which this lustre was produced, might have been more abundantly sujiplied by the hills of Gubbio than in the vicinity of the larger city on the coast. The method of producing these metallic eftects may here be briefly stated from the description in the supplement to Piccolpasso's work. He there (MS. p. 72) states the ingredients of the pigments- as communicated to him by Maestro Vincenzio of Gubbio, and explains the method of building Rossi niui I'rb.Tiii dc ("ilu-Itof. ' Vide ' Introduction,' page 64. ITALIAN PAINTED WARES the furnace, in which the pieces to be lustred, after baking, are exposed to the action of hot smoke, produced by the burning of faggots of broom and brushwood. This smoke, being carbon in a highly divided state, coming into contact with these pigments on the heated wares, reduces the metalHc salts, leaving a thin surface of the metals, which, being of a mixed nature and blended with other ingredients, produce those varied and beautiful tints. It would seem that experienced and careful manipulation was requisite, doubtless the result of long practice, and hence the fact of its almost exclusive adoption at one bofega, in which the secret of the pigments and of their successful application was strictly guarded. That the process was costly we gather from Piccolpasso's state- ment that sometimes not more than six pieces out of a hundred succeeded in the firing. The fame of the Gubbio wares is associated almost entirely with one name, that of Giorgio Andreoli. We learn from the Marchese Branca- leoni ^ that this artist was the son of Pietro, of a ' Castello ' called 'Judeo,' in the diocese of Pavia, a place inhabited chiefly by pagani, a narne then applied to Arians as was also that of Giudei, not being used only to denote the Jews; and that, accompanied by his brother Salimbene, he went to Gubbio in the second half of the fifteenth century. He appears to have left, and again returned thither in 1492, accompanied by his younger brother ' Giovanni.' They were enrolled as citizens in the ' Libro delle Reforme' on May 23, 1498, on pain of forfeiting 500 ducats if they left the city, in which they engaged to continue practising their ceramic art. Patronised by the Dukes of Urbino, Giorgio was made ' Castellano ' of Gubbio. Passeri states that the family was ' noble ' in Pavia. From a notarial deed dated 1542 it appears that he had three sons, Francesco, a ' juris-consult' ; Vincenzio the potter, and Ubaldo of whom we have no knowledge of his participation in the work. Francesco detto il Corlese took a high position ; in 1556 he was ' Vicario Generale ' for the Duchy of Urbino, and was Ambassador to the Courts of Rome and Naples. It is not known why or when he was created a ' Maestro,' a title prized even more than nobilit}', but it is presumable that it took place at the time of his enrolment as a citizen ; his name with the title ' Maestro ' first appearing on a document dated that same year, 1498. Piccolpasso states that majolica painters were considered noble by profession. The family of 'Andreoli' and the 'Casa' still exist in Gubbio, and it was stated by his descendant Girolamo Andreoli, who died some sixty years since, that political motives induced their emigration from Pavia. ' ' Lettera di Maestro Giorgio,' Gubbio, Jan. 6, r857. GL'BBIO Maestro Giorgio was an artist by profession, not only as a draughts- man but as a modeller, and being familiar with the enamelled terra cottas of Luca della Robbia, he is said to have executed with his own iiands, and in their manner, two large altar-pieces: one of which in 151 1 he placed in the church of S. Domenico at Gubbio, in the chapel of the Bentivoglio family dedicated to S. Antonio Abbate. The original receipt for this work is in the archives of the town (Brancaleoni). It was divided and sold in the last century, but the statue of the saint is still in the church.' In 1513, for the same church, he is said to have made the altar of the ' Madonna del Rosario,' the central subject and other portions of which are now in the Museum at Frankfort-on-the-Maine : also in 1513 to have made the high altar (still /// sifii) of the church of the Osservanti, the ' Annunziata,' a mile from Bevagna. In a chapel near Assisi were formerly six figures of angels holding candlesticks, decorated with ruby lustre on the wings and dress; one only of these exists, and was in the possession of the Marchese Brancaleoni. Other pieces in rilievo are mentioned, decorated with the metallic lustre. The Madonna del Rosario is a fine work in part gla/ed, and in part coloured in distemper on the unglazed terra cotta, in which respect it agrees with works known to have been executed by Andrea della Robbia assisted by his sons. There are no signs of the application of the lustre colours to any portion of the work, but this might be accounted for by the great risk of failure in the firing, particularly to pieces of such large si^e and in high relief. The principal subject is the Madonna del Rosario, della Misericordia, or del Popolo, who shields under her mantle the faithful of all ranks and nations from Pope to pilgrim. Above, in a half- circle, are figured the F'athcr and two kneeling angels ; on the base or predella Christ rising from the tomb, Mary, S. John, S. Sebastian, and S. Roch surrounding. This well-known general arrangement of Della Robbia's altar-pieces will be at once recognized by those who are familiar with them, it was taken down at the invasion of Italy by the French, and remained in pieces till 1835. when it was purchased lor the Frankfort Museum. A somewhat ecstatic notice of this altar-piece was |>ublishc(l in the Athenaeum, No. 928, in 1845. But this is not the complete work : for it would seem that only the central subject, the lunette and the predella, were secured for the Stadel Museum at Fiankfort, where it has been restored in apparent entirety. In its original state, however, it had a surrounding of a series of subjects ' One of the nngels is said to liavc foiiiul poser! to he tlint minibcred G. 722. in the his way to tiie I'aris nniseunis, and is sup- I^oiivit. i6o ITALIAN PAINTED WARES known as the ' Misteri del Rosario,' and consisting of the sacred history from the Annunciation to the Coronation of the Madonna, executed in rihevo. One of these is now in the Museum of the Louvre \ and the remainder were (1870) in the possession of Monsignore Cajani at Rome. They consist of a series of oblong-square panels about 15 inches in length, each occupied by a subject complete in itself, and modelled with great care and artistic ability in high relief ; the grouping of the figures and composition of the subjects show them to be the invention of an able artist, and the free handling of the ' stecco ' proves it to be the work of a practised hand. A careful examination of the Frankfort altar-piece assured us that it is by the same modeller, and in this the marked beauty and expression of some of the heads are convincing of his excellence. Like to the productions of the Delia Robbia in technical qualities, it differs in manner from any work of that family or fabrique known to the writer, who was then familiar with nine-tenths of the extant works of that school. On one of the qiiadri is a large mask and the inscription in distinct Roman characters, ~A^. M^ CCCCXI I L The drapery of the figures and other parts are glazed in white and colour, the flesh has been left unglazed, and subsequently tinted with dis- temper. From a consideration of the style of this work, the record of others, some of which are heightened with the lustre colours, and the fact stated by the Marchese Brancaleoni, that the receipt for the altar-piece of S. Antonio is still preserved in the archives of Gubbio, we are inclined to think that history must be correct in attributing these important works in ceramic sculpture to M". Giorgio Andreoli ; and if they were his unassisted work, he deserves as high a place among the modellers of his period as he is acknowledged to have among artistic potters ^. ' We believe it to be that representing the Circumcision and numbered G. 776 in M. Darcel's Catalogue. ^ It has occurred to the writer whether M". Giorgio may not have derived assistance in the modelling and execution of these works from one of the pupils of the Delia Robbia school. Agostino da Duccio worked at Perugia in 1461, and the fame, and perhaps personal knowledge of his works at that city may have inspired M". Giorgio, who may also have received direct assistance from Pietro Paolo Agabiti da Sassoferrato, who made the 'Ancona' for an altar at Arcaria in 1513, which is spoken of by Ricci as a fine work worthy of the Delia Robbia. This ' Ancona ' is now at Sinigaglia. — (Perkins' Tuscan Sculptors, vol. i, p. 201.) GUBRIO i6i To go back twelve years in the history of the products of this fabrique, we have in the South Kensington Museum a very interesting example of a work in rilicvo, No. 2601, a figure of S. Sebastian lustred witli the gold and ruby pigments, and dated 1501. Notwithstanding its inferiority of modelling when compared with the above-named works, we arc in little doubt that this is after his model, if not by M". Giorgio's own hand, agreeing as it does in the manner of its painted outline and shading with the treatment of subjects on the earlier dishes, believed to be by him. We must also bear in mind that an interval of twelve years had elapsed between this comparatively crude work and that beautiful altar-piece, and we may observe at the same time an equal difference in the merit of his painte AMI I III IIVIiKA. H V M. <.I(>K<.IU Chen 15 15 CrBBIO 163 fabrique on the enamelled wares lustred by M". Giorgio and by his assistants. This same kind of scroll occurs in coppery lustre on the reverse of a piece of that peculiar ware which we formerly were led to believe had been made by Oriental potters in Sicily, and which we therefrom ventured to classify as Siculo-Moresque, but which the late Baron Charles Davilier subsequently found recorded as a production of Manises. May we venture to suggest the possibility of some affinity between these scrolls? May not some Moorish potter from the Spanish works have wandered into Ital}', landing at some coast town, at Anconi or Pesaro, and there finding employment in his art, have communicated the modus ofycmndi of the lustre enrichment, and introduced the scroll which became more or less adopted at Pesaro or Diruta and at Gubbio as a mark or ornament characteristic of the ' Maiolica ' or lustred wares ? Class B. is important as connecting the former with the works of the Gubbio furnaces. Of this there arc two examples in the Ashmolcan Museum (P'ortnum Coll. Nos. 425 6, PI. XII. i). Still more characteristic are Nos. 7682, which bears a variety of the Gubbio scroll, and 7684. '61 in the South Kensington Mu.seum (vide Catalogue). The latter is thus described in the Catalogue. ' Large circular Dish. Female bust portrait in profile, with a scroll, inscribed " chi a tenpo non dorma": on her sleeve is a device of a burning heart bound round with a cord ; inner border of flower-buds, and outer rim of scroll and palmctte ornaments ; executed entirely in ruby lustre, blue outline an(l shading. Reverse, concentric lines in ruby. Gubbio. About 1500. Diam. 16 111. (Soulages Coll.). 'This may be taken as a typical example: it is one of those interesting transitional pieces, made at the period when the newly adopted tin enamel glaze, and the ruby lustre j)igment were being used together. The form of the present dish differs from that of the early bici7i, on two of which we find the work of the same painter, according to the opinion of Sir J. C. Robinson, whose remarks on this piece in the Catalogue of the Soulages Collection are as follows: "This ancient artist, there is every reason to believe, was the master, or, at any rate, the immediate prede- cessor of Giorgio, and it is presumed that he was the inventor (?) of the ruby lustre, his pieces being the earliest in date on which this celebrated pigment has, as yet, been observed to occur. Both the lustre tints are unusually brilliant, the gold or yellow surpassing even that of Giorgio; the ruby inclines to orange or copper colour, as contrasted with the more perfectly (lc\'clopcd pigment of Giorgio. His style of execution is similar to the early manner of Giorgio, manifesting, perhaps, greater force and precision of outline, though with the same careful, timid modelling or shading in M 2 164 ITALIAN PAINTED IVARES the simple blue pigment, which, as usual with the early Gubbio masters, is the only colour employed in the flesh ".' Class C. contains of course the cream of the manufacture, being the works assigned to M°. Giorgio's own hand. The series in our museums is very complete, containing as it does examples from the earliest period of his unsigned work, to the pieces dated as late as 1532. A coarsely painted and supposed lustred bacile of mezza-majolica, having the centre filled with the subject of the * Ecce Homo,' and round the border the inscript'on : 'DON. GIORGIO, 1489 \' is in the Museum at Sevres. It cannot be assigned with an}^ surety to the Gubbio fabrique, nor certainly to the master's own hand. It has been surmised that the Don., an abbreviation of Donno, may be synonymous with ' Maestro,' and may be the signature of or allusive to Giorgio's elevation to that title, but the date on the plate is unfortunately nine years anterior to that event. On the other hand it has been argued that priests of a certain rank take that title, and this was perhaps one- of a set, each having the owner's name upon it. We are more inclined to the latter interpretation. In the South Kensington Museum is a circular plaque with the sacred monogram and M. 1491. G., the G being surmounted by a cross. This also has in error been ascribed to M". Giorgio ; it is not lustred, and probably of Faenza ; the initials are those of a title of the Virgin, the ' Mater Gloriosa.' Similar letters occur on plates and other pieces. An interesting plaque recently presented to the British Museum by Sir J. C. Robinson, and which has come to our know- ledge since printing the list of pieces dated before 1500, at pages 22-3, bears the Virgin and Child group, coloured but without lustre, and inscribed GIORGIO . L°MBAR° . 1493. This early piece may possibly have been made at Gubbio, for or by Giorgio, in the year after his advent and referring to his Lombard origin. Among the unsigned pieces of an early period is a Tazza in the Louvre, on which is a portrait head, in partial relief, of Federigo Duke of Urbino, having the inscription ' Dux Urbin ' on the face of the piece. He died in 1482, and it has been suggested that the portrait was con- temporary; if so this would be of earlier date than the Don. Giorgio dish. It cannot, however, be one of those referred to by Passeri (p. 26), having the portraits of Federigo and Guid' Ubaldo I, because he says that on them ' ne in queste vi e rosso di sorte alcuna ' (neither on them is there any sort of red ruby lustre). The first dated piece, which we have every reason to believe a work ' The last figure is by some read as a 5. GUBBIO "^5 of Maestro Giorgio, is the lilievo of S. Sebastian, dated 1501, No. 2601 in the South Kensington Museum. Other, but undated, works in rilievo exist, which, as in this instance, are heightened with the gold and ruby pigments. Among the unsigned pieces in that Museum No. 7161 is interesting, as one of his early works, after the manner of the ancient bacili. The vase No. 8407 is a rare and important example. No. 8890 is a brilliant specimen of the ruby lustre and of admirable general effect. The earliest example having a mark which may perhaps be considered that of Giorgio, and painted by him, is a small plate which was in the possession of Monsignore Cajani, but was since sold by Castellani in Paris in May 1878 : a central medallion with half figure of S. Petronio, is surrounded by a border of the style of the early wares, beautifully and care- fully drawn and lustred with iniby and gold ; it is marked at the back with a sort of G, intersected by a cross and a paraph. (Mark No. 84.) A somewhat similar form of the letter occurs on the mark No. 90. This last has by some been ascribed to Maestro Cencio, who then was but a child ! The Marquis Brancalconi, (op. cit.), mentions a plate formerly in the ' Casa Piccini,' with arabesque bol der, and the subject the Sacrifice of Abraham, designed with freedom and precision. The mark at back (which has been ascribed to P'acnza) given at No. 83, consists of an arm and hand holding a pike or halbert, the blade of which cuts a rainbow and the date 1515 ; the former in ruby lustre, the date in blue, with Gubbio scrolls in gold. This is probably the plate referred to in Marryat and in Chaffers as having been lost sight of from the Bernal Collection. We now come to the period of his signed pieces, some of the first of which show to what perfection he had brought his art. The earliest known signed and dated piece was in the collection of the late Mr. Robert Napier; the border is decorated with trophies, &c., among which occurs the date 151 7, written in blue, while at the back 1518 is pencilled in lustre colours. Another ])late of the same service and having the same initials of the owner, a i)iece of exceeding beauty for the cjuality of the lustre colours, is in the British Museum ; a facsimile of the central initials and of the date on the back is given at No. 85 of the Marks. Among the arabesques the word 'a/uro' is written on the ground, being doubtless a direction to the assistant who filled in the blue grounding of the piece. The beautiful plate No. ^oi in the South Kensington Collection, having for subject S. Francis receiving the stigmata, is dated 1518 on the face, and has on the reverse the lull signature and date 1519. ' It has been siigf^estcd tliat tiiis is, nf applyiiif; llie rainbow Inics to the dccora- pcrhajis, a poetical allusion to Giorgio's art lion of his pottery ! i66 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES Brancaleoni mentions a tazza in ' Casa Tondi,' at Gubbio, referred to by Passeri ;— white glaze with fohage and 'rabesche' in blue, yellow and ruby lustre, signed and dated October 25, 1519. (Mark No. 90.) It is said to be of very porcelainous quality. Here we have a reproduction of the G on the Cajani plate. M". Giorgio's manner of decoration outlined and shaded in blue consists of foliated scrolls terminating in dolphins, eagles, and human heads, trophies, masks, &c. ; in the drawing of which he exhibited considerable power with great facility of invention. These grotesche differ materially from those of Urbino and Faenza, approaching more to the style of some of the Castel Durante designs. In the drawing of figures, and of the nude, Giorgio cannot be ranked as an artist of the first class. From 1519 his signature, greatly varied, occurs through succeeding years. It would be useless to repeat the many varieties, several of which will be seen among the marks on specimens of various collections. We believe that to whim or accident may be ascribed those changes that have tasked the ingenuity of connoisseurs to read as other names. Thus on Mark No. 89, the G is more truly a C, although the date 1519 pre- cludes the idea that it is Cencio's. Occasionally it is accompanied by other initials, a cross, &c., doubtless those of the owner of the piece, and not merchants' marks, as has been suggested. Several pieces of a service now in the British Museum, including one of singular beauty from the late Mr. Henderson's collection, have the mark No. 94; this, as does No. 95, includes the letter S, which M. Jacquemart supposed might be the initial of Salimbene, Giorgio's brother. Others, as Nos. 91 and 93, are variously ornamented ; scrolls, plain or foliated, in lustre colours, generally adorn the sides of the reverse. M. Leroy Ladurie possessed a plate in rilievo, with the signature ' Matr" Gio ' twice repeated on the border. One in the Louvre ascribed to this fabrique, with portrait of 'Julia Bella,' has the inscription ' ex . o . Giorg' on a ribbon. Other complications of the signature occur on the works of his assistants, of which more anon. His finer and more important pieces were generally signed in full, ' Maestro Giorgio da Ugubio,' with the year, and sometimes the day of the month. The plateau No. 7157 in the South Kensington Museum is an important piece, it bears the shield of the Bran- caleoni with richly designed and lustred surrounding; and No. 8939 is one of the most carefully drawn of his figure subjects. On No. 1633 of the South Kensington Museum Catalogue occurs the date 1532, the latest on any piece in that Museum which may with probability be ascribed to Giorgio's own brush. In the British Museum are many Giorgio's, eighteen of which are from the collection of the late Abbe Hamilton, of Rome. PLAT E XIII lA/ZA. nil Y<)11N(. SI. JOHN. (.I HHIU Circa 15^6 GUBBIO 167 About the year 1525 he executed some of his most beautiful works ; perhaps the finest large dish, and of the highest quality which has been preser\'ed to us, passed from the possession of the late Baronne de Parpart, whose husband had acquired it from Prince Bandini, at Rome, to the collection of the late Sir Richard Wallace : a rich grotesque border surrounds the subject of Diana and her nymphs, surprised by Actaeon ; in careful drawing and colouring it has all the qualit}' of the small tazza No. 8939 above referred to : the facsimile of the signature at the back is given in mark No. loi. This fine dish has been figured by Uelange in the Recueil, pi. 65, as also a plate of earlier date, signed ' M". Giorgio 1520. a di 2 de O'tobre in Ugubio B. I). S. R.,' having for subject the judgement of Paris, after RafTaelle, pi. 64. It is in the collection of M. Dutuit of Rouen, and on it the rcJJct is artistically subordinated to the painting ; the four initials would seem to indicate that another artist had painted the subject ; and it is remarkable that the signature of Giorgio, as well as the initials, is written in blue colour. (We have not had an opportunity of seeing this exceptional piece.) The choice examples which were in the late Mr. Fountaine's rich collection are well known, particularly one mentioned by Passeri as then belonging to him, with subject after a print by Robetta (1505I called the 'Stream of Life' (Mark No. 93\ and a flat plate having for subject the Three Graces, after Marc Antonio, purchased from M. Roussel, of Paris, one of the choicest works of the Master At the dispersion of the P'ountaine Cabinet the former was purchased by Mr. G. Salting, whose collection is now one of the finest in private hantls ; the latter by the South Kensington Museum. In the Louvre are about seventy-five specimens of Gubbio ware. In the Spitzer Collection dispersed in 1893, were twenty-two signed. The Museum of the University of Bologna has some remarkably fine pieces, and there are others in the I lospilal of Incurables at Pesaro. One of great size and beauty in the Bologna Collection represents the Presentation of the Virgin, and is signed and dated 1532; Fine di iiiaiolica, Mark No. 112, an unique instance of the quality of the ware being stated in the inscription. This noble piece rivals that in the Wallace Collection, the subject covering the whole surface, and executed with great power. It will be observed, in comparing these with the earlier productions of his brush, that in his more youthful and unsigned works. Maestro Giorgio was unable to temper and modulate the lustre colours, which though powerfully, were somewhat heavily applied; in the works of his best period, just considered, he will be found to have perfected their use by subduing them to the general effect. In the Castellani Collection, sold at Paris in 1878, was a remarkable jug, Inning in frtjnt an armorial shield bearing two busts ITALIAN PAINTED WARES face to face m. and f. in chief, with helm and crest a male bust, the whole surrounded by a rich wreathage of laurel and inscribed Oct. 5. SCARS indicating its measure of capacity; ruby and gold lustre enriched the whole surface. It cost the buyer ^650. The Marchese Brancaleoni mentions a fine plate then in his library, the subject, Magdalene washing the Saviour's feet, after an engraving by Albert Diirer : this piece is cited by Passeri, and is signed and dated 1528. He also mentions having seen pieces painted in Giorgio's manner but not lustred. Signor Castelletti of Perugia speaks of a plate then at Citta di Castello signed by Giorgio, but not lustred. In the Casa ' Bonaventura Andreoli ' at Gubbio, belonging to a descendant of Giorgio was a plate with cupid centre, and date 1526. M. Jacquemart observed that from 1518 his signed works increase in quantity till 1527, when they diminish in number, again increasing till 1532-3 and '34. Maestro Giorgio is said to have been living in 1552. A lapse of two years then occurs ; at last 1537-39 '4^ close the series. It has been observed by M. Darcel and the writer, and more recently confirmed by M. Emile Molinier, that the istoriati works believed to have been painted at Gubbio are traced in blue, whereas those of Urbino are mostly in grey or bistre colour. In the next division D. are the works of the fabrique under the Maestro's direction, and pieces which, though manifestly painted by other hands, are signed in lustre with his initials or full signature. Among these may be ranged a large number of richly decorated pieces to be found in all collections, many of which have been moulded with leafage borders, raised bosses, &c., and lustred with the greatest brilliancy : one such is that under No. 435 in the Fortnum Collection, and a brilliant little tazza No. 8906. '63 is in the South Kensington Museum. In the Museum at Pesaro M Molinier observed an unusual piece, on the back of which, in rilievo, is a shield supported by two Genii and inscribed ' Opus Sperandci,' evidently moulded on one of that artist's models. No. 6864 in that Museum is an exceptional piece elaborately decorated with bianco sopra bianco and other ornament, seemingly the work of a Durantine or other fabrique and to which the lustrous enrichment had been superadded ; it bears the initials of M". Giorgio and the rather late date 1537. What part each distinct member of the Andreoli family took in the working of their botega and in the manipulation of its rich productions we can never know, but that Salimbene was there occupied we are assured, as doubtless was Vincenzio the master's son, so soon as he was old enough to engage in the work. Other able assistants must also have been engaged therein, and it is reasonable to suppose that some other than the Maestro himself may have been authorized to place the initials of the padrone on articles of the general fabrique. He probably GUBBIO 169 reserved to himself the execution of and the full signature on the more important pieces of his own production and the finer works painted by Xanto, Orazio Fontana, Nicolo da Urbino, and other istoriafori at Urbino and elsewhere, to be more or less carefully and richly lustred at the Gubbio furnaces. It is quite reasonable to suppose that his brother Salimbene may have executed pieces, and that the letter S. sometimes found simpl}', sometimes in monogrammatic combination, and sometimes accompanied b}' the M" G" signature of the firm, may refer to him. Of such may possibly be the marks No. 94, 95, if they are not emblems of the owner for whom those pieces were painted. It would seem more likely that the mark No. 95 refers to Salimbene ; and we have note of a coarsely executed plate, once in the hands of M. Riblet, the dealer of Florence, on which was a portrait bust of a female holding a flower in her hand and with leaf and flower border; on this the mark No. 95 is on the reverse, and it will be observed that the lower portion consists of the letter A astride of a distinct \\ the letter S being impaled by the shaft bearing a cross in X form ; we might suppose this to refer to Salimbene and Vincenzio Andreoli. Sig. Genolini ' in his notice on the Gubbio potteries, among other questionable conclusions, suggests that as M". Giorgio's monogrammatic signatures are all in his opinion so similar ('di una forma quasi c(^stante') we cannot accept those which some have read as of a M". Gileo or Gigleo. We submit that the comparison of a large number of signed pieces would lead to quite an opposite conclusion as to their similitude ; but it is |)resumable in his case, as in that of some other modern Italian writers on the maic^lica of Italy, that the lack of a more thorough knowledge of the contents of |Hiblic and private collections in Germany, France, and Fngland, antl of the ceramic literature of the latter country, has led them to form conclusions too hastily, and that a larger acquaintance and careful comparison of the objects on which they have written, might probably lead to difl'erent opinions on their part. That erudite connoisseur the late M. Alfred Darcel, writing on this subject shortly before his death, says';/«//5 avoiis arrive mix tnaiws conclusions, asotcnis . . . et spccialilcr crcditum quod dicti Mag. Guido et Iloratius habcnt cum illustrissimo ct excellentissimo Domino nostro Urbini invictissimo Duce et quod habcnt in I'edemonte . . . ct quia dictus Iloratius alligabat, prout alligat dicta crcdita ad ipsum spectarc . . . ct vcllc dc cctero suam artcm excrccre.' Rog. Girolanio Fazzini Not. Urbinate,8 Nov. 1565. Quoted by Raflaelli, p. 35, note 24. And 'Caesar Marini . . . dcdit . . . Mag. Horatio Fontanac unam dommn in burgo S. I'auli juxta stratam bona Mag. Guidonis Fontanac : K"g. Gasparrc Fazzini.' — Ibid, note 25. I'ungilconi, Giornale .(\icadiro, vol. xxxvii p. 353. 198 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES merely establishing the fact of his existence in the year 1570 ^ Guido, son of Camillo, we have seen, lived till 1605 ; and of Flaminio, who may either have been son of Camillo or of Nicola, Dennistoun's vague notice asserting his settlement in Florence is all that I have been able to collect. No signed pieces of Camillo, Flaminio, Nicola the second, or Guido the second, have as yet been observed. ' It has been already stated that a considerable proportion of the Fontana Majolica is doubtless still extant; and it becomes now desirable to endeavour to identify the works of the individual members of the family, without which the mere knowledge of their existence is of very little moment ; but this is no easy task ; although specimens from the hands of one or other of them are to be undoubtedly found in almost every collection, the work of comparison and collation has as yet been scarcely attempted. This similarity of style and technical characteristics of the several artists moreover, working as they did with the same colours on the same quality of enamel ground, and doubtless in intimate communi- cation with each other, resolves itself into such a strong family resem- blance that it will require the most minute and careful observation, unremittingly continued, ere the authorship of the several specimens can be determined with anything like certainty. The evidence of signed specimens is of course the most to be relied on, and is indeed indispen- sable in giving the clue to complete identification in the first instance ; but here, in the case of the Fontana family, and doubtless also in that of many other Majolicara, a difficulty presents itself which should be noticed in the outset. This difficulty arises in determining the author- ship of the pieces signed " Fatto in botega," &c. &c. ; this mode of signature, in fact, proves very little in determining individual character- istics, inasmuch as apparently nearly all the works so inscribed are painted by other hands than that of the proprietor of the vaseria ; thus, in the case of pieces executed in the hotega of Guido Fontana, we may expect the painting to be rather from the hand of Horatio or Camillo than that of their father the Vasaro; in fact, I have myself observed that one and the same hand may be traced in pieces inscribed respec- tively from the botcghe of both Guido and Orazio, the hand being, I have little doubt, that of Camillo. In cases, however, in which the artist has actually signed or initialled pieces with his own name, of course no such difficulty exists, but the certainty acquired by this positive ' ' Mag. Guido f. Nicolai de durante milium, et Nicolaum filios legitimos.' Rog. nuncupatus Fontana figulus Urbini re- Marcus Antonius Theofilus Not. Urb. liquit .... in omnibus autem ejus bonis 1570, die 29, &c., &c. — Raffaelli, p. 36, sues hacredes esse voluit Horatium, Ca- note 30. URBINO 199 evidence is as yet confined in the case of the Fontana family to their greatest name, Orazio. 'The information I am now, however, enabled to communicate will, I think, be conclusive in establishing the identity of his works, and I confidently anticipate that the greatly increased attention which the Majolica is now receiving will soon result in the acquisition of equally satisfactory evidence as regards the others. ' It appears from Passeri that a great number of pieces from the hand, or at any rate the fabrique, of Orazio were preserved in the "Garda Roba" of the Dukes of Urbino, whence they in all probability passed into the possession of the Farnese family at the devolution of the Duchy in 1631 ; this he gathers from an inventory extant at Pesaro in his time, and from the same source Passeri has extracted the following mark (see Mark No. 180), indicating "Orazio Fontana i'rhinalc fccc." Succeeding writers, down to the present time, have quoted and reproduced this as the only known monogram of Orazio. At the same time it must be obserxed that no one, not even Passeri himself, has ever been able to verify its existence on any piece of Majolica. M. Delange, writing as late as 1853, says, " En revanche Passeri donne le sigle d'un celebre artiste, dont il est regrettable qu'on n'ait jamais vu d'e.xcmplc, c'cst Ic monogramme d'Oratio Fontana." 'But allhdugh the mark rests simply on Passeri's unsupported autho- rity, I am nut disijosed to question its authenticity; and think it most likely sooner or later some piece so signed will come to light. This, however, was not the only monogram employed by Oratio ; and I have now the satisfaction of adducing for the first time four others copied immediately from pieces of ware in existence. In the summer of 1855 M. Delange was kind enough to communicate to me the following monogram, copied from a fine plate representing the rape of a Sabine, in the Collection of the Cavaliere Alessandro Saracini, in Siena. This mark (see Mark No. 182), I should observe, had been previously given to M. Delange by H. Scudamore Stanhope, Esq., and the latter gentleman has since kindly confirmed the authenticity of the mark, and communicated to me his impression as to the style of painting and general appearance of the piece. Neither of these gentlemen, however, seems to have read the monogram, or suspected its true attribution. Shortly afterwards 1 dis- covered the same mark on a plate in the Collection of the British Museum, originally from the Bernal Collection, representing the chase of the Cal^'donian boar. (See Mark No. 181.) 'This specimen was at once revealed as an Urbino piece by a hand very often observed elsewhere, and which I had long suspected to be one 200 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES of the Fontana family. On endeavouring to decipher the monogram, which, it will be observed, is identical with the one from the Saracini Collection, there was little difficulty in construing its ingenious combinations ; taking the large O as the beginning, and the smaller o in the centre as the last letter, the word " Oratio " stands clearly confessed ; and it may be observed that the pages of Brulliot might be searched in vain for a more felicitous combination. The date, 1544, which accompanies both these specimens, evidently refers them to the very earliest period of the artist ; the British Museum plate, indeed, bears every evidence of youthful care and timidity. Although distinguished by an unmistakable and character- istic style, it is yet far from equalling in power and beauty the specimens still to be described. ' The next mark may be seen on a magnificent plateau, the painting representing the Massacre of the Innocents, copied from Marc Antonio's engraving after Raffaelle. This splendid piece, unfortunately cruelly fractured, is the chef d'oeuvre of the collection of Majolica of the Museum of the Louvre. In the foreground of the composition is conspicuously placed the following initial. (See Mark No. 184.) Although a far finer and more powerful work, there can be no doubt of its being by the same hand as the British Museum piece ; I should indeed deem it to be of the finest and most fully developed period of the artist, probably somewhat before 1550. ' We have next two marks very closely resembling each other, from pieces in the celebrated Collection of Andrew Fountaine, Esq. These two pieces are large tazze or fruttiere evidently from the same service. One of them is admirably painted with the subject of St. Paul preaching at Athens, from Raffaelle's well-known cartoon, whilst the other represents David slaying Goliath. The marks, as in the previous instance, are placed in the foreground of the composition on tablets or slabs of stone drawn in perspective. Nothing can exceed the brilliancy of colour and glaze, and the masterly drawing of these pieces. They are, in fact, equal, if not superior in excellence, to the Louvre specimen, unquestionably by the same hand as it, and of about the same period. The monogram on the plate representing St. Paul preaching may, I think, be construed as follows : The first character is probably intended for the Greek letter phi, but has at the same time a double meaning, and may be read as the monogram O • F. (See Mark No. 185.) In either case it is useless to observe that the first letter of the name of Fontana is indicated. The next character is a delta for " Durantino " (Orazio Fontana Durantino) ; the delta, however, it should be observed, is probably compounded with some other letter which is not obvious. The signature in the " David and Goliath " piece differs URBINO 20 r only in the first of the characters, which, in this case, is a regular Greek phi. (See Mark No. 186.1 It is not my intention to enter into an}' more detailed description of the technical and artistic qualities of these noble specimens of the art; we shall revert to their consideration further on. I will here only observe that they are unquestionably by the same artist as the specimens previously adduced.' These notes by Mr. Robinson comprise the bulk of the information con- veyed by Pungileoni and Raflfaelli ', and leave little to add. A re|)rint of the extracts from documents referring to the various members of the family and j)ublished by these authors, would hardly be looked for in the present work; but it may be interesting to know that on December 29, 1570, Guido made his first will, styling himself 'Mag. Guido f. Nic. de Durante nuncu- patus Fontana figulus Urbini,' in which he mentions Horatium, Camillum, and Nicolaum, his sons, and Flaminium, son of Nicola. His second will is dated October 16, 1576, and by this his heirs were Camillo ; X'irginia, daughter of Orazio (then dead); Flaminio, son of Nicola; Nicola, his own son ; and Elizabeth, his second wife. Guido Fontana and Guido Dukantino. We have said that it is a matter of uncertainty' whether Guido Fontana and Guido Durantino were the same person, or ri\-al maestri ; and tliat we are disposed to the former opinion, from the fact that, in the documents quoted by Pungileoni, no other' V'asaio ' named Guido, and of Castel Durante, is named. The pieces inscribed as having been made in their hott^hc, although painted b}' different hands, may by the wording of their inscriptions afford some explanation; thus, on the Sta Cecilia plate painted by Nicola, he writes in 1528, 'fain in bohi^a di Guido da Castillo d'L'raitIc in Urbino' (see Marks), from which we argue a connexion with the Fontana. On a plate painted by a well-known but nameless hand, formerly in the Narford Collection, representing the siege of the Castle of St. Angelo by the Constable de Bourbon, is written, ' faltc in Urhino in botciro dc AI". Guido fontana I'asaro' (Mark No. 176.) Genolini informs us that the Marchese Molza of Modena had a large plate with battle subject, inscribed ' Fattc in Urbiiio in botci^a di M". Guido Fontana.' Of pieces by other artists whose names are not recorded, in the British Museum is a plate of the well-known service on which are the arms of the Constable de Montmorency, having for subject the myth of Jupiter and Semele, and on the reverse of which ' I'. Liii<;i ruii<(ilconi, Notizic (Idle pittiirc in M;iii)lica liiUc in Urbino, piibiislicd with llic edition of I'iibscri's work. l'es;>rn, 1857. Giusci>pc RalVaclli, Mcnioric Lstorichc flelle Maidiioiic lavorale in Castel Diu.intc o sia Urban ia. Kernio, i8.}6. 202 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES is inscribed, ' Nella botega di M". Giiido Durantino in Urbino, 1535.' Three pieces of this service belonged to the Baron SeUieres and one to M. Poucet, another is in the Museum at Rouen, and three others were in the Narford Collection. Mons. M. Kann, of Paris, possesses one. Another plate of the same service, formerly in the Visconti Collection and subsequently in that of Prince Napoleon, is illustrated in Delange's Recueil, pi. 72; it is now in the Ashmolean Museum (Fortnum Coll.), and is inscribed, ' Hercole mazzo hydra in botega di M°. Giiido Ditmnti)io in Urbino 1533.' (See PI. XV.) Of a service bearing the arms of Cardinal Duprat, one piece is in the Louvre (G. 329), subject David and Goliath, and with a similar signature. Another is in the Ceramic Museum at Sevres similarly signed, and dated 1535- Another plate also so signed, but without date, is in the Soane Museum ; it represents the Fates. A beautifully painted plate, subject the Judgement of Paris, bearing the date on a stone in the landscape, which was in the collection of Mr. D. M. Davidson, is inscribed, ' In botega di M". Giiido Diiratino, 1532.' Other similarly inscribed pieces are in collections. A fine plate was in that of the Baron de Sellieres, which M. Jacquemart considered to be a prototype of the Fontana school, ' et sans doute le summum des oeuvres de Guido ' representing the Muses and the Pierides after Pierino del Vaga, signed ' Fatto in Urbino in botega di M'\ Guido da Castel Durante X.' If not a numeral the X would seem the initial of Xanto. The first, second, and third of these examples are painted by different hands; the first the Sta Cecilia by Nicola, the second the siege of the Castle of St. Angelo by an abundant artist of the Fontana fabrique, whose work is found on pieces of the best time, and also we think on some which are signed ' fato in botega de Orazio Fontana' and whom we imagine to be Guido Fontana himself. The third and others, by unknown artists working in the fabrique, some perhaps by the younger Nicola, by Raffaelle Ciarla, &c. The apparent anomaly of the father's work being found on pieces made in Orazio's botega would be accounted for by the fact that the separation was an amicable one, and that there was at the time work in hand on important commissions, which would have to be completed between the two maestri, and accordingly this same hand is observable on some of the jars at Loreto. We believe that Sir J. C. Robinson was disposed to attribute these works to Camillo, whose painting we should connect with pieces of a later date ; but in the absence of positive evidence, it must still remain an uncertain question. Unfortunately, we know no piece signsd as actually painted by the hand URBINO 203 of Guido Fontana, but as lie took that cognomen after settling in Urbino, it would be more probable that he would himself nppl}' it on his own work ; whereas Nicola (presumably his father; on the piece of earlier date, retained the name of their native castello. By others the bolcga would long be known as that of the 'durantini,' and that it retained that appellation, even in the following generation, is proved by the occasional reference to Orazio Fontana as of Castel Durante. The manner of the painter of these pieces, of which the late Mr. Fountaine's Guido Fontana plate is a typical example, whether Guido himself as we suspect, or his son Camillo, approaches very much to that of Orazio, but is less refined and rich in colouring, wanting that harmony and power of expression for which he was remarkable ; the drawing is more correct and careful than that on some of Orazio's work, but is more dr}' and on the surface; there is great force and movement in the figures, and the landscape backgrounds are finished with much care and eflect, sometimes covering the whole piece ; the foliage of the trees is also well rendered. Orazio Fontana. Pungileoni states that Orazio was a pupil of Taddeo Zucchcro. On setting up for himself in 1565, by a deed dated the 8th November he agreed to maintain and keep for three years ' Domitilla' and ' P'laminio,' children of his brother Nicola. Among the many important works executed at Guido's boicf^a some were unfinished at the time of the separation, including certain foreign commissions, some of which were for Piedmont, as we learn from Francesco Pacciotti, architect to the court of Turin at that period. Guido Ubaldo II, Duke of Urbino, gave a service to Charles \', and another to Phili[) 11 of Spain, painted ijy Orazio after designs by Tatldeo Zucchcro. At the sale of the Castellani Collection at Paris in 1878 was a plate on which was a portrait of Charles the P'iftli, filling the w hole surface, the bust resting on a lain l inscriin-d ' PROGFNIKS • l')l\'VM • QVINTVS • SIC ■ CROLVS • ILLF • IMPFRII • C/ESAk -^LVMIN.X • FT • OKA • TVLIT • i£T • SVyE • XXXI - ANN • M • D.XX.Xl • It was ascribed to Orazio Fontana, but if so it must have been painted from a portrait bearing the above date, as at that time Orazio was but a chikl. It might however have been one of the pieces of the service presented to that Emperor. It was bought for M. Basilcwski for /^8oo ' Wc cannot agree vvitli tlic late M. Darcel ^Gaz. dcs Beaii.x Artsi in attributing tliis to a successor of Xanto. 204 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES On September 17, 1562, Paolo Mario, writing from Urbino to a minister of the Duke of Urbino on the subject of a crcdenza sent to Phihp II by Guidobaldo II, speaks of the care bestowed upon its production, ' che se si fosse fatta di gioie,' and for which designs representing the history of Juhus Caesar had been brought from Rome ; ' the which after many accidents was finally finished in the greatest perfection, so that in it one might study the arts of sculpture, painting, and illumination or miniature as well as the history of Caesar.' He states that Muzio Giustino Politano, the Secretary of His Excellency, had dictated the verses and quotations which are on the backs of the pieces, all of which were packed in ten ' arche ' and would be sent under the care of an experienced ' Maestro.' This maestro may perhaps have been Raffaelle Ciarla, as referred to by Pungileoni. The MS. letter is preserved in the archives of Florence \ It is also stated that the Duchess Vittoria Farnese ordered vases of Grazio to present to her uncle. Cardinal Farnese ; and Annibale Caro, writing from Rome on January 15, 1563, to the Duchess, says : ' the Duke has caused man}^ drawings to be made here of storiettes with which to paint a service at Urbino, which has been finished, and the drawings remain in the maestro's hands.' The celebrated vases made for the Spezieria of the Duke were produced at the Fontana fabrique, and subsequently presented to the Santa Casa at Loreto, where many of them are still preserved. Those shown to the writer, on his visit to that celebrated shrine now many years since, did not strike him as being of such extraordinary beauty and great artistic excellence as the high-flown eulogy bestowed upon them by some writers would have led him to expect. The majority of the pieces are drug pots of a not unusual form, but all or nearly all are istoriati, instead of being, as is generally the case, simply decorated with trofci, foglie, grotesclie, the more usual and less costly ornamentation. Some of the pieces have ser- pent handles, mask spouts, &c., but he vainly looked for the magnificent vases of unsurpassed beauty, nor indeed did he see anything equal to the shaped pieces preserved in the Bargello at Florence, or in the Collections of the late Mr. Fountaine, the Rothschilds, &c. The work of the well-known hands of the Fontana fabrique is clearly recognizable, particularly of that on Mr. Fountaine's Guido Fontana plate; several pieces are probably by Orazio. Some, more important vases, preserved in a low press, were finer examples. We have said that the pieces considered individually are not so striking, but taken as a whole service, originally numbering some 380 vases, painted with subjects after the designs of Battista Franco, ^ Archivio ccntralc di P'irenzc. Carle d' Urbino. Div. G. Filza, 254. URBINO 205 Giulio Komano, An^clo, and RafTaellc, and as the work of one private artistic pottery in the comparatively remote capital of a small duchy, it bears no flight testimony to the extraordinary development of every branch of art-industry in the various districts of Italy during the sixteenth centur}'. They were made by order of Guidobaldo II ; but on the accession of Francesco Maria II, in 1574, that Duke found the financial condition of the duchy in so embarrassed a state that he was unable to devote much attention to the encouragement of art. He abdicated in favour of the Holy See, and died in 1631. The vases of the Spezicria were presented to our Lady of Loreto ; his valuable art collections were removed to Florence, subsequently becoming the property of Ferdinand de' Medici, the husband of Vittoria, his granddaughter. On the vases of Loreto, ' the subjects are the four Kvangelists (by B. Franco), the twelve Apostles (by O. Fontana and associates \ St. John, St. Paul, Susannah, and Job. The other represent incidents in the Old Testament, actions of the Romans, their naval battles (by B. Franco), and the Metamorphoses of Ovid. On eight3'-five of the vases are portrayed the games of children, each differing from the other. These vases are highly prized for their beauty as well as for their variety' ; some have been engraved by Bartoli. A Grand Duke of Florence was so desirous of purchasing them, that he proposed giving in exchange a like number of silver vessels of equal weight ; while Christina of Sweden was known to say that, of all the treasures of the Santa Casa, she esteemed these the most. Louis XIV is reported to have oflercd for the four Evangelists and St. Paul an equal number of gold statues '.' While on the subject of Loreto we may allude to certain small shallow cups or saucers, bearing in the centre the ill-paintcd figure of the Lady of Loreto, generally on a yellow ground, and inscribed externally in capital letters with the abbreviated words CON • POL • DI • S • CA. One in the Fortnum Collection is inscribed CON • POL • ET • AOVA • DI • S- CASA, and bears at the back a portion of the seal of the Sanctuary. These cups are said to have had mixed with the paste of which they were formed a portion of the dust shaken from the Virgin's dress, or swept from the walls of her house, which conve^-ed to them certain healing and beneficent qualities, and caused them to be highly prized by pilgrims to the shrine, to the higher class of whom they were probably presented in return for oflferings during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They are said, but we know not on what authority, to have been made at Caste) Durante. With his other art treasures, the ornamental vases and vessels of the ' Mari yat, fruiii D. Liigio Graini/.i, RclaziuiKj islorica dclla Santa C.isa in Loreto, 1838. 2o6 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES Credenza, among which were doubtless some of the choicest productions of the Urbino and Pesaro furnaces made for Guidobaldo, and inherited by Francesco Maria, must have been in great part removed to Florence ; and there accordingly we find some remarkable specimens. For many years neglected, these noble pieces were placed almost out of observation on the top of cases which contained the Etruscan and other antique vases in the gallery of the Uffizi. When more general interest was excited on the subject of the Renaissance pottery, these examples were removed to another room, and the writer will not easily forget the pleasure he experienced, through the courtesy of the then Director, in an examination of them at that time. They now occupy central cases in one of the rooms of the Bargello used as a museum of art objects, and form a magnificent assemblage of vases, ewers, vasques, pilgrim's bottles, and other shaped pieces, dishes and salvers, perhaps the richest that has descended collectively to our days, among which may be recognized the works of all the more important ceramic artists of Urbino. Among fifty of the more important pieces is the circular dish by Nicola, referred to in the notice on his works. Three lobed cisterns or 'vasques' appear to be by the artist who painted Mr. Fountaine's plate signed 'in botega di Guido Fontana' (see ante), and thought to be Guido himself. Twenty-one are more or less decorated with grotesques on a white ground, having medallion or central subjects. These may be for the most part by that other pencil, contemporary with Orazio's, which we suggest may probably be Camillo's. By Orazio is a fine circular dish representing ' Lo incendio di Troja,' and perhaps two others. An oval bowl is apparently by Francesco Durantino. Two pieces only show Xanto's brush ; and one may probably be by Lanfranco of Pesaro, subject, the Rape of Helen. Five pieces are perhaps by G. Picci, and the rest are difficult to ascribe : among these is a central fragment admirably painted with figures of Venus and Cupid. Portions of a magnificent service of the best period of Orazio Fontana's botega are dispersed in various collections, as also some pieces of equally rich quality made after the same models, but probably of another 'credenza.' Two of the former were exhibited at the Loan Exhibition in 1862, by Baron Anthony de Rothschild. They are large oval dishes, with raised medallion centres, and having the surface, both internally and outside, divided into panels by raised strapwork springing from masks, with orna- mental moulded borders, &c. These panels, edged with cartouche ornament, are painted with subjects from the Spanish romance of Amadis de Gaul, and on the reverse are inscriptions in that language corresponding with the panel illustrations. The central subject is not of the same series, but represents URBINO 201 boys shooting at a target on one dish, and warriors fighting upon the other. The border is painted with admirable Urbino grotesques on a briUiant white ground. The size of these pieces is 2 ft. 2 in. by i ft. Q\ in. Of this same service Mr. Fountaine possessed one dish, a circular plateau of great beauty, and two small plates, with central subjects, and border of grotesques on white ground. One of these is coloured in a sort of bistre or neutral tint of singular and rich effect. The reverse of these pieces is less carefully painted with dolphins swimming among waves, genii, &c., and on one, exhibited by the late Mr. Addington, are the arms of ' Inigo Avalos d'Aragon, Cardinal of Naples, and Marchese del Vasto,' who was created Cardinal in 1560, and was Archbishop of Turin from 1563 to 1564. lie died in 1600. Kaffaelli ' gives a document dated November 8, 1565, and relating to the separation between Orazio F'ontana and his father duido, in which mention is made of two services, one being for tlie Duke Guido Ubaldo II, and the other for an order from Piedmont '-, which Orazio is bound to superintend, and on which he is to exercise his art. The Baron Lionel de Rothschild ])ossessed two triangular salvers of great beauty, divided into panels by raised cartouche-work, masks, &c., and which may be of the same service. Sir J. C. Robinson thinks they arc by the hand of Orazio. Among the specimens in the Bargello, at Florence, are dishes of similar character and high quality. The Louvre also possesses at least one example. Other fine pieces are in the British and the South Kensington Museums. The mould for these dishes was used at a later period to produce works of great inferiority in painting on the same forms. Grander examples of this class are two circular vasques or ci^lc i ns. wiiich were exhibited, one by Mr. Barker, the other by Sir 11. Hume Campbell, at the Loan IC.xhibition of 1862. The first is supported by three console legs with lions' feet, it is painted outside with grotescjues on the pure white ground, and the interior is filled with a scene representing a Roman battle, with elephants, &c. It now belongs to Sir F. Cook. Mrs. H. T. Hope possessed a nearl}' similar piece. There is a large oval cistern of unusual size and great beauty in the Barberini Palace at Rome ; the interior painted with a shipwreck, after Pierino del Vaga, the original drawing of which is in the Uffizi gallery at Florence. Grotesques, on a white ground, decorate the exterior. It is supported b}- a triton at each end, but the base has been unfortunately much bi'oken. ' Op. cit. p. 35, note 24. - Viiic Turin. 208 ITALIAN FAINTED WARES A somewhat similar piece, perhaps the companion, is in the possession of the Rothschild family at Paris. The Baronne de Parpart had a trilobed vasque painted with the subject of the Judgement of Paris, after Rafifaelle, which sold for ^^510 at the dispersion of that collection. The shaped pieces produced at this fabrique are of the most elegant and quaint forms, characteristic of the taste of the ' cinque cento, Pilgrim's flasks, ewers, vases, sauce boats in the form of shells, fish, or crabs, and inkstands in great variety, all displaying excellent modelling with careful execution and finish, a glaze of great richness, and colour boldly and judiciously applied. Later, these forms were still maintained, but only as the medium for careless moulding and worse painting. Examples of the good period are rare to meet with in a perfect state. Mr. Fountaine's Collection at Narford was very rich in shaped pieces of the various periods of the fabrique. The Marquis d'Azeglio had a pair of candelabra, in the style of the 'cinque cento,' bearing the device of Guidobaldo II, which came from a convent near Pesaro and may be of that fabrique, and are 3 ft. 7 in. in height. They are now in the Basilewski Collection, and figured in Delange's Recueil, pi. 94. Among other fine examples attributed to Orazio's own hand may be mentioned a plate in the Louvre, representing the Martyrdom of San Lorenzo, and another with the Triumph of Galatea. In the British Museum is a circular dish, admirably and most carefully painted with the story of Psyche, an undoubted work in Orazio's best manner. As with many other majolica painters, Orazio's works vary from hasty and comparatively inferior, to the most carefully finished and admirable paintings. Among the first is the plate in the British Museum, which is signed with his monogram ; and it may be here remarked as a curious circumstance that pieces signed by the painters are frequently inferior examples of their work. This mark is repeated on a fine dish in the Saracini palace at Siena, subject the Rape of the Sabines ; and on one in the Berlin Museum (No. K. 1794), the Muses and the daughters of Theseus after a design by Pierino del Vaga (see Mark No. 183). A curious plate is in the Salting Collection ; the whole surface covered by a landscape and the town of Urbino (indicated by a label), to the open gate of which, surmounted by a shield bearing a lion rampant argent on an azure field, some mounted and fully armed warriors are flying at full speed, their blazoned shields at their backs, a whip in the right hand ; one is dis- mounted, his horse is fallen. They are pursued by others equally equipped, three bearing an eagle displayed on their shield (Gonzaga ?). Labels bearing URBIXC) 209 initial letters doubtless indicate the persons represented ; they are D. V. (Dux Urbinae?), D. M. (Dux Mantovae ?). D. R. M.(?). Another label on a tower bears the monogram of Orazio Fontana as Mark No. i8r. In the middle foreground is a small building, in the window of which are con- spicuously displayed two ranges of vases, three in each, the botcga of a potter. The style of painting is like that on the siege of Goleta plate and that of S. Angelo, and may be by Guido or perhaps Orazio himself Of his signed hote^n pieces are a vasque in the Baron Alphonse de Rothschild Collection at Paris, with grotesques externall}-, and subject inside, a feast; it is inscribed ' FATO • IN • VRBINO • IN • BOTEGA • DI • ORAZIO • FONTANA.' In Mr. Barker's Collection from that of Delsette was a globular vase similarly signed, but omitting ' Urbino.' (Delange, pi. 84.) Mr. Montagu Parker possessed a pair of serpent-handled vases from Strawberry Hill, one of which is also similarly signed in dark blue letters on a light blue ground, round the pedestal ; the subject on the body of the piece is after Giulio Romano. In the Museum at Sevres is a vase, probably the pendant to Mr. Barker's, round the pedestal of which is written in capital letters ORAZIO • FONTANA. Another vase formerly in the collection of the Baron Sellicres, painted with the subject of the Triumph of Amphitrite, is more fully inscribed 'FATO • IN "• BOTTEGA 1)1 • MESTRO • ORATIO ■ FONTANA • IN • ORBINO.' It appears that the Fontana hotci^^a, although greatly encouraged and patronised, was neither founded nor maintained by the Duke Guidobaldo, but was created solely by the enterprise and sustained i)y the united industry of the Pellipario family. Orazio died on August 3, 1571. B3' his will he left his wife, Agnesina P'ranchetti Veneziana, 400 scudi, ^5:c., with power to remain in partnership with his nephew F'laminio, with a view to the benefit of his only daughter, Virginia, who had married into the Giunta family when young. We think there is every probability that the fabrique was so continued, and that a numerous class having the character of the wares of the l)otc zu/io wor/ccd about 1530. Ginti Maria Mariaiii, ) Siniunc di Aidoiiiu Man'ani, ahoiil 1542, Liica del fn Bartoloiiteo, about 1544, and Guy, from Castel Durante. Francesco Sii.vano had a botega in Urbino, at which Xanto worked in 1541, as proved by the signature on a plate representing the storming of Goleta (vide Xanto). Gf.orgk) Piccni or Picci, tlie younger, of the Diirantine Himily. painted at Urbino. Pieces signed by him are extant. Borders of Cupids among clouds and covering the surface are a favourite decoration. GiRONiMo OF Uriuno is also one of the later artists. In the Berlin Museum (No. K. 1818) is a large plate painted with a view of the Villa d' Kstc at Tivoli, witii gardens, &c. It is inscribed ' // sontuosiss" et anwniss " palozzc e giardiui di tivoli fatto in Urbino del ij/j die } de Augosto G iron into d ton u} so fecit.' M. Kiocreux mentions a plate with grotesques on white ground, and subjects in eaniaieu signed ' Gironimo Urbin fece 1583.' There is a striking piece by this artist in the Soiiiii Kensington Collection (Mark No. 215), to which we have already referred. Rafaki.i.e Ciari.a worked under Orazio Fontana, and is stated to have gone to Spain with an assortment of vases. Could it be that he went in charge of the ser\ ice painted by order of the Duke of Urbino for Piiilip II of Spain, at Orazio's fabrique, and on which that maestro is said to have worked? (Marryat.) He painted about 1530 60. GiULio OF Ukhino accompanied Camillo Fontana to Fcrrara ; he seems also to have worked elsewhere. V'asari mentions him in connexion with the works produced at Ferrara. A large jug in the Museum of the University of Bologna is signed by this artist, 'Giulio da Urbino in bottega di M Alessandro in Arimin'; it is decorated with trophies and a subject from Ovid. On a large ovoid vase, one of a pair in the Castcllani Collection, painted with figures of Justice, cupids, masks, &c , was the inscn|)tion 'Chiisiolan- de-Urb.' 220 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES The Patanazzi. Of the decadence of the Urbino potteries are the productions of the members of the Patanati or Patanazzi family. They do not appear to have succeeded to any of the former eminent artists as masters of a fabrique, but painted at the estabhshment of Joseph Batista Boccione, as we are informed by a signed example. Passeri only mentions them as being of a noble family, and as finding their names inscribed on specimens, which he instances. One of these is in the South Kensington Museum : a large dish (No. 26i2\ signed ALF . P . F . VRBINI . 1606. A large oval dish which belonged to J. Swaby, Esq. with raised masks and compartments of subject in the style of the fine pieces of the Fontana fabrique, but sadly deficient in their excellence of painting, has the sig- nature 'Alfonso Patanazzi fe. Urbini, in botega di Jos. Batista Boccione 1607,' by which we learn that the Patanazzi were not owners of a botega. Another example, a large circular dish painted with the Judgement of Paris, and signed 'Alfonso Patanati feci,' was in the possession of Mon- signore Cajani, at Rome. M. Plot states that Alfonso also worked at Pesaro. The Marquis d'Azeglio had a portion of an inkstand signed ' Urbini Patana fecit anno 1584.' It is figured by Delange, Recueil, pi. 100. The initials A. P. occur on pieces attributable to his hand, and on a large dish in the Passalaqua Collection were the letters O. A. P. P. 1548, an early dated piece. The name spelt PAGANUCCI was inscribed on a tazza in the Bale Collection, subject the Rape of Helen, after Giulio Romano. Alfonzo Patanazzi's style is coarse but free, the colours having a per- vading brown tone, the features strongly marked and the outline careless, but the general effect not wanting in breadth and boldness. In the Spitzer Collection was a pair of vases with serpent handles, signed on the plinth M°. ANTONI • PATANZI • VRBINI • 1580, the only known example by a hitherto unrecorded member of this family. A large cistern was in the Fountaine Collection, having the inscription, ' 1608, Urbini cx figlina Francisci Patanati^ and is by another member of the family. (Mark No. 236.) The initials F. P. 1617 on a piece, No. 367 of the Delsette Collection, is probably of the same ; it had the bust portrait of a woman in the centre with surrounding trophies. The colours used in the Narford specimen are less brown than those of Alfonso, and the style of painting reveals a hand found on many pieces, decorated with subject and grotesques, of the later period. Many PLATE XVII HASIN. HY AI.I UN/O I'A I ANAZ/I. UKIUNo Circii 159c) I RHINO 221 plates of a sen'ice bearing the arms of a bishop of the Contarini family were in the Narford Collection, and probably by P'rancesco Patanazzi. The letters E. B. with two shields of arms are on a puerperal cup seemingly of the Patanazzi school. The young Viiiceiizio is the last whose name occurs. Passeri cites a piece signed by him ' V'incenzio Patanazzi da Urbino di eta d'anni tredici, 1620.' Another plate by this youthful phenomenon was in the collection of Monsignore Cajani at Rome, representing the Expulsion from Paradise. It is a most inferior production, and not meritorious even for a young artist of only twelve years, as we learn by the signature. (Mark No. 237.) Several pieces of a service exist, painted in the careless manner of the decadence of the Urbino fabrique, having inscriptions on the back descriptive of the subjects, and written in the French language. Some of these were in Mr. Fountaine's Collection ; the quality of their paste and glaze, the tone of the colours, and the general technique of these plates would lead to the conclusion that they were made at Urbino or at Pesaro. M. Jacquemart (Merveilles de la Ceramique, pi. 2, p. 280) considered that they were probably made in France by some of those Durantine or Pesarese artists who are recorded as having emigrated to, and established potteries in, that country. We were inclined to think it equally probable that they were executed in Italy for a French order, and inscribed accordingly. We have a similar instance in the noble pieces of the best period with Spanish legends from ' Amadis de Gaul,' evidently works of the Orazio Fontana bofci^a made to order for a Grandee of Spain. But the researches of M. Natalis Rondot have convinced us that in all likelihood these pieces were made at Lyons for the most part by artists, whose names he records, emigrants from Urbino, Pesaro, Genoa and else- where, who had established themselves in France'. Several examples of various dates and by various hands are preserved in collections on which the words 'in Urbino' only inform us of the place of their production, without telling us by whom, or in whose establishment they were made. The following are from some of them : — In the Narford Collection, a plate: subject, Mucins Scaevola ; signed at back ' U rhino /jjj.' The Marquis d'Azeglio had a plate : subject Diana and Actaeon ; inscribed, ' ///^ Urbitii.' A plate representing the Prodigal Son, after Dilrer, is in the Museum of the University at Bologna; it is inscribed, '/;/ Urbino ///; ' ' Natalis Roiidot, Lcs Toliers dc tciic Italicns a Lyon an seiziciiic sicclc. 8vo, Lj'oiis, 1892. 222 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES In the British Museum is a plate: subject Hercules carrying off the columns; inscribed ' Vrbi . 1542.' On a dish formerly in Mrs. D. M. Davidson's Collection is the curious inscription, ' Nel anno de le tribulationi d' Italia adi 26 de Luglio !• Urbino' (? by Xanto) : subject, a priest kneehng to St. Mark. Others are accompanied by initial letters. in Urbin Ptte F™ occurs on a plate in the Fortnum Collection : subject, St. Luke seated on a bull, and holding an open book. (Mark No. 220.) T. R. F. occurs on a vase which was in the Debruge Collection : 1587 the subject of the Israelites gathering Manna, fatto in Urbino. L. V. on a fine plate, formerly in the Narford Collection. Urbino. 1533 °" ^ plate : subject David and Goliath ; in the Louvre Urbino (No. G. 315), ascribed by M. Darcel to the school of L Xanto. 1 Urbino B on a plate: subject Hector and Achilles in the river Xanthus; was in the Collection of the Rev. T. Berney. In the Louvre (Sauvageot Collection, G. 440) is an aigniere formed of alternate convex and concave bands, with dolphin mouth and serpent handles, decorated with grotesques and signed ' VRBINO 1604 P.' Other initialled pieces, variously ascribed to this fabrique, but of which we have not the marks in facsimile :— G . M. on a plate: the baptism of Christ; supposed by M. Jacquemart to be the initials of Gianmaria Mariani. G. on a large plate, representing the Parnassus, after Raffaelle, with grotesques on the reverse ; Baron Gust, de Rothschild Collection, at Paris. • f ■ L ■ R • These letters are on a plate representing a lion hunt, richly coloured after Marc Antonio ; it was in the Berney Collection, and ' it has been suggested that the initials stand for Francesco Lanfranco Rovigense. The same letters, in conjunction with the signature of Maestro Giorgio, dated 1529, are on a plate — subject Jupiter and Semele, Addington Collection (Chaffers).' We would suggest that the second letter ma}' be an ill-formed X, and URBL\() 223 that 'Francesco Xanto Rovij^ense' may be the interpreta- tion, an opinion agreeing with that of Sir J. C. Robinson. (Loan Catalogue, No. 5240.) The letter S occurs on a plate in the Alphonse Rothschild Collection, which M. Darcel attributes to Urbino. Ojone. On a plate. No. 345, Campana Collection : subject Joshua commanding the Sun to stand still ; painted in the manner of the Fontana (Chaffers). (We cannot find this piece in M. Darcel's Catalogue of the Louvre (Collection.) In the Delsette Collection, No. 835, was a large dish, subject Acis and Galatea, signed 'V R".' And No. 692, a landscape plaque, signed ' Giovanni Pernzzi dipinse.' With the exception of the large dishes before alluded to, and some few others, the wares of Urbino, as a rule, are not ornamented on the reverse. The more usual pieces are edged with a yellow line, which is repeated round the foot or central hollow, in the middle of which the titular inscription or date is written in manganese black, dark olive, or blue colour. The outlines and shading are of a greenish grey tone varying in intensity. The paste is sometimes of a pink hue, produced by the colour of the clay shining through the glaze, but in other cases of a purer white. In the ' sopra bianco' grotesques the ground is rendered unusually white by an additional surface of terra di I'iccnza or bianco di Fcrrara; the glaze is of fine quality and even surface. It may be here noticed that the wares known of the Lanfranco fabrique at Pesaro have similar chaiacteristics, and it is not |)ossible to distinguish between them. Some wares of a better class were produced at Urbino during the last century; in the South Kensington Museum is a lamp (No. 685(5) made, as the inscription tells us, at the Fabrica dc Maiolicafina which was established or conducted in that city in 1773 by a French artist named Rolet. W'e previously hear of him at Borgo San Sepolcro in 1771. In the Berlin Museum (No. K. 2265) is a pla(|uc |)aintc'(l with a landscape in the manner of Castelli; it is marked ' Urbino 1705.' 224 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES CITTA DI CASTELLO. This site is referred to by Piccolpasso in respect to the use of certain earths and colours ' alia Caslellana' and to the application of an engobe and the decoration of pieces by the Sgraffio process, which he minutely describes. On these subjects we must refer the reader to the abstract of Piccolpasso's MS., and to the description of the 'Sgraffiati' or Incised wares. Sig. Urbani de Gheltof would infer, from those early references, that the Sgraffio mode of decoration was first adopted at Citta di Castello ; there can be no doubt that it had a high reputation for such wares. BORGO SAN SEPOLCRO. On a lamp, formed of faience of a blueish white shade, painted with garlands of flowers, &c., in colour, is written under the foot, ' Citta Borgo S. Sepolcro a 6 Febraio 1771. Mart. Roletus fecit.' This French painter on faience worked also at Urbino, and like the members of the Terchi family seems to have been of a roving disposition. SAN OUIRICO UORCIA. Cardinal Flavio Chigi established a work here about 1714, inspired with the idea of reviving the art of painting on faience. It was directed by Piergentili, a painter who had given some study to the celebrated vases by Orazio Fontana. On his death Bartolomeo Terchi, Feschi, or Ferchi, seems to have worked at, or directed, the establishment, for in the Louvre (Campana Collection, No. G. 601) is a plaque representing Moses striking the rock, and signed ' Bar Terchi Romano in S. Quirico.' We shall meet with this wandering artist again at Bassano. With other members of his family he seems to have worked at various potteries throughout Italy, and examples occur on which his or their signatures appear, only accompanied by the patronymic ' Romano,' and which are of course difficult to assign to any one of the fabriques at which we know them to have vvorked. Some large vases in the Berlin Museum, parti}- CITTA 1)1 CAST ELI A). ETC. 225 enamelled and painted, partly terra cotta biscuit, gilt, are signed 'Bar Tcsclii Romano' evidently an error, or arising from the running of the letter r in the firing. Another variety, omitting the concluding letters of the name, is on a plaque which also may have been painted at Siena or San Quirico (Mark No. 246). Ferdinando Maria Campani, before going to Siena, worked also at this fabrique ; its productions were not sold, but given as presents by the Cardinal. Q CHAPTER III STATES OF THE CHURCH DIRUTA. E have very little positive information in respect to this fabrique. W Alluded to by Passeri as a pottery near Foligno, where pieces were produced remarkable for the whiteness of the paste, we are led to the supposition that he may have confounded the wares produced at other neighbouring localities with those made at Diruta; neither does he inform us whether it produced lustred wares, or only those of polychrome decoration. A few years since certain plates came under the notice of collectors inscribed ' In Deruta/ the subjects painted in blue outline, and lustred with a brassy golden colour. Doubt and uncertainty had long existed as to the spot where the large bacili, and other pieces of a well-known and abundant ware, lustred with a golden pigment of peculiarly pearly effect in certain lights, had been produced, and the discovery of these signed examples, having a somewhat similar metallic enrichment, caused connoisseurs to grasp at the, perhaps hasty, con- clusion, that to Diruta must be assigned all such wares of early date and hitherto unknown locality, and that Diruta must have possessed a pottery at a very early time and of an important character. The statement made without quoted authority by Passeri, that these well-known bacili, enriched with madreperla, as also some of gold and ruby lustre, were the produce of Pesaro, and his assertion in support of this that many of them bore portraits and armorial insignia of noble Pesarese of the latter half of the fifteenth centur}', was negatived, it was thought, by the discovery of these signed examples. As in the case of Caffaggiolo, when pieces became known among col- DlRiTA lectors on which the name of that then forgotten Castello was inscribed, in the excitement at their first discovery, and from their approximation in general character, we were led to ascribe many pieces to CafTaggiolo that really had been made at Faenza. So with Diruta, plates and tazze became known in collections, some lustred, some onl}^ polychrome, none of the former of earlier date than 1544, nor of the latter than 1535, and bearing the name of that borgo. Confirma- tion of the existence of such potteries was also afforded by the statements of Passeri and of Piccolpasso who tells us that they had been worked from early time. Local evidence of the former existence of these works was first made known by the late M. Eugene Piot, 'cet amateur si delicat, qui doublait un marchand des plus habiles ' — to use the words of the late M. Alfred Darcel. In the course of one of his collecting tours in Italy, M. Piot visited Diruta, and happening to arrive at a time when some roadway was being made or altered, the rubbish heaps of the old potteries were disturbed, revealing fragments of the wares there formerly produced, which led him to the conclusion that Diruta was the spot whence all the early lustred wares had emanated. In their enthusiasm at this discovery M. Piot and some other learned P'rench writers on Italian faience at once adopted the somewhat hasty conclusion that all the early lustred wares, including those bncili with madrcpnla which, mainly on the statement of Passeri, had hitherto been ascribed to the potteries of Pesaro, were the production of Diruta and of nowhere else. More recently M. Kmile Molinicr, for whose opinion as for that of M. Piot we have the higlu-st respect, visited the site of those ancient potteries, coniirmuig M. Piot's statement as to the existence of fragments of early lustrous wares, others of which he discovered and brought away. Upon the evidence of these fragments M. Molinier joins in the opinion adverse to Passeri's statement that the early lustred bncili were made at or in the neighbourhood of Pesaro, declaring his disbelief that lustred wares were ever produced at that locality. Hut as we have documentary con- firmation of Passeri's assertion that important potteries existed at Pesaro in early times, and as his statement of the excellence of the wares pro- duced at the Lanfranco botcga in the sixteenth century is fully confirmed by the signed and dated piece now in the British Museum, the comparison of which with the Stowe vase and other fine specimens reveals their origin, we think we ought to hesitate before arriving at such strong negation of Passeri's statement that those lustrous wares were also made at Pesaro. It is precisely this material exidence which chance afforded to M. Piot at Diruta, and which local opportunity assiduously and critically apjilied afibrded to Professor Argnani at I'\i(Mi/a, that shoukl be sought for .it 228 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES. ' Le Gabice' a distance of some six miles from Pesaro, and at other sites of potteries in and about that city, before the too sweeping sentence is passed that none of the early lustred bacili were there produced, and that Passeri's assertion is without foundation. To quote from one of M. Emile Moliniers later works : ' Qui sait quelles decouvertes nous reserve le sol de I'ltalie ; le jour oil Ton voudra faire quelques fouilles sur I'emplacement des villes qui ont ete des centres importants de production ceramique, ce jour-la on en apprendra certainement tres long sur la faience italienne.' The fragments brought by M. Molinier from the Diruta rubbish heaps, which he kindly permitted us to examine, certainly confirm his and M. Plot's opinion, that many of the early /5><7ny/ with lustrous surface were the produce of those potteries. Some are precisely of that well-known character with 3'ellow backs and pearly lustrous faces ; others more distinctly of the type of those brassy lustred wares which have always been assigned to Diruta ; but still more remarkable are some pieces, in every respect agreeing with the Hispano-Moresque wares of Valencia, and thus giving rise to the question as to whether some such, accepted as of Spanish production, may not have been the workmanship of Moorish potters who had emigrated to Italy, seeking work and perhaps introducing the art of lustrous surfacing to the potteries of Diruta and of Pesaro. It has been suggested^ that as Agostino di Antonio di Duccio, the pupil of Luca della Robbia, went to Perugia, and there executed a work in enamelled terra-cotta on the fa9ade of the church of S. Bernardino in the 3^ear 1461, it may be considered probable that he established this fabrique in the neighbourhood, and that its productions must have been of a highly artistic character (Jacquemart). The only known pieces inscribed with the name are, however, by no means of such high merit when compared with the productions of other furnaces, and the earliest date is 1535- But of anterior production and much finer quality are those un- signed pieces which, differing materially in character from the known wares of Gubbio, are with every probability ascribed to the Dirutan furnaces. Castel di Diruta or Deruta is a borgo or dependency of Perugia, in what were the States of the Church, on the road from that city to Orvieto, by Todi. It is but a few miles from Perugia, within an easy day's journey of Gubbio ; and although we are now assured that potteries existed there from an early period, of the wares they produced we know nothing but some few fragments. It is not improbable, as is stated, that Agostino di Duccio may have availed himself of them in preparing his work for San ^ V. Lazari, Notizia della raccolta Correr, p. 59. DIRITA 229 Bernardino, and have given useful instruction in respect to the stanniferous glaze. The mode of aj^jpHcation of this metalHc enrichment appears to have been Httlc known in Tuscany, and certainly never practised at the furnaces of the Delia Robbia famil}'. Passeri's assertion, although not proved by positive documentary evidence, or the existence of signed and dated examples, is we think worth}' of acceptance, perhaps under pro es and awaiting further research, that the use of the metallic lustre, probably derived from Moorish potters and adopted at Pesaro and Diruta, was com- municated to Gubbio, its subsequent great centre. It is extremely difficult in many instances to decide with any degree of certainty, as to whether some individual early specimens of the lustred ware alluded to above be of Pesaro, of Gubbio, or of Diruta workmanship ; the similarity of the process necessary to these producticjns entails a cor- responding similarity of result, but we notice generally a somewhat coarser groundmg, a golden rcflct of a brassy character, a ruby, when it (ran lv) occurs, of pale dull quality, looser outlines of a colder and heavier blue ; and in the pieces not lustred, the same tones of colour, a dark blue approaching to that of CafTaggiolo in depth but wanting its brilliancy, the use of a bright yellow to heighten the figures in grotes(|ues, S:c., in imitation of the golden lustre, and a thin green. The drawing is frequently of an inferior stamp, and a certain font ensemble pervades the pieces difficult to define, but more or less prevailing. The first documentary evidence of the Diruta potteries we owe to the investigations by Professor Adamo Rossi and the Count Conestabilc among the archives of Perugia. These were published in the Giornale di erudizione artistica at Perugia in 1872, the same year in which the Catalogue of the Maiolica, &.C., in the South Kensington Museum was published, but too late for the results of their researches to be included in the latter work. Subsequently M. Charles Casati included them in his Notice sur les Faiences de Diruta, Paris 1874. Kight records are referred to giving the names of potters working at Diruta. The first is of March 19 1387, an Act by the notary Francesco de Angeluccio by which Giovanni di Andrea l 'en/nir//a acknowledges to have received, from the vase makers of Diruta the sum of six livres for expenses at the |)rocession of S. Krcolano. The second is an Act of Constitution, wrillen in the \ ulgar dialect, of a society for the making of vases at Diruta ; and is dated Oct. 20, 1475. It is between Ai^)iolo and Mirlialai^nolo di Annihale on one part and Pieiro Li istofano and diapodio di Franeeseo delta J' rancinola, vasaii, of Diruta and the Comic di rntii^ia on the other part, 'di /are una arle ili va^a' at ihe 230 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES. furnaces of the said Michalagnolo situate at Montenero in the district of Diruta on the other side of the Tiber towards Perugia, &c. E audio promede el dido Agiiolo et obligase dc pagarc ucl prindpio de dicta compagiiia tutti li denare die bisogneranno per piouibo, siagno, terra ghreta, zaffora e generalmente per tudi li colori oportiini e die bisogneranno in la paese nosiro a la dida arte et andio per lo codme. From this we learn that tin for the stanniferous enamel was in use there in the year 1475. They further agree to bring to, or erect, all necessary mills and instruments requisite for carrying on the work at the premises of the said Michalagnolo. Also, in regard to the sale of their produce at fairs, &c., and the expenses attending thereon, &c. The third document dated Oct. 9, 1488, is a contract for the sale by Cccco di Bartolonieo, detto del Bianco and Bernardino di Matteo detto Bellomo to a merchant of Perugia of tres salmas laborerii siibtilis terre code de quo laborerio ipsi laborant et sunt niagistri.' By the notary Tancio di Nicold. The fourth document in the Perugian Communal archives grants the rights of citizenship of Perugia to an artist of Faenza who wishes to establish himself at Diruta, one Lazzaro di Battista di Faenza ' qui fuit et est vasarius et arteni vasariorum exercuit et exercitare intendit et venit ad habitandum in castro Diruii.' Jan. 21, 151 1. The fifth is an Act of the Papal Government, a rescript from the Cardinal San Vitale, Legate for Umbria, and is dated March 31, 1513. It is in the communal archives of Diruta, dispensing the inhabitants thereof from payment of certain fees, contributions, &c., in regard to the market held at Diruta on Wednesday of every week, and because ' istic ea figulina exercetur quae in bona jam Italie parte nota est et habetur in precio! And this because the inhabitants need encouragement from the State, their country being unhealthy and exposed to depredations. The sixth is a contract passed under the hands of Maestro Ercolano di Francesco, notary, dated Jan. 24, 1521, by which the Prior and con- fraternity of San Antonio di Diruta engage to furnish every year to the rector of the church of S. Antonio at Perugia otto scudelle, otto piatelldti otto tondi ed otto scudellini col segno del tau, e depinti con le arnii in azzuro di csso rettore! The seventh document is a decision by the Vice-Legate of Perugia, Monsignore Michele de' Torri, dated Jan. 19, 1554, upon a difficulty arising between the colleggio dei vasai of Perugia and one Pieragostino, a maker of faience at Diruta, 'figulinani exerccntcni Diruti.' The eighth and last of the documents brought to light by Professor DIRL'TA 231 Adamo Rossi is dated Jan. 18, T588, by which we find that the Cardinal Gaetano, on a protest from tiie Comune ot Diruta, deprives Cesare di Alexandre di Christoforo di Diruta of the privilege which he had accorded him, to gather throughout the province of Umbria fragments of broken glass and bottles, for use in the fabrication of faience. These documents afford us two facts in respect to the Diruta potteries, viz., (i) That there were potteries, we know not for what character of wares, established there as early as the eighth decade of the fourteenth century, 1387. (2) That the use of tin, doubtless for the production of the stanni- ferous enamel, was known and practised at Diruta (or, there then intro- duced?), in the last quarter of the fifteenth centur}', 1475. We learn nothing of the lustring process, nor do any preparations of copper or silver appear in the list of '// colori' named in this last deed. A more direct piece of evidence is furnished by a passage in the DescriUionc di tntta Italia by Leandro Albcrti (ed. X^cnezia, 1553, fo. 85 verso), in which we read ' Soiio uiolti noinati i vasi di terra cotta quivi fatii per esser talmcntc lavorati die paioiio dorati. Et aiiclie tanto sottdiiiciitc som> condotti die iiifiiio ad liora nun si ritrova a/ciin' artcficc nrir Italia die se li possa aggiiagliare, bcndie assai sovente liahhiaiiio isprrinientato et teiitato di Jar simile. Sono dimaiidali quest i vasi di Majorica per elie priiiiieraiinnle fn ritrovata quest' arte nel isola de Majurea et quivi portata ' '. We must bear m mind, however, that this was written in the advanced sixteenth century, when the art, particularly as regards the use of the lustre enrichment, was in its decadence. It is also remarkable that Alberti makes no allusion to tlie glories of Gubbio, the resplendent works of Maestro Giorgio; but less so that he does not refer to the lustred wares of Pesaro, seeing that their production had probaljly ceased some half a century before he wrote. We take this extract from Alberti to be of less value in support of the claims of Diruta, than the letter from Pope Sextus IV in 1474 thanking Costanzo Sforza for a present of earthen vases sent by that Lord of Pesaro, and prized as gold or silver ; and that from Lorenzo il Magnifico to Malatesta, thanking him for a similar present of wares, doubtless made at Pesaro (vide p. 145), and which 'being (juitc novelties in these partb ' must have had some such special characteristic. The earliest dated |)iece known to us was in the Castellani Collection — a votive plaque, two women seated on a bed, four persons kneeling around ; a figure of the Madonna in the sky : below is the date 1505, and inscribed ' Quoted by Labartc in his Ilistdirc dcs i\rts iiiduslricls, and again hy M. Kinilo Molinicr, Lcs Majuliqncs Italicnncs cn Italic. 232 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES. round avendo • lo • iobe • doe • amalate • in • chasa • merecommandae • AQVISTA • GLORIOSA • VER • MARIA • EF • SAO • (sCC Mark 247). A plate with sphinx on dark blue ground, signed ^fatta in diruta 1525,' is in Mr. Salting's Collection. In the Fountaine Collection was a tazza, grotesques a candeliere on blue ground, inscribed ' i<^-^'^, fatta tn Diruta '; figured in Delange's Recueil, pi. 40. M. Jacquemart refers to a tazza then in the collection of the Countess de Cambis, since in that of Spitzer, subject Cupid and Apollo, in pale and crude colours, signed ' Francesco Urbini, i Diruta, 1537.' The exceptionally excellent pieces assigned with probability to Diruta are, a tazza in the Louvre, having the helmeted head of Roma in profile, after G. B. del Porto, outlined and shaded in blue, and lustred with a brassy gold, and another in the Hotel Cluny, with the subject of Diana and Actaeon, admirably drawn in similar colour, and similarly enriched, perhaps by the same unknown artist. It has at the back the mark No. 252. In the Basilewski Collection was a fine plate, grotesques in blue on gold ground. It is figured in Delange's Recueil, pi. 44. Mr. Fountaine had a fine tondino, having the portrait of a lady in the sunk centre, outlined and shaded blue, with light golden lustre on a dark blue ground. In the British Museum, from the collection of the late Mr. Henderson, are two plates, grotesques in blue on the white ground, and without metallic enrichment, for which enrichment they may have been intended. The works of ' El Frate,' of whose name or order we are not informed, are the most numerous signed pieces of the Diruta fabrique which have descended to us. They date from 1541 to 1545- His style is generally loose and inaccurate, the design traced in brown or blue, a brassy golden reflet, the enamel dull, and in all respects inferior to the painting of the Louvre, the Cluny, and other earlier and finer plates referred to above. In the Pourtales Collection was a plate with subject from Ovid's Metamorphoses, lustred and signed 'El Frtr i Dcrnta pt 1541.' In the Louvre, No. G. 575, is another; subject, the birth of Adonis, also lustred and by the same hand, with the date 1542. Mdme la Baronne Salomon de Rothschild had one, Apollo pursuing Daphne ; signed * Febo Dafene in Derufa, 1544,' with a large letter P in lustre colour. (Mark No. 254.) In the church of S. Pietro at Perugia the sacristy is paved with tiles painted on brick-red ground and dark blue border, foliated scroll work, &c. It is dated 1563 and is probabl}^ of Diruta ^ Mr. Barker had a fine specimen, engraved in Delange's Recueil, pi. 45, ' Molinier, Majoliqucs Italicimcs cn Italie. DIRLTA 233 the subject Alexander and Roxana, painted in blue, and with a rich golden reflet; it is signed ' dcnita fc cl (rati pcDisc! (Mark Xu. 255.) It was in the Delsette Collection, and in 1870 in that of M. Dutuit of Rome. Signore Rafaelle de Minicis of P'ernio, had a plate inscribed ' di parUnnto di corvo e dlla cornice i dntfa el /rate peiisi, 1545.' In the Louvre is a plate (No. 576, Cami:)ana), subject from the Orlando Furioso, Rodomonte carrying off Isabella, ' 1545 /// dcnila frate fecit! (Mark No. 258.) Another in ihe same Museum, No. 582. has a similar signature. One in the Salting from the Spitzer Collection was similarly dated and signed ' el [rate piiisi.' M. Basilewski, of Paris, had one of the finest pieces with which we are acquainted. We recollect it in the collection of Monsignore Cajani, at Rome. It is a large dish the whole surface of which is covered with the sub- ject of Santa Cecilia, after Raffaelle, richl}- lustred with the golden pigment so characteristic of the Diruta wares. On the reverse is a mark consisting of a large letter F crossed with a florid para])h, and surmounted by a Tliis may probably also be the work of the Frate, and the mark ma}- so signify; the drawing is somewhat careful, but the colouring weak. In the Louvre, probably b^' another hand and without metallic lustre (No. G. 582, Campana), is a plate, subject a Roman triumph. On a pedestal is inscribed the name ' Ant. Lah eri,' after whose engraving it is painted ; on the reverse, ^jn dernta — 554.' M. jacquemart ascribes all the vases formed as pine cones to the earlier period of this fabricpie, but we cannot entirelv agree in that general conclusion. He is probal)ly more correct in assigning to it those pieces with grotesques in rilievo, outUned with blue and lustred with pale gold, of which No. 1804 in the South Kensington Museum is an example. The finest piece of this ty|)e with which we are ac(|uainted is a large plate in the British Museum, having tor central subject Mucius Scaevola, painted in blue outline; raised grotesques and gadroons outlined and grounded in blue hll the outer border, and the whole is richly lustretl in gold. The Louvre also possesses two good examples, and in the Museum at Arezzo is a rilievo of the Adoration of the Magi, probably of this fabrique but having great affinit}' to the works of M". Prestino, from which it is difficult to distinguish some of these pieces. In the X'isconti Collection was a plate, with central female portrait and the letter S on blue ground, the border of grotesques in rilievo on grey. On a plate, having the bust of a heroine, border imbrications and branches of fruit (i rcjlei, inscribed RATIO • PO • perhaps of Diruta or Gubhio ; in the collection of Sig. A. Castellani, who suggested tiiat it might be by Orazio Poiiipei who fiom Castel Dui-ante went to the Abru//i. 234 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES. The letter D, with a paraph, occurs on painted pieces, mostly of inferior artistic quality; such is No. 4342 in the South Kensington Museum. We have also noticed it on pharmacy vases and on a plate formerly in the possession of the late Mrs. Bury Palliser, with subject from the Orlando Furioso, La morte de Zerbino (Mark No. 256). In the Louvre is a plateau (G. 573), which M. Darcel ascribes to the earlier period of the fabrique, but which we should think of later date, having central medallion with profile bust of a female, and surrounded by rayed and other ornament of somewhat oriental style, not lustred but painted in pale green, orange yellow, &c., on the reverse of which is the letter S with a paraph (Mark No. 259). The letters C • B occur on a dish ascribed to this fabrique on uncertain authority and painted with the arms of Montefeltro. It belonged to Count Nieuwekerke (Chaffers). The letters C • V ' The initials probably of Giorgio Vasajo whose name occurs on a piece which belonged to Count Baglioniof Perugia' (Chaffers). M. Jacquemart quotes a piece of the last century, a plateau painted with grey-blue flowers in white reserves on a ' chamois ' ground, and inscribed in the centre, ' 1771 fabrica di Majolica fina di Gregorio Caselli in Denita.' The plaque which is the main object of M. Casati's pamphlet, and of which he gives a coloured representation, measures forty centimetres high by thirty wide, is entirely covered, except the narrow inscribed edging, with the head and neck of a young woman looking upwards as in adoration ; it is painted on an ochreous yellow ground and shaded in the same colour, the dark rolling locks of hair and the portion of bluish-grey dress alone affording the relief. It is much in the manner of and perhaps painted after a design by Guido. On the pale green edging is inscribed 'petrvs- pavlvs -mancinvs • DE • DIRVTA • FECIT • HOC • OPVS • AD • SVI • VSVM • ETC 163O.' It is perhaps by an amateur artistic hand, and probably a devotional tablet representing the Magdalen or some female saint. Among pieces ascribed to Diruta in the South Kensington Museum the following are worthy of note : No. 6665. A hacile of the old form and manner with subject centre, a man washing the head of an ass seated in a chair, inscribed ' Chi lava il capo a Pasiiw sc perd. o ijj6, border a qiiartiere of scale work and foliation, yellow lustre. It is remarkable as a late reproduction of the bacile of the early years of that century. No. 2541. An early bacile, not lustred, having the Virgin and angels in centre and the letters M- G surmounted by an orb on the border; seemingly not enamelled. No. 1571. Baciiio. Dance of cupids, after Marc' Antonio. BAG NO RE A 235 No 4378. Taglicre. A candeliere; grotesque birds, &c., on varied ground ; dated 1544 (Mark No 270^ No. 4332. Fnilliera. A lover and his mistress; marked and dated 1539. (Mark No. 268.) Nos. 7144 and 7155- Late pieces of inferior quality, circa 1650, mainly interesting from the titular inscription on the first, and ' Fecit in Tern Dirnte! In the later years of the last century an establishment was opened for making enamelled wares by Gregorio Caselli. A plate in the possession of M. Gasnault at Paris, with flowers, &c , painted in blue, had at the back ' 1771. Fahrica di Maiolica fnia di Grci^^orio Caselli in Dinifa.' BAG NO RF A. {Bdi^nolo or Basfiuira.) No mention is made of a fabrique at this spot by anv of the writers on the subject, but it becomes a question whether one of considerable merit did not exist there, and perhaps under the direction of Francesco Durantino. The works of that artist have always been classed among the productions of Urbino, nor have we ventured to separate them from that grouj) ; but we think it probable that he was at some period of his life the ' Maestro' of a pottery at Bagnara, and it is not unlikely that the pieces recognized as his were painted there. We ground this opinion on the inscription of the oval cistern formerly in the Narford Collection, which reads, ' Francesco DuraTiTio, Vasaro. A mote Bagnolo d Peroscia 1553,' and which appears to us strong evidence that he was then the pro])rietor of a botega at that s|iot. The companion cistern is in the South Kensington Museum. On the other hand, we have no record of a piece signed by him as being painted in Urbino. This ' Mole Ba<^nolo ' is probably the same as the Bagnara of the present day, a small caslello or village to the left of the road leading from l\'i ugia to Citta della I'ieve. In further evidence of the existence of a pottery at this place at a later period, we have in the South Kensington Museum a large circular dish (No 2432) inscribed at the buck, ' /o Sdveslro Dai^^li Olrinci Da Deruta. Falto in Buc d'Aumale, one of which has for subject Mucins Scaevola, and the otiier Curtius ; a standard on tiie Hrst is inscribed ' RO\'FN' • 1542.' These are believed to be from the furnaces of Masseot Abaquesne, who supplied the Constable of Montmorency with faience for his new residence. This same manufacturer in 1545 made vases for a pharmacy at Rouen. Under the head of Urbino, we have seen how that same patron had a service made for hnn by Guido Durantino, some pieces of which are extant. At L3ons from 1574 to 1586, we hear of opposition on the part of Pesarese and Genoese potters there established, to the setting up of a rival furnace b}' Giuliano Gambyn and Domenico Tardcssir of P'aenza. On this subject see Natalis Rondot, op. cit. Henry 111 of France in 1580 was so delighted with the pottery of Faenza, that in November of that year he desired that large quantities miglu be sent to him 'with the swiftness of enchantment.' Kven the Cardinal ambassadors could not resist the temptation of carr3'ing with them some of these charming crocs to Rome ami into France. It was Biaggio Biassini of Faenza who went to Ferrara to superintend the experimental establishment of Alfonso I, and Cesare Cari of the same place who had migrated to Urbino. In 1633 Francesco Maria Sassatclli, writing from Imola to Francesco I, Duke of Modena, states that he had only rcci ntly been able to engage a suitable artist [Pitfor c.xtcllciitc da Majolica) of Faenza to make a pave- ment of tiles for the Duke ; that he had secured the services of Francesco Vicchij, padrone of the principal botega of maiolica in that city, who had jiromised to send his painter (or designer) to Modena ; but that he could not leave till the following Wednesday, having im])ortant unfinished work in hand ; and that at the botega of M". Francesco the best painters were 250 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES employed. This MS. letter is preserved in the archives of Modena (G. Campori). Of the Casa Betfini, the family, and its production, we have documents and notices quoted by Malagola and referring to that house, which he believes to have been the most ancient of Faenza. Of the precise character of their wares or the distinctive marks that can be considered as repre- sentative, we have, however, little that is valuable; the three marks which he instances are those of owners rather than of the botega. The leading, and indeed the only certainly known work, is the pavement in San Petronio, on which we have the inscription ' Bologni • Betini- FECI • Petrus Andrea De Fave,' and the date 1487. Dr. Malagola (page 220) refers to plates stated, on the somewhat doubtful authority of Demmin, as being dated 1425, and others bearing the arms of Manfredi and other families, dated 1470, which latter are now lost, but the authenticity of which seems ver3^ questionable. He also refers to the discs after the manner of the Delia Robbia in the Cathedral of Faenza of 1474, of which more anon ; but he does not specify any pieces, except the pavement, which can, from inscription or record, be distinctly assigned to the Casa Bettini. He mentions some pharmacy jars dated 1513, on which are marks composed of the letters C and B, &c., with crosses above, and which we believe refer (as do many such-like monograms) to the monastery or pharmacy for which they were made, rather than to the establishment of the maker. M. F. de Mely, in his chapter on Faenza', supplements Dr. Malagola by adopting that writer's suggestion that the monograms on two pieces in the South Kensington Museum (Nos. 1719 and 4037 , which we assigned to Caffaggiolo, and one in the Cluny Collection (No. 2839), were to be read, as they at first sight appear, simply as P and A ^, i. e Petrus Andrea of the pavement ; but it seems to us that these monograms contain the letters P. L. A. and T., and that it would be too bold a conclusion that they are intended for the names of that worthy artist. M. de Mely gives another mark, new to us. No. 357, which he observed on a coupe in the Pesaro Museum ; the foliated mask of a sat3T formed by the letter A to which a P is joined, both being scratched in the paste, and over which the foliation and nine crossed circles, which have some resemblance, in miniature, to the Ca. Pirota mark, are painted. This he also reads as P. A. for Petrus Andrea, the pyriform mask being, in his opinion, highly characteristic of Faentine decoration. Dr. Malagola refers also to the Casa Pirota as one of the most important '■ ' F. dc Mely, La Ccrainiquc Italicnnc. 8vo. Paris, 1884. ^ - Vide Marks, Caffaggiolo, Nos. J 5. 16. - FALNZA producers: to that of ' /// moutc' to which he, as we believe wrongly, attributes the Cluny dish, so signed with surrounding tridents, but which we now assign to Monte near Caffaggiolo ' : to the Vcr^rilio and I'eri^^illiotto boteghe, recorded by Piccolpasso and Scaldamazzi as having privilege in 1552 : to the Ca. Fagioli, the high exaltation of which would seem to have been his and Professor Argnani's fcjndest hope : also to the Bcttisiiii, from w^hich services were ordered as gifts from the Anziani of Florence to Cardinal Buoncampagni in 1574, and to Cardinal Guastavillani in 1578; of these no remaining pieces are known. lie notes the fabrique of /•Vrt//r^\sr(> / Vrr/// as working in the seventeenth century : and another, that of Toudiuci Caviua Grossi, at the end of the seventeenth, which was sold in 1693 io Coittit Annihale Carlo Fcrniani and still exis s, according to Malagola the oldest in Italy. He also gives us long lists of potters' and artists" names; the majority of the latter were already known to us, but he includes a new one, that of Alanasio, who was the owner of a plate dated 1534, painted by BaUhisara Maiuirn, who signs it with his initials B M., and which plate, well known to us, is in the Museum of Kconomic Geology in London. M. Emile Molinier, in his interesting small volume entitled La Ceramique Italienne^ (Paris, 1888), discourses on the earliest examples now existing, and known to us, of glazed and enamelled wares produced in Italy. Of these some of the more im])ortant would appear to be of Faentine production. But it is to Professor Argnani's work that we must return for record ol the earlier productions of Faenza found during excavations in that ancient city. Dr. Argnani is too se\ ere upon our old confrere M. A. Jacc]uemart, whose enthusiasm led him, on the revelation of the Medici fabrique at Caffaggiolo, to ascribe too much to that artistic pottery, and in a measure to negative the high anti(juity, the extensive production, and the artistic perfection i)f the products of Faenza. On the other hand, he is too conlitlent in supporting the assumption of Dr. Malagola, that the Tuscan fabrique had no existence, except in the heated imagination of M. Jacquemart and a few enthusiasts, but that the great house of the Faggioli in Faenza was the producer of all those signed pieces universall}' accepted as having been made at the Tuscan Castello. Nevertheless, Professor Argnani's book supplies facts of the highest importance to the ceramic history of Italy. Judging mainly ln>m the fragments afforded by excavation in various places, he concludes that glazed wares do not appear till the course of the twelfth century, referring also lo the discs in various church t(nvers, &c. Not until 1300 does the use ' Vide Mark No. 43. ' Wc take this opportunity of ackiiow- Icd^iii}; M. Molinier's highly coniphiuentary reference to our Catalnjjue of the Maiolica in the South Kensington .Museum. ITALIAN PAINTED WARES of the slip of white terra di Vicenza o di Siena covered by a lead glaze {cristallina) seem to have been adopted for the better wares, and their orna- mentation by incision [sgraffw) or with designs outlined in manganese, with green and yellow colouring. The earlier wares were sometimes ornamented by ingobbiahira , applied b}^ means of a bullock's horn, pierced at the point to keep the creamy colouring evenly in line. He states that the maker of the ruder wares was known as a Vasaio, while he who made the mezza wares or bianchette was a Vassellaio (page 15). Towards the middle of the fourteenth century the use of the potter's wheel [tormo] is apparent, great progress is shown in form and colouring, the boccale (jug) becomes an abundant form, its makers taking the name of boccalari. Zaffre is then used for the blue colour; letters and sfemme, and especially the sacred monogram, and rude ornaments outlined in manganese black and filled in with green, were painted on the white engobe, the piece bathed in the cristallina glaze and again fired. This was the ware called bianchetta and mezza maiolica. Professor Argnani then tells us the important fact that towards the end of that century, or early in 1400, pieces were made at Faenza more or less enamelled with a stanniferous glaze, and among the excellent illustrations of his volume he gives us, on plates IV and V, boccali, one of which of mezza maiolica bears the arms of Astorgio I, Manfredi, and on another, whitened with the stanniferous enamel, the same coat of arms is similarly represented. The crest over the Manfredi shield is the unicorn's head, which was adopted solel}' by Astorgio I in the year 1393, and used by no other member of the family. These boccali were found beneath the Manfredi Palace at Faenza in 1883, and give evidence not only of the advanced state of the ceramic art at Faenza in 1393, other fragments of ruder wares proving its long anterior production, but also of the very important fact that the stanniferous enamel was there known and in use anterior to the fifteenth century. They do not however support the conclusion which Sig. Argnani too hastily arrives at, that its use was invented at Faenza nor have we proof for or against its having been known elsewhere in Italy at an equally early time, at Naples for instance. Those boldly designed and characteristic boccali mark a central point from which we may assume the existence of important works at Faenza long before, and from them may follow down the history of her potteries with few breaks to the present day. That the stanniferous enamel was known generally in Italy in the four- teenth century is indirectly shown by the writing of Pierre le Bon referred to by Demmin ^ ; in the Margarita Preciosa, written in 1330, we read : ' Videmus cum plumbeum et stannum fuerunt calcinata et combusta quod ' Aug. Dcniniiji. Guide dc rAiiiatcur, foiuth edition, p. 10. FAENZA 253 post hac congruum convertentur in vitrum, sicut faciunt qui vitrificant vasa figuli.' During the course of the fifteenth centur}' the wares of Facnza maintained their individual severity of style and boldness of colouring, gradually improving in quality till their perfection in the early sixteenth, when the boteghe of the Bettini, Bettisii, Ca. Pirota, in Monte, Scaldamazza di \'ir- giliotto, &c., were celebrated. We omit the name of Ca. Faggiolo, because we can see no proof that under that name any important artistic pottery existed. At those works the following artists painted, viz. some members of the Bettini family, Baldasara Manara, Gio\ anni Brama, Nicolo da P'ano, S:c. ; few indeed seem to have left record of their names, exquisitely beautiful as are some of the pieces that undoubtedly were painted at Faenza. To return to the fragments lounti by Professor Argnani in the excavations under the Maiifrcdi Palace, which are such good evidence of the early potteries of Faenza, and upon which he mainly grounds his history of their development ; he tells us that /o;/r// ()f red earth were made, coarsely ^i,'';-^^;// on the mother-clay, some coloured with patches of yellow and green, and covered by a simple lead glaze. Then occur those the coarse body of which is whitened by a slij) (jf term Sinia o I'ia'nza similarly ornamented and glazed ; and hoaali of crcfn or ri\er mud, turned and of simple form, many of which are whitened by a slip beneath the glaze. Next he finds the timid application of the stanniferous enamel, and on both of these last the arms and special iinprcsa of Astorgio I of the Manfredi, fixing their date of production anterior to 1400. On others are the ji^iji^/io, which he concludes must be that of Florence, although it is represented as of green colour: mav it not be merely an ornament derived from the fleur de lis of the Manfredi coat? On others capital letters in Gothic manner. Further excavations afforded fragments of wares, considered by Ilerr Lessing as of Caffaggiolo, but which seem to us of distinctly Faentine character of colour and decora- tion, and on one of which is found the mai'k P composed of a capital P crossed by a paraph, and to which we referred in our notice on the Caffaggiolo fabrique. Then follow pieces evidently the produce of the well-known Ca. Pirota ', and otlu-rs of the highest artistic (piality. Malagola tells us that in the sixteenth century more than thirty boteghe for the production of wares of various quality were working in Faenza. There is so much matter of \alue in Professor Argnani's work that we cannot but regret that a too local patriotism has led him to credit Faenza with more than she can justly claim. I lis tai)le of marks and attributi\-e list ' Sig. Gcnolini states that tlicrc is no an opportunity of comparing the Carlo \' proof that tlic crossccl circle is a mark plate at liologna with some of the finer denoting the fa. i'irota, as suggested by examples >o marked. Sir J. C. Robinson. He may not have had 254 ITALIAN PAINTED IVARES are sadly faulty, much being derived from the not too accurate compilations of Graesse, of Ris Paquot, and of Demmin. The most important monument of Faentine ceramic art which has been preserved to the present time is the remarkable series of painted tiles forming a pa'\/ement first brought to our notice by Sig. Frati of Bologna, and more recently described and illustrated by M. fimile MolinierK In the Catalogue of the South Kensington Collection we wrote of this pavement as follows : ' In the church of St. Petronio at Bologna is a pavement of tiles covering the ground of the chapel of St. Sebastian, and without doubt laid down at the expense of Donato Vaselli, a Canon of that Basilica, who about 1487 decorated that chapel at his own cost, and after expending eighteen hundred Bolognese lire, left much unpaid, for which breach of faith, but for timely Apostolic indulgence, he might have been disgraced. The date upon one of these tiles is 1487, and upon others are inscriptions in parts unfortunately imperfect from the injury or misplacement of some of the squares, but which as put together by Signor Frati of that city, the able author of the descriptive catalogues of the Delsette and Pasolini Collections, and of a pamphlet upon this flooring^ would read BOLOQNIESVS • BETINI • FECIT ; while upon other tiles occur: CHOR^ELIA• BE FAVENTICIE ZETILA • BE • FAVETICIE XABETA • BE FAVENTCIE and again upon another a small label inscribed PETRVS • ANDREA • DEFAVE. There is some doubt as to the correct reading of these inscriptions from ihe circumstances above mentioned. Signor Frati con- siders that they may be taken to imply that it was the work of the Betini, a Bolognese famil}', of whom Elizabetta, Cornelia, and Gentilis (orGentila?) were members, working at Faenza, but whether the letters B E after the last three female names stood for that of the famil^^, or for the compli- mentary epithet BELLA, in connexion with female portrait heads painted upon other of the tiles, is doubtful. An authority for the latter supposition is found in pieces of the pavement to be described under the head of Forli, where are tiles painted with female heads, and the word beila following the name on the same tile ; these may have been therefore the Faentine beauties of that day ; but the last inscription leaves but little doubt that ' Maioliques Italiennes en Italic, 1883; La Ceramique Italienne, 1888. ^ Di un paviniento in Maiolica, S^c. Bologna, 1853. FAENZA 255 Petrus-Andrcas de Favcntia was the artist who executed the work. M. Jacque- mart's suggestion that these were names of the donors, rather than of those who executed the work, can hardly be sustained, as we learn by docu- ments, cited by Signor Frati, that it was laid at the cost of the Canon Donato Vaselli. The Faentine origin of the plaque in the Hotel Cluny, dated 1475, is proved to be correct; and whatever doubt mav attach to that belonging to the Baron Selliere, dated 1487, there can be none in respect to the pavement of San Petronio : the fact of the name Pctnis Andrc-de-Fave occurring independent of the others upon a piccolo cartello seems to us an indisputable proof to that effect. It is painted with great skill, in a style of colouring and with ornaments which wc arc accustomed to attribute to Faenza ; trophies, animals, heads the arms of Bologna, and her motto LIBP2TAS (i/r), the keys of St. Peter, and various devices are represented, among them the silver case of lancets on a green field, and the wounded vine, iinpresc of the Manfredi family' of Faenza.' In the chapel of the Bentivoglio family in St. Giacomo Maggiore, at Bologna, is another i)av('nu'nt of similar character, but much injured by wear. It is extremely difficult to decide as to which of the great centres we may assign those pieces signed with a monogram composed of the letters T and B(l5) with and without a parapli. They have hitherto been considered as of some Faentine fabri(|ue, perhaps the Cusa Bcttiiii \ on the other hand we think we can recognize, on the Resurrectit)n |)lat|ue. No. 69. '65 in the South Kensington Museum, the same hand as that which had previously been working at Forli in the botega of M". Jrro. That plaque bears the T B monogram with a paraph, and we find it on a plate with fine landscape in the British Museum without the para|)h, probably painteil by another hand. Again, in Mr. Salting's Collection is a plate of very Caste! Durantine char- acter, painted with grotesques on a blue ground, on the back of which that monogram with paraph is conspicuous, but on which we also Hnd the crossed double circle (akin to the Ca Firota mark) and the crossed quadi angle, which we associate with P'aenza or CafTaggiolo. Moreover this reminds us that on Mrs. Hope's grand bowl, signed 'Zona Mnrid' of Castel Durante (see Mark 152), the crossed circle of the Ca. Pirota is also .seen, from which it has been suggested that its painter might ha\'e emigrated from the latter Faentine to the former Durantine botega. The pieces of the Correr ser\ ice are uow recognized as by the hand of Nicolo Pcllipai io. On the ' Saloiiioni ' |)late t)f that service we liave, with the date 1482, which can hardly be tliat of its painting, two letters which read to us more like a mediaeval T and B (or M) than G ■ I • O ■ as suggested by Lazari. Can there be any connexion h(>re ? 2c,6 ITALIAN PAINTED JVARES The pavement of tiles in the church of St. Sebastiano at Venice bears another modification of the same Tb monogram, with the date 1510, and which we agreed with Sig. Lazari, after mutual and careful examination, in referring to the same botega. Was that botega at Castel Durante or at Faenza ? Both inclined to the former; and, although we ourselves still think that Castel Durante has strong claim to the St. Sebastiano pavement and to the pieces signed with the monogram, that mark and its varieties have been so long considered Faentine, that we will not displace but include it among such marks, with a reserving doubt in favour of Castel Durante. The Resurrection plaque referred to above is so admirable that it claims special consideration and description. It is in the style of and probably from a design by Melozzo da Forli, and painted at Faenza (?) or at Castel Durante about 1510 20. It is 9=! in. high by 8 in. wide (see coloured plate in South Kensington Museum Catalogue, page 531). In all the higher qualities, as well as in delicacy of finish and minute attention to details, this plaque is one of the most artistic productions of the Italian painters on enamelled pottery which has descended to us. When we consider the small number of pigments known to the ceramic artists of that early time, it is remarkable to find so exquisitely delicate a tone of colouring as pervades the whole of this picture; at the same time there is a breadth of treatment and an effect of rilievo and of distance, which are of a very high order. The handling is like that of the great illuminators of the day, as Girolamo dai Libri and others, while the delicate transparency of the nicely graduated colour has something of the effect of oil painting. It is the work of an artist of the highest excellence, and we think may be an advanced work b}^ the same hand that painted the plate signed ' in botega di M". Jero da Forli,' a plate in Mr. Salting's Collection, and a plaque on which St. Jerome is depicted, with landscape background. The composition is in a rocky landscape, through openings of which are seen a mountainous distance, with a town and a river or lake ; in the foreground the open sarcophagus lies diagonally, surrounded b}^ a group of eight soldiers mostly in armour, and in attitudes of varied prostration and alarm ; a delicately pencilled cloud, among which are seen three cherubs' heads, supports the rising figure of the Saviour, who holds in his left hand the staff and banner of the cross. The spirit of Mantegna pervades the whole composition, and is particularly shown in the bold and masterly fore- shortening of the prostrate soldiers, while the expression of fear, astonishment, and awe depicted on their countenances is rendered with great ability. In the British Museum is a plate from the Henderson Collection which, for refinement in colouring and careful drawing, is equal to the plaque just now described, and may probably be an earlier work by the same hand. 257 On it is painted the scene of the death of the Virgin, after an engraving by Martin Schongauer of about 1500. It has always been ascribed to Faenza. We also see in Mr. Salting's Collection another and larger plaque, certainly by the same painter as that of the Resurrection, and which bears the date of 1523 on a label. It represents the Deposition: before a rocky cave is a sarcophagus, into which three disciples are depositing the body of Christ ; a group in front is composed of the Virgin, who is sinking in a swoon between two women, and a man (St. John?). Three crosses are on a hill in the right distance. It is evidently a later work by the same hand as the Resurrection plaque above described. Returning to a consideration of those pieces preserved in museums and private collections, and which can with reasonable probability be referred to Faenza; after the Nicolaus de Ragnolis plaque of 1475 ', to which we have already referred at page 247, we have the devotional plaque in the South Kensington Museum (No. 521. '65). In the centre is the sacred mono- gram in Gothic lettering, reserved in white on the dark blue ground, an outer border-wreath of orange and white flowers, an inner of zigzag rays alternately orange and white, the date 1491 and monogram (see Mark No. 297); it is in all probability attributable to the fabrique of the Casa Pirota. Of date 1499 are some sepulchral inscriptions on tiles referred to by Malagola as being in one or more churches in Faenza ; one to the memory of Antonio Porcari, bearing his shield of arms ; it is in the cloister of S. Domenico ; another has the figure of Christ with instruments of the Passion and the inscription ' OHC • EST • SEPVLCRVM • MAGISTRI • ANDREE • DE • BARHERIS ■ 1499.' Of works in rilievo, perhaps of Faenza production, we may refer to a roundel with shield of arms a testa da cavallo supported by two infant angels with coloured border, now in the British Museum from the Castellan! Collection. Delange, Recueil, pi. 13, figures a group of the Virgin and Child formerly in the D'Azcglio Collection, dated ' i^gg/ldi zQt/r Marzo,' probably Faentine. Of the sixteenth centur}-, in the Hotel Cluny (No. 2081) are two pharmacy vases, a pair, one dated 1500, the other signed ' F'aenza'; and after this date there is no longer any question of the importance and excellence of the productions of her furnaces, although unfortunately we have but little information in respect to the masters of establishments or the able painters who worked at them. ' M. Molinier seems to have wrongly read \vc did not agree with others in ascribing what we wrote on the subject of tliis plaque it to Caflaggiolo, being of opinion that in in the Catalogue of the South Kensington character it was more Faentine— ' are not Maiolica at page 473. We stated there tliat convinced that the plaque,' &c. s 258 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES It was presumably from Faenza that an artist went to Spain in the early years of the sixteenth century, and executed a work in a chapel known as the Capilla de Azulejos in the Alcazar at Seville, the altar of which is decorated with grotesques, the devices of Ferdinand and Isabella being introduced among them, and a composition in the centre. The inscription NICVLOSO • FRANCISCO • ITALIANO • ME • FECIT • 1504 • is on the work. He may have studied his art in the studio of the Delia Robbia, and possibly may have been the author of those three medallions on the chevet and cupola of the Cathedral at Faenza, commenced in 1474 and finished in 1477, and which are believed to be of Faentine production. We have no authority for this suggestion, but the general similarity of the work would point to such an origin, and the dates of production would also harmonize. They are particularly referred to by Professor Argnani. In the Jahrbuch der Kon. Preussischen Kunstsammlungen, i Heft, 1894, a devotional picture painted on six tiles, which is in the Berlin Museum, is figured in colours and described by Dr. O. von Falke. It is believed to be of Faentine production, but there is much in the colouring and general character of the work that would induce us rather to ascribe it to Forli. The approximate date is believed to be as early as 1460 ; if so, it would take precedence of the above-described works. Thereon is represented the Virgin, seated, with clasped hands and expression of deep grief ; five large swords centre their points upon her breasts ; surrounding are seven roundels on which are scenes of the Saviour's life and death ; an architectural bordering with the shields of the Piccolomini Pope Pius II, and of the Emperor Frederick III, is intertwined above with ribbons bearing their names inscribed in Gothic or rather fifteenth-century lettering. The composition is of German character, but the figure of the Virgin is thought to be Italian. It measures 50 cm. by 37. We propose considering the wares attributed to Faenza under the following heads : A. Of the Casa Bettini. B. Of the Casa Pirota. Maestro Vergilio. C. By Baldasara Manara. D. By other artists presumably of Faenza. E. Wares of the last century, and modern. A. — The Casa Bettini. We have already noticed the pavement in S. Petronio, which is signed by Petrus Andrea, perhaps the maestro or leading artist of this botega. PLATE XVI I I PLATE. SHIELD OK ARMS OF (?) ALTOVITI AND SODERINI. CASA PIROTA. FAENZA Circa 1520 FAENZA 259 B. — Productions of the Casa Pirota. One of the most important, if not the leading establishment at Faenza was known under this name, and probably existed from an early period, but when and by whom founded, and the name of its maestro, we have yet to learn. A house on the north side of the principal street, where a pottery existed some years since at which we saw some well-executed reproductions of the old wares, was stated by the proprietors to be on the site of that ancient botega. The greater part or nearly all the pieces known to us as being marked with the crossed circle, signed with the name of the house, or executed by the same hands as such pieces, are of a marked character of decoration ; the wide borders are generally decorated with grotesques, reser\'ed in white and shaded with a brownish yellow, or reserved in a paler greyish tone heightened with white, on a dark blue ground. A horftitio and sopra azz2iro are the ternis applied to this mode of decoration ; and in the former, and perhaps earlier style, we find works of the highest quality of enamelled pottery, admirable for their decoration and artistic painting. The plaque No. 521 in the South Kensington Museum, dated 1490, is the earliest recorded piece which can be ascribed to this botega, unless the Cluny plaque of 1475 be by the same maker ; and the sequence of works of identical teciinical character, signed with the mark of the establishment, continues through 1520, 1527, 1530, &c., finally falling into decadence in the hands of an inferior painter, by whom the South Kensington Museum possesses one plate marked as of the Casa Pirota in Faenza, and by the same brush, another signed ' Fo/a in For/i ' (Nos. 1776, 4317). That interesting plaque is remarkable as the earliest specimen known of the style of work called 'sopra azztiro.' It is difficult to say whether the enamel is stanniferous, but we are inclined to think that the grounding was formed, in imitation of the glaze on some of the Persian wares, by mixing the blue pigment with the ' marzacotto.' It may be classed with those pieces on which occur tiie mark believed to be of the ' Casa Pirota ' in Faenza, namely, a circle crossed, and having a pellet or crescent in one quarter. The monogram may be that of the convent or fraternity for which the plaque was made, or it may perhaps be read as ' Mater ' or ' Maria Gloriosa ' : M. Molinier suggests 'Mariae' or ' Matri Gloriosae.' M. Darcel and some other writers, misled by the monogram it bears, partly fell into the singular error of ascribing this plaque to Maestro Giorgio, with whose works it has not one single point of resemblance or technical affinity. s 2 260 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES A further confusion has arisen from the assumption that the red pigment made use of in the armorial bearings, &c., upon some of these pieces, similar to that which occurs on examples known to be of Cafifaggiolo, is sufficient to stamp them as of that fabrique, although many such bear the crossed circle of the Casa Pirota. This is in all probability that rosso di Faenza alluded to by Piccolpasso, which may have been equally well known at Caffaggiolo, if not derived by that fabrique from the potters at Faenza ; its use on pieces ascribable to each of those potteries is unquestionable. The works of at least three painters are discernible upon the wares of the Casa Pirota. First are those charming pieces of the greatest technical excellence by the painter of a shallow bowl, No. 354. '72 in the South Kensington Collection, which is marked on the back with the crossed circle having a pellet in one of the quarters ; the subject is Curtius leaping into the gulf, with border of grotesques reserved in white, shaded with brownish yellow on the dark blue ground. By him are other pieces similarly shaped with central subjects and borders in similar tone. One in the British Museum from the Henderson Collection, its subject Jesus before Annas after Albert Diirer, is signed IN FAENZA; the Entombment is the subject of another in the same museum; another with similar subject, dated 1519, belonged to Mr. Fountaine ; one is in the Museum at Arezzo ; and prob- ably by him also is the plate in the Museum at Bologna representing the coronation of Charles V in that city in 1530, and which is signed on the back FATO • IN • FAENZA • IN • CAXA • PIROTA. The style of this painter has some distant affinity with that of the more careful works of Baldasara Manara, who may have been his pupil, but who fell into a careless manner in his later work. An important piece was in the collection of the Baron Gustave de Rothschild in Paris, but whether painted by the artist whose works we have under consideration, or by that more fertile hand presently to be considered, we are not able to say. It represents Joseph discovering his cup in Benjamin's sack, and is inscribed in a circular band on the reverse FATE • IN • FAE • lOXEF • IN • CA • PI ROTE • 1525. To this artist, or to him who follows, may probably be ascribed a fine plateau with the usual dark blue border and grotesques, the centre of which is filled with the subject the Calumny of Apelles, and surrounding bianco sopra bianco. It is in the Rijks Museum at Amsterdam, and is figured by Dr. R. Forster in his paper on the subject in the Jahrbuch for 1894, Part I. We next have the painter of the fine plateau. No. 7158 in the South Kensington Museum, and of the better examples of those abundant pieces of this botega, having central subjects painted in a greenish-yellow tone on the berrettino, or coats of arms emblazoned, and wide borders covered with FAENZA grotesques in a lighter tone heightened with white on dark blue ground. This artist also ventured into bolder subjects upon plaques of considerable size, two of which are in the British Museum. One represents the Adoration of the Magi ; over a portico which forms a background to the composition, the crossed circle and pellet, mark of the fabrique, and the date 1527 are inscribed, while on the reverse is a yellow roundel between the letters B • B • F • F • and the same date (see Mark No. 307 on another piece in Mr. Salting's Collection). In that museum also are some pieces of a service painted by the same hand, one covered with the subject of the Centaurs and Lapithae; on a jug in the foreground of the picture are the VIC ^ letters j • Others, having the usual grotesques on sopra azzuro border, are centred by the arms of Guicciardini tlie historian, and have the crossed circle mark on the reverse. In the Fountaine Collection was a plaque by the same hand, dated 1529 on the reverse, in an ornamental roundel between the letters F • F • In the Loan Collection of 1862 (Cat. No. 5173) was a large trencher, subject a Holy Family after the manner of Michel Angclo, on a stone in the fore- ground the letters AN • FA • AN • and on a square tablet F-; another (Loan Cat. 5174), a plaque, has for subject the X'irgin and Child m the clouds above a group of the Aj)ostles (after Marc Antonio's engraving of Raffaelle's ' Madonna di Foligno '). In M. Delangc's folio work a plate is figured, then belonging to Madame D Yron, now in the Salting Collection ; on it is a ban(|uet described as that of Dido and Aeneas ; in the foreground are the letters F • R • on a slab. There are good examples of this master's work in the Continental collections, so also in the British Museum and at South Kensington, where, from the fine plateau No. 7158 of his more careful time, are examples of his decadence, such as No. 4357, representing the picture by Raffaelle, ' Lo Spasimo di Sicilia,' which also is signed with the letters F ■ R • f)n a stone in the foreground. A fragment which passed from .Sig. Castcllani into the hands of M. Basilewski in M;iy, 1872, was by this same master, and on the reverse was a pink flower, tlie i^arofalo, which puns upon Benvenuto Tisio's nick- name, surmounted b}- the letter B (Mark No. 310). That the painting of this fi ngment was by the hand of that master is out of the question, but it is an extremely interesting mark, possibly referring to a design of Garofalo's from which the subject may have been copied. This is another instance of the difficulty in assigning the marks and monograms on these painted pieces ; they may refer to the designer of the subject, to the owner of the piece, to its painter, or to the fabrique at which it was produced ; the greatest caution is required before we make a definite attribution, which can 262 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES only be safely arrived at by careful comparison of many examples of the same class. In this case it may be presumable that these letters F • R • are the initials of the painter or designer of the subject. The medallions upon some of the scalloped and impressed pieces {scannellato and smartellato) which we believe to be Faentine are much in the manner of those greenish-yellow pictures and probably by inferior pupils. The borders are moulded in gadroons or angular panels and decorated a quartiere with grotesques and foliation reserved and shaded with cobalt on an orange ground or painted in yellow on the dark blue. None of these pieces are marked with the crossed circle of the Casa Pirota, although there is considerable affinity between them and the sopra azzuro wares. Marks but rarely occur on such ; they consist generally of a double monogram of the letters V with R and A with F (see Mark No. 328) varied. A piece in the British Museum with Mark No. 332 is a curious instance of the economy observed at the pottery : having been decorated in the ordinary way, it appears that, in the firing, the glaze had run from the surface, leaving a bare place on the uncovered ' biscuit ' at the side of the central medallion, and hopelessly disfiguring the subject. That the piece might not be wasted the interior was filled in with fruit modelled in the round and coloured from nature ; again submitted to the action of the fire, these adhered to each other and to the surface of the tazza, producing an ornamental piece from what would otherwise have been unsaleable. A similar piece is in the Ashmolean from the writer's collection (No. 479). From what we are told by Piccolpasso, there can be little doubt that a similar class of wares was also made at Castel Durante, and under figures 42 and 44 of Tav. II he gives us examples of the manner of moulding such pieces ; it becomes a question therefore whether any, and which, of these pieces were produced at Castel Durante, and which at Faenza. One in Sir F. Cook's Collection (from Barker) with very dark ground, and differing in some particulars from the more typical pieces, is lustred with ruby and gold ; it is a solitary instance, to our knowledge, of a piece, presumably Faentine, being enriched with the lustrous colours ; but here again we fall back upon the probability of its being a piece really made at Castel Durante and lustred in the usual way at Gubbio. A plate in the Basilewski Collection, figured by Delange in his folio work, pi. 55, subject a king enthroned, and seemingly intended for David or Solomon, but there described as Charles V, has on the reverse a monogram of the name NICOLO and date 1521. This has been attributed to Nicolo da Fano, but is distinctly in the manner of Nicolo da Urbino, and the monogram is a variety of his. (Vide Urbino, p. 191, and Mark No. 174) Much confusion has arisen among our continental neighbours in respect FAENZA 263 to the works of that excellent master of Urbino, some of whose pieces have been attributed to the laboratory of the Duke of Ferrara, others to Nicolo da Fano of Faenza, and a small remainder to himself, errors which a comparison of specimens, and a better knowledge of his style, might have avoided. Passed refers to the fabrique of Maestro Vergilio, and Piccolpasso states that it was in his botega that the ro>so di Faenza was used, giving the mode of its production by means of bol armeniacfa silicate of alumina highly charged with oxide of iron), and describing the difficulty of its manipulation, and his own want of success in its application. We must, however, bear in mind that Piccolpasso wrote some twenty years later than the date of pieces made at the Casa Pirota upon which the red colour is seen, and that it was used abundantly at Caffaggiolo. If his statement is correct, that this pigment was only used at the botega of Maestro X'ergilio in Faenza, and we have it on specimens bearing the mark of the Casa Pirota, may we infer that Vergilio was really the maestro of that important establishment ? A plate formerl}^ in the hands of Delange, with subject Apollo and Marsyas, was inscribed at the back ^Apollo Marsio fatto in la bottega de Maestro Vergilio da Faenza ijj6. Nicolo da Fano.' A document among the archives of the house of Este, states that in 1556 Alfonso of Ferrara bought maiolica from one Nicolo da Faenza, perhaps the same Nicolo da Fano. Following in the footsteps of the 'green man,' but with more awkward tread, one or perhaps more painters continued the style of colouring and sopra azznro grotesques, apparently working at the Casa Pirota, but we also find examples on which the mark may be only an imitation of the true ; it must, however, be confessed that its form was \aried from an earl}' period of its use, as will be seen from those wiiich are given among marks on pieces of this fabric|uc. One specimen of this later lime in the South Kensington Museum, conspicuous for its inferior painting (No. i776>, is marked with the crossed circle; while another (No. 4317) shows an equally bad production by the same brush ' In Forh.' proof direct that both these fabriques had the dubious advantage of that painter's assistance. Before quitting the subject of this important Faentine botega, we would refer the reader to the observation made b}- Sir J. C. Robinson in his description of the late Mr. Hope's Castel Durante bowl, in a note to page 404 of the 1862 Loan Catalogue (No. 5160) ; where he calls attention to the fact that on that work by Giovanni Maria, of Castel Durante, in 1508, occurs this same emblem, the mark of the Casa Pirota, a circle or globe quartered by crossed lines, and hax ing the pellet or small circle in t)ne of the quarters, 264 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES which is held in the hands of two of the amorini on the front of the piece. This cannot be an accidental circumstance, neither is it the emblem or impresa of the patron of these potteries ; but it may imply a connexion between them ; and as we know that the works at Faenza existed anterior to 1508, it may be that Zona Maria Vro (Giovanni Maria Vasaro ^) emigrated from the Casa Pirota of Faenza, and established himself at Castel Durante, where, on an important work executed for Pope Julius II, he records his name, and introduces a memento of his former locality. That there was close connexion between the fabriques of Faenza and Caffaggiolo there can be little doubt, and accordingly we find that the red pigment so frequent upon the earlier pieces of the Tuscan pottery is the same as that used upon the Faentine, which is probably no other than the rosso di Faenza referred to by Piccolpasso. Further, it may be noted that the trident occurs as a mark in connexion with the crossed circle on a plate of the Narford Collection, dated 1531 (Mark 308); it will also be seen alone on Nos. 1723 and 2544 in the South Kensington Museum, presum- ably of Faenza, and again on a plate signed ' in chafaggiiiolo' and with the mark of that establishment. Maybe he who used it as his emblem also emigrated from the Casa Pirota to the Tuscan Valley. C. — The Works of Baldasara Manara. The first notice we have of this painter on pottery occurs in Zani's Enciclopedia Metodica^, in which work, under the name of Mannara, he refers to the signature of the artist upon a sottocoppa (see Mark No. 336), on which is painted the subject of the Triumph of Time, then in the possession of Doctor Marchini of Parma. This tazza, which is perhaps the most important example signed by that artist, is one of a service, pieces of which exist bearing his signature, and similarly decorated with orange scale-work on the yellow ground of the reverse. One of these, engraved in Delange's folio work, pi. 58, was in the possession of Monsignore Cajani at Rome, and is now in the South Kensington Museum ; its subject is the Resurrection. Other two are in the Ashmolean Museum (Fortnum Collec- tion), viz. that with the Triumph of Time, above referred to, a composition of eighteen figures surrounding a car, on which Time is drawn by two stags, and a tazza painted with the subject of an armed conqueror in Roman costume, seated, and sui rounded by his officers, to whom an old man kneels ' Sir J. C. Robinson reads the letters Vro as Urbino ; we tiiink, however, that I'asaro or Vasaio, vase maker, is more Hkely to be correct. - Pietro Zaiii, Enciclopedia Mctodica. 28 vols. 8vo. Parma, 1817-28. PLATE XIX FAENZA while offering a human head on a salver, which the former regards with astonishment •? Pompey's head brought to Caesar); five other figures follow the old man ; a town and landscape are in the background. It is painted in precisely the same manner as the Triumph of Time, and signed on the reverse (see pi. XIX.). Another tazza, also in the F'ortnum Collection, and evidently b}- the same hand, has for subject Alexander and Diogenes ; and again, another, representing Christ healing the Paralytic, is decorated with blue and yellow reticulation on the reverse ; both these are without signature. The Marquis D'Azeglio had another with this artist's signature, the subject Pyramus and Thisbe. In the British Museum is a plaque less carefully painted than the fore- going signed examples, with an equestrian portrait of Batiston Castellini, the standard-bearer to the Duke of Ferrara, inscribed 'batiston • casteiijn • FAVENTIN • lA STRNWS • MILES • DVCIS ■ FERRARIE.N • ANTESIGNA.M •' dated on thc reverse '1536, a di tri dc luje,' dixxd signed ' Ba/desara-Manara famtinc fa- ciebai' (Mark No. 337). This is an extremely interesting piece, as it fixes the date at which he was working, and proves that Faenza was the site of his labours, which the letters Jaii on the Triumph of Time tazza had only imperfectly revealed. Some pieces of another service exist, of which one is in the British Museum, subject the V^estal Tuccia, and another in the Museum of Economic Geology in Jermyn Street, the signature on the back of which is given (Mark No. 338). The subject of this plate is Narcissus at the fountain ; Cupid stands on the other side. The name F. ATNANASIX'S is prob- ably that of the owner of the piece ; the letter F. may or may not stand for Faenza, while the B. M. are the initials of our artist, by whom undoubtedly the plate was painted ; the date 1534. Argnani, Genolini, and others fall into error on this name, which may be read Vnitcr AT//ANASIVS. Three shields of arms are on thc border of the plate, which is painted with even less care than the British Museum plaque. Other unsigned pieces, ascribable to Baldasara, are in collections. We cannot agree with the late M. Darcel in ascribing to his hand the admirable centre of a plate in the Louvre (G. 67), which is beyond Manara's power, and not in his manner. Probably of the Casa Pirota is a plate, which we have not seen, but which is figured by Delange on pi. 52 ; to judge from the engraving, the treatment of the central subject has a strong resemblance to Manara's manner. It belonged to M. Joseph. 266 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES D. — Works by other Artists presumably of Faenza. As before stated, a multitude of homeless casuals have been attributed to the workshops of Faenza, from technical characteristics and manner of decoration, while as many more of somewhat different complexion have been promiscuously charged upon Urbino. Our ignorance, from want of evidence of the exact localities of their production, leads to this doubtful generalization, and, until the discovery of signed specimens by the same hands, or documental record, we must rest content with the assumption. Many early pieces, modelled in high relief and in the round, are probably of this origin, although there can be little doubt that other places produced parallel examples. Of the former is, we believe, the group representing the Adoration of the Magi in the South Kensington Museum (No. 2410), a fountain representing a knight sleeping, his horse tied to a tree ; also No. 2551, &c. In M. Delange's large work is figured an inkstand, pi. 12, representing a mounted and armed knight, and a bell, pi. 8, formerly belonging to the Marquis D'Azeglio, quaintly inscribed Sl^dCiana • bcllcl ■ 0opra • I'altce • belle, which are probably of the production of Faenza in the latter years of the fifteenth century. They differ from pieces ascribed to Caffaggiolo in a certain rigidity of modelling, the use of a shading and outline of a darker or more indigo-like blue, and a free application of yellow and orange pigments ; a more Gothic sentiment prevails on some, probably from the influence of the German school ; and we find subjects copied or derived from the works of Diirer, Martin Schoen, &c., more frequently upon the higher class of Faentine wares, and those of Forli, than on pieces by painters working at the more southern centres of the art. A plaque, also figured by Delange from Monsignore Cajani's Collection, pi. 14, representing the Virgin and Child, dated 1492, may be of Faenza or Forli. but we are more inclined to ascribe that curious one in the Louvre (G. 39), also figured in the same work, pi. 10, representing the saints ' Crepin and Crepinien,' patrons of the cordwainer's craft, to the latter fabrique. From an early period Faenza seems to have produced a large number of electuary pots and pharmacy bottles ; a pair of such are in the Hotel Cluny, one bearing the name faenza, the other dated 1500. Many of these vases are decorated in the style known as a quartiere, being divided into compart- ments painted in bright yellow, &c., on dark blue, with foliated and other ornament, and usually having a medallion with profile head or subject on one side, under which the name of the drug in Gothic lettering is inscribed on a ribbon. A curious example is in the British Museum, a large flask- PLATE XX TAZZA. DANCE OF CUPIDS. AFTER THE I'KINT BY MARC ANTONIO (BARTSCH, 217), BUT ALTERED IN THE BACKGROUND. FAENZA OR CASTEL DURANTE Circa 1525 FAENZA 267 shaped bottle of dark blue ground with yellow leafage, and with twisted handles, upon the medallion of which is represented a bear clasping a column, with the inscription ' et sarrimo boni ainici' allusive, in all probability, to the reconciliation of the rival houses of Orsini and Colonna in 1517. We would here refer to the frequent occurrence on these vases, as occasionally upon other pieces, of pharmaceutical and ecclesiastical signs, letters, &c., surmounted by the archiepiscopal cross, and other emblems which we believe are allusive to the uses of monastic and private pharmacies for which the services were made, and not to be confounded, as has too frequently been the case, with the marks of boteghe, or of the painters of the piece. These emblems have no other value to us than the clue which they might afford to patient investigation of the locality and brotherhood of the conventual establishment to which they may have belonged, and among the archives of which may be recorded the date and the fabrique by which they were furnished. But what are of far greater interest are those admirable early pieces, painted by ceramic artists of the first rank, who, beyond a rare monogram or date, have left no record of their place or name, and whose highly-prized works are jealously guarded in our public and private museums. Some of these, with reasonable probability, are believed to have been executed at P'aenza. Of later date are certain fine pieces, by a superior hand, perhaps working at Faenza, or, with ccjual probability, at Castel Durante, but which must not be confounded wilii those by an artist associated with the Casa Pirota, and who is known among amateurs as the 'green man,' although we find the same initial letters F. R. on stones or other objects in the foreground. I lis works are in colours of the richest tone, yet harmonized, and with admirable disposition and vigorous yet careful design. A large plate (No. 7680 in the South Kensington Museum) has for subject the Gathering of the Manna finely treated by his hand. At Narford was one representing St. Jerome in the desert ; and another, referred to at page 183, now belongs to Mr. Salting, on which Lucretia is the subject, with an in- scription in Greek. The companion plate representing Dido, with Latin inscription, and signed F. R. upon a stone, is in Sir F. Cook's Collection. Although hitherto ascribed to Faenza, we incline to the belief that these pieces may be Durantine. Another fine plate, perhaps by the same hand, subject the rape of Helen, also belongs to Mr. Salting. Of minor excellence, but characteristic in its decoration, and of early date, is a deep bowl-shaped plate in the Basilewski Collection from that of Mr. Barker, figured in Delange, pi. 47, with the subject of Actaeon, sur- rounded by a border of interlaced strapwork in yellow, blue, orange, S:c., 268 ITALIAN PAINTED IVARES and dated on the reverse 1503 (Mark 349) ; it is described in the Loan Catalogue (No. 5159). Of the highest excellence is a plate formerly in the Narford Collection, also figured by Delange, pi. 23 ; it is covered with grotesques, satyrs, &c. ; in the lower part a satyress is nursing her baby, a subject which, with the addition of a satyr playing on a pipe, and landscape background, covers a beautifully painted plate in the British Museum. The Narford piece is painted in a low but harmonious tone of colour on blue ground, and on the face occur the initials I. R. and the date 1508 (Mark 350). The admirable plateau, described under No. 5162 in the 1862 Loan Catalogue, and then belonging to the Baron Lionel de Rothschild, we believe to be of Caffaggiolo rather than of Faenza ; as may be that in Sir F. Cook's Collection from Mr. Barker's, an exquisite piece, signed with the letter R. (Mark 352), and representing a centaur tied to a column, cupids, &c. The British Museum has some examples of early date and great excellence, which may be assigned to this locality, although they do not afford us dates or monograms. So with a small but beautiful plate then belonging to Mr. Morland, and described under No. 5175 of the Loan Catalogue, as a unique example. In the collection of Mdme. Salomon de Rothschild, of Paris, was a plate having for subject the decollation of a saint, and signed on the reverse amidst imbricated ornament, ' Fatoin Favenza 1523.' M. Darcel ascribes No. G. 68 in the Louvre to the same brush. Several examples are preserved, of an early character, perhaps the work of one hand, who marked them on the back with a large M crossed by a paraph. They are usually plateaux with raised centres on which are portrait heads, or shallow dishes with flat borders. No. 1612 in the South Kensington Museum is a specimen, and the Marks Nos. 339-40 are from others of the same artist or fabrique, which, wanting more definite infor- mation, is supposed to be Faenza, and there we leave them. Delange figures one with the portrait of ' Lucia bella,' from the collection of M. Fau, pi. 15. At Narford was one from the Delsette Collection, having a bear-hunt in the centre, with medallions on the border of blue and orange leafage. Sir A. W. Franks has another, and others are in the British Museum and South Kensington Collections. Variations of the letter F are found on pieces, some of which are fairly ascribable to this fabrique, but we need not point out the fact that many other localities of the manufacture can claim the same for their initial letter, and that the characteristics of the pieces themselves are a necessary test. Later in the sixteenth century, when subject-painting covering the whole surface of the piece was in general fashion {isfonafa), the unsigned works FAENZA produced at Faenza are difficult to distinguish from those of other fabriques. Some examples exist in collections, as one in the Louvre (G. 771 with the subject of a cavalry skirmish, and inscribed ' 1^61 in Faenca' but we have no knowledge of their painters, and even the occurrence of the name of that city is but rarely met with. Her wares are usually ornamented on the back with imbrication, as was the manner of Manara, or with concentric lines of blue, yellow, orange, &c. We have seen that this fashion pertained also to Cafifaggiolo. E. — Of the pottery produced at Faenza during the seventeenth and the last century we have but little record. Some pharmacy vases are mentioned by M. Jacquemart, signed 'Andrea Pantales Pingit, 1616,' but the signature does not appear to be accompanied by the name of that city. In 1639 Francesco Vicchij was the proprietor of the most important fabrique. The Marquis D'Azeglio had a specimen of that period having a mark. In the South Kensington Museum, No. 549. '83 is an ugly white inkstand with coloured shield of arms, signed ' Zacharia yalarcssi 1651 in Faenza.' In 1693 Tonducci, there established, sold his fabrique to Count Annibale Carlo Ferniani, in whose family it remains and is still working. Dr. Malagola and Sig. Urbani de Gheltof record the names of painters engaged there. In 1771 we find the name of a French artist known as Monsu, and in 1777 Gaspare Germani, from I lungary, was employed ; other artists, as modellers, &c., were also there. There is now at the Ferniani fabrique a museum, in which are various specimens of Faentine production of the last centurv and others. In 1777 also the brothers Benini and Tommaso Ragazzini came from the F'erniani works and established a fabrique, which was closed in 1778. Some other equally short lived W(M-ks began and entled during the last years of the eighteenth and the earlier years of the present century. From Faenza artist-potters emigrated to various parts of Italy and elsewhere. We find Faentine potters at VY^Tice in 1489 Matteo di Alvise tt 1574-6 Vincenzo di Benedetto Gabellotto at Ferrara in I 490 -I 502 Frate Melchiorre 1} 1493 Ottaviano ti 1502-24 Biaggio dei Biassini tt 1517 28 Antonio e suo figlio Camillo »» '527 Vincenzo tl 1528 35 Catto in Urbino 1536 Cesare Cari Imola 1543-52 Giovan. Maria Raccagna 270 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES in Mantua 1552 1616 1563 1574 Tomaso Scaldamazza Francesco Nisi Giovanni Battista Domenico Tardessiri Giuliano Gambini settled at Lyons Scipione Gambini, probably coming from Verona at Lyons at Nevers 1592 Lyons. FORLI. At a short distance from Faenza, Forli, on the site of the Roman Forum Livii, though a fine and interesting town, is no longer a place of that import- ance which she held as a free city in the middle ages, nor when under the rule of the Malatesta and of the Ordelaffi. Much exciting and romantic history attaches to the period of her occupation by Girolamo Riario, the nephew of Sixtus IV, and his heroic wife and widow Caterina Sforza ; here is that Rocca so valiantly defended by her against the troops of Caesar Borgia and his French allies. Taken at the assault, maltreated by the Borgia, she was rescued by AUegri, the French commandant, on the plea that by French military law a woman could not be held prisoner — a convenient pretext, for, on receipt of sufficient ducal ducats, Caterina was basely given up to her worst enemy, by whom she was taken prisoner to Rome. The amount of written record which has as yet been brought to light on the subject of the ceramic industry of Forli is very small, and devoid of those details which would make it of substantial value to our history. The earliest notice we have of her pottery is an indirect one occurring in a document referred to by Passed, and dated as early as 1396, a passage in which states that Pedrinus Joannis a Boccalibits de Forlivio olim et nunc hahitator Pensauri — John Pedrinus, formerly of the potteries of Forli, and now an inhabitant of Pesaro ; thus proving that such a manufactory did exist at the former town previous to that date ; but it does not inform us whether it was more than a furnace for the production of ordinary wares. Piccolpasso, writing in 1548, refers to the painted maiolica of Forli, and there can be no doubt, from the examples we still possess, that at the time he wrote, in the middle of the sixteenth century, it was well known as having been one of the important fabriques of Northern Italy. We learn that in 1549 the Comune agreed that wares of Faenza might be brought into Forli on condition of the payment of a dazio or bounty to the vasai of the latter city, to be used for the repair, and probably keeping in repair, of the town clock in the communal palace ; and further, that the Faenza market might be opened to the wares of Forli. FORLI In the Istorie di Forli, written and published by Paolo Bonoli in 1661, he states that the maiolica of Forli is not to be despised, if not of the perfection of that produced at Faenza ; that many 3'oung persons were employed at that work under trained maestri. We must bear in mind, how- ever, that at the time he wrote the art was everywhere en decadence, and that at least one hundred and fifty years had passed since the period of its perfection. But of far more value is the evidence afforded by the fortunate juxta- position of some half-dozen pieces of the best period in the collection of the South Kensington Museum, and the fact that on one highly characteristic example we have recorded the name of the botega and the place in which it was produced — ' i la botega d M". ieroda Forli.' The careful comparison of this, which has a marked style of its own, with the other pieces referred to, alike in respect to technique, tones and application of colour, and quality of glaze, enabled us to trace a connecting chain of de- velopment, and to recognize a marked character in the productions of at least one botega at Forli, at which works of the highest artistic merit had been produced in the later years of the fifteenth and early in the sixteenth century. Probably the first piece in point of age is a kite-shaped plaque for wall incrustation, in the South Kensington Museum, No. 2591. '56, bearing the arms of the family of Ordelaffi, Lords of Forli ; its probable date is about 1480-90. 11 in. b}- 8| in. The green of the lion is, like that of Caffaggiolo, remarkable for its transparent nature, and doubtless coloured by copper ; the drawing is vigorous and able. The Ordelaffi were Lords of Forli during the greater part of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries ; the last, Luigi, died in exile at Venice in 1504. Dante refers to this family under the figure of the green lion's claws : ' La terra, die fe gia la liinga prova, E di Fraiicesctii sanguiiioso niucchio, Sotto le l»aiiclu' vcrdi si ritrova.' — Inferno, xx\ ii. Next we have the plaque No. 490. '64, with ogee-shaped top and moulded edge, painted in brilliant colours; outlined and shaded with blue on white ground. The \'irgin is seated on a dwarf wall or pedestal, coloured bright orange and purple, and inscribed with the date 1489 ; the Child sits on her left knee, supported by her hands ; he is naked, holding an orange orb surmounted by a purple cross in the right hand, and is crowned with an orange nimbus, crossed purple. The drawing of the whole subject is very masterly, particularly the treatment of the Virgin's head ; 27r 272 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES the heavy and somewhat artificial folds of the drapery and the general manner of the design are characteristic of the school of Mantegna, and may with reasonable probability have been sketched by Melozzo da Forli. M. Emile Molinier writes of this plaque \ ' Cette piece est I'une des plus belles faiences que possede le musee de South Kensington ; M. Fortnum ne serait pas eloigne de croire que le dessin en a ete execute par Melozzo da Forli lui-meme.' Probably next in sequence of date is the deep bowl-shaped plateau or bacile, No. 7410. '60 On its central medallion is a group of boys gathering and picking fruit from a tree ; one climbs, while six receive the fruit below ; landscape background ; the sides of the bowl are covered with scale pattern in orange and blue on white ground ; the rim, grounded in orange, is ornamented with scale and ribbon work in blue and purple ; on one side are two shields of arms, in colour, surmounted by a crown ; they are those of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, who died in 1490. Reverse, palmette and leaf ornament in deep blue on the white ground. A com- parison of this fine and boldly decorated piece with the plaque No. 490 will at once show that the same colours were used probably by the same hand, and on an enamel of similar whiteness and brilliancy, and that therefore there can be little doubt that this service, painted for Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, was the work of an able artist of Forli painting in the botega of Maestro lero. The plate No. 1738 is of the same service, as is also the ' tondino ' No. 2597. Another bacile is in the possession of M. Ch. Mannheim at Paris. A plate in the Fortnum Collection may be by the same hand. Perhaps of the same service may be the vase No. 351 in the South Kensington Museum from Mr. Webb's Collection; it is half ovoid in form below a spreading shoulder and elongated conical neck. On either side is a strap-like S handle, with scroll ends ; the decoration, strongly outlined and painted in dark blue, divides into zones of scale and other pattern, relieved with yellow or white on blue ; on the handles a band of crescents in blue and yellow. Its probable date is about 1480 90. Another similar vase of large size, a magnificent piece, is in Mr. Salting's rich collection ; on this, beneath the handles, is a monogram composed of the letters A and V. Another like vase, which may be of the same set or service, is in the Museum at Brunswick. Matthias Corvinus was born in 1443, and began his troublesome reign in 1458; he married (i) the daughter of King Podiebrad of Bohemia, who died in 1464 ; (2) Beatrice, daughter of Ferdinand King of Naples. He was a liberal patron of the arts and sciences, an excellent linguist and scholar, an able general and brave soldier ; he died in 1490. ' La Ceramique Italienne, p. 61. 273 The curious early vase, No. 8529 in the South Kensington Museum, in which a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance ornamentation occurs, we have also assigne:d to this fabrique, although M. Piot thought it might be of Pavian production. All these pieces have a strongly marked character, perhaps approaching nearer to the productions of the best period of the Caffaggiolo fabrique than to any other, and have hitherto been classed as of unknown origin, or doubtingly ascribed to Faenza. Their characteristics are, an enamel of great brillianc}- and whiteness, an orange colour of brilliant and deep quality, a dark blue of great intensity, much used and in a peculiarly massive manner, a liquid and transparent green, and a purple of great depth and tone. The ornamentation is in a large and boldly efTcctive style, even on the smaller pieces, although this manner is less apparent on those painted in blue camaieu. Of somewhat later date but retaining tiie same general characteristic technique is the tile No. 7549 of the Soutii Kensington Catalogue, painted in blue on white ground; Sta. Veronica holding the 'vernicle' or napkin impressed with the face of our Saviour. Its date would probably be about 149010 1500. It is \o\ in. square. The drawing of this subject seems to be by the same masterly hand as the plaque No. 490. It was purchased by the writer in a small shop at F'orli in i860, and there is every reason to believe that it came from a house or church in that town. Next we have the piece which tells us, by its inscription on a label, the botega and the locality of the pottery which produced these exceptionally fine works. A large plate. No. 4727 in the South Kensington Museum ; subject, Christ disputing with the Doctors, painted in blue relieved with white on a white ground ; on the upright sides a diaper pattern in bianco sopra bianco, and on the rim tro])hies of musical instruments, arms, tools, &c. Reverse, elaborately ornamented with belts of foliated scrolls in blue, on white ground ; in the centre, on a label under a goose, is inscribed, ' / la botc<^a d ;;/" ivro da Foili' (Mark No. 384). About 1500. Diam. 14 in. This very interesting piece is figured in colour at page 554 of the South Kensington Museum Catalogue, and is the onl}- one known to be signed with the name of the owner of a botega m Korli ; unfortunately we only learn his christian name ' iero' (for Jerolamo or ?Geronimo), but whether painted by him we are not informed, neither do we learn his family patronymic. Though treated in a larger and bolder st^'Ie, we have little doubt that the tile No. 7549, and the fine plaque No. 490, are by the same clever artist, and it is reasonable to believe that the designs for all three were after the groat master of the place, Mclozzo. The subject of this T 274 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES plate is ably treated. Nothing can exceed the beautiful porcelanous quality of the enamel, which, thin but purely white and even, covers the whole surface with a brilliant glaze ; the entire subject and ornamentation are outlined and shaded with great delicacy in a blue of a somewhat grey tone, and heightened with pure white. ' A porccllana ' was the technical term for this manner of colouring, although perhaps with strictness it applies only to the design on the reverse, which savours of Eastern influence. The border, a trofei, is most elaborate, consisting of arms, books, tools, shoes, musical instruments, &c. This plate was formerly in the Collegio Romano at Rome, from whence it was obtained by the late Sir Henry Cole; it is in as perfect condition as on the day it left the workshop of M". iero. A plaque or tile from the Piot and Spitzer collections, now in that of Mr. Salting, is beautifully painted by the same hand with the subject of St. Jerome in the desert. At back it is inscribed ' memento mei.' M. Fau exhibited at the Trocadero, in Paris, a fine delicately painted plate, white ground with pale blue and bianco sopra bianco decoration, surrounding panels with coats of arms, some in colours. The Marquis D'Azeglio had a plate with similar style of border, and central subject of David and Goliath, on which occurs the date June 1507. One of the same character was contributed to the Loan Exhibition of 1862 by Mr. Addington, an exquisite plate of great perfection of manufacture and dexterous painting, after an early Italian engraving, with border of trofei and medallions on dark blue ground, which Mr. now Sir J. C. Robinson minutely described in the catalogue of that collection, No. 5181, but it bears neither signature nor date. Another plaque of later date, described by Mr. Robinson in the catalogue of the Napier Collection (No. 3008) as of the highest qualit}^ of art, he thinks resembles the work of the Forli painter. Its subject is Adam's Temptation, after Marc Antonio's print. It bears the date 1523, and at the back a mark, thought by him to represent a weaver's shuttle and a distaff, and which he suggests may be a rebus of the artist's name (Mark No. 383). The remains of what must have been an important monument of the ceramic art of Forli, though now unfortunately much injured and having comparatively few of the pieces intact, are the tiles which formed a pave- ment; No. 30, '66 in the South Kensington Collection. These are painted with various coloured devices, coats of arms, and portraits ; among them one initialled P. R. and D. O. with the inscription ego pIgit . petrvs . inmagina . SVA . ET . IMAGINE . CACELERIS . SVE . DIONISI . BERTINO . RIO . I513. They Were formerly in the private chapel of a villa at Pieve a Quinto, near Forli. We quote our description of these tiles from the South Kensington Catalogue. 'There can be but little doubt that this pavement is mainly the FOR L I 275 handiwork of the painter who executed the plate, which the label tells us was made in the botega of ni° iero in Forli ; but that inscription leaves us in doubt as to whether these tiles were painted by the Maestro himself, or by one Pietro R. We hardly dare suggest the possibility of the omission of the capital letter P in signing his name upon the plate No. 4727, or of the phonetic rendering of any local pronunciation of the name Vicro, by which we may arrive at the conclusion tliat the Maestro and the painter \ \')JiGOPlGITvPETRyS'li^^ N MAG INX^ S YA- ET-I CJCELEHIS-SY DIOHISIvBEKTlN -RIO -i -ri 3 were the same person ; we would however suggest that there is some awkwardness in the rendering of Geronimo or Girolamo by "iero". ' That the tile upon which this puzzling inscription occurs, and the other portrait tiles of this pavement, and tiie Basilewski scodclla, were painted by the same hand there is not the slightest doubt, and we further believe that the dish No. 4727 was also his work in the botega of " M". iero." We must hope for the discovery of another specimen of his very excellent art, or of some document which may more clearly reveal to us his name and history. A plaque described by Mr. J. C. Robinson under No. 3008 in the T 2 276 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES catalogue of the Napier Collection at Shandon, representing the Temptation, Eve offering to Adam the forbidden fruit, after a rare print by Marc Antonio (Bartsch, No. i)^, is dated 1523, and is of the highest artistic excellence, but unfortunately much broken. Mr. J.C.Robinson states that it has several points of resemblance with the Forli plate No. 4727, and we think it probable that it may be classed as a more mature and careful work of the same painter. On the back of the Shandon plaque is the Mark No. 383, which Mr. J. C. Robinson thought was intended to represent a distaff and a weaver's shuttle, " probably a charade or rebus of the name of the painter " ; if so, may not the letter R, the second initial accompanying what may possibly be the painters portrait on the tile, stand for rocca, the Italian word for distaff, and the painter's name declare itself as Pietro Rocca ? But this is mere specula- tion, perhaps more worthy of acceptance if we felt sure that these were really the objects represented, but we confess that there appears to us as great a similitude to a brush and painter's palette as there ma^- be to a distaff and a shuttle. 'Among the other portraits on these tiles are some imaginary and of classic personages, and others which may be more real and of contemporaries. Thus we have " niron," "chamilo," " sase," " charlomn," "stephanvs • NARDiNVS," "CECHVS • DE • RVBEis," a dogc, with the inscription " prencipvs QVE • VENECIA," a bearded portrait of " vgolinvs . mvsic'-," and that of the painter " melotivs . pitor"" of Forli, also a "Carolina" and a " leta." They are painted in an orange pigment, heightened with white, on a yellow ground, or on one of a nearly similar tint in caniaieii, and are bordered with blue arabesque leafage, a porcellana, in precisely the same tone of colour, ' At the sale of the Shandon Collection it passed into that of Mr. Locker. Of this worthy musician, Leandro Alberti, in his Descrizione d' tutta Italia, Bologna, 1550, folio, p. 280, says, Ugolino (nominato Orivetuno) glorioso miisico, et inventore de le note sopra gli articoli delle dita delle mane. Florio Biondo, of Forli, in the Roma ristaurata et Italia illustrata, p. 6, says, Ugolino Urbivefuno da Forli ne le cose di musica si lascia d' gran lunga qual si voglia altro addetro, et it libro cJi egli ha scriffo d' musica oscurera qualunque altro die abbia mai scritto non altramente che si scriva qitello che ha Bonato scritto oiissr flowers, &c. The colours used on them were generally blue and brown, with yellow occasionally, on a pale blue or dull white ground. Sig. Urbani de Gheltof (op. cit.) gives much information on the potters of Venice and their productions during the last and the earlier portion of the present century. Venice lays claim to the invention of porcelain ; and we have alluded to this matter, although beyond the boundary' of our subject, in the notice on the fabrique at Ferrara. We may however state that the production of porcelain was taken up by a member of the noble family of Vezzi, in partner- ship with Liica Alaiifoinni, and works opened in S. Niccolo in 1719: it failed about 1740. The Hcivelcke also set up works in 1758, but it too was soon closed. Giiiiiiiiniio rV)~c/ opened a fabrique at S. Giobbe in 1765, and made excellent p(jrcelain, the best about 1769. The woiks fell with the Republic in 1812. TRET /SO. Garzoni, in the Piazza Universale, which has been already quoted in reference to the pottery of Pesaro and other places, speaks of the wares of Treviso as being as inferior to those of Faenza as puff-balls to truflles. A deep dish formerl}- in the Addington Collection, on which is painted the X 3o6 ITALIAN PAINTED J FA RES subject of the Sermon on the Mount, with border of grotesques on a blue ground, has on the reverse a male portrait, supported by cupidsand encircled by a band on which is inscribed : d.o.n. p.a.r.i. s.t. o.e.d a. t.r.a.v.i.s.i.o., and on a label ' mdxxx 8.' Whether this is intended for the signature of the artist, or the name and portrait of the owner, to whom it might have been a gift-piece, is an open question ; we incline to the latter solution, in which case it becomes doubtful whether the piece was made at Treviso or at some other fabrique, for pre- sentation to the Don, a resident of that place. Wares somewhat like that produced at Monte Lupo, and perhaps at Castel Durante, having a glossy black or brown-black glaze, decorated with spra3^s, scrolls, birds, &c., in thin gilding, the paste being of a coarse red clay, have been ascribed to this place of manufacture. Such may also have been made at Venice : France also produced a similar pottery. An inferior incised ware was made at Treviso in the last centur}^, which could advance nearly as good a claim to the production of all the early sgrajfiaii as that made for La Fratta (see p. 237). A plate of atrocious execution in this style is inscribed, ' Fabrica di boccaleria alia campana in Treviso, Valentino Petro Storgato Bragaldo jo figlio fabricator. Jouane Giroto Liberal figlio fecie. Matteo Schiavon inciso e delineator. Anno dni c.i.c. ic. cclxix.' Fragments of wares with a white and unctuous glaze, painted with flowers and ornaments in the style of the Rhodian, and which are generally ascribed to Candiana, have been found at Treviso and in the neighbourhood. In the last century (1766) Giovanni Rossi di Stefano opened a fabrique of maiolica at La Fiera, a borgo of Treviso, and obtained a grant for ten years. In 1771 it was made over to Giovanni Maria Rtiberii, to whom privileges were granted in 1772 and 1777. Subsequently one Giovanni Fontebasso set up as a rival and made soft paste porcelain which had a reputation. It degenerated, and ceased in 1862. BASSANO. This fabrique appears to have been established in the first half of the sixteenth century, as shown by the researches of Signer G. Basseggio. About 1540 one Simone Marinoni, of Pesaro, where he learned the art, erected a furnace in a suburb of Bassano called the Marchesane. He had a furnace also at Angarano (Urbani de Gheltof). Two pieces attributed to this botega are mentioned, one dated 1555, representing Saints Francis, Antonio, and Bonaventura, the colours and glaze on which have partly failed in the firing; and a plate dated 1595, initialled S. M. BASS AM) In the Castellani Collection was a foot-shaped inkstand decorated in green and yellow and signed j.C.F.R 1569 4^ BASANO (Mark No. 432). The Manardi brothers Ottaviano, Sforza, and Georgia in the second half of the seventeenth century succeeded in making the lattcsiiii wares similar to those produced at P^aenza and at Lodi ; obtaining in 1669 the privilege for twenty-five years to make such wares; in 1675 to make use of certain earths therefor; and in 1693 the right to make wares after the manner of Genoa. Soldiers originally by profession, on the occurrence of the war with the Turks at Candia, they left their works at Bassano for the scene of action, were made prisoners, and died before 1705. Meanwhile the Moretti family, having established works in a suburb of Bassano in 1694, probably for inferior wares, rose to the occasion and produced pieces of a better class, continuing to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Of the Manardi family a sister remained, with Odoardo her son and his four daughters much reduced in circumstances. On April 30, 1707, they obtained the privilege to reopen the works for twelve j-ears under the direction of Giovan. Anionio Caffo, and sought for the best artists. One of the Manardi sisters living at Rome engaged Bartolonico and Antonio Tcrchi for two years ; Anionio painted figures, Bartohmco landscape. Their work continued there for only a shoi t time, as in 1727 we find one of them at Siena and Bar/oloinco at S. Ouirico'. In 1737 Caffo, having left the Manardi, obtained leave to set up a pottery on his own account. Both tlie Manardi and the Catt'o fabriques gradually declined. The Moretti ha\ing in tiie meanwhile set up works at Angarano which failed, it was taken up by Baldasarc Mariiiotii, of the family of the early potter of Bassano, who, taking to wife If>polita Mrnigltini, began to set u|) a pottery in 1754, which was hardly productive till 1779. lie died leaving a widow and five children. Their works were opposed by Antinobon of Nove. The Nove fabrique being moved to Bassano, it was united to that of the Marinoni by the marriage of the last descendant to Zotrsso, of the other house. Their only daughter married one De//a Vella, who had conducted the works of the Marinoni of Angarano, and became the more active and continuous producer. A plate in the Louvre (No. G. 599), painted with the subject of Lot and his daughters escaping from Sodom, is signed ' Antonio Terchi in Bassano,' with the mark of a crown with five points (Mark No. 433). On the l)ack of a piece belonging to M. Le Blanc in Paris, painted with a landscape;, is the signatuic, 'B' Terrhj, Bassano," and the five- pointed crown (Mark No. 434). ' I'rhani dc CilicltnC. Iiitorno niciiiir Kalibriclic in Bassano. 1876. X 2 ITALIAN PAINTED IV A RES A pair of vases with subjects after Raffaelle are signed ' Bar Terchi Romano, 1726,' but we have no means of knowing whether the}^ were painted at Naples, S. Quirico, Siena, or Bassano ; there is also some doubt whether the mark of the crown alone (Mark No. 435) can be attri- buted to this fabrique or to a work by Terchi at some other place. NOVE, NEAR BASSANO. This fabrique, commenced at the latter end of the seventeenth century, in 1689, was fully established in 1728, under the direction of Giovanni Battista Anfonibon, who, in 1732, petitioned the State for leave to open a shop for the sale of his wares in Venice. Lazari, in the Catalogue of the Museo Correr, rightly states that it had a beginning ' in sul finire del secolo xvii,' not in ' the first years,' as he has been misquoted. Pasquale Anfonibon, son of Giovanni Batiista, succeeded him in 1738. He was a man of great energy and well acquainted with the potter's art; he soon secured the services of the- best handicraftsmen and artists of the time, specially of il Cecclietto, an excellent painter. The business prospered and increased greatly, and the magazine opened by him at Venice had to be supplemented by another in 1741. Further concessions were made to him by the Republic in 1761 and 1765. In 1750 he commenced making porcelain with the assistance of Sigisniondo Fischer of Dresden, then of a French artist, and afterwards of Pietro Lorenzi of Cadore, producing hard paste porcelain of great repute. In 1770 G. B. Anfonibon relinquished the fabrique of Nove to his mother, who conducted them under the manage- ment of Giovanni Maria Baccin, who left her in 1780 to set up a fabrique in partnership with Gio. Battista Vicro of Bassano, which was famous for figures and groups modelled by Donicnico Boscllo, formerly working at Angarano. The fabrique at Nove was then put under the direction of Francesco Parolin of Bassano; in 1783 its privileges were renewed, and after the fall of the Republic in 1802 it was let to Giovanni Baroni, who with his son Paolo continued the work, aided by German and French artists, till 1824, when it was again taken in hand by Antonibon, and but feebly continued ; on his death it was held by the Commendatore Pas- quale Antonibon, who finally made it over to his son Gio. Batiista : it still produces wares of various kinds {Urbani de Gheltof). M. Demmin records a ' surtout de table,' the inscription on which reads, ' Delia fabrica di Gio. Batta. Antonibon nelle none di Decen. 1755.' Some admirable works in faience were produced at Nove, one of the most remarkable being a vase in the Italian style of the period of Louis XVI , the ground of which is of a fine ' gros bleu,' with medallions, yOVE—PADLA 309 carefull}' painted with classical subjects, and enriched by gilding applied with great skill. This vase, which is 2 feet 5 inches high, was seen by the writer many years since, in the hands of M. Kuhn, a dealer at Geneva, with some figures, and other pieces of the same manufacture, all of which he had purchased at Venice. It thence passed into the pos.session of Mr. C. W. Reynolds. On the base are cartouches mscribed ' Fab" Baroni Nove.' In 1762 one hundred and fifty men were employed at the works. Pasquale Antonibon then had the direction. The faience is of excellent technical (|uality and good painting, and is much esteemed. Well-modelled jiieces are met with, formed as fish, ivc, lying upon a dish, with rockwork, fruit, &c., in relief, and surmounted by a lemon to form the handle of the cover. Upon one such M. Jacquemart records the mark S • I ■ G. 1750. In the rooms connected with the chapel at N yniphenbuig, near Munich, is a service of many pieces, having the arms of the Royal family of Bavaria, and said to have been made for Maximilian Emanuel, the Elector, who lived from 1662 till 1726; they are coarsely painted with subjects from Roman history, &c., with descriptions in Italian on the reverse, and on several the name which seems to read DOIM, but the first letter is probably intended for an N, and the third for \'. 'riiere is a candlestick among the rest. Giovanni Battista I'icro of Bassano, who joined Baicin after leaving the direction of the Antonibon works at Nove. undertook the manufacture of ordinary stovis^lir until 1882, when he conuiienced making artistic maiolica (Urbani de Glieltof). r.mr.i. Padua is named by Piccolpasso, among other cities at which works existed in his time (1548), but without entering into any description of the character of the wares produced ; and we are indebted to the re- searches of the late Sig. Vincenzio Lazari, the able author of the Notizia, and Director of the Correr Collection at Venice, for the discovery of the long anterior foundation and of the locality of the botega, as also the existence of an interesting example of its produce. In the street of Padua still called after the pottery, the ' Via delle Boccalarie,' he found a house m which were manifest remains of the ancient furnaces, and upon the walls of which, towards the street, was a casing ot enamelled tiles, in blue and white triangles ; among these was a disc of 52 centimetres in diameter (2oi inches), |);iinte(l with the sul)ject of the X'irgin and Child upon a throne, between S. Ruch and Santa Lucia, with angels and ITALIAN PAINTED WARES a shield of arms ; these figures are slightly in relief, and white, with the exception of the hair, which is yellow, and the dress of the Virgin of a pale blue. The clay is coarse, and the glaze thinly though care- fully applied. The subject is after a drawing by Nicolo Pizzolo, a pupil of Squarcione, and rival of the celebrated Mantegna (about 1450-1500). On a part of the throne is the name NICOLETI (Mark No. 446^ This interesting piece is now in the Public Museum at Padua. M. Emile Molinier states that it is executed in outline a sgraffio, the red clay being covered by a yellow- white engobe. The researches of Sig. Urbani de Gheltof have brought to light many hitherto unknown facts in the history of Paduan ceramics. It appears that in the sixteenth century there was a corporation of the local potters. Excavations for building, &c., have yielded scodcUe and bacini of mczza maiolica similar to those of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to be seen in the towers, &c., of churches in various parts of Italy. Earlier wares of mediaeval and classic times are also found in abundance ; and among the glazed fragments previously covered with an engobe are some pieces showing Oriental influence in the designs of the ingobbiatura and sgrajfiata ornamentation : others are Gothic in manner, with inscriptions, some in Latin, others in the vulgar diction of the period. But these mezza wares do not appear to have been of sufficient excellence to satisfy the more wealthy of the Paduans, for in 1451 one Isacco Dondi ordered from Giaeoino di Pietro, bocalaro in Faenza, a furniture of maiolica biaiica fina. In 1497 Pietro Barozzi, then bishop of Padova, ordered a pavement of tiles from Giovanni Anionio e Francesco da Urtino, to be placed in the private chapel cf the Vescovado. These still exist, and are illustrated in Sig. Urbani de Gheltof's pamphlet^: the bishop's arms appear in a shield suspended by ribbons from a surrounding circular wreath, each angle of the square being occupied by a cherub's head. In 1534 and subsequently Giovan Campa obtained leave to export ^ lavori de piera ' to ' Portognaro' These must have been of mezza maiolica, for the manufacture of tin-enamelled wares does not appear to have been introduced at Padua before 1544. In that year Nicola dalle maioliche obtained exclusive right to make ' minere de Piombo ad iiso dei boccalari.' From the period of the production of the Nicoleti tile till the middle of the sixteenth century, we have no example of Paduan enamelled pottery. No. 1742 in the South Kensington Museum is the earliest known, dated ' La Ceraiiiica in Padova. Padova, i888. CANDIAiXA 1548: it is marked with the cross always occurring on signed pieces of this fabrique, and is by the same hand as the following piece, No. 1684, which is dated 1550. A plate in the British Museum -the Head of Pompey brought to Caesar— is dated 1550. The great similarity to some |)ieces of the Venetian wares, from the inferior examples of which it is difficult to distinguish them, and which they, perhaps, were intended to imitate, is shown by No. 1724 in the South Kensington Museum, bearing the date 1555 and the Paduan cross. Next in sequence is a plate with the subject of Adam and Eve, formerly in Mr. Barker's Worn the Delsette Collection, dated '1563 a padoa,' and bearing the same mark (Mark No. 447) ; and of the same year, one in the British Museum, on which the cross is placed b(;tween two initials N and F (Mark No. 452); and of the following year, and by the same hand, is another piece in the same collection, representing Hercules and a nymph, or perhaps Polyphemus and Galatea (Mark No. 453'. We have no further record of the manufactory, but pharmacy vases with handles continued to be made even till the last century', and were known as ' Alia Padovana ' ; they were of a pearly grey colour with flowers in relief. The signed and dated pieces above mentioned are by no means of high artistic merit ; the colouring and drawing are generally careless and inferior, with strong high lights coarsely rendered in white or 3'ellow. A pervading grey tone is observable on all the pieces, arising from the grounding, which both on the face and the reverse is of a blue-grey tint, imparted to the substance of the gla/e, and characteristic of the wares of this fabrique. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, and judging from the examples which ha\e descended to us, it could have been only of secondary rank. CAN DIANA This pottery was onl}' known to us as having produced wares painted in imitation of the Rhodian or Syrian, and we should have remained ignorant of the place where these copies were made, but for an example in the collection at Sevres, which is marked " Candiana, 1620' ; another has since been recorded with the date 1637. M. Jacquemart mentions a piece of the same ware, on which are the letters S • F • C, and another inscribed MS • DKGA, on a rihi)on or cartouche which crosses the bouquet of flowers on the face of liie jiiece ; another from the D'Azeglio Collection, attributed hv Mr. Clialfers, with sonic doul)t, to this potter\-. has the name PA C ROSA. 312 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES We are inclined to think that these two last must be the names of the owners rather than of the painters of the pieces. None of the examples are of high quality, either in respect of glaze or colouring, which is but a poor and weak attempt to reproduce the brilliant effect of the Oriental wares. They all appear to be of the seventeenth century. Not recollecting the existence of any important place of that name, it was suggested by the late Marquis d'Azeglio that this term, Candiana, may merely refer to the style of ornamentation on a ware really made at Venice or at Padua, and imitative of the Oriental imported from Candia and Rhodes. But Candiana really had a fabrique. Sig. Urbani de Gheltof^ reminds us that at a small place in the Paduan territory called Candiana was an abbey of some note in history ; and he refers us to a document of August 3, 1604, in which it is stated that the Padre Pietro da Verona, residing at Candiana, wrote to Pietro Gazzini, sending to him three artificers from their local pottery, who sought employment in Padua. The letter bemoans the sad state of the art of the scudellari at Candiana and the small sale for their wares. The three men's names were Aiitotiio Paulo, pittore ; Lodovico, toniitorc ; and Giovanni tie Di iism, pittore. VERONA. In a contract for the dowr}' to be given to the daughter of one Baldassare, a weaver, living at San Luca in Venice, signed on April 4, 1499, we find among the witnesses Antonino de Favcnzia bochalariiis Vcronensei. From this we learn that the art was there in practice at that time, and that it had been introduced from Faenza*''. Piccolpasso also names Verona as a producer of fictile wares. Formerly in the possession of the Rev. T. Berne}', of Bracon Hall, was an extremely well-painted iston'ato plate ; its subject the clemency of Alexander in liberating the wife and family of Darius. There is a shield of arms on the face of the piece, which is inscribed on the reverse, ' 1563, a di genaro • Giv • Giouani • Batista ■ da • faenza • In Verona M,' followed by another letter which has unfortunately scaled away with a portion of the glaze. The first three letters of the name have been supposed to read f, c, a, and have thus been taken to signify franco, and the painting consequently the handiwork of the celebrated G. Battista Franco. But we agree with Sir J. C. Robinson and M. Jacquemart in the reading of ' Notizie Istoriche sulla Ccraniica Italiana, p. 24. Roma, 1889. - Urbani dc Ghcltof, La Ccrainica ncl Vcncto, p. 18. 1885. 7 'ERO.W I 313 the three letters as Giuseppe ; the distinct dot over the central letter i, and the form of the others, preclude the idea of their being intended for an awkward abbreviation of the surname Franco. The letter M, followed by another, is probably the mark of the botega, periiaps the initials of its owner's name ; but of this we know nothing, nor of the artist who painted this interesting example of an otherwise unknown fabrique. We learn that this plate is now in the South Kensington Museum. CHAPTER VII LOMBARDY, PIEDMONT, AND STATES OP GENOA. MILAN. NOT until the last decade of the sixteenth century do we find record of the existence of a fabrique at this city, although Piccolpasso refers to the wares made in Lombardy without defining any particular site. By investigations made among the Milanese annals Sig. Genolini dis- covered that in 1594 Rocco di Bigli e Gugliehno Sormazio, in the name of the Universita dei bottegarii dei vast da prida, prayed that the exclusive privilege of making maiolica might not be granted to Prandoni and Mardica, who we presume had begged for that right ; and also against fraudulent imitation of such wares. On May 13, 1594, Giovanni Pietro Leyna, Milanese, asked for that privilege for ten years, he having invented methods of producing wares of golden and various colours and enriched with translucent colours like gems, &c. The privilege was granted for six years, but the works do not seem to have been successful, as we find no further notice of them. There is reference in 1595 to one Giovanni Maria, who had a furnace in the parish of San Carpoforo. Prom 1595 to 1726 there is no record of such wares being produced at Milan ; but on July 5 in the latter year a decree was passed by the Regia Camera forbidding the introduction of maiolica foresticra into Milan on pain of forfeiture of 100 golden scudi. In 1745 a fabrique existed under the direction of Felice Clerici, who asked for and obtained certain privileges and exemption from tax. This was an important botega, and by him were employed Carlo Giuseppe Negriiii, Pasqiiale Rubati, Paolo Galletti, Francesco Giovanoln, Anionio Marlinelli, Aniadeo Stailan, Alessandro Giovanola, painters, and Giuseppe F'outana and Carlo Gissone, modellers. MILAN In 1746 Clerici erected new works near the Porta VYM cellina and obtained a confirmation of his privileges. The Giunta del Mercimonio in 1748 continues his grant for twelve years, but every three 3-ears he must make a return of his operations. The Giunta in 1759 again renewed his prerogative for twelve years, seeing that the works increased to the public good, the wares improved in form and quality; and that 115 persons are employed. The Regia Camera granted him a thousand lire annually for twenty years. Clerici's works were at S. Vittorio and in active operation in 1772. The wares produced by him were painted with flowers, &c., on the white enamel ground and enriched with gilding. Of known pieces of Clerici's wares several arc in the collection of Cav'' Kmilio Conti. at Milan ; others in the possession of the Bagatti-Valsecchi of the same city. Mr. C. W. Reynolds had a service, the tureen bearing that maker's mark, the letters F^"^ \\\\.\\ ' Milano' above (Mark No. 460). A plate with similar mark is in the South Kensington Museum. On May 15, 1762, Pasqiialc Ritbafi, having left the ser\ice of Clerici, petitions for the exception of the ' Dazi Civici' and the contribution from the Mercimonio in his favour; he having erected a new fablnii a dt luaiolica near S. Angclo and far away from the works of Clerici and S. Vittorio. In 1764, on August 11, Rubati complains to the Tribunale that one Fiocclit, a mere vendor of wares, in partnership with I'niiursco (jrosnif, were about to set up a new fabrique at a short distance from his, and prays the Tribunale not to grant them permission. We find, on March 11, 1796, that Pasqimlc Riibafi has been some time dead; and that his widow made over half the works to his son Carlo Riilmti, who joins Einaiiitclc Boiizanini in continuing the business. Although many pieces are marked with Pasquale, the father's name, we do not meet with any bearing the names of Carlo or of this new firm. The productions of the Rubati fabricpie were of excellent quality, flowers, insects. Sic, painted in relief on the white ground ; man}- pieces with Japanese subjects and figures in Japanese costume ; others after the manner of Capo di Monte, 6i:c. Fine examples are in the ])ri\ ate collections at Milan above referred to. The mark is varied, F ■ P • R • M sometimes on a heart-shaped scudo, as (Mark No. 459) on a piece in the late Sir W. Drake's collection ; others are signed ' F di Pasquale Rui)ati, Mil '.' Jardinii-res, so signed, belonged to M. Paul Gasnault (JacquemartI, (Jn a plate at Sevres is the Mark No. 458. Sig. Genolini found also that in 1784 an address was presented to the l'^in|)cror during his sojourn at Milan, signed by Caf>laiit Ccsarc Coii/a/uiiirri, 3i6 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES a hitherto unknown maker of maiolica at Milan. He states that he had at great cost erected new works at Santa Cristina ; these works had continued some seven 3'ears, but that they were then closed and neglected in conse- quence of the invidia of others, to the great prejudice of himself and his numerous family; he details the insults he had experienced and the damage done to the machinery and building ; and prays that a delegate might decide as to what processo dcfeiisivo criminale should be taken. The only known piece produced at those works is a large tureen, having flowers painted on a yellowish-white enamel and gilding ; the handles are formed as lions' heads, and four lions' paws are beneath ; on the cover is a group of Venus and Bacchus on a goat, &c. It is signed beneath, * Fabbrka de Santa Crist itia! Many pieces in collections are only signed Milano in full or abbreviated ; on others, ascribed to some one of those works, an oval or a circle in black is seen beneath the piece. A service also attributed to Milan, in the style of Dresden, with flowers in cania'ieu rouge violace, has one piece inscribed with what would seem to read 'M'' Brccclii.' It is referred to by M. Jacquemart. There is in the neighbourhood of Milan, 'at St. Chrystophe,' a modern manufactory which was under the direction of Ginlio Richard, who reopened works begun by Liiigi Tinelli in 1823 for making porcelain : they were closed in 1840 (Urbani). Services of faience and imitations of early wares, some stamped with Wedgwood's name, were there made. The mark is G. R. (Chaffers). In partnership with others it subsequently took the name of the Societa ccraiiiica Richard. LODI. We attach small value to the statement made by Corona^ that the ceramic art was taken to Savona by one Angela Cattaiico 0 Cataiii from Lodi ; no definite authority having been given in support of that statement. He however refers to a document, till then unknown, communicated to him by Sig. Braghirolli from the archives of Mantua, by which it appears that in 1526 one Maestro Alberto Catani, bochalaro, of Lodi was experimenting on the production of porcelain for the Marchese di Mantova. It appears that a family named Cappellctti, of Lodi, made vasi e stoviglie there in the sixteenth century. In the next century the manufacture greatly improved and increased, and took rank with that of Faenza. In 1625 Pietro Gio- vanni Sordi, and at the same time Pietro Poniis, of Lodi, painters of such wares, are recorded : the latter died at Vienna in 1680. Their productions ' Italia Ccnunica, p. 464. LODI—PAVIA were similar to those of Faenza and other contemporary potteries; white enamelled wares, for the most part, with or without central subject figure or shield of arms in colour. In 1669 the brothers Manardi introduced at Bassano the manufacture of lnltesi)ii after the manner of Faenza and Lodi, and continued its production till 1733 ; this fact reveals to us the character of those wares. Sordi's works sub.sequently passed into the hands of Giovanni Batttsta Dallari, and again in 1725 to Scnipliciano Fcrretti. Antonto, the son of the latter, took up the business with vigour, and engaged An/onio Casali, Filippo Antonio CalUgari (who in 1763 went to and worked together at Pesaro under the influence of Passeri), and I^nazio Cavazzuti to impR)ve the work. The latter, however, soon left Ferretti, founding another pottery which continued till the end of that centur}'. Ignazio Cavazzuti, who reports so favourably in 1790 of the manufactory at Sassuolo, states that the establishment at Lodi was under his direction, and that his family was then settled at that place. Other makers at Lodi were the Rossrtti in 1746. of whose production a fine vase was exhibited at Rome in 1889; it was decorated in blue after tiie manner of Moustiers and signed : S. F. Lodi G. Giacinto Rossettij fecit. We next meet with Francesco Roda in 1794 ; the Crevncci and tiie Caravai^i^io in 1798; the Crociolnni \ the Maniniolt ; and the (tans^inclli in 1820; also some other works belonging to the Cerasoli family were in action during the earlier 3-ears of this century. Dr. Lorenzo IJosscna revi\ed the fallen fabri(|ue of the P\MTetti ; and, when it was owned by the Pallavicini, artistic objects were produced (Urbani de Ciheltofi. PA I I A. The notice of the ceramics of Pavia given to us in M. l-]mile Molinier's interesting volume, Les Maioliques Italiennes en Italie, published in 1883, was followed in 1889 by an elegantly-printed essay, entitled 'Antonio Maria Cuzio e la Ceramica in Pavia,' by Le Chevalier Camello Brambilla, whose recent death we deeply deplore. By that we learn that architectural terra-cotta work of great excellence was a local production from early time, as may be seen in the buildings of that city, and as we also find in man}' other localities of Northern Italy. There is no doubt that iiiczza iiiaiolica, some of which was ornamented 3i8 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES by the sgrajfiafa method, was produced ; and we are told by the Anonimo Ticinese that such was the case early in the fourteenth century at Pavia : ' Sunt in civitate fornaces ubi fiunt vasa vitrea . . . et vasa ficHlia . . . et tegiilae decoqmintur.' Of the architectural terra-cotta we learn that some is believed to have been designed, if not modelled, by Amadeo ; other by Luca de Alemania, who is not recorded as a resident in Pavia ; but in the civic archives is a circular of 1455, from Milan, permitting the entry of figulini and terra-cottas made by him, free of dazio. Giovanni Jacopo Dolcebono ; and Giaconw Sala or Saba, who in a document of 1431 is styled ' bochalariiun papiensem' and called ' niagister a fictilibus sen imaginibus terrae ' ; were also producers. We learn that the Andreoli family came from the neighbourhood of Sesto Calende to Pavia, probably to find employment at the latter place ; but whether Giorgio was born previously to, or after, their settlement there we have no knowledge. We agree with Sig. Brambilla ^ that he probably there learnt his art as a modeller; but we have no evidence of any work produced by him at Pavia ; and he must have been still young when he went to Gubbio, anterior to 1492. It has long since been acknowledged by serious students of ceramic history that the attribution to Giorgio Andreoli of the well-known ' Don Giorgio ' plate of Sevres, by M. Jacquemart, was one of his too hasty assumptions. Another early piece was supposed to be by Giorgio when at Pavia, on the weak authority of M. Demmin. Signer Brambilla believes that the earlier wares produced at Pavia were of ordinary kind, known as ' vasi di-preda or ' predanu' ; these were made of common brick earth glazed only on the inside with lead glaze. The better wares, covered with the terra bianca beneath the glaze, were mostly decorated by the sgraffiata method. The late M. E!ugene Piot, writing in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts (Vol. xxiv. 2nd pt. page 383), on the contrary, believes that in the fifteenth century artistic wares may have been produced at Pavia, which would probably combine the Gothic with the Renaissance in their form and ornamentation. He states that Cesare Cesariano, an architect, often praises the vases of Pavia in his commentary on the works of Vitruvius, printed in 1521. M. Piot writes : ' Nous transcrivons litteralement le principal passage les concernant ; c'est un curieux document sur la poterie emaillee, alors dans toute sa nouveaute et dans tout son eclat. ' Tels, dit-il, on voit de nos jours en Italic, les vases de terre tres bien peints et vitrifies, qui se font en Romagne et dans quelques autres endroits ^ Op. cit. p. 29, ' Si prepamsse quel gusto squisito p qurlle cogtrizinnc, cJic iie inafitmrono si splendidcDuente I'ingrgno, cdiicaiidolo ad nperc insignia PA VIA 319 de la Marche d'Ancone. La nature a repandu partout, comme les mineraux, la terre propre aux vases. On cro^'ait autrefois qu'elle ne se trouvait que dans la region de Damas et dans le pa^'s des Mores. Nos potiers de Pavie I'ont reconnue dans le voisinage de leur ville, et pres du Po. lis en font des vases excellents et si varies que beaucoup se sont plus delectes par la beaute de leurs peintures vitrifiees que par la vue de I'or et de I'argent, bien que ces metaux soient precieux comme les diamants et les perles, et que Ton fasse tout, pour eux et par eux. Cependant, comme ils ne sont que d'une seule couleur, il semble qu'ils ne parlent pas aux yeux, qu'ils ne sont pas aussi plaisants a I'ame que ces beaux vases peints et vitrifies sur lesquels brillent I'universalite des couleurs minerales, et singulieremcnt les plus beaux qui ne peuvent se faire sans les scones d'or et d'argent, comme on peut en voir les foglic ou [(xininellc tenuissime. qui sont dessus, comme des suffmnii^atwns de poudres varices qui auraient recu par la combnslwnc les couleurs de toutes les pierres precieuses qui possedent en elle liiul^idia ou diaplmua- coloyaziom\ M. Piot writes: ' Nous avons conserve dans cette traduction quelques-unes des paroles du texte italicn, iinpoitantes, mais facilement comprehensibles. Sufftiniigafion est un mot francais que I'Academie a retenu dans sf»n dictionnaire ; il est synonyme de rumigatit)n. Nous ne nous arretcrons pas a rclcN cr la grace avec laquelle I'illustre cdf^o iiin(>>lro de la cathedralc de Milan caiacteiise le brillant aspect des faiences |)eintes ; on ne ferail pas mieux de nos jours, et les lamelles metalliques d'une extreme tenuite qu'il y soit caracterisent tres bien les lustres dont ctaicnt rchaussties celles qu'il a\ait sous les yeux. La connaissance des argiles plastiques et de leur qualites etait alors, plus qu'aujourd'liui, necessaire a I'architecte. Cesare Cesariano y revient dans un autre passage ou, tout en accordant aux poteries italiennes la superiorite sur celles de Damas et tl'Afrique. il fait une reserve. Exccptc, dit-il, que nos tcrrcs iiont aiirinir (/rs qunlitis de celles appellees porcclaine qui, dit ou, se hn'sent si la polioit qu'on y verse esl empoisounee! With characteristic sarcastic humour, M. Piot continues : ' Les savants archeologues qui conduisent leur banjue sur la mer sans fond de la ceramique universelle n'ont pas encore aborde a la fabrique de Pavie : je la leur recommande. Situee dans le voisinage d'une grande ville comme Milan, elle avait a sa porte une colonic d'artistes du plus grand merite, charges d'orner avec profusion la celebre Chartreuse qui porte son nom ; il y a du en rcjaillir quel<|ue chose sur ses productions. Klles doivent etres rares cependant ; won signees, il faudra les chercher parmi les incertaines des premieres annees du seizieme siecle. Pour ma 320 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES part je n'ai rencontre clans nos musees qu'un vase seul, ayant tous les caracteres d'une oeuvre du quinzieme siecle, que je sois dispose a donner a la fabrique de Pavie. Le couvercle de ce vase est orne d'une frise circulaire trilobee en forme de Crete: les anses sont formees par deux dragons ou guivres qui rapellent les armes des Visconti, parfaitement modelees ; le culot est a godrons en relief, et une bande d'ornements Renaissance orne la panse ; il appartient au South Kensington Museum de Londres.' This remarkable vase was thus described by us in the South Kensington Museum Catalogue, at page 559: ' No. 8967. '63. Vase and cover. Oviform, surmounted by a conical cover, having embossed gadroons and a series of six pointed lucarnes or windows, cusped and crocketed ; the apex is surmounted by a ball of orange colour; the body of the vase is divided into three zones by projecting mouldings, the lower embossed with oblique gadroons, separated by orange beading, and alternately painted with diapering in blue and white on the white ground ; the central belt is orange with palmette ornament in blue ; the shoulder has a band of acanthus leaves in green and blue ; the neck and foot, which have been much broken, had similar ornaments to the lower part of the body ; the handles, formed as winged dragons, are green, touched with blue and orange. Italian (Forli?). About 1480-90. H. 24 in., W. 157 in. (Soulages Collection).' Agreeing with M. Piot as to its North Italian character, we doubtingly attributed it to Forli, judging from certain qualities of glaze and colour. Its actual birthplace must still remain uncertain. On August 19, 1596, one Joannis de Zavatinis was accorded by the Comune the exclusive privilege of making maiolica for which he had petitioned ; but his work did not continue. In 1609 Antonio Dusi of Bergamo also desired to establish himself in Pavia as a maker of maiolica after the manner of Faenza : his prayer was granted subject to the approval of the Senate. We know no example of his wares. The most interesting known pieces of Pavian decorated wares are those produced by the family Cuzio, and mainly by Antonio Maria. Whether they had a pottery for commercial purposes, or only conducted a private botega and furnace for the production of carefully-executed pieces for special use as presents, &c., we have no positive information, but we think the latter the more probable. Of these large piatti da ponipa some ten or a dozen have been preserved to our time. Adopting the old style of ornamentation by sgrafftata, which in the larger and better pieces is executed with more minute care than boldness of effect, Antonio Maria Cuzio was careful to record his name and exact date upon every important 321 piece. One of these is in the South Kensington Museum, No. 461 1, and is described in the Catalogue of that Collection as follows : ' Bowl or plate, sgraffiata or incised ware : in the centre is the portrait of an ecclesiastic surrounded by ribbons bearing inscriptions : reverse also inscribed pres- byter • ANTONIVS • MARIA • CVTIVS • PATMENSIS • PROTHO.NOTARIVS • APOSTO- Licvs • FECIT • PAPiiE • DIE • XVII • MAI J • 1694. The cxccution is very careful ; the ornament is left in relief of the white slip or engobe, and the ground entirely worked over with minute scale-work diapering : the rich translucent brown glaze is run over all, giving a darker tone to the ground and leaving the subject of a lighter colour.' The dates of these large piatti are from 1676 to 1694 ; three individuals of the Cuzio family made them, viz. one dated 1676, by Giovanni Autouio Barnaba; one dated 1677, by Gio. Brizio, canon ico; and eight by An/on 10 Maria the prothonotario, dated from 1677 to 1694. An illustration of the piece by Gio. Brizio Cuzio forms the frontispiece to Sig. Brambilla's pamphlet. Antonio Maria, who was the most active producer of the family, was born at Pavia on Oct. 2, 1635, and died on Dec. 28, 1699 ; he had two brothers. It is remarkable that on the plates signed by them the word fecit does not occur, as on those by Antonio Maria. Other less important pieces, and without signatures, although of the same class of workmanship, are in collections. Of the signed pieces Sig. Brambilla possessed one by each of the brothers ; these, with other objects of his collection, were bequeathed by him to the Museum at Pavia. Of the others, one is in the Louvre, one in the Clunv, one at Limoges, one in the South Kensington Museum, one in the Malaspina collection, one in that of the Marchese Visconte V'enosta at Milan, and one was sold at the dispersion of the Passalaqua. (See Sgraffiati, p. 116 et seq.) A later and much inferior work in sgraffio, on a large plate, is described and figured by Brambilla. It is worked with flowery and leafage border, the central subject a seller of sweetmeats, with inscription and date ' i'/}4 a di 26 Marzo, Pavia.' It belongs to Sig. Lino Meriggi, of that cit}'. Of other fabriques, we learn that the family Gnangcro/i had one anterior to 1731 in company with Pio Zcibi. In 1733 it was in the hands of Annitnziata Zerbi, and in 1798 of Giuscpf>e Maria Gtiangcroli. Another fabrique of maiolica was conducted by Carlo I\ssiiia and Rosa Grcdazzi until 1735, when it was made over to the brothers Maitro and Siro Antonio Cantii; in 1741 to Marco Pclliuo and jlgostino Fern; again and again it changed hands until it also was obtained by Giitsrppr Maria Gitangeroli. A new establishment was set up by the widow Prssina on her marriage with Gio. Maria Raiiioldi; these works also passed under many V 322 owners, till finally they belonged to Antonio Valvnssori and Alcssandro Farina. The Guangeroli works continued to produce maiolica until the end of the century; in 1773 a painter of the Africa family worked for them (Urbani de Gheltof). The constant change of owners would seem to imply that neither of these works prospered financially or produced wares of much importance. A monogram composed of the letter F, the stem of which is crossed by a C and surmounted by a n, is on a white plate painted with flowers in blue ; Sig. Brambilla, to whom it belonged, suggested that it should be read as of the Fratelli Cantu, but on no definite authority. He refers to another plate, having flowers on the border, and red and blue bunches of grapes in the middle, the name ' Pawia ' being inscribed on the back. PIEDMONT. TURIN. From documents discovered by the Marchese Giuseppe Campori, of Modena\ in the archives of Turin, it appears that in the year 1564 certain sums of money were paid to Maestro Orazio Fontana, of Urbino, who is styled 'chief potter to his highness,' for two ' credenze ' of his wares which had been bought for the Duke, Emanuele Filiberto, payment being made through the Archbishop of Turin, Hieronimo della Rovere. Other moneys were paid to Orazio and Nani by an order signed at Nice on January 6 of that same year for certain vases ordered by the Duke ; money was also paid to Antonio Nani, a potter of Urbino, for the expenses of bringing these vases. (See Urbino, p. 203.) From these extracts the improbable inference has been drawn that, as Orazio was the Duke's ' chief potter,' he must have had a fabrique at Turin, whereas there can be little doubt that the same Orazio was ' chief potter' to many other grandees at various places, his establishment at Urbino being at that time the most important and most widely known botega in Italy. Neither can we agree with another inference drawn from these docu- ments, viz. that as these pieces of Urbino ware were appreciated and purchased at Turin in 1564 there must have been at that time a fabrique of highly artistic enamelled faience in that city. We should draw a contrary conclusion, on the principle that it is not requisite to send owls to Athens, and that had there been a local pottery, at which anything be3'ond ordinary ' Notizie della Majolica, &c., di Ferrara, p. 83 et seq. 323 wares were made, Emanuele Filiberto would have encouraged it by his patronage. It seems to us more probable that Nani was called to Turin to advise as to the quality of the clay and other matters, with the idea of producing finer wares at an established pottery at which only ordinary vessels for domestic use had been made. Italian writers, however, try to believe that a fabrique existed under the personal supervision of Orazio and of Nani, but they find no record or specimen, and admit that it must have had but a short existence ; moreover there is no evidence of Orazio having been at Turin. One Francesco Guagni, of Castel Durante, is mentioned by Pungileoni as having been in the Duke's service, but it seems doubtful whether he was a ceramist, who made researches for the composition of porcelain at that court in 1567, or whether he was a military engineer. Campori affirms the latter. Thus much for the evidence of history. Some ten years later a fabrique existed which may possibly have been originally organized under the direction of Antonio Nani, but certainly was not prompted or inspired by the beautiful vases of the Fontana fabrique, for in Mr. C. W. Reynolds' Collection was a ' canestretta,' the sides of which are of open work, formed by crossed bars, and in the centre the subject of a nude ^outh carrying birds on a pole is coarsely painted in a manner certainly not after that of Orazio. On the reverse is the inscription ' Fatta in Torino adi 12 d Sctebre 1577.' This interesting piece, now in the Museo Civico at Turin, the gift of the late Marchese V. E. J. d'Azeglio, is the only known example of the enamelled pottery made at Turin in the sixteenth century-. It is covered with a thick and very white enamel ; pieces of the same character have been ascribed by Italian collectors to Imola. In 1646 we find tliat a new furnace has been erected in the ' Regio Parco ' by Antonio Bianco, a Genoese, in union with others. Again, in 1649 the then Duke, Carlo Emanuele, nominated as superintendent and impresario of Bianco's fabrique one Nicola Corrado of Albissola, granting privileges and forbidding the making of maiolica elsewhere in the State. These grants seem, however, to have ceased in 1657, for the works were then let to Enrico la h'cvicra, a dependent of the Duke's mother (Vignola Vittorio Amadeo II obtained from Bologna in 1699 a master potter in order to renew the work ; but, as it seems, with small success, neither could other artists succeed with the inferior materials at hand. A piece cited by M. jacquemart, with landscape decoration, is marked at ' Giovanni Vignola. Siillc Maioliche e Porccllanc del Piemontc. 8vo. Torino. 1878. Y 2 324 the back with the crossed shield of Savoy; he considers it to be of a date anterior to those marked with the same shield surmounted by a crown. A plateau which belonged to the Marquis d'Azeglio (who, waning in his former love for the maiolica of the sixteenth century, latterly devoted his attention to and made most interesting observations on the faience and porcelain produced in Italy during the seventeenth and eighteenth, of which he possessed a rich collection of examples since given by him to the Museo Civico at Turin) has on the reverse the Mark No. 468, namel}^ the shield of Savoy surmounted by the crown. This piece, painted with horses, birds, hares, &c., in blue on the wdiite ground, is ascribed to the latter end of the seventeenth century. Not until 1725 do we find any further progress made; in that year Giorgio Rosetti di Macef/o opened a work for the production of maiolica and obtained a patent from the Duke. He produced works alia China and other, but after two years ceded the business to Picfro Bisforfo. Giorgio Giacinto Rosetti of Pinerolo founded a fabrique of porcelain in 1737, but without much success. He became owner of the Bistorto furnaces in 1743. In 1765 Antonio Ardizzone di Bra had a furnace, but gave it up to Lorenzo Longarini and Giovanni Batista Ravotti in 1 771, who again parted with it to Giacomo Bcrberis and Antonio Grossi. It would appear that from some cause or other their business did not succeed. Rosetti however continued the production of maiolica and porcelain till the beginning of the present century (Vignola). An example, a large dish in the same collection, painted with flowers on a white ground, is inscribed at the back ' Fabrica Reale di Torino,' a monogram composed of the letters C. R., and the date 1737. The Marquis d'Azeglio also had a dish of the same period, painted with the subject of Susanna and the Elders, and signed at back gratapaglia • FE • TAVR. M. Jacquemart mentions an example of good quality, inscribed ' Laforest en Savoy e 1752.' In the British Museum is a fruit basket of brown glazed ware, appa- rently of the earlier part of the eighteenth or later years of the preceding century, the open-work border of which is formed as the collar of the order of the Santissima Annunziata of Savoy; this would point either to a Savoyard origin or owner, for whom it may have been designed ; it was probably one of a service or set, and has some resemblance to the brown dish No. 4353 in the South Kensington Museum, ascribed to La Fratta, and to certain pieces variously attributed to Monte Lupo, Castel Durante, and Venice. Mr. Chaffers gives a mark wdnich occurs impressed on two vases ]-L\UVU—VlSCIlE 325 2i| inches high, then belonging to Mr. Jackson, of Hull, 'of very light and resonant ware, with rich maroon-coloured glaze.' The mark is a crowned shield, bearing a large T (or tau cross) surmounted by a smaller b; it does not seem to us to have an}' reference to the arms of Savoy. In 1794 Pietro Maria Ru^cUt opened works to make wares like the English. Another factory was erected near the Porta Susa in 1807 8, but was closed in 1830. In 1824 Richard Dortii and Prdaz moved their plant t(j Turin, and made porcelain and pipe-clay wares after tlie English manner ; they took the Rosetti furnaces. In 1846 it was worked Liiii^i Richard ^ Cic. The fabrique was closed in 1863. In 1871 Giuseppe Dcvers, a pupil of Ary Scheft'er, established a school of ceramics which ceased at his death. Some admirable works were produced by the pupils of this school. y I NOVO. At Vinovo, about 1776, Giovanni I'ittorio /i;W^7, obtaining permission from the King to experiment on the production of porcelain, induced Pietro Atilouio llaumnig of Strasburg to come to Turin. The whole Castello at Vinovo was put at his service by the King; but, getting into debt, Brodcl ceded the business to Hannong, retiring in 1778. Hannong also made maiolica, but affairs did not prosper, and, he leaving the works in debt, the}' were seized and the wares and plant sold by auction on behalf of the creditors. In 1780 the Castello was granted to Dr. I'ittorio Amadco Gioanctti, who formed a company, and, with royal privilege, was enabled to produce porcelain of excellent quality. The Doctor died after having conducted the factory to 1814. It was continued under Giovanni Loniello until 1820. The mark consists of the two capital letters I) G, above which is a V surmounted by a + (sec Mark No. 476). VISGIIE. At Vische, near Turin, a factory for making porcelain was opened by a society in 1765, having obtained privileges from the Sardinian Govern- ment ; but it failed before 1776, and the wares it produced are not known. 326 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES MONDOVI. Tradition states that maiolica was made at Mondovi in the seventeenth or early eighteenth century at a place called // Piano della Valle. In 1808 Francesco Ferotti of Mondovi, a medico, with one Randazzo, started a fabrique in the rione called Rincliiitso, at a small house in the Gherbiana, near the gardens of the Perotti family. The clay found by Perotti did not prove to be of good quality or in sufficient quantity, and the works soon ceased. Benedetto Musso of Savona, in 1810, established himself at Carrassone, a borgo of Mondovi, seeking a suitable clay ; he began making wares, and prospered, at one time employing a hundred workmen. The works were continued by his son Alessandro. The marks on pieces were M • M. Several other smaller fabriques were worked in the neighbourhood ; as that of Ginseppc Besio about 1834. Mark B • G. Also one by Annibalc Musso, whose pieces in 1850 were marked M • A. FOLLENZO. The Follentia of Roman times, said to have been erected by the Consul Marcus Fulvius Flaccus about 630 a. u. c, near which the fierce battle with Alaric took place in 402-3 a. d., was noted for the excellence of its brown woollens and of its potter's clay, from which were formed the calices referred to by Martial : ' Non tantuni pullo Ingcntes vellcre lanas Scd solet et calices Iiaec dare terra siios^.' Pliny also states that the best earths in Italy for the making of terra- cotta vessels were those of Arezzo for the Samian ware, and those of Sorrento, of Asti, and Pollenzo for ' et calicuni tantum, Surrentitni, Asta, Follentia ^' Fragments of vessels, tazze, amphorae, &c., are found, many worked in relief and of a very fine and light quality of clay ; some nearly black, others red and approaching to purple in colour. But we have no record of the production of glazed or enamelled wares at the period of the Renaissance. ' Martial, Epig. lib. xiv. 157. ' Hist. Nat. lib. xxxv. 46. 32/ STATES OF GENOA. GENOA. In our Catalogue of the South Kensington Collection of Maiolica we gave a separate notice of wares which we presumed, from the mark of the well-known pharo upon them, might probably be of Genoese produc- tion. Piccolpasso, in his description of designs for decoration, states that some of those patterns were frequently used at Genoa. This leads us to believe that during the course of the sixteenth century, and probably long anterior, works existed in active production in the immediate sur- roundings of that city. Whether they had any really artistic value, or were merely for objects of domestic utility, we have no present means of knowing. He further states that the earth used there was dug from the; solid, and not that gathered from the river bed. The small pamphlet published by Sig. Torteroli ' on the wares of Savona did not throw light on the potteries of the neighbouring city. In 1881 Sig. F. Alizeri - published a pamphlet, describing a remarkable quadra, formed of tiles, with lateral caluniicHc, that on the right entwined with vine foliage, that on the left with oak. It lias a sort of architrave abo\e, a suppcdanca and frieze below, within which is the inscription AVE • MARIA • 1529. The central portion, thus surrounded, consists of tiles, so formed as to tit in with the design of the picture and its framing; on them is painted the seated figure of the \^irgin, clad in white vestment, holding the Child, and in her left hand a book ; from which circumstance the picture is known as the ' Vcri^inc dclla Sapiciiza.' The colours used are yellow, blue, and green. The total measurement is I m. 62 high by i m. 29 wide. It probably was the altar-piece in a private chapel, and came from the family villa of the Marchese Del Carretto at Finale. It was then in possession of the Sig. Avvocato Giuseppe Grillo, of Genoa. Sig. Alizeri states that in the Genoese archives (' negli atti nostri ') the death of Francesco da Pcsaro is entered as occurring in that same year 1529 ; he is the earliest artist potter of whom Sig. Alizeri can discover record at Genoa. It is possible that this altar-piece may have been finished by him at Genoa, previous to his death. In the church of Santa Maria di Castello, at Genoa, in the chapel formerly of the Botto family, are painted tiles covering the walls. He finds the name of one doracclii da Bori^u Snit Srpo/cra, a painter of vases, ' Tonimaso Torteroli, IiUorno alia Maiolica Savoncsc. Torino. 1856. ' F. Alizeri. D uiia rara Maiolica nuovanicntc rccala in Gcnova. Gcnova, 1881. 328 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES who went to the school of Bcrgaiuasco, when he was in Genoa in 1566, to improve his hand in painting. Also other Pesarese : one Tomniaso, one Gio. Francesco, one Bartolomeo. To what extent they worked at Genoa, or whether they passed on to Albissola and Savona, we have no record. That the works of later time have been confused with those of Savona and other neighbouring potteries is the opinion of Sig. Torteroli and of Sig. Vignola. Among those Italian potters who, coming from Genoa, established themselves and produced wares at Lyons, M. Natalis Rondot finds record of twelve between the years 1556 and 1574, three of whom were natives of Pesaro, and two of Faenza. Between the years 1575 and 1650 other ten were working at Lyons, some of whom bear the names and were doubtless descendants born at Genoa or in France of the earlier immigrants. M. Rondot gives their names and the respective dates in his last brochure, Les Faienciers Italiens a Lyon au seizieme siecle. Lyon, 1895. SAVONA. On the Riviera, some eight leagues to the west of Genoa, is the site of an extensive manufacture which was very active during the latter half of the seventeenth century ; to the present day brick and tile kilns, and potteries for the production of ordinary ' terraglia,' vases for mural ornament, ornamental pots for orange trees, and other works in terra-cotta, are scattered in various spots along the coast road from this city to ' Geneva la Superba.' Signor Torteroli tells us ^ that, on excavations being made in con- structing foundations for certain modern buildings, fragments of pottery were found of various sorts from that of Roman time, the glazed wares of the revival, and the painted enamelled productions of the seventeenth century, &c. He reminds us that the father of the Emperor Pertinax was P. Elvius Successus, the master of a botega at or near Savona I That potteries existed there in Roman times would seem further proved by the name of the borgo now known as ' delle Fornace,' which he suggests was formerly the Vicus Figulorum. In the thirteenth century wares were exported thence to Sardinia, Corsica, and to Provence. Terra-cotta in various forms was much manufactured, and subsequently glazed tiles for covering the dadoes of walls, &c., some of which were still in situ when he wrote. One of * Op. cit. padre dell' imperatore sullodato, dice, ^ Sig. Torteroli refers to ' le parole di Paier eiiis iabemam cortiliciam in Ligiiria Giulio Capitolino, Ik dove, parlando del exercucrat.' SAVON A 329 these, then in the Casa Pavcsi, used for the public schools, has since been sold. Another was then in the Casa Vaccinoli. In the church of S. Giacomo is a chapel encrusted with glazed and painted tiles. At Albissola, near at hand on the post-road to Genoa, in the sacristy of the parish church, is a picture formed of tiles, the subject being the Birth of Christ. It is signed by the painter * Fatta in Arbtsola del 7/76. p. niano. di Agustino Gironwio Urhinafo. La dipinse! Potters from Albissola established themselves at Mantua in 159 1, encouraged by the Duke Vincenzio. Of the Corradi family of that place, Douienico emigrated to PVance, establishing himself at Nevers; Nicola worked at Turin for Giacomo Bianchi in 1649. In 1670 Liiigi Lcvantiiio worked at \'enice in the Contrada Sa. Barnaba. It would seem that at Savona and Genoa, as also at an earlier period at Venice, a new artistic impulse was given to the otherwise more ordinary pottery, in the later years of the sixteenth century, by the arri\al of artist potters from Pesaro, Urbino, Faenza, and Castel Durante; leading to the production of better-formed and painted Savonese wares, which were at their best about the middle of the seventeenth century. An important production of these furnaces was terra-cotta for architec- tural and kindred decoration. A large cornice, probably of the sixteenth century, is still to be seen in the \'ia degli Orefici, built on the facade of the house of Verzellino. Nearly all the examples of Savona faience have a similarity c»f character, a good glaze, a ground of a bluish white, upon which the subjects are painted in a rather pale but clear tone of blue. These are frequently figures in groups, in the costume of the last century, with flowers, foliage, &c. ; the pieces are thin and well-baked, and the forms frequently rather exaggerated, with scalloped edges, &c. Many pieces are modelled after the pattern of sih'er 6/;/cr/ /r/A7// and with leafage, masks, S:c., in relief. Redi the poet, in two of his letters dated 1685 and 1695, refers to the maiolica of Savona; also Fantoni, in a |)oem written in 1783. The most frequent mark is a shield of arms of the town, surmounted by a crown, and sometimes accompanied by the initials of the makers. Gtrolaiiio Saloii/iiii was one of the earlier ' maestri ' about the middle of the seventeenth century, and the letters G. S. are supposed to be his initials, unless they may be read as ' Guidohotio Savona.' The six-pointed star, formed by crossing two triangles, and known as Solomon's Seal, is stated to have been the mark of the Salomini. Giaii. Antonio Giiidobono from Lombardy was a painter, who worked 330 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES with his two sons Bartolouieo and Dojiiciiico ; the initials G a G have been ascribed to the former. Gian. Antonio went to Turin with his sons, and painted pieces for the Court ; he died in 1685, aged eighty. Bartolomeo was the better artist ; he worked also in oils and in fresco : he died at Turin in 1709. Domenico afterwards went to Genoa; thence to Naples, where he died in 1746. Gian. Toiniuaso Tortcroli, called // Sordo, who lived and died at Savona, and Agosiino Raffi, were working also about the same period. Two examples were in the possession of the Rev. Thomas Staniforth, of Storrs, Windermere, marked (No. 483). On a dish, with blue figures on white, is the Mark No. 485 (Chaffers). Some pieces in the Chamber of Arts at Berlin are signed AGOSTINO • RATTI • SAVONA • 1720. In Dr. Diamond's collection was a piece marked with a trumpet, from which hangs a banner of the House of Savoy. He ascribed this to Savona. Vignola assigns a similar mark to the maker Chiodo. In the British Museum, from the late Mr. Henderson's Collection, is a small ewer, bearing a mark carelessly painted, and which Mr. Chaffers has rendered as a fish tied to a stake. We agree with Dr. Diamond in suspect- ing that these marks are similar, but badly designed, both being intended for the trumpet with the banner of Savoy. Mr. Chaffers also gives some marks from pieces in the collection of M. Edouard Pascal, at Paris, and others; the letter S under a rude shield, and N • G • under a sort of crown, which are supposed of Savonese origin. The writer has seen pieces, apparently of this ware, marked with a double tower or square battlemented castle, one side of which rises higher than the other, and which conveys a rough idea of the tower at the entrance of Savona. It is probably a mark of B. Guidobono. Genolini refers to a tile having a representation of the Deposition in low relief, painted blue on the white ground ; signed ' Bartolomeo Botcro di Savona Feci ij2() di ybre.'' Early in the eighteenth century we find a French family, said to be of Marseilles, but who had probably also worked at Moustiers, coming into and established in Italy. A cylindrical jar in the D'Azeglio Collection, painted with a sea combat, boats, figures, &c., signed at the back ' Primum Opus NBorrelli Mensi Jidij 1735,' and again, ' JVBorrelli Invent. Piiix. A. S. 1735,' is an example of their work. Two vases painted in green camdieu are signed 'Jacques Borrelly, Savonne, 1779, 24 Septembre' ; and other pieces occur with the signature Giaconio Borrelly. M. Jacquemart surmises that the former was the father and an Italian, whose son, after working at Moustiers and Marseilles, returned to SA VON A 331 Savona. This Giacouw Borrelli or Boselli had his fabrique in the Via di Torino, on the front of which is a small temple in maiolica. The Borelli introduced wares after the manner of the English and French, to the detriment of the native maiolica. Signor Giovanni Vignola, in his memoir on the maiolica and porcelain of Piedmont (Appcndice), gives the following list of other makers and artists of Savona : Chiodo. Chiodo e Levantino. Rubatto e Boselli. G" Rubatto. S" Rubatto. Giordano. Croce. A° Levantino. G" Bellotte. Valentc. Li Levantino. Bartoli e Levantino. Folco. Siccardi. Pescetto. P" Brusco. G" Berti. C° Marcenar". Giacomo Boselli. Bartolomeo Botcro (Cicnolinij. CHAPTER VIII NEAPOLITAN STATES. NAPLES. HAT potteries existed at a very early period in and about Naples 1 there can be no doubt ; and it is presumable that glazed wares, with and without the addition of a white slip or engobe, were produced from a relatively early time. Although we have not any examples marked and dated of such early wares, there can be little doubt that the important pavement of tiles in the church of San Giovanni a Carbonari was an output from the local furnaces. We accidentally omitted any reference to this pavement when writing the Catalogue of Maiolica in the South Kensington Museum in 1872, although it had engaged our attention some twenty years previously. Either at that time, or in 1863 or 1864, some work was being executed at the base of the Carracciolo monument, and several of the tiles had been displaced, the broken fragments, with old mortar, bricks, &c., being cast away outside : probing into this rubbish heap we found one whole tile and two or three pieces, which we were enabled to secure ; that whole tile was subsequently given to the British Museum, the broken one is in the Ashmolean, at Oxford. Within the last decade M. Emile Molinier has made a careful examina- tion of this pavement, a full description of which, with illustrations, he published, in his small but valuable volume entitled La Ceramique Italienne, in 1888. He there states that Burckhardt attributes these tiles to the school of the Delia Robbia ; we concur with M. Molinier in disagreeing with that attribution : it appears to us that there is nothing in the designs, the nature of the glaze, or the manner of treatment that coincides with the Delia Robbia ware; and moreover they are in every respect inferior. On the other hand, as M. Molinier points out, occasional features in the designs on these tiles show a certain amount of Oriental character, although but rudely painted in dark manganese and other 333 colour ; while on others we find the rigid representation of h'jraldic animals, and the lettering of words in a distinctly ' Gothic ' manner. We agree, also, in opinion with M. Molinier, that the approximate date of this work is probably about 1440, and that it was of Neapolitan pro- duction. A pavement of tiles, formerly in the monastery ^ di Donua Re/^ina' some of which are of ' mezza maiolica'; some with stanniferous glaze, decorated with the arms of a Queen of Naples of the Ange\ in dynasty and others ; and some having portraits, is referred to by Urbani, but without any assumption that it is of Neapolitan production. Prince Filangieri ' however considers that it is so, as also the tiled pave- ment of the fifteenth century in the cathedral at Capua, and others of the sixteenth in San Pietro a Majclla ; again, in San Giovanni alia Pietra Santa, and one made in the last century for the mona.stery of San Andrea delle Dame, but now in the Museo Nazionale at Naples. We doubt whether any of these pavements are of high artistic merit. In the church of S. Angelo a Nilo was a pavement in front of the fine tomb of Cardinal Brancaccio, by Donatello and Michelozzo, some of the tiles of which were decorated with birds, animals, female heads in profile ; on some the arms of the Cardinal ; on others of elongated form the words AMACIiO; others had the peacock feather decoration attributed to Tuscany, and which was used in earlier time at Faenza. A memorandum in our note-book, made many years ago, attributes this pavement to Tuscany rather than Naples. Cardinal Brancaccio died in 1428. It is possible that these tiles may have been of the Delia Robbia fabrique. Recurring to that in the church of San Giovanni a Carbonari, the distinctive character of which is so well recalled to our memory by the description and illustrations in M. Molinier's Ceramique Italienne, it has occurred to us that a remarkable vase in the South Kensington Collection (No. 2562. '56), which we classed among pieces of doubtful origin and described as follows, may be a work of the same fabricjue and approximate period : 'Vase. Truncated, pear-sha|)ed. Two-handled. On either face are two leopards or lions rampant, combatant, in a diaper of oak leaves; vine or ivy leafage covers the sides and handles; outlined in manganese, and filled in with dark purple on the white ground. Fifteenth century. 11. 14 J in., diam. 14^ in. 'A very interesting piece of early date, perhaps the most ancient example of Italian glazed ware with painted decoration which the Museum possesses. ' 11 Musco Artistico Iiidiistrinlc c Ic Sniolc (ifTicinc di N'ap>'li. Xapoli, 1881. 334 ITALIAN PAINTED JVARES There is no clue by which we can fix the locahty of its manufacture, or its precise date, but a certain Oriental character about the design would show the influence perhaps of Moorish potters.' See woodcut at page 640 of the South Kensington Museum Catalogue. When Antonio Beuter speaks of the excellent wares made at Castelli in the first half of the sixteenth century, it is not unlikely that Neapolitan productions were included in the ceramic importations from that port to Spain, but we have no examples of that period to confirm the fact. M. Jacquemart tells us of a vase of somewhat similar general character to those about to be described, on which is the inscription ' P il sig. Francho Nepita. 1532 ' ; but it is not improbable that his information was derived from an ill-written memorandum, and that the date was 1682. About 1684 Paulus Franciscus Brandi made some vases which are described as very large and grandiose in style, with handles formed as caryatides, and painted with religious subjects, in a free but elegant style, m blue camaicu on one side only. M. Jacquemart, probably not having seen the dated piece, ascribed these to the end of the sixteenth century, but Mr. Marr3'at informs us that one of the three vases painted with the subject of the Last Supper is signed in full with the date 1684 ; another, ' Fran. Brand Napoli casa Nova.' M. Jacquemart reads the last two words of this inscription as ' Gesii Novo,' and makes known to us a mark (Mark No. 501) beneath each of the two vases he describes; the inscription on the second of these he gives as ' Paulus Fran''"' Brandi Pinx 68 + .' Over- looking the fact that the art of Southern Italy was of later development than in Tuscany and the North, that able writer interprets these numerals as 1568, whereas it is more probable that the same period of the following century was intended, unless the inscription on the first-named vase is wrongly rendered. The subjects of these last are the Miraculous Draught of Fishes, and Christ in the Garden (Mark No. 502). These vases are also referred to by II Principe Filangieri, who also notices a similar piece in the collection of Sig. F. Ponti of Milan. M. Jacquemart observes, on these marks, that the closed crown is an important feature, differing materially from the open crown of Tuscany, and from that which accompanies the signature of the Terchi at Bassano, and sometimes found alone ; and he reasonably infers that other marks, in which this same closed crown is a feature accompanied by initial letters, a palm branch, &c., may be assigned to a Neapolitan fabrique. Some of these have hitherto been mistaken for the marks of Nove, Bassano, Castelli, &c. The crown is sometimes surmounted by a star with the initials B. C. or A. underneath ; rarely impaled on a palm branch between B. and C. X A PUIS 335 In the eighteenth century the production of enamelled wares at Naples was revived, and signed pieces are known bearing the dates 1717, 1718, and 1749, by Saverio Grite ; while others have the initials of Carlo Coccorese, with the dates 1721 and 1734. Two tiles are referred to by Signor Urbani de Gheltof, signed ' S. Gntc. p. Napoli 1749': they were in the possession of Count di Montbrun. A vase is also referred to by Genolini, signed ' Fra. Ant. Grue. p. Napoli 1722.' At the ro^al fabrique of Capo di Monte, established by Charles III in 1736, several varieties of fine wares were made, from a beautiful artificial porcelain to a faience of high quality, of which, however, little seems to have been produced. Of such is a jug painted with flowers in Captain Langford's possession ; it is marked with the letter N, surmounted by an open crown, the well-known mark of the later period of the fabrique. Of the same late period is a ' fontainc de sacristie,' described by M. jacquemart, modelled with the dove of the Holy Spirit, cherubs issuing from clouds, &c., and richly gilt and painted, on which is the same mark, , . ^ Capo di Monte, and the signature .jyioio; In or about 1760 one Nicola (j/i/sliiiiaiii of Cerreto opened a fabrique for maiolica at Naples, engaging excellent artists, among whom was one Fcrdtiiaiitlo Miillcr of Mannheim. The Giustiniani fabrique continues to the present da}' producing enamelled and more ordinary wares. The Etruscan wares made by /•'. Del rccc/iio, white and gold services F I ) V and other faience, bear the mark of his works, stamped " j^' ' The Giustiniani, Mollica, and otiier modern producers of faience and terra-cotta. generally mark with their names impressed upon the paste. The wares of Schioppa and tiiose of Cardapno/i are referred to hv Urbani and by Novi. Some pieces of the last century', supposed to be Neapolitan, painted with figures, landscapes, S:c., in very pale colours, and marked at the back with letters H. F or IF combined, are probably of German, and not of Italian origin, as some have supposed. Three important specimens of the fabrique of Castelli or of Naples were in the possession of Signor Alessandro Castellani. On one of these plates is the portrait of the celebrated Neapolitan Tribune, Masso Aniello (Massaniello), surix)unded by rich foliated ornamental border, on the upper part of which is a coat of aims, charged with an amphora, and accompanied h\- the motto pai rk lo • i..\.\cr:n.AM. The reverse is inscribed 336 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES ' Tomaso Aniello figlio de Greco d'Amalfi et Antonia Gargani, nato 21 Giugno, 1620.' The second has the portrait of Greco d'Amalfi, and the inscription ' Greco d'Amalfi Marito di Antonio Gragnano.' The third plate bears the portrait of the Tribune's wife, and is inscribed ' Bernadina Pisa Moglie di Tomaso Anillo d' Amalfi.' CASTELLI. Castelli is now a ^piccolo paescllo,' standing on a high rocky ridge running northward of the Gran Sasso d' Italia above the rivers Leomogna and Rio, which water the valley of Mavone. This district, formed}^ known as the ' Agro Atriano' was originally inhabited by the Siculi. In later times it took the name of the ' Valle Siciliana ' in the Abruzzi Ultra. The monastery of the Cenobio di S. Salvatore di Castelli was a well-known and important establishment in its day. Aquila, on the southern side of the ridge of Monte Corno, is the nearest town of importance. In and about Castelli there has probably been an extensive ceramic industry from the earliest times, all the more important requisite materials being in the immediate neighbourhood ; an excellent potter's clay, hills yielding an almost endless supply of brushwood, and cheap labour. Pliny states that pottery was exported thence ; and it is referred to by Polydorus, and by Pansa di Penne (Bindi). There is little doubt that a considerable exportation of these wares took place in the sixteenth century to various places, among others to Spain, for we are referred by Passeri to the Cronica Generale di Spagna, by Antonio Beuter, whom we have previously quoted, and who, with a laudatory compliment at the expense of Coroebus, particu- larizes the wares of Pisa, Pesaro, and ' li Castelli della Valle Siciliana d' Abruzzo.' It will be noticed that these three fabriques so particularized are all places whence pottery could be readily exported, without much land- carriage, the advantage however being with the two former ; and we know from other sources that a commerce existed between Valencia and Pisa for the interchange of the Hispano-Moresque and Italian faience. Fragments of pottery of classic and earlier times occur abundantly throughout this district. Pieces of glazed wares from the Abruzzi, and believed, from the circum- stances of their disinterment, to be of the thirteenth or early fourteenth century, were in the hands of Sig. Barnabei a few years since, some of which had a semblance of enamel glaze, but were probably only ' mezza maiolica ' A broken jug of unusual form, with wide-mouthed spout, was remarkable. CAST ELL I 337 Cherubini ' tells us of fragments from Castelli of mezza ware, with ornament worked a graffito, and of very early time ; but we know that this primitive method of ornamentation was almost universal throughout Italy. Professor Bindi - records a plaque, in rilievo, having the arms of the little Comune of Castagna painted in colours, and signed ^ Federicus Scbastiani fieri fecit i)6H.' This would therefore be the earliest dated piece on record. Professor Bindi also records that in 1372 Roberto de Melatino of Teramo built a house in front of S. Luca, over the door of which he placed his ' Stemnia, lavomto in figiilitin di Bartolomeo di Maestro Giocondo' with crest a huinan foot, from the great toe of which hangs a chain holding a block, inscribed : ' lo so bracclni rissoso pc natiira De offendere a clii me sdegna sc prociira.' Another ' innttouella' of Castelli is in tiie Museo Artistico Industriale at Rome ; it is signed ' Fecit hoc Titus Ponipei iji6.' Professor Bindi refers to a document which tells us that in the second half of the fifteenth century one Maestro Feiizo Aiixaueiisis (of Lanciano) was celebrated as ' Fictor et opifex fictiliiini, non vulgaris. Figuliiiae Castelli in Dioeccsi Finuciisis diutissinie praefuit ; eamqiie exiuiiis vasorum pictuns, clegantiorihtis illorum formis novisquc ex iiigenio, quo entiuehat, excogilatis illustravit '! This records a real aitist, painting on cither the luezza wares, or possibly on enamelled maiolica. Polidoro, the son of Maestro Rcnzo, was also a painter, but it docs not appear whether he worked on ceramic wares. From that time a century passes without further note of artistic potters at Castelli. The next recorded is one Tito Foinpei, a potter working in 1515, but of whom nothing more is known. Then Orazio Ponipd, on the front of whose house was the inscription iiAtc • est • domvs • oratii • FiGvi.i • 1569, and a jxiinting on maiolica, representing the X'irgin and Child, with the date 1551 and the letters ORG, which have liecn read as an abbreviation of the name ORAZIO. We learn that this painting is quite an inferior work. We further learn that in a chapel, dedicated to San Donato, on a hilltop near Castelli, the 'soffito' and the pavement are covered with tiles |)aintrd ' G. Cherubini, Dei Gnic e dclla Pittiira liche di Castelli. Napoli, 1867. Sec also Ceraniica in Castelli. 8vo. Naples, 1865, Diego Bonglii, Intoino alle Majoliehe di and Roma, 1873. Castelli. 4(0. Naples, 1856. Bindi, Le Maiolielic dc Castelli. Najmli, " rolidoio, He .Artibns I-'i(^ntanorum. 1883. Rosa, Notizie Storiche delle Maio- z 338 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES after the manner of Faenza or Pesaro, upon which part of the name ' ORAT . . . PO . . . hoc ' can be read. The subjects are taken from the Litanies, the Ave Maria, and other prayers, and are well executed. Other artists seem to have assisted Orazio in this work, their names being inscribed — Jacovo de Felippe, pingebaf, i6i^. Jacobus Philippi de Castel. Geronimo de Felippo. Jacovo de Felippe. J. Jacovo de Felippe. feci. 1615, 1616. Nicola Truvo. fecit. Yo. Marchionno. fecit hoc. S • M • P • N • Don Domenico Barone. fecit hoc (Urbani, quoting from Corona). By these we learn that an important fabrique, probably under the direction of Orazio Pompei, was established at Castelli at the end of the sixteenth century, employing several artists in painting maiolica, but seemingly not of a very high class, nor possessing those characteristics in the colouring and softness of tone which became so distinctive under the subsequent school established by the Grue family. Of this family, the first we hear of is Francesco^ a vasajo of Castelli in 1594 ; but whether him- self an artist, we do not know. Carl Antonio Grue, the son of Francesco, was the talented ceramic painter whose works, with those of his followers and family, have given an individual character to the maiolica of Castelli. Examples of his work are in the Museo Nazionale at San Martino, Naples and in the collections of the Conte de Correale and of the Com""* G. Colonna. Some of his pieces are signed C • A • G • Pi. Francescantonio, his son, was educated for the Church, but his artistic proclivities led him to the ceramic studio; he went to Urbino, there to learn something more of the technical work, returning however to Castelli. The imposition of an additional tax caused a local revolution, in which he took a leading part ; on its suppression he was taken to Naples, and there imprisoned in 1716. He remained in Naples for ten years, painting on maiolica and engraving by the acid process. Among other works he is said to have painted for the Hospital of Incurables some of the series of vases reported to have been for the most part destroyed during a popular tumult in 1799. Writing in the Gazzetta di Napoli in 1874 (July 6), II Com'''' Barnabei denies that this was the case, as seven of the larger vases, still preserved in that ' Farmacia,' are dated 1748, with the name Lorenzo Sallandra Pitore de vasi di Greta. He states that it is clear that these vases were made for the compartments they now occupy ; that they are not of great excellence, the Bible subjects being but poorly executed ; but they are interesting, as proving the existence of another fabrique at Naples. Frances''" Antonio Grue had returned to Castelli about 1735, and died there in 1746; leaving a ceramic school in Naples, where he had painted till 1716, and at which fabrique it is probable that these 339 vases were subsequent!}- produced, and where C. Coccorese had also painted. Sig. Barnabci believes that the vases made by F. A. Grue were for another pharmacy; tliat, with one exception only, they were all destroyed in the tumult, that last one being now in the Museo di San Martino, at Naples, from the Bonghi Collection, and inscribed ' D • O • M • Sis/e viator et vide. Hos fidilcs alveolos mini arte dipictos iiigeiiio iiiaiiiK/ite D. Francisci Antouii Xaverii Grue, &c., We may here remark that, from the time of F. A. Grue's sojourn at Naples, it becomes almost impossible to distinguish the works produced for the most part by the Grue famil}- at Castelli from those made at Naples ; they, and the pupils of their school, worked sometimes at one, sometimes at the other fabri(|ue ; and, except on such pieces as are signed, with the locality and date inscribed, much must be left to conjecture. Examples of France^" Antonio Grue are in the Museum of San Martino. He signs 'Dr. Franc Anton" Grue. 1718'; ' fra'. Ant" Grue • P • Napoli 1722 ' ; ' Dr. Franc". Ant". Grue. p. Castelli 1737.' Another piece was in the Parpart Collection : subject, the body of Chlorinda carried to the camp of Tancrcd : it was signed beneath ' Dr. Franc*. /Int. Xan" Grue pin.xit. Castelli, /J/;.' A still earlier is signed • G • DE • CIIA • P • /j//. The history of this talented family of ceramic painters, and of the school formed by them, is told with loving detail by Signor G. Cherubini. in a pamphlet entitled De Grue e della Pittura Ceramica in Castelli. Roma, 1878. Anastasio, the brother of Franccscantonio, jjainted small landscajte subjects. lie was the fust, and the most able, in the use of gilding on the Castelli wares. Born in 1691, he died in 1743. Aiirelio also painted landscape. Lihorio, born in 1701, died 1776, was the younger brother. He painted historical scenes and female faces with great delicacy. He signed in full and with the initials L • G • P. Francesco Savcrio, or Fdippo Saverio, son of Francescantonio, was a clever painter of miniatures. He applied for an appointment in the Royal fabrique at Capo di Monte, but was refused, as not then being accustomed to painting on porcelain. When the fabrique was removed from Capodi Monte to the Royal palace at Naples Saverio was included among the artists employed. He travelled in France, Germany, and P^ngland, was able also as a modeller, and produced fine groups and medallions in biscuit. He was born at Atri about 1 73 1 and died in 1799. 2 2 340 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES Other members of the family, less famous as artists, were Nicold Tonwiaso, known as ' Z,o Ziutipo'; Pier Valentino; Liborio (senior) and Bernardino. Also a Francesco Saverio, born in 1720, the son of Giovanni and Geltrude Amicucci of Canzano, an able artist. One Francesco Saverio Grue, as it would seem a member of another family, was painting on maiolica from 1730 to 1755; his works are frequently confused with those by his namesake. The works of the Grue family are characteristic of the Abruzzi and Neapolitan wares. The drawing is executed with facility and freedom, and among those by the more eminent members of the family are pieces of very great beauty. The technical quality of the wares is good, the colouring somewhat pale and sickly, although many pieces are painted with great elegance, charming delicacy of touch, and modulation of the tones of colour. Gilding is occasionally added, not merely to the edges of the piece, but used somewhat after the manner of the lustre pigments in heightening and relieving. The Gentili were also a family of painters at Castelli, and, perhaps, pupils of the Grue. An example is quoted by Marryat as in the possession of Dr. Rosa, signed as early as 1670, and the work of Bernardino, the elder member of the family. It is signed Qiiesto crocifisso del carnmie lo fece Bernardino Gentile per sua divozione, 16 jo. He died in 1683. His son Carmine Gentili, born 1678 or 79, died 1763, was instructed by Carlantonio Grue. He painted sacred and profane subjects with great skill. A Virgin by him, after Domenichino, is signed C • G • P. He also signed C"« G' P. His sons Giacomo (1717-1765) and Bernardino (1727-1813) also painted after the style of, but with less excellence than, their father. The manner of the Gentili differs from, and yet is analogous in colouring and general treatment to, that of the Grue family. The Capelleti brothers, Candeloro (1689-1772) and Nicola (1691-1777), whose mother was Superna Grue, were artists at Castelli, as were also Gesualdo Fuina (i 755-1822) and another member of that family. Long lists of the names of other artists of greater or less merit, who worked at Castelli and at Naples, will be found in the works of Rosa, Cherubini, and Bindi. The decadence of the Abruzzi and Neapolitan maiolica set in immediately after the decease of the Grue family, by whom, indeed, it had been mainly developed. The rich assemblage of these wares, mainly derived from the Bonghi Collection, and now to be seen in the Museo Nazionale di San Martino at Naples, comprises examples of all the more important, and many of the less PALERMO — CA L T. I GIROXE 34' known, artists who painted at those fabriques. Our collections in England are not so richly representative of these, nor of the cotemporary productions of the Savona furnaces, during the course of the last century ; nor have they been generally so highly esteemed in England as the}' have in their native country, and in ranee and Germany. We learn that se\eral furnaces still work at Castelli, but their produce is only of an ordinary ware. SICILY. PALERMO. We have very little accurate information of the ceramic productions of Sicily. Works by the Arab and the Moorish potters are believed to have been produced in the island. Eragments of glazed wares, some with metallic reflection, were found on the demolition of the church of S. Giacomo in 1864, when digging for new foundations. These fragments were possibly of the works of those potters of the seventh to the eleventh century who are believed to have worked during the early Arabian occupation of the island ; they are referred to in our notice of the Siculo- Arabian wares at page 89. In the sixteenth century we know that Ctiovnnni Ihillisin Ihonia, of Palcimo, was working at Eaenza in 1546. Some albarclli formerl}- in the possession of the late Baron Charles Davillier, and be(|ueathed l)y him to the Louvre and to the Sevres Museums, are signed ' batto in ralcniio 1606.' Their decoration is in coarse resemblance to the manner of Castel Durante. We have note of a vase, spherical, decorated with irofci in manner of Castel Durante, the bust of a man, and inscribed ' iacovo cefali di >e CASTRO I.A FF.LICE IN IIVRACl ALL! 1617 GIOSE V VV. : I'lRAINA : DI CASTRO LA pinse' (Hyraci near Palermo). CALTAGIRONE. It was believed that in this neighbourhood, where potteries have existed from very early times, the Arabian occupants of Sicily had furnaces producing those siliceous glazed vases some of which bear ill-indited Arabic lettering, and of which we have examples in our museums, nearly all having been brought from that island. This belief is in a measure confirmed by the statement of the late Prince Eilangieri in a paper 342 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES communicated by him to II Museo Artistico Industriale, &c., in 1881, at page 73, where he tells us that the remains of such furnaces and frag- ments of such wares had been found at Caltagirone. These however refer to wares which we have arranged as a separate class in this work, viz. the Siculo-Arabian, and to that section we would refer for further detail. The glazed and enamelled pottery produced at Caltagirone of later date seems to have been of small importance. Sig. Corona refers to a pharmacy jar in his possession, painted with yellow flowers and green leafage, on which is inscribed ' Hope ra facia di M° Antonino Brandi in Caltagirone onno 1779.' Signor Urbani de Gheltof reminds us that Jacquemart states that one Brandi worked at Naples in 1568, but that we have no further notice of him, or his family or works. CoLLESANO, in the vicinity of Cefalii, Sicily. Signor Corona states that he possesses a pharmacy vase decorated with figures and foliage, and signed loanni Saldo Collesano. It is attributed to the seventeenth century (Urbani). SARACENIC POTTERS IN SOUTHERN ITALY. In the interesting report drawn up by Prince Filangieri ^ we are told that in various parts of Southern Italy fragments of wares have been found having marked Oriental character, and probably the workmanship of the Arabian or Moorish occupants, or brought by them to the sites of their occupancy. We learn also that when Frederick II erected Castel Lucera he colonized it with 20,000 Saracens from Sicily; this was in 1223. Castel di Adria and Castello di Monte were similarly occupied. It is highly probable that potters were among the handicraftsmen who were thus brought into the southern parts of Italy, and that their methods and styles may have gradually been communicated to the makers of more primitive wares in the vicinity of Naples. In the Cathedral at Salerno, and particularly on an ambo in the Cathedral of Ravello, fragments of Oriental tiles are inlaid as a mosaic in the marble, a use which might almost seem to have been borrowed from the Roman practice of enriching the surface of walls by slabs of glass of various colour, inlaid in pattern and with border; a use, however, which does not seem to have been much adopted ^. Op. cit. ' Vide Ncsbitt in Archseologia for 1871-2. MINOR FA BR IOC ES 343 MINOR FABRIQUES. Ariano. — At Ariano, on the road from Foggia to Benev^ento, pottery works were introduced, in 1421, by Francesco Sforza, the then Viceroy of Calabria, who employed artists from Faenza. We learn this from Tommaso Vitale, Storia della Regia Citta di Ariano, Roma, 1794, referred to by Urbani de Gheltof Atri. — At this locality an establishment was formed for the production of maiolica by the Acquaviva, lords of Atri, probably under the influence of Aurelio Grue, who, together with his brother Liborio, painted subjects on plaques, enricliing them with gilding. One such, preserved in the Museo Pllangieri at Naples, is signed ' Liborins Gnic />.' On it are the portraits of five Jesuit missionaries, one of whom is of the famil}' of the Acquaviva (Urbani). Disagreement between the brothers led to the departure of Liborio, who went to Teramo. On the death of Aurelio, in 1743, the works, left in the hands of a pupil, declined. Bussi. — At Btissi, a small village in the Abruzzi, a fabrique was formed by Francesco Grue, but which seems to have been of short duration. A painting on tiles, representing the works of San Francesco Saverio, is in the church of San Angelo near Lucoli : it is inscribed 'Franc. Ant. Xavcrius Grue, Phil, ct Tlicol. Doctor. Inventor ct pinxit in Oppia Bu.xi Anno D. lyi) ' (Rosa). Corona refers to an inkstand inscribed * Si^nor Antonio Bucciato, Bussi, Cerreto. — Certain pieces, produced during the last century and decorated with fruit and leafage, are attributed to this locality by Sig. Novi in his paper in tiie Atti dell' Accademia Pontaniana (vol. xiii. p. II, page 541) on ' La fabbricazione della porcellana in Napoli.' Grottaglie, near Taranto. — Beckwith (p. 103) states, probably on the authority of Jaennicke (p. 355), but which seems to have no other con- firmation, that dishes, bearing the arms of the Martina famil}-, were made at Grottaglie. Pescolanciano. — In the mountains of the Abruzzi near Isernia. At this place the Duke Pasquale Maria, about 1771, established a fabrique for the production of porcelain and enamelled wares. He used the materials of the neighbourhood, producing fine white wares and biscuit 344 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES porcelain. Disgusted by the bad conduct of his workmen, he abandoned the works. The capital letter P was the mark on his wares. San Apollinare. — Novi, La fabbricazione della porcellana in Napoli, at p. 541, states that the monks of Monte Cassino established a pottery for enamelled wares at this place. Teramo. — Liborio Grue and his brother Aurelio worked together for some time at the fabrique of the Acquaviva in Atri, but, quarrelling, they separated, Liborio coming to Teramo, where he executed some of his best works, particularly a plate referred to by Bonghi, representing La Parola. Torre dei Passeri, in the Abruzzi. — On a bottle, coarsely painted with a landscape, belonging to the Conte dei Marsi at Naples, is inscribed, on the front, ' Tiiris Passiriis. A. B. Jj8j.' Vietri sul Mare, near Salerno.— Corona states, at p. 249 of his work, that potteries were established at Vietri towards the end of the sixteenth century. The Tajani produced glazed and enamelled wares which were much esteemed in Sicily and Apulia. Other like wares were made by Antonio Pwizi, who obtained a bronze medal at the Paris Exhibition in 1878. A piece was some few years since in the possession of the Duca di Verdura, decorated with scrolls, flowers, birds, &c., in rococo style, made at Vietri di Salerno by one Padre Vincenzo Forastieri, who signed it ' P. V. Forastieri, 1784' CHAPTER IX Local Italian Pcjttkrils of Mlnor Importance. ARCEVIA. — The Marchese Ricci, in his Mcniorie istorichc dcllc arti, &c., - della Marca di Ancona, at pages 158 and 183 of his second volume, states that works existed at Arcevia in the sixteenth century, where statues and ornaments for the altar were produced. Ansehni also, in his works on the national monuments of that province, affirms that agreements of a society of vasai ain-vicsi with others of Perugia, Pesaro, Castel Durante, and F'aenza existed for making maiolica, S:c., and describes the characteristics of pieces of the local fabriques. In 1513 a commission was given to Andrea della Robbia to make an altar for San Giovanni near Arcevia, which has since been taken to the Collegiata di S. Medardo in that city. At Archevia also, in the first half of the sixteenth century, a scholar of the Delia Robbia, named Pictro Paolo Af:;al)Hi da Sasso/crrato, worked : to him are attributed an altar in Santa Maria del Soccorso ; statues of S. Francesco and S. Bonaventura, formerly belonging to Monsignore Cajani.and other works at Castel Planio; at Cupramontana, dated 1529; atjesi; at Serradeconti ; at Serrasanquirico and Montcrubbio (Ih'bani de Ghcltof). Bergamo. — In 1773 Francesco Dosio opened a fabrique in the liorgo Palaz/o, and continued it for two years ; he then moved to Petos in \'al Tezze and ceded the fabrique to Atitonio ^lldrj^aiii im(\ Carlo di Pontcraiiica, but it soon ceased, probably from the inferior c|uality of the clay. Ciinsc/>/>c Abbali, in 1774, took up the works in the Borgo Palazzo and jiroduced maiolica and tortoiseshell wares, obtaining privileges in his favour, but he soon failed, the privileges being rescinded in 1777. A fragment marked ' Bcrtranio 1773 ' probably by Bosio, was in Sig. Urbani de Gheltofs possession. Brfscia. - Our esteemed friend liie late Sir j. Kingston James had a plate decorated with landscapes and figiu'es in blue on white, and on the 346 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES reverse A. R. Brescia ; but Sig. Urbani de Gheltof states that he can find no record of a fabrique. BussETo. — Sig. Urbani finds record of one Giovaniit Pietro de Rociis or h oxis, who executed some works dt terra at Busseto, where he Hved till 1462. He went to Mantua after 1467 and was recalled in 1470. He was privileged and extolled. Cancelli, in Tuscany, is referred to by Milanese as having had a fabrique of maiolica, but we have no definite particulars to record. Casalmaggiore, on the Po near Parma. — Campori states that one Alessandro Pessaroiti opened works there in 1766, but which soon ceased production. Castelfiorentino, near Perugia — There is no record of a fabrique here, but Sig. Funghini of Arezzo has a brocca of sgraffiato work inscribed A • Di • DiEci • Di • GENNAio • 1517 • SI • FECE • which he attributes to this place, having found remains of a furnace for the production of such wares. Castellione di Suasa, in March of Ancona. — Anselmi tells us that there is tradition of a fabrique here, at a place called Vaseria, and that he possesses a maiolica a stecca which he ascribes to it, a large tazza with handles, subject an oak tree of the Delia Rovere, and the mono- gram A • OR • FA • at its side (probably of owner's rather than maker's name). Anselmi states that in the last century table and other wares were made which, having no special character of their own, were supposed to be of Pesaro. Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, near Massa. — Campori tells us that in the second half of last century Giovanni Maria Dallari tried in vain to make good wares at that place. Castiglione del Lago. — Urbani de Gheltof refers to Sabelli, who states that in the seventeenth century maiolica was made there, Cremona. — Jaennicke, in his Grundriss der Keramik, states that maiolica was made here, but we have no confirmatory record. Doccia. — At this important fabrique of the Ginori the production of porcelain had commenced in 1735; it was chiefl}' to making improvements LOCAL ITALIAN POTTERIES 347 in that material that the energies of its managers were directed. The production of maiolica after the old models was not commenced till about 1850. FiNALF, in the Emilia. — Here Giovanni Maria Dallari opened a fabrique in the second half of last century, but it soon stopped, for in J 776 he was occupied in experimenting elsewhere in the Emilia (Urbani?). FoRNovo.— Campori refers to one Daniclc Hotti, vasaio of this place, who, in 1487, was a party to a society contract, which was to last five years, with Salvatore del fit Mariino, his cousin, for working the ' arlc ac mistcrio bucalonini.' Nardo. — Maiolica is said to have been made here under the influence of the Acquaviva, and was highly praised by Cfjrrado in the si.xteenth century. 1 hey are believed to be decorated in blue on white, but we do not know examples (Corona, in La Ceramica, pp. 287, 288). Pai.aia.- Sig. Funghini of Arezzo found the remains of ancient furnaces and fragments of si^raffinto ware at this place, showing that works existed in the sixteenth century. Pantankto.— A pavement of tiles was made here in 1600, by Ciro/aino or Ciorji^io di Marco, for tiie confraternity of S" Caterina in Fontebranda of Siena, to replace tiles of the sixteenth century (broken or wanting) in a pavement at the oratory. They are very inferior to those they replaced. Parma. — Documents of the fifteenth century, examined by Campori, prove that xy7.sy?/ and otiier such artificers were working here at that |)eri(t(i. lie names Giovanni da Panociliia, a scudcllaro in 1425; Ziliolo and Litca Moylc in 1410 ; and Galcotio Pavcsi, ' bocaloro di pancxi nixi da Mod.ino,' as the author of an ancona ' fala di terra eolla invidriata,' which in 1463 was placed at the altar of S. Agata in the laiger churcli at Parma. Hut there is no proof of a Hibrique of maiolica at Parma in the first years of the sixteenth century. The fine pavement in San Paolo described by Molinier', and referred to by ('ampori, is not of Parmesan production. In 1583 the l)ukc of Parina enj^aged Giovanni Batli<,la Sern//o or Cerullo, of ' La L'crainifiuc luilicniic. 1888. 348 ITALIAN PAINTED WARES Genoa, to make some quadrelli after the Genoese manner to decorate his rooms. Payments to Serullo are recorded from 1582 to 1594 ; that of Dec. 2, 1586, was for 71 scudi, on account of 100 scudi d'oro to be paid him ' per dar priiicipio a far la rnaiolica.' That work, however, lasted but a short time. In 1759 Du Tillot, governor of Parma, gave a prohibitive privilege for nine years to one Carticr to establish a fabrique. Cartier left the work after a year's trial, and it was taken by Nicola Piacenfini, to whom the same privileges were granted. In 1785 it was abandoned. In 1766 Carlo Artiisi attempted to imitate the wares of Piacentini, but he and Alessaiidro Passerotii failed under the ban of the privilege (Urbani). Passignano.— Sabelli refers to the rnaiolica furnaces opened here in the seventeenth century (Urbani). RiXANATi is referred to by Raffaelli. RoNCiGLiONE. — In 1754 a fabrique was established here by the Abbate Bartolomeo Armanni, which is referred to by Erculei. RovEzzANO is another place referred to by Jaennicke on his own authority as a producer of rnaiolica, but without reference. RoNCO. — In 1725 Pier Francesco Giielpa tried to make maiolica here with clay from Valsera, but neither he nor his partner Giovanni della Fontana could succeed. One Rebuffa di Ziiniaglia, a priest, then tried, but was ruined. Subsequently terra-cotta wares were made there by Francesco Vaglto. San Archangelo, near Pesaro. — In a petition made to the Camera Pontificia reference is made to a fabrique existing here in 1789. San Donino (Borgo). — Notarial acts of this place give the names of vasai who had furnaces. Campori records Gencsio Palarnenghi (1426), Antonio Longhi detto Molinaro (1454), Bertolano e Giovanni Antonio Porcelli o Portelli (1455), Giaconio Staquette e Pier Giacoino Migoni (i^iQ). San Ei.pidio al Mare. — Raffaelli also refers minutely to certain furnaces which existed here. LOCAL ITALIAN POTTERIES San Miniatelo. — Although bearing a long inscription, we are left in doubt as to the locality of ' Saminiatelo '; it could hardly be a borgo of S. Miniate in Florence, but we suspect that the piece is Tuscan. r/. TECF . Olr£S.r 0 . -?/J\T£LO. /N. I30TT£CHA. "hi. BFC /-I 0/Vr. 'h\.L . NArvJo. IN. ^AMIN lATC LO . CHV LS'TO . TZ/vro. AGHo^TlNo . 2^1, -M- o.A. T)/.ClNgE. 1)1 - GV ON /O . tj-'^A . ViADANA. — Campori rcj^orts tlie ojiinion of Portioli as to some fragments of vases on which the arms of Gonzaga Kste and Gonzaga Medici occur, that they were made here in the sixteenth century. VicF.NZA. — Produced the white earth used as a slip on the mezza wares, but we hear notliing of her ceramic productions till the eighteenth century, when in 1788 Count Carlo Vicenlini del Giglio opened a large fabrique. The pieces produced were various, marked witii the Giglio antl \ bcncatli. The works fell with the republic. CHAPTER X Literature. E have reprinted the Hst of works consulted or referred to in the historical notices of the various fabriques which we prepared in 1872 for the Catalogue of Maiolica and kindred wares in the South Kensington Museum. In this reprint we have marked with an asterisk those works which may be considered as of standard value in the ceramic library, or of special interest in respect to that branch of the subject of which they treat. Since that date many additions have been made to the literature of the subject. Of the majority of these we now give an additional list, in which are included some older publications referred to in the pages of this volume ; and we also propose passing in slight review the more prominent of those recent works, which for convenience may be divided into five classes, viz. — 1. Works on the general subject of Ceramics. 2. Works on the general subject of Maiolica. 3. Monographs and notices of local and special productions. 4. Critical notices and papers. 5. Catalogues of Collections. Of works on the general subjects of pottery and porcelain in the English language, several manuals and handbooks have been compiled in concentrated form by American authors, and with more or less care and judicious reference to standard works. Of these are Ch. Wyllis Elliott's ' Pottery and Porcelain,' a well illustrated and arranged volume on the general subject; M. S. Lockwood's small 'Handbook of the Ceramic Art,' much concentrated ; W. C. Prime's * Pottery and Porcelain ' and J. H. Treadwell's ' Manual,' both handy volumes fitted to stimulate further inquiry from the larger works to which they refer. Miss Jennie J. Young's 'The Ceramic Art,' published in London LIT ERA TV RE 351 and in America, is a well-compounded and very neat volume for ' familiar and speed}' reference,' to use the author's own words, well illustrated, but seemingly intended for the use of American rather than for English amateurs, her references to examples being mostly to those in transatlantic cabinets ; and, to quote her preface, ' casual reference only is made to the marks of factories and artists.' Her short remarks on Luca della Robbia and the tin enamel are excellent, and quite in accordance with the facts as now known. But Mr. Arthur Beckwith's ' Majolica and Fayence' is, although occasionally somewhat wanting in refinement of expression, a miiltitni in parvo on the matter of which it treats. Published at a low price, the many illustrations are perhaps as good as could be so produced, and the printing clean and clear. The marks, crowded together on one page, are rather confused and insufficient, but it is full of material derived from larger works and used with judgement. There is indeed more matter in this little volume and fewer errors than we find in works of far greater pretension produced in France and Italy, to some of which we shall have occasion to refer. In 1873 M. Albert jacquemart published his ' Histoire de la Ceramiquc ' an elegant volume, profusely illustrated by woodcuts and the admirable etchings by his son Jules (friends both, whose loss we since deplore). It contains all the results and conclusions derived from the indefatigable work of its talented author, and, as might be expected, the theories advanced by him, some of which were perhaps too imagmary. The section on Maiolica occupies eighty-one pages (273 to 354), in which we find statements and opinions that subsequent investigations have consider- ably modified. It is, notwithstanding, a valuable book. M. Edouard Garnier published his ' Histoire de la Ceramique' at Tours in 1882. It is a nicely printed and illustrated octavo volume, the con- tents in the main compiled from others, particularly from the writings of jacquemart and Darcel. It displays, however, that want of knowledge of the contents of museums and private collections out of France, and of the literature of other countries, tluit leads to the retention of fi)regone conclusions, since corrected. It is in fact a |M-etty volume, more fitted for tlie boudoir table tiran for the student's desk. M. Ris-Pa{juot's 'La Ceranii(|ue' (Paris, 1888) commences witli an address to his readers, certainly not remarkable for refinement or motlesty, and in which he takes credit to himself for the increased sale of his book, telling us that it had advanced the study and ' la viils^arimtion ' of the ceramic art. That it may have advanced the latter sentiment is possible, for the book is but common])lace throughout, as deficient in correctness and in real knowledge as it is in refinniu-nt of expression. The illustrations 352 LITERATURE are vulgarized reproductions from other works, particularly from the South Kensington ' Handbook of Maiolica,' of which wares he gives but meagre account, his volume being chiefly useful in reference to the modern faience of France, of which there are abundant notices and references. Friedrich Jaennicke's ' Grundriss der Keramik,' published at Stuttgart in 1879, is a very different work from the last referred to. In it we find the whole history of Ceramics concisely but carefully considered, and the productions of every period and country referred to and illustrated with care from all the best authorities of that time. The section devoted to the Italian wares is mainly compiled from the Catalogue of the South Kensington Collection, but with full and complimentary acknowledgement. The number of marks, however, is small and inadequate ; though a good list is given of works on ceramic art. We have next to examine those books particularly devoted to the faiences of Italy ; and, although Sig. Giuseppe Corona has wandered far and wide in his enthusiastic inquiries, his volume ' La Ceramica,' published at Milan in 1879, is so inadequate a result of considerable painstaking that we refrain from considering it in detail, agreeing entirely with the critical remarks and the verdict pronounced on it by the late M. A. Darcel in his paper published in the ' Gazette des Beaux-Arts,' vol. vii, 1892, p. 138. Excellent notices on the different fabriques, and careful critical descrip- tions of the examples of their produce preserved in the Correr Museum at Venice, were written by the late Sig. Lazari in his admirable catalogue of that collection, published as far back as 1859. Valuable notes also were appended to the catalogues of the Delsette and Pasolini Collections by the erudite Dr. Frati of Bologna ; but, with these exceptions, we have little else than monographs of local productions. It is a singular fact, and much to be regretted, that no general and illustrated work on the faience of Italy which can be considered as at all worthy of the subject, treating it as a whole, and carefully studying the history and characteristics of the various boteglie and of their productions, has been written in the language of that country which produced such masterpieces of ceramic art. Signor Angelo Genolini's quarto volume entitled ' Maioliche Italiane,' published at Milan in 1881, but poorly supplied that want. Apparentl}^ knowing but little of the contents of private and public collections beyond those few still remaining in Italy, or of what other authors had written on the subject, he has repeated old and since corrected theories ; his own observations have but little weight, being grounded 353 lor the most part on the opinions and statements of M. Demmin, to whom he constantly refers, and whose dicinm is now held to be of small authoritative value. He tells us that the well-known painted roundels ascribed to Luca della Robbia, which were purchased from the Campana Collection for the South Kensington Museum thirty-six years since, are at Paris ; that the Sebastian Marforio albarelli, one of which is at Kensington and one in the British Museum, are also in the P'rench capital ; believes, with Jacquemart, that the Caffaggiolo fabrique was of very early date and that of Faenza less so ; that lustrcd wares were made at Castel Durante, because Francesco Bertoldo in 1545 married Antonia, the daughter of M". Cencio, and thus obtained the secret! Evidently unacquainted with his works, he ranks Nicolo da Urbino as one of the inferior artists, S:c., S:c., ad finem. II Com'". F. Bernabei, writing in ' La Domenica Letteraria,' Rome, April 23, 1882, accuses Sig. Genolini of deriving much from the South Kensington Catalogue without acknowledgement or even allusion to tiie existence of that work. M. A. Darcel, in the 'Gazette des Beaux-Arts,' vol. vii, p. 140, 1892, brings a similar charge against him in reference to his own ' Notice des Fayences peintes Italicnnes ' in the Louvre: that modest but valuable and now scarce little volume, built on the same lines with and deriving much from the anterior work of Sig Lazari, but adding thereto additional information and original matter. Sig. Genolini gives a considerable number of marks, but poorly represented, his copies and reductions from other works being carelessly executed and frequently incorrect, and his attributions, adopted in many instances from Demmin, Graesse and Ris-Paquot, are of equally weak authority. The marks for the most part are given without reference to the pieces on which they occur, or the collection in which they are kept ; and some inscriptions are incorrectl}^ rendered in a fictitious old character, materially differing from the originals. There are no illustrations. Much more valuable are the contributions to local ceramic history issued, in a limited number of copies, by Sig. Urbani de Gheltof, and particularly that volume which comprises notices of all the known localities of that industry in Italy, from the earliest time to the present century, viz. his ' Notizie Istoriche ed Artistiche sulla Ceramica Italiana' (Roma, 1889). From this we have drawn much iniormalion, particulaily in respect to the more recent and industrial rather than artistic productions of the many potteries of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, for wliicii wares, with few exceptions, we confess but small esteem. As is the case with other of the more recent writers in Italy, a want of knowledge of the collections and literature of other countries, particularly .\ a 354 LITER A TV RE of England, has led to occasional errors of judgement, and the matter of the South Kensington Catalogue seems to be unknown. We find that he agrees with us in attributing the pavement in S. Sebastiano at Venice to the Castel Durante potteries ; but in reference to the twelve painted discs attributed to Luca della Robbia in the South Kensington Museum he writes (at page 107) of them as still of the Campana Collection, and attributes them to Pisa, wanting proof that can assign them to any other fabrique. We will not dwell on other such inaccuracies arising from the want above referred to, but gladly accept the valuable additions to our knowledge which his pages convey. Before considering the more important of the local monographs published in Italy, we must not omit reference to the neat octavo volume by M. de Mely, entitled ' La Ceramique Italienne' (1884). In it he has epitomized much information on the various fabriques, the artists who worked at them, and the marks which distinguish their productions. In this latter and very important part, although we cannot agree with all his attributions, his book is very superior to some other more pretentious but insufficient works, as direct reference is given to the piece on which each mark occurs. We fear that we cannot always accept his judgement on pieces, and must differ from him in more instances than one. His views on the Gubbio fabrique do not accord with those of more experienced writers, disbelieving the well-assured fact that works painted by others were merely enriched with lustre at the botega of M°. Giorgio. He suggests that Xanto worked in connexion with M°. Giorgio, as many of the lustred istoriati pieces are by the former, and that the single letters occurring in conjunction with the Giorgio monogram denote divisions of work or period of production. He makes sad confusion also (p. 65) with the works and marks of Nicolo da Urbino, and with the productions of the Ferrara furnaces. In 1880 Dr. Carlo Malagola gave to the world the result of his indefatigable researches among the archives of Faenza and elsewhere, in reference to the potteries and potters of that ancient city. This very important contribution to local ceramic history was unfortunately marred by the theory adopted by its author from very poor evidence, that no such fabrique had ever existed as that at Caffaggiolo in Tuscany, but that pieces bearing that name on the reverse were really the production of a Faentine fabrique of the Ca Fagiolo a fabrique which must have been established, as Malagola inferred, merely from the recorded existence of some Faxoli or ' The idea on which this theory was the Caffaggiolo fabrique was estabhshed. grounded is not original; it had been sug- and doubting as to whether the Ca signified gested by Dr. Frati before a knowledge of Casa in that then puzzling name. LITERA TI Rh P'agioli among the working potters of Faenza. The world of amateurs was taken by surprise at this announcement, which gathered some disciples but more unbelievers. Dr. Malagola's pet theory was vigorously attacked by Dr. Frati of Bologna in 1883 in a pamphlet published at Modena. Dr. Malagola subsequently indited ' La fabbrica delle Maioliche della famiglia Corona.' This pamphlet consists of a letter addressed to Sig. Corona, the curious author of ' La Ceramica,' referring to documents which prove the existence of a family named Corona at Faenza, some of whom were potters. Corona, by whom this letter is published, prides himself on having received this communication from such an authority as Malagola, and is supremely happy to learn that a family of potters of his own name is actually recorded at Faenza in the si.xteenth century. Having, as it were almost by divine inspiration, taken to the study of ceramics and their history, it is most fortunate to find that others of his name, and of earlier time, had been producers of fictile wares; and his romantic mind would seem to harbour the idea that the love of the fictile art had been transmitted with the name, although unknown to him. Happy enthu- siasm ! In 1889 Professor Fcderigo Argnani brought out his beautifully illustrated and elegant work, ' Le Ceramiche e Maioliche Faentine,' full of valuable record of pieces found by e.vcavation in various parts of Faenza and its neighbourhood, proving by tangible evidence what Malagola had shown by record, that the potteries of Faenza had existed and were of importance from ver}' early time, and showing that the use of the stanniferous enamel had been known there as early as the period of Eustorgio II in the fourteenth century. It is upon this discovery and the many pieces of early and later wares of Faentine make, so perfectly represented in the coloured plates, accompanied by some additional record, that the great value of this volume rests. Unfortunately, in like case with the Malagola records, their value is much impaired by Professor Argnani's adoption and strong advocacy of Dr. Malagola's theory' of the non-existence of the Mediccan fabrique at Caffaggiolo. The appearance of this elegant volume revived the almost forgotten controversy. In May of the following year, Dr. Umberto Ros^i, in 'Arte e Stona.' published a paper subversive of the conclusions of Malagola and Argnani. On August 9 of that same year, not knowing that Dr. Rossi had written on the subject, we, perhaps somewhat severely, criticized Argnani's work in the 'Academy,' condemning his and Dr. Malagola's theory, and giving proof against its probability'. In vol. vii, 1892, of the 'Gazette des Beaux- A a 2 355 356 LITERA TURE Arts/ the late M. A. Darcel, unaware of either Dr. Rossi's or our own papers, contributed one of three articles entitled ' La Ceramique Italienne d'apres quelques livres nouveaux,' criticizing these and other Italian works on maiolica ; two others followed, acknowledging and agreeing with what we had written in the ' Academy,' and showing how ill-founded was the Malagola theory. Had Dr. Malagola and Professor Argnani been better informed of the contents of other public and private collections out of Italy, and with the foreign literature on the subject, they could hardly have ventured to support the opinions they so warmly advocated. The works of each will, notwithstanding, always hold their position as valuable con- tributions to the history of Italian ceramics, and the latter as a model for their accurate historical illustration. We must not omit reference to the valuable publication by Sig. Giuliano Vanzolini, ' Istorie delle Fabbriche di Maiolica Metauresi,' which, in two octavo volumes (Pesaro, 1879), comprises the works of Passed, Pungileoni, Raffaelli, Ranghiasci-Brancaleoni, Marcoaldi, and Campori, with notes, appendix, and index. We need not dwell on the several important contributions to local history of Italian ceramic production, as those by Sig. Bindi, Brambilla, Casati, Rosa, Urbani de Gheltof, Vignola, &c., each and all valuable for their respective subjects, though occasionally displaying a pardonable weakness for laudation of local achievement which is sometimes amusing. M. Natalis Rondot has taken much trouble in following out the history of istoriati wares produced at Lyons and elsewhere in France by Italian potters emigrant from Pesaro, Urbino, and other fabriques in the sixteenth century. His volumes are models of painstaking research in local interests. A few years since, M. Emile Molinier, who has done such good work in various fields of Renaissance art history, made a tour through Italy and elsewhere, to gather material for a new catalogue of the Louvre collection of Italian faience, traversing the ground which the writer had trodden thirty and forty years before, when those lands were far less barren of specimens, and the subject fresh. The result of his travels M. Molinier im- mediately and from time to time gave to the world in a series of communica- tions to the Parisian periodical ' L'Art,' and gathered subsequently in small octavo book form, entitled ' Les Maioliques Italiennes en Italic ' (Paris, 1883). Many of his observations, if not always original, were of considerable value ; but he rather too rapidly evolved some theories, and ventured on correc- tions of the work of others which brought down strong protest from the learned Sig. Frati of Bologna. Few in Italy have a tithe of Sig. Frati's knowledge of her fictile wares. Since then M. Molinier has published, under the form of four illustrated communications to ' L'Art,' a dissertation LITERATURE 357 on ' La Faience a Venise,' in which there is much valuable information, the result of his own observations, and gleaned from the writings of Sig. Urbani de Gheltof, with occasional references to M. Darcel and to the South Kensington Museum Catalogue; and in 1888 a duodecimo, entitled ' La Ceramique Italienne,' a valuable contribution in which he carefully studies the authentic dated and recorded pieces of these wares anterior to the sixteenth century. The mantle of the late M. A. Darcel has been worthily assumed by M. Molinier, and we look forward to the appearance of his promised catalogue of the maiolica in the galleries of the Louvre. We cannot close this short notice of the more recent literature of our subject without referring also to Mr. IL Wallis' valuable and admirably illustrated ' Notes on Larly Persian Lustrcd Wares ' and his descriptive account of pieces in the magnificent 'Godman Collection.' The late Mr. R. IL Soden-Smith, the chief former of the South Ken- sington Art LilDrary in its earlier years, conceived the idea of compiling classified bibliographical hand-books of the leading divisions of Art, History, &c. Of these useful lists several were published ; but the rapid increase of the library and extent of subjects soon rendered the earlier editions inadequate. The present indefatigable Librarian, Mr. Wealc, has since taken the matter in hand and has recently issued the volume on Ceramic Literature. This most valuable work is a marvel of painstaking industry and elaborate classification, and claims its place on the shelves of every antiquarian and artistic library. M A I O L I C A MARKS AND MONO CRAMS Some fezv marks occurring on pieces of Persian and hlispano- Moresque production have been given on the pages descriptive of those wares. We do not pretend to any complete list of such. . M A I O L I C A MARKS AND MONOGRAMS SGRAFFIATO WARE No. I. The only instance we know of a mark on an early piece ot this ware ; it is incised into the red paste on a plateau in the South Kensington Museum No. 349. '64. Of about 1520. It is of the Citta di Castello or Perugian group. Sig. Genolini gives varieties or ill executed copies of this mark. No. 2. On a dish formerly in the Montfcrrand Collection. TheVirgin and Child, incised and enamelled in colour. Perhaps by a member of the Cuzio family? O. T. S. C 1624 No. 3. On a lamp formed as a human foot. Sgraffiato ornamentation covered with a brown enamel. Castellani Collec- tion. C, F. F. 1659. P. Bastiano, No. 3*. On a cup in the British Museum ; about 1650. li M. F. 2 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS SGRAFFIATO WARE. Works of the Ciizio Family at Pavia. lOHANNES . ANTONIVS . BARNABAS . CVTIVS . PAPI/ENSIS . ANNO. DOMINI . 1676 . DIE . VNDECIMA IVNY lOHANNES . BRITIVS = CVTIVS CANO . ORDIN . PAPI/C . 25 MARTY 1677 PRESBITER . ANTONIVS . MARIA CVTIVS . PROTHON . APOSTO . 1677. Other pieces by this artist similarly inscribed are dated, i688, 1690, 1691, 1692, 1693, and one in the South Kensington Museum, 4611. '58, dated 1694. No. 7. On a large circular dish. 1734 la 26 mar 20 Pavia. A man selling sweetmeats: with inscription. No. 4. On a plate with rose in centre, foliation and ribbon border. No. 5- On a plate. The Annunciation, with foliated and ribbon border. In the Brambilla Collection at Pavia. No. 6. On a plate in the Limoges Museum. Angels, coat of arms, &c. TUSCANY. CAFFAGGIOLO No. 8. On a plaque in the South Kensington Museum, 6655. '60. Shield of arms of the Florentine family Bono or Boni, on white ground diapered with scrolls, &c. in dark blue, and edged with a laurel wreath. On a ribbon is inscribed, MCCCC9I . ^lllDrra Dl Bono No. 9. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 2. '65. Cupid bound on a pedestal, carried by musicians. Reverse, concentric lines in blue, and a mark. About 1500. Caflfaggiolo? TUSCANY 3 CAFFAGGIOLO. No. lo. A mark and early date ascribed to this fabrique. No II. On the centre of a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 6981. '60. Cupids holding flasks of wine are in an open sarcophagus, on which are the initials G. M., with three shields of arms. Reverse, peacock's feathers and mark, Caffaggiolo or P^aenza ? About 1510. A similar mark occurs on a plate fij^urrd by Dclange, Recueil, pi. 42. No. 12. On a circular dish in the South Kensington Museum, 2559. '56. Two boys climbing a fruit tree, another rides an owl ; on a ribbon ' E . non , se . po . mangiare . senza . fatiga.' Reverse, monogram. Caffaggiolo (?) or Faenza. About 1500. B 2 4 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CAFI'AGGIOLO. _L J No. 13. On a circular dish in the South Kensington Museum, 1673. '55. Alexander meeting Diogenes : may be from a design by Luca Signorelli ; painted in dark blue and orange on white, border of diaper on orange. Reverse, coarse yellow glaze, with an owner's (?) mark scratched in the paste. Faenza or Caffaggiolo? About 1510. (Bernal Collection.) No. 14. On a caudle cup in the Museum at Pesaro. Cupid burning a heart, on yellow ground. Caffaggiolo or Faenza ? Agrees in form with the A of Mark 16. No. 15. On a plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 1719. '55. On a ground of blue dra- pery, a large shield of the Medici arms, sur- mounted by the ducal coronet, and sprays of foliage. Reverse, mono- gram. Caffaggiolo or Faenza? About 1510- 20. (Bernal Collection.) Dr. Malagola and M. de M^ly attribute these marks to Petrus Andrea of Faenza. We read four letters in the mono- gram, P. L. A. and T. TUSCANY 5 CAFFAGGIOLO. No. i6. On a large jug or ewer in the South Kensington Museum, 4037. '56. In front shield of arms and a label dated 1544, between two large cornucopioe springing from a mask ; the rest covered with floral scroll diaper ; the monogram is beneath the handle. Caffaggiolo or Faenza ? The arms are those of one of the Florentine families. No. 17, On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, i?^^- '55- Grotesques in white, touched with red and yellow on the border of deep blue. On a central medallion a child turning somer- sault. Reverse, blue scale work, spotted red, zig-zag or flame ornament, and red central star. Caffaggiolo or Faenza? About 1515-20. M. Mdly refers to a plate in the A. Rothschild Collection having the same mark. I le attributes it to Faenza. It is also on two plates in the British Museum. No. 18. On a ewer in the South Kensington Museum, 2602. '56. The surface diapered with peacock's feather pattern ; in front a medallion encircled by a wreath and bearing a shield of arms of the Rinuccini or Bardi of Florence ; mark beneath the handle. Caffaggiolo or Faenza? About 1500-20. 6 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 19. Variations of a mark believed to be of CafFaggiolo. One of these occurs on a fine plate which belonged to Baron Gustave de Rothschild, and is dated J507. It has in the centre a shield of arms and arabesque border. No. 20. On a fine dish with bor- der of masks, grotesques, and medallions on blue ground ; central subject the ' Flagellation,' after an artist of the German school. Passed from the collection of Monsignore Cajani to that of M. Basilewski. TUSCANY 7 CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 21. On a plate in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford (Fortnum Collection), with wide border of dark blue, on which are arabesque scrolls, and among them flowers and vases 'wiped out' or reserved, and coloured yellow and orange, or tinted with pale green. Centre, shield of arms. About 1515. A similar mark was on a piece in the Uziclli Collection ; otiiersof this service are in the British Museum, having the star No. 17 on reverse. Caffaggiolo or Faenza. No. 22. On a dish formerly in the Soltikoff Collection, attributed to Faenza by Dclange, but perhaps of this fabriquc. ' In the centre, St. Francis, encircled with rich arabesques on orange ground, white borders painted in blue and yellow palmcttes.' 8 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CAFFAGGIOLO. / ) ^ On •j*-— ^ to the \ No. 23. "^3 pieces attributed to this fabrique, but unknown ' writer. No. 24. Beneath the handle of a large jug in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford (Fortnum Coll.), on which are the arms of the family 'Alessandro dei Ales- sandri,' About 1500-20. No. 25. On another jug in the Ashmolean Museum (Fortnum Collection), doubtless of this fabrique, on the front is a shield of arms. TUSCANY 9 CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 26. On a ewer in the South Kensington Museum, 1715. '55. On front the Medici arms surmounted by the Papal Tiara ; beneath the word 'Glovis.' About 1520. No. 27. On a plateau in tlie South Kensington Museum, 6664, '60. Portion of a triumphal procession after Mantegna. Reverse, concentric lines in blue, a mark, and the date 1514. The same mark, with the same date in ordinary numerals, is on another piece of the series in Sir V. Cook's Collection. lO MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 28. On a plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 8928. '63. A procession. Pope Leo X, seated on a rich portable throne, is borne on men's shoulders, preceded by a rider on an elephant and surrounded by Cardinals on mules, the guard, &c. The arms of Medici are on the standards. Reverse, concentric lines of blue and the mark. CafTaggiolo. 1513-21. (From Soulages Collection.) A nearly similar mark is on a plate in the Pesaro Museum (Molinier). Also on a pharmacy jar in the Castellani Collection, dated 1567. A variant with the paraph at base of the P was on a plate (Castellani Collection), bearing the armorial shield of a bishop, border with medallions of Emperors, and ornament on white ground. On a plate in the British Museum ; subject Daedalus and Icarus; the letter P. Caffaggiolo ? or Faenza. TUSCANY II CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 30. On a piece formerly in the Delsette Collection (No. 85), with shield of arms in the centre, of the F'ontana family, the letters P. F. and border a quarliere. No. 31. Is a variety of the mark in which the stroke of the P is prolonged to form an R, crossed with the usual CO -formed paraph. The piece on which this mark occurs is unknown to the writer. 12 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 32. On a plate. Subject Judith and her servant on horseback carrying the head of Holophernes. Formerly in the Spitzer, now in Mr. Salting's Collection. No. 33. On a plate formerly in the Alphonse Rothschild Collection. (M. de Mely notes this mark as without the monogram. Delange gives it correctly on his pi. 25.) The same mark occurs, but without the monogram, on a plate in Mr. Salting's from the Spitzer Collection, subject a triumph. TUSCANY 13 CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 34. On a plate. Prisoners brought before a King, on the central medallion ; children and masks on the border. Collection of Baron Gustave de Rothschild. No. 35 On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 1717- '55- ^ majolica painter in his studio, painting a plate in the presence of two personages of dis- tinction. Reverse, concentric lines in orange and blue, and a monogram. Caffaggiolo. About 1515-20. No. 36. On a small plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 7154. '56. Lustred. On the central medallion, a portion of a branch, the right-hand spray of which bears a flower of crown-like form ; the left, an acorn ; probably emblems of an alliance. On the rim is a garland of flowers of the same form as that on the centre; outlined blue, and filled in with gold lustre on white ground. Reverse, concentric lines of gold lustre ; in the centre the mark. Caffaggiolo. About 1510. A similar monogram is on a richly lustred flask, and on a large jug with shield of arms, in the British Museum. 14 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 37. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 1726. '55. St. George, after the statue by Donatello, landscape background, and sur- rounded by a border of grotesques on dark blue ground. About 1515-20. No. 38. A nearly similar monogram is repeated above and below a scroll ribbon on which the name CAFAGIOLI is inscribed in Roman capitals, on a plate with the head of Nero in the centre. Knot work, &c., with the arms of Leo X, the motto Semper Glovis, the letters S.P.Q.R. and S.P.Q.F. painted in blue on white ground. (See Delange, pi. 26; De Mely, p. 124.) No. 39. On a plate ; subject, Mucius Scaevola. On border, dogs hunting animals in a wood. Fortnum Collection in Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Galiano is a small hamlet in the hills, a few miles from Caffaggiolo. TUSCANY 15 CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 40. On a circular dish in the South Kensington Museum, 6656. '60. Apollo and Pan, with a shepherd, &c., landscape background. Reverse, inscription and monogram. Caffaggiolo. About 1547. Diani. 15! in. No. 41. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 1269. '55. Blue arabesque a porccUan mixed with trophies on a white ground, in the centre the arms of the Pazzi family in colours. Reverse, monogram and scrolls in blue. Caffaggiolo. About 1540. An ordinary example of the later ware, with the arms of a Florentine family of historical note. i6 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CAFFAGGIOLO. No. 42. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 1501. '56. Border of arabesques and trophies ; in the centre, a trophy with shield inscribed S. P. Q. R. Reverse, a monogram. CaflFaggiolo. About 1550. MONTE No. 43. A dish in the Hotel Cluny at Paris, painted with the subject of the Rape of Helen, somewhat in the manner of the Urbino wares, is inscribed at the back, ' V. rato d' Elena Fato in Monte.' Monte is a small paese near Caf- faggiolo. SIENA sjI No. 44. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 4487. '58. In centre an old man seated holding a skull; interlacings in white and blue tirata; border of scroll work on white ground. Reverse, signature of M" Benedetto. Diam. Qi in. About 1510-20, TUSCANY 17 SIENA. No. 45. On the reverse of a plate. Subject Mucius Scaevola ; gro- tesque border on orange ground. Henderson Collec- tion, now in British Museum. No. 46. On a plate in the South Ken- sington M useum, 1 1 . '67. Border of grotesques, edged with bead ornament on orange ground; in the centre a figure of S. James (the Great) in a landscape, bordered by a moulding, and a white belt inscribed • s • iacobvs • m • and with sprays ' bianco so/>ra bianco.' Reverse, scale-work border and the letters I • P • Siena. About 1 510. Diam. lo^' in. (Marryat Coll.) The same letters are on a plate ; the Magdalen with cherubs, grotesque border. Diam. 9 in. It was in the Bale Collection from the Bernal, now in Mr. Salting's. No. 47. On a plate. S. Jerome in the desert, border dark yellow with medallions, &c. Coll. Baron A de Rothschild. Ascribed to Siena by M. de M^ly. c i8 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS SIENA. No. 48. On a coupe in the Louvre. En grisaille. Suggested by De Mely to be by Ferd. Maria Campani (?) No. 49. On a plate. Subject, the creation of the stars, after Raffaelle; in the British Museum. m PISA. PISA No. 50. On a vase decorated with grotesques, after the Urbino manner. Collection Baron Alphonse de Rothschild. MONTELUPO No. 51, On a tazza in the South Kensington Museum, 6668. '60. Rudely painted with three standing figures of cavaliers. Reverse, inscribed and dated. Monte- lupo, near Florence. TUSCANY 19 MONTELUPO. No. 52. On a circular plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 4359. '57. A castle on the raised centre, surrounded by sunk radiating flutings, coarsely picked out in colours and filled in with flowers. Reverse, mark dated 1627. Montelupo. No. 53. On a circular plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 192. '55. Raised centre, with coat of arms, from which radiate flutings filled in with grotesques, fleur-de-lis, &c. Reverse, signed 'i6th April, 1663.' c a 20 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS MONTELUPO. 54- ' Dipinta Giovinale Tereni On a piece in the Sevres Museum is the signature da Montehtpo! The capital letter L, with what appears to be a palm branch or wolfs tail (?) in front, on piece vernisse'e was supposed by M. Jacquemart to be of Montelupo. ASCIANO F. P. No. 55. Asciaili die Xii Maij ^ .^^'^^ '^^^'^ moulded surface, and armorial shield ; green snaky handles. 1600. No. 56. On a plate, Passalagua Collection, blue and yellow leafage and central coat P. ASCIANI 1578 DIES ofarms. 30 AUGUSTI. F. F. D. FORTUNATUS PHILLIGELLUS DUCHY OF URBINO PESARO No. 57. On a bacile in the British Museum, subject a half- length female portrait, with a scroll inscribed, ' PER • DORMIRE NON • S • AQVISTA.' Scale border of yellow, orange, &c. ; the Gubbio scroll in black also occurs on the reverse. DUCHY OF URBINO PESARO. No. 58. On a circular dish in the South Kensington Museum, 2595. '56. In the centre an equestrian figure galloping with lance in hand ; border a quarliere in compart- ments of scale work and scroll foliage, all painted in colour on the white ground. Reverse, coarse yellow glaze and the mark in black. Pesaro or Vi- terbo? About 1520-30. No. 59. On a plateau for an cwcr in the South Ken- sington Museum, 3030. '55. On raised centre the profile bust of a woman, with the letter B ; inner border of rayed compartments filled with scale work and foliation on orange and yellow ground. A garland of fruit on the rim. Reverse, blue and orange concentric lines and monogram. Pesaro or Viterbo? About 1510. No. 60, This mark appears on a plate stated by Dennis- toun, in his History of the Dukes of Urbino, as of the ancient Pesaro fabrique ; it is in the Museum at The ^ Hague. We place the mark here, doubting as to whether \^ it ought not to be among those of the first section in the Gubbio class ; we do not recollect having seen the piece in question. Pungileoni refers to one having the letters G. A. T. interlaced. No. 61. On a plate, sixteenth century : bust of a woman. ' Achal i doni ' on a banderole. Pesaro. (De Mely, p. 42.) 22 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS PESARO. No. 62. On a plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 4078. '57. On dark blue ground in the centre, a half figure, in profile, of a lady richly dressed ; banderole inscribed : s'^nna bella ya. Inner border of flowers and pellets, and outer one of oval beads on orange and yellow ground. Pesaro or Faenza? About 1500-10. No. 63. On a piece, No. 2873 in the Hotel Cluny. (De Mely.) Pesaro ? DUCHY OF U RBI NO 23 PESARO. No. 64. On a deep round plate. Arms of Pope Paul III (Farnese). Pesaro ? (Castellani Collection.) No. 65. Incised on back of a plate. A young woman playing viol; fruit and foliage on the border. Pesaro? (Castellani Collection.) No. 66. On a large round plate, bacile. Bust of a woman with winged crown ; on a banderole, ' non . bene. Prototo. Vedit. A U R.' Palmettes, &c., of various colours. Pesaro? (Castellani Collection.) No. 67. Inscription on the reverse of a tazza in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Fortnum Collection), repre- senting the creation of animals. Lan- franchi fabrique, Pesaro. No. 68. Is on the reverse of a frutliera, now in the British Museum, from the Fortnum Collection, and important as a typical example of the pro- duce of the Lanfranchi bolega, perhaps painted by Maestro Girolamo. Qc^ron^ ^hjudcf c^c^y/" Ctu\ CP 24 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS PESARO. 0 p^Jci)/0 I iacl)o mo j^mj^r II pianeta di Marte Fatto in Pesaro 1542 Fato in hoiega di Mastro Gironimo Vasaro. I. P. 1550 Terencio fecit questo piatto fu fatto in. la bottega di Mastro Baldassar Vasaro da Pesaro., e fato per mano di Terenzio, fiolo di Mastro Matteo Boccalaro. La chacxia delporcho chalidonico fatto in Pesaro 1541. Oratio solo contro la Toscana tutta, Fatto in Pesaro 1541. No. 69. On the reverse of a plate in the Museum of the University of Bologna, representing nymphs at the bath ; it is by a less able hand than the last, that of 'jachomo,' son of Maestro Girolamo. No. 70. Plate referred to by Passeri. The planet Mars. No. 71. On a 'coppa amatoria' referred to by Passeri. Cupid centre, border of trophies on blue ground. No. 72. On a plate in the Museum at Pesaro, Massa Collection. Facsimile of inscrip- tion in Molinier, Maj. Ital. en Italia, p. 112. No. 73. On a plate with the arms of Gozzi of Pesaro: was in the Spitzer Collec- tion. No. 74. Is upon a plate in the British Museum, representing Circe and her companions changed into hogs. DUCHY OF U RBI NO 25 PESARO. No. 75. By the same hand, probably both ^ ^l^d "77 Q careless works of 'jachomo ' ; it is also in the British Museum. y No. 76. (X Is the mark of Casale and Caligari, and of the painter Pietro Lei, jpeSavo who established a work at Pesaro in 1763; it occurs on the saucer ly!)^ of a broth basin in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Fortnum Collection). No. 77. On a jug with bright flowers and Greek inscription, in British N°. 2, Museum. Pesaro, by Casali and Caligari. A similar mark on a similar jug is in the Ashmolean Museum (Fortnum Collection). c. c, No. 78. These letters may be the mark of Francesco de' Fattori of F. P . Pesaro, eighteenth century. M. de Mely, in his C^ramique Italienne, gives several marks unknown to us, and which we refer to on his authority ; we cannot, however, accept the first four, believing them, probably, to be of Gubbio ratiier than of Pesaro ; we refer to the scrolls and the ill-formed letter N. The fifth can only refer to the master Pietro Perugino, from whose painting the subject of the piece is copied. The tenth and eleventh we can only suppose to be ornamental. The twelfth, a capital G, may perhaps be of Caffaggiolo or, if lustred, Gubbio. The thirteenth may refer to the contents, if it be a pharmacy vase. No. 14 seems to be the same referred to by Molinier (page 108) on a lustred coupe, Alexander placing Homer's works in the coffer of Darius, No. 306 Pesaro Museum, which he ascribes to Urbino. 26 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS PESARO. The fifteenth, given by Greslou, is probably the same as that indifferently rendered as No. 191 in Genolini. The remainder are marks on wares of the last century difficult to appropriate with accuracy. Signor Genolini gives copies of some marks, without stating whence he adopts them, or on what pieces they occur. We do not reproduce, and can only report them on his authority. His No. 180 is a large foliated monogram in which the letter B is most prominent. ? of Pesaro. No. 187 is probably a reduction of the larger capitals I. P. occurring on some plates attributed to Siena. No. 188. A large P, but probably reduced from the mark on a plate in the Hotel Cluny, No. 2873. No. 190. The capital letters O and A with a cross between, and the date 1582. No. 191 probably adopted from Greslou. ? of Pesaro. No. 192. A circle, or letter O, having four smaller surrounding ones at top and bottom, and one on each side. No. 196 reads ell : r . PC, P, 1757. No. 197. Pesaro 1771. GUBBIO No. 79. GIORGIO LO]VBARO On a devotional plaque in the British Mu- seum, the gift of Sir J. C. Robinson. The Virgin and Child group, painted in colours but without lustre. Gubbio? .1 No. 80. [Ill' On a circular dish. Bacile. In the South Kensington Museum, 3035. '53. Lustred Mezza Majo- lica. Profile portrait of a lady ; inscribed scroll 'asai avaz achi FVRTVN APAS A ' ; border a quar- Here, in alternate compartments of foliated ornament and scale-work. Reverse, coarse yellowish-white glaze, on which are two scrolls painted in grey blue. Pesaro, Diruta, or Gubbio ? About 1490- 1500 Diam. i6g in. DUCHY OF URBINO GUBBIO. No 8i. On a circular dish. Bacile. In the South Kensington Museum, 7682. '61. Lustred ware. Majolica. Two equestrian figures in richly decorated armour, one bearing a lance, the other a banner; border of foliated ornament ; the design, outlined with manganese black and shaded with grey, is entirely in gold lustre on white ground. Reverse, yellow glaze, with mark in centre in manganese black. Probably Gubbio. About 1490- 1500. Diam. 142 in. (Soulages Collection.) No. 82. This monogram occurs in lustre colours on the back of a plateau, with female profile bust on a raised centre, of the well-known early type richly lustred. Gubbio ? or Diruta. In the British Museum, No. 83. On a plate formerly in Casa Piccini at Gubbio, and lost sight of from the Bernal Collection. The arm, sword, &c., are in ruby lustre, the date in blue, Gubbio scrolls round the border in gold. The subject is Abraham's sacrifice. 28 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO No. 84. On a small plate of early period, central medallion with half figure of a bishop (S. Petronio or Ubaldo) ; border of leaf ornament in rigid style, carefully drawn in blue outline and lustred with ruby and gold, formerly in the possession of Monsignor Cajani at Rome, since in the Castellani Collection. / No. 85. The centre of a 'tondino,' one of a service of great beauty in the British Museum, is occupied with this combination of initials and emblems which may be the owner's rather than the maker's mark ; the date 1518 is at back. No. 86. On a Scodella. Hunting subject, naked men on horse- back with dogs, &c., in manner of Pollaiuolo about 1525 ; lettering in blue washed round with lustre ; the G in ruby. From Castellani Collection to Spitzer. DUCHY OF URBINO 29 GUBBIO. No 87. On a tazza in the South Kensington Museum, 401. '54. On a square centre, framed in ruby lustre and dated 15 18, St. Francis receiving the Stigmata. At the angles are four cherubs' heads, trophies of arms filling the intervening spaces on pale blue ground, all richly lustred. Reverse, concentric lines of ruby and radiating gadroons of gold lustre. No. 88. On a plate in the South Kensington _ Museum, 8892. '63. On a dark blue ground a shield of arms, cherubs' heads, flaming cornu- copiae, and a banderole inscribed 'viva . viva . in . ETERNUM '. Reverse, the initials, of M" Giorgio in ruby lustre. Gubbio. About 1520. Diam. 9; in. (Soulages Collection.) No. 89. An unusual form of the Giorgio monogram, perhaps acci- dental ; it was on a plate formerly in the collection of the Baron de Monville. Somewhat similar marks occur, but with the G more developed; one dated 1520 was in the collection of Mrs. D. M. Davidson, and one dated 1522 in that /S/ ^ of Mr. Amherst. 4^ No. 90. On the back of a tazza, said by Brancaleoni /| A cC^^ Z^S to be in the 'Casa Tondi ' at Gubbio, and re- / ^ ferred to by Passed ; of remarkable porcellainous O^^u'L quality; foliage and rabesche in blue; yellow ^ and ruby lustre. The form of the last letter corresponds with that of Mark No. 5 30 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO. No. 91. On a plate formerly in the possession of Signor Marnelli. Since sold at the Castellani sale, Paris, for £600, to M. Spitzer. t No. 92 On a plate, with sunk centre, in the South Kensington Museum, 1789. '55. The subject of Diana and Actaeon covers the wide border; the side of the sunk centre is of golden lustre, and the bottom is filled by a medallion, cupid playing with a child's horn. Reverse, Monogram of Maestro Giorgio, and date 1524. Gubbio. Diam. lo^ in. (Bernal Collection.) DUCHY OF URBINO 31 GUBBIO. No. 93 On a fine dish formerly in the collection of Mr. Fountaine, of Narford Hall, from the Bernal, and now in that of Mr. Salting ; referred to by Fasseri. The subject is after a print by Robetta (1505 , known as 'The Stream of Life.' No. 94. On several pieces of a service in the British Museum, one from the Henderson Collection ; the central com- bination occurs painted on the face of two of the pieces, and not connected with the Giorgio monogram. That from which the mark was copied is dated 1524 on the face ; it is seen on some of the coins of Perugia, and is doubtless the emblem or mark of the owner. Some of the pieces are in Giorgio's best manner. MARKS AND MONOGRAMS No 95. A similar emblem, perhaps a variety of the last on another piece of the same service. It is in the Louvre (Campana Collection, 9. 476). Almost precisely the same mark occurs on a plate, rather coarsely painted with a female portrait bust holding a flower, and with a leaf and flower border. It was sold by auction some years since. No. 96. On a plate in the South Ken- sington Museum, 1788. '55. At the bottom of the deeply sunk centre, of yellow lustre, a shield of arms, ' Gules on a chief argent, a porcupine ' ; border covered with the subject of the death of Pyramus. Reverse, scrolls, the monogram of Giorgio, and date 1522, in ruby and gold lustre. No. 97. On a small Fruttiera in the South Kensing- ton Museum, 8939. '63. A man and woman standing beside a stream and embracing, taken from a composition known as the ' Stream of Life,' engraved by Robetta (see No. 93). Re- verse, foliated scrolls, and the mark in ruby, Gubbio. By Maestro Giorgio. Probably painted in 1525. Diam. 7! in. (Soulages Collection.) DUCHY OF URBINO 33 GUBBIO. No. 98. On a plate, subject Jupiter and Semele. Painted and initialled in blue by Xanto, and lustred by Giorgio. Spitzer Collection. No. 99. On a caudle cup. Bust of a man. Castel- lani Collection. Gubbio. Owner's or giver's name and G. Mo. for bo/cga? No. 100. On a plate. The chase of the Calydonian Boar, ruby and pearly lustre. Castellani Collection. The titular inscription black, signature and date lustre. 34 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO. No loi. This signature and exact date is painted in gold lustre, the fruit in the cornu- copiae being ruby. It is on the back of one of the finest works of Giorgio the largest size, having the subject of Diana and her nymphs surprised by Actaeon filling the centre, with a border of the richest grotesche. This noble piece is illustrated in Delange's Recueil, pi. 65, and now belongs to Lady Wallace, pre- viously to the Baronne de Parpart, and formerly to the Prince Bandini Giustiniani, of Rome. (This mark is reduced to half size.) No. 102. On a plate. Subject the decollation of John the Baptist, grotesche border, with shields of arms; in the Fortnum Collec- tion. The painting of this piece is attributed to Nicolo da Urbino. The arms are those of Sforza and Crivelli (?) of Milan, DUCHY OF U RBI NO 35 GUBBIO. No. 103. An eccentric variety of the Giorgio signature. ir ■<:> 0\ O^i;^^^^^^^ No. 104. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 7685. '61. The frttW/oof the plate grounded with gold lustre ; on a central medallion, cupid swinging on a tree, in grisaille on dark blue ground; r«/><'Sf/j^ border, richly lustred with gold and ruby on blue ground. Signed. Diam. ii^in. (Soulages Collection.) No. 105. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 8908. '63. In the centre a male profile head in grisaille on gold ground ; wide border of grotesque orna- ments in grisaille, heightened with gold and ruby lustre on blue ground. Diam. 9' in. (Soulages Collection.) D 2 36 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO. M"" Giorgio 1 520. a di 2 de ofobre. Ugubio. B. D. S. R. No. No. 106. The Gubbio mark surmounted by initials, probably of the owner rather than the painter. They have been supposed by Lazari to be of Baldasara Manara of Faenza. The subject, Aurora in a biga, and the hours, is after Marc Antonio. It was in Mr. Barker's Collection. No. 107. Signor Genolini gives a mark (his No. 124), but tells us neither the subject nor the possessor of the piece. It is doubtless that figured by Delange, with facsimile of mark, pi. 64. The Judge- ment of Paris ; in the Dutuit Coll. 108. The G here is formed as one of the well-known Gubbio scrolls. DUCHY OF URBINO 37 GUBBIO. No. 109. Another variety. »r 5 ) ir ? / No. no. A piece painted by another artist and lustred at Gubbio. From the collection of Signor Marnelli. No. III. On a plate in the Correr Museum at Venice, with grotesche border of fine work : the M G in ruby, the rest in gold and lustre. 38 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO. No. 112. On the magnificent circular dish in the Museum of the Univer- sity at Bologna, one of the finest pieces of maio- lica remaining to us. The whole surface is covered with the subject of the Presentation of the Virgin, admirably drawn and richly lustred in gold and ruby. The inscription on the reverse beneath the mark is remarkable, and the only instance recorded. (Mark reduced.) No. 113. A late signature of the usual type. No. 114. A. ^ fragment ot a tazza with portrait, lustred. Passalaqua Collection (287 Sale Cat.). M. G. Gubbio mark at No. 115. g p On a plate, with Medici arms in centre, border ornaments in gold and blue on white and gold ground. Fould Coll., sold in Paris 1882. On reverse, Gubbio. DUCHY OF U RBI NO 39 GUBBIO. No. ii6. On a fine Gubbio plate, having the Torregiani shield with trophies, &c. Sold by Sig. Gagliardi in Paris. No. 117. A mark similar to the last. No. 118. In lustre on the reverse of a plate, cupid centre, formerly in Mr. Farrer's Collection. A similar mark occurs on a piece in the Louvre (G. 535). No. 119. This mark occurs on No. 4726 in the South Kensington Museum, and on a plate — Hercules and Cerberus — in the Campana Collection at the Louvre (G. 318) No. 120. On a piece formerly in Mr. Barker's Collection. No. 121. On a plate, masks and trofci on dark blue ground, lustred gold and ruby, the mark blue ; back lustrcd. Gubbio. Spitzer Collection. (Salimbene ?) 40 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO. No. 122. On a puerperal cup with coat of arms, lustred. (? Salimbene.) Castellani Collection. No, 123. On a plate with the monogram of Christ in lustre. Gubbio- Castellani Collection. (? Salimbene Andreoli.) No. 124. On a plate formerly in the Collection of Monsig. Cajani. Bust of a young woman Cana-ora-bella. Reverse, inscription with four Gubbio scrolls. No. 125. On a plate in the Sevres Museum. DUCHY OF U RBI NO 41 GUBBIO. No. 126. In the Corner Museum at Venice. The S in blue, the N in ruby, and the date in gold. No. 127. A variation of the mark on a piece in the Campana Collection, Louvre, No. G. 527. No. 128. On a vase with cover in the shape of a pine cone in the South Kensington Museum, 519. '65. White ground, touched with green and orange, and with ruby and gold lustre. Underneath the foot the figure or mark, being the Arabic numeral 4. (Gubbio ? or Diruta.) About 1520. H. io\ in., diam. 6J in. (Soulages Collection.) No. 129. On a tazza in the South Kensington Museum, 8903. '63. In the central medallion a profile bust of a man in grisaille with drapery in ruby, and cap in gold lustre on blue ground ; border of open fir cones and scroll foliage in gold lustre on a white ground, shaded with blue. Reverse, scrolls and the letter N in ruby lustre. About 1530. (Soulages Collection.) Diam. 9^ in. Supposed to be by M" Cencio. It has been suggested that the N may stand for Nocera, an outskirt of Gubbio, on the Via Flaminia, where another furnace may have been erected by M° Giorgio, or by a rival. But M. Piot refers such to Santa Natoia in the march of Ancona, where a writer of the sixteenth century states that a fabrique existed. MARKS AND MONOGRAMS No. 130. On a deep plate or Fruttiera in the South Kensington Museum, 8895. '63. Central medallion with an ' Agnus Dei ' in relief, from which radiate acanthus leaves in gold, and flowers in ruby lustre, on white ground, lined and shaded with blue. Reverse, slight scrolls and the initial in ruby. Gubbio. About 1530-35. Diam. 91 in. (Soulages Collection.) No. 131. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 7690. '61. In the centre Cupid, with bow painted in grisaille on ruby ground ; border of scroll ornament in ruby and gold lustre on blue. Reverse, decorated with spiral scrolls in lustre and the mark. Gubbio. About 1530. Diam. 9I in. (Soulages Collection.) No. 132. On a tazza, in the South Kensington Museum, 8910. '63. The head of St. John the Baptist in a charger, on deep blue background diapered with scrolls in ruby lustre ; above is a pendant garland of green leaves and fruit, and on one side a cross, and scroll inscribed 'ecce-agnus dei.' Reverse, Giorgio scrolls, the date 1535, and initial in lustre. Gubbio. Diam. 9 in. (Soulages Collection.) No. 133. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 8962. '63. In the centre a trophy of arms on pale ruby ground ; border of trophies in grisaille on blue ground lustred with yellow and ruby. On two labels are respectively inscribed A ■ M • and S • P • Q • R. Reverse, scrolls and the initial in ruby. Castel Durante ? Lustred at Gubbio. About 1535- Diam. 9I in. (^Soulages Collection.) No. 134. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 8961. '63. In the centre the letter A, surrounded by foliage, lined with blue, and lustred in gold : the border of obliquely radiating ornaments, in gold and ruby lustre and blue. Reverse, rude scrolls in lustre, and the mark. Gubbio. About 1535-40. Diam. 9^ in. (Soulages Collection.) DUCHY OF U RBI NO 43 GUBBIO. No. 135. On a tazza in the South Ken- sington Museum, 4726. '59. Are- thusa escaping from the pursuit of Alpheus. Reverse dated 1536, a mark, and inscribed ' Alfeo ch' segue sua diua aretusa,' all in blue, touched with lustre ; the Gubbio scroll ornament in yellow and ruby. (Urbino, lustred at Gubbio.) Diam. 10 fin. No. 136. On a tazza in the South Ken- sington Museum, 8899. '63. The birth of Adonis ; composition of seven figures in a landscape. Reverse, the date 1541 in ruby lustre, and the inscription ' nasi- mento d adonis' in black. (Pesaro or Urbino, lustred at Gubbio) Diam. 11 in. (Soulages Collection.) No. 137. On a coarse piece in the British Museum, with a dog in the centre ; ruby and gold lustre. 0 "^^^^ 44 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO. No. 138. The N O in lustre ; the other mark in blue. A piece with similar marks, and dated 1535, was in the hands of a London dealer some years since. A plate painted by same hand and with the blue mark, not lustred, is in the Ashmolean Museum (Fortnum Collection). No. 139. On a plate in the British Mu- seum. Subject, the Centaur Nes- sus ; from the Bernal Collection. The painting is not in the manner of M° Giorgio. No. 140. Another variety. DUCHY OF URBINO 45 GUBBIO. No. 14.1 On a plaque or tile in the South Kensington Mu- seum, 520. '65. St. Jerome seated in a rocky landscape. Reverse, a large initial monogram, composed of A and G, in lustre colour. The painting ascribed to Orazio Fontana of Urbino, and lustred by M" Giorgio at Gubbio. About 1540. H 6^ in., W. 5 in. (Soulagcs Collection.) ^4 No. 142 On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 8907. '63. Angelica delivered from the monster by Ruggiero ; from the story by Ariosto. Reverse, foliated scrolls, and date 1549, in ruby lustre. Inscription, 'Angcllica ligata al duro scoglio,' written in blue. Probably painted by Orazio Fontana of Urbino, and lustred at Gubbio. Diam. 9} in. (Soulages Collection.) 46 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO. No. 143. On a plate in the British Museum, with scale border and ' Diamante ' in centre. It is more in the style of the Gubbio wares than those of Diruta. A similar mark is on a piece (No. G. 533) in the Louvre ; and, with the scroll, on a piece in the Museum at Gubbio. (De Mely, P- 83.) No. 144. p Similar to No. 147, and % important for the date. It occurs on a plate represent- ing Hercules and Antaeus after Pollaiuolo in the Basi- lewski Collection, and also on a piece in the Louvre, 359- Subject, Abraham visited by the Angels. They are probably the Maestro Giorgio signature by ' pro- curation ' of a careless hand. A somewhat similar but blurred name is on a plate in the Sauvageot Collection of the Louvre, G. 475. Two hunters, with dog, hare, &c., and border of trophies No. 145. Occurs on a plate formerly in Mr. Barker's Collection. Trophies shaded in blue on yellow ground. Shield of arms in centre, and date 1540. DUCHY OF URBINO 47 GUBBIO. / No. 146. Is on a tazza in tlie Ashmolean Museum, Fortniim Collection, somewhat coarsely painted in the style of the Fontana fabrique, with the subject of Constantine crossing the bridge, and seeing the cross in the sky. It is faintly lustred in gold, and has the mark on the reverse in gold lustre colour. No. 147. A curious signature given by M. Dclangc in the appendix to his translation of Passeri's work. It has been attributed to an unknown M" Gillio. Perhaps the same as No 144. No. 148. On a square bas-relief, the Virgin and Child, enriched with metallic lustre. The end lobe of the label, on which the date is repeated, has been mistaken for the letter C, and it has hence been somewhat hastily inferred that the letter standing for 'Cencio,' combined with the signature ' Perestino,' would indicate that they were one and the same person. pE ^ C 5T n?o 48 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS GUBBIO. No. 149. Another signature of Maestro Prestino, on a plate subject Venus and Cupid, belonged to Mr. Falcke. 1U ^^CiQ.^ -rnJKT^P No. 150. This letter may also stand for a monogram of Prestino. It occurs on a bowl having the Virgin and Child painted in lustre colours, and was in Mr. Fountaine's Collection. A nearly similar R is on a piece in the Pesaro Museum (Molinier). A more decided P occurs on a piece in the Louvre, G. 518; and again another formed more nearly to a D, with the date 1533, on a plateau, subject the establishment of the throne of David, alter a lost work of RafFaelle ; in the Bracon Hall Collection of the Rev. Mr. Berney. No. 151. These marks were adopted by Messrs. Carocci, Fabbri, and Co., manufacturers of modern lustred ware at Gubbio. Sig. Pietro Gay was the artist who personally superintended the work. Specimens were shown at the International Exhibition in 1862. DUCHY OF URBINO 49 CASTEL DURANTE No. 152. On a fine bowl be- longing to Mrs. T. Hope, the work of Giovanni Maria, vasaro of Castel Durante, Sept. 12, 1508. Bold and elaborate gro- tesque decoration on a rich blue ground. By the Paiiiter of tJie Mnseo Carrey Service, tiow believed to be Nicolo Pellipario, when working at Castel Durante. Circa 1515. No. 153. This mark and early date, 1482, is on the face of one of seventeen plates of a service by the same hand, in the Correr Museum at Venice (No. 215), representing Solomon adoring the Idols. Signor Lazari read this monogram as composed of the letters G • I • O •, the O being crossed by the I, but they may be meant for T • M • or B • followed by a small letter which may be q or p. The date is probably that of the design or engraving from which the subject was painted, probably at Castel Durante about 1515. E 50 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CASTEL DURANTE. No. 154. On a pharmacy jar in the British Museum, decorated a trofei. No. 156. On a plate in the British Museum ; subject the Rape of Helen. Reverse, scroll ornament, among which these monograms are four times repeated. DUCHY OF URBINO CASTEL DURANTE. No. 157. On a plate in the British Museum ; subject, Dido and As- canius, inscribed in yellow colour. A nearly similar inscription by the same hand and of the same date is on a plate in the Ashmolean Museum (Fortnum Col. No. 507, see pi. XV). Its subject is the Flight into Egypt. Figured by Dclange, pi. 68. On a plate, subject the Rape of Ganymede, No. 237 in the Louvre, is a nearly similar inscription with the date 1525. No. 158. On a fragment of a tazza, probably by the same hand and representing * three river Deities in a landscape, on the margin of a running stream. I 5 7> Ct. s n No. 159. On a plate formerly in the possession of Mr. Barker. r 2 52 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS CASTEL DURANTE. No. i6o. On a drug pot in the South Kensington Museum, 2590, '56. Grotesques in grisaille on dark blue. About 1550-60. No. 161. On a drug pot, yellow and dull blue foliation. Durante ? In possession of Miss Devidis. IN TERR DVRANTIS Castel No. 162. On a large plate with raised centre, Cupid, Apollo, and Daphne, 1532. In Pesaro Museum. (MoHnier.) The same mark, but smaller, is on a bottle in the same Museum. No. 163. On a plate painted in chiaroscuro. Hercules and Cerberus. Castellani Collection. Castel Durante. D No. 164. P MastrO SiniOnO in Castelo On a vase figured by Delange, p. 75. Duvute 1562. Covered with grotesques, among which is the signature and date. No. 165. S. I 5 So. On a plate. Joseph leaving his mantle. Museum of Pesaro. (De Mely.) DUCHY OF URBINO .S3 CASTEL DURANTE. No. i66. On a plate with armorial shield, No. 271 Louvre. Border a trofci ^ (De Mdy). No. 167. On a basin, decorated with Irofei. Female head in centre. Probably Castel Durante. No. 168. On three large vases in the Barberini gallery, Rome. ' Hipollito Rombaldoni d'Ur- bania pinse 1647.' On a 'coupe' No. 291 Louvre, the Triumph of Flora, is the same signature. 5^> h\l> No. 169. On a pharmacy jar mentioned by Chaffers. This mono- gram is that of the Carthusian.s, not a mark of the fabriquc, for which it has been accepted. 54 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO No. 170. On a fragment the bottom of a plate, in the Louvre, from the Sauvageot Collection (No. G. 824) ; subject the Parnassus after Raflfaelle, figured in Delange's Recueil, pi. 100, •V- No. 171. On a plate in the British Museum, representing a sacrifice to Diana, by Nicola da Urbino (Nicola Pellipario). No. 172. On a ' hanap ' or ewer, in the Museum of the University at Bologna, having the arms of Gian. Francesco Gonzaga impaling those of Isabella d' Este (married 1490; he died 1519; she died 1539.) Also on a similar piece in the Roth- schild Collection in Paris. Illustrated in Delange's Recueil, pi. 31. By Nicolo da Urbino. No. 173. On a plate ; subject, a young female seated on a plinth, holds a trumpet, and crowns a young man who kneels. On a book beneath, omnia ■ vincit • amor • et • cedamur . . . questo. Arms of the Scaligeri (?) hanging on column. Fine work by Nicolo da Urbino. Castellani Collection. DUCHY OF URBINO 55 URBINO. No. 174. On a plate ; subject, a king en- throned, probably David or Solomon. In the Basilewski Collection. Figured in Delange's Recueil, pi. 55. By Nicolo da Urbino. No. 175. On a large circular dish in the Bargello, at Florence, repre Nicolo da Urbino. (This markisreduced from the original.) senting the Martyrdom P ( O /f f • f ['\ of Sta Cecilia. By >?lotoi(ade ^aildm f icihcL lo^wauC ofa.ni (polec^de <^^o (fa ca^ff^ durante ^\ i r Q n vrom 1^2 2 a No. 176. On a plate formerly in the Narford Collection ; subject the Siege of the Castle of St. Angelo. Illustrated in Delange's Recueil, pi. 8i. 56 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. 6 \ J 3 ^ No. 177. Spitzer Collection. I fC f'^l^^ On a plate in the British ^1 f.J ^f^\f\ Museum, Jupiter and Semele, ^ ^ ^> ^ ^ I one of a service bearing the arms of the Constable de Montmorency. Another piece of this service is in the Ashmolean Museum (Fortnum Collection). It is figured by Delange, pi. 15, p. 72. Another is in the Brera at Milan. A nearly similar signature without date is on a plate. The death of Goliath. Louvre, No. 329, with the arms of Cardinal Duprat. No. 179. On a large dish formerly in the Narford Collection, the Conver- sion of St. Paul. Attributed to Orazio Fontana. Probably the number of the piece, not a mark. DUCHY OF URRINO 57 URBINO. No. 180. The mark given by Passeri as occurring on pieces made byOrazio Fontana for the Duke of Urbino. A nearly similar mark, the letter D replacing the lower F, occurs on some large vases of much later date. On some of the vases at Loreto are the letters B • F • V ■ F • No 181. On a tazza in the British Museum, from the Bernal Collection. On a plate in Mr. Salting's Collec- tion the same monogram occurs in a label on the wall. The subject is the flight of mounted warriors before their enemies towards the open gates of Urbino: each carries his armorial shield. Urbino, dated 1541. No. 182 On a circular dish in the collection of the Cava- liere Alessandro Saracini at Siena, representing the Rape of the Sabincs. It is painted in Orazio's early manner, and a fine example. No. 183. This mark is on the face of a large plate. No. K. 1794 in the KOnigl. Museum, Berlin, ' Match between the nine Muses and the daughters of Theseus (after the design by Pierino del Vaga\ On the reverse Come Norm to Cotnfda Scor . . . li Sabini. Questo fti fatto ncla hotcga de M" Gui'do vasaro (/a castello diir- attto in urbi- no a di $ d iwncuhrc ltd ly)2. 58 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. He No. 184. On a fine plate in the Louvre (No. G. 337); subject, the Massacre of the Innocents. No. 185. On a plate formerly in Mr. Fountaine's Collection at Narford. St. Paul preaching at Athens, after Raffaelle. No 186. On a tazza, also formerly in the Narford Collection; subject, David and Goliath. No. 187. This mark occurs in the landscape, on a plate formerly in the Toscanelli Collection at Pisa, representing the Healing of the Sick at the Beautiful Gate, after Raffaelle. In the writer's opinion it may be a work of Orazio's later period. No. 188. On a fine vase formerly in the Barker Collection, figured by Delange, pi. 84, is the inscription FATTO IN BOTECxA DE M« ORATO FONTANA. No. 189. On a Fruttiera in the Correr Museum, at Venice, No. 258, and attributed by Sig. Lazari to Fla- minio Fontana ; subject the Judgement of Paris. DUCHY OF U RBI NO 59 URBINO. No. 190. On a plaque in the Franks Collection, since given by him to the British Museum, painted with a fine figure of St. Paul. P. E. S. PAVILIS, 1583 and the initials It has all the manner of the Fontana School, and may perhaps be attributed to Flaminio. On a stone in the foreground is inscribed. No. 191. On a plaque, also in the British Museum, from the Franks Collection, finely painted with the Crucifixion in the manner of the Fontana fabrique. No. 192. On a plaque in the British Museum The Annunciation. 1 1 ixL lie ^Qiiljumj • 567 .SFORZ.A . I). P . lyorks of l^'raiicisL O Xaiito. No. 193. On a plate in the British Museum ; subject, from a poem composed by the painter of the plate in honour of his patron, Duke Francesco Maria I, of Urbino, and called 'U Rovere Vittorioso.' 6o MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. No. 196. On a plate in the South Kensington Mu- seum, 1780. '55. Pyramus and Thisbe. On the side a shield of arms bearing Hercules and the lion, on a gold ground. Reverse, inscribed with title of subject, signed ' Fra Xanto,' and dated 1531. Urbino. Diam. 10 in. (Bernal Collection.) No. 194. On a plate in the British Mu- seum ; painted with the subject of Mars, with the Roman wolf and twins, and signed in colour by Xanto ; richly lustred at Gubbio by the Maestro, signing with the letter N, in the iridescent pigment. Another example of a piece painted by Xanto, and lustred by N, was in Mr. Napier's Collection (Catalogue Shandon Collection, No. 2882). Also one painted, but not signed by Xanto, lustred and signed by M" Giorgio, 1529 (Catalogue Shan- don Collection, No. 2876). No. 195. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 1685. '55. Allegorical or mytho- logical subject ; a shield of arms. Reverse, initialled by Xanto and dated Urbino, 1531. Diam. 7I in. (Bernal collection.) DUCHY OF U RBI NO 6i URBINO. No. 197. On a circular dish in the South Kensington Museum, 1748. '55. An adapta- tion (pasticcio) from Raffaelle's picture of the marriage of Alexander and Roxana ; on the upper part is a shield bearing the arms of Gonzaga, impaled with those of Este, and surmounted by a ducal coronet. On a soldier's shield are the letters X • H • A Reverse, inscribed with the title of the subject. Signed by Xanto, and dated 1533. Urbino. Diam. 183 in. (Bernal Collection.) cC> una. t^tcaoTf luoltd , ^ (ha, fj^^J^ 62 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. max wl j^rx^o. K ^- No. 198. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 272. '71. Palinurus falling from Eneas' galley. Lus- tred. Reverse, signa- ture and date. Urbino. No. 199. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 1698. '55. Allegorical subject, 'The Discord of Italy.' Reverse, inscribed with title of subject. Signed by Xanto, and dated 1536. Urbino. Diam. io\ in. (Bernal Collection.) DUCHY OF URBINO 63 URBINO. No. 200. On a tazza in the South Kensington Mu- seum, 4557. '56. Alle- gorical subject. A group of four nude females, to whom a bearded man offers gold, carried by a boy on a salver ; on a scroll is inscribed 'Omnia ^ pecuniam facta sunt.' Reverse, the subject, the date 1531, and the letter X. Urbino, by Francisco Xanto. Diam. loj in. No. 20I. On a plate in the South Kensington Museum, 1696. '55. Jupiter and the fallen Dionysius of Syracuse. Reverse, title of subject ; signed by Xanto, and dated 1540. Urbino. Diam. 10 in. (Bernal Collection.) 1X74- No. 202. ■\^euC6^ (iovCjd, P\rr6^ ^ c. A plate signed with two initials only / of Xanto's name; subject, Deucalion |07 6u<^11t' 0 and Pyrrha. Was in the Narford Collection. 64 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. No. 203. On a tazza in the South Kensington Museum 1790. '55. Brutus and Portia. Reverse, title of sub- ject, the initial of Xanto, and date 154 1. Urbino. Diam. io| ^ ^ in. (Bernal Collec- tion.) to §Xme ^'itmfi^^' /j^,^m'f<'uto Cdy'^d no 204. t/ Another example 7JX>^'yi iXCChf^^* representing the myth of Cephalus and ^ ' . -/. /\A ALi Procris, painted in colour by Xanto, subsequently lustred and signed in lustre colour with an E or No. 3 reversed. t' It was in the Narford ^ 'J^OUi^lC/*- ^ Collection. DUCHY OF URBINO 65 URBINO. •M-'t) xx X XI. No. 205. / ff The circular dish representing ^^'Tf^J^ ^^iJ ^ the storming of Goleta, in the Collection of Baron James de Rothschild, at Paris, from that of Mr. Marryat. No. ao6. On a plate, which belonged to Mr. Barker, representing ' Leander in the sea and Hero at the window.' It is in- teresting, as bearing the latest date upon any work signed by Xanto. o ^^^^ Jjt^Jro^ -ware (!v 66 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. No. 207. On a caudle cup, Narford Collection, on two separate scrolls. By a supposed imitator or pupil of Xanto. No. 208. On a plate in the British Museum, painted in the manner of Xanto, but with a brownish tone and varnish-like surface. No. 209. On a plate by the same hand, also in the British Mu- seum. The works of this painter gener- ally have the words ' Historia/ ' Nota,' ' Fabula,' added to the titular inscrip- tion. 4 DUCHY OF U RBI NO 67 URBINO. By Francesco Durantino. No. 210. On a plate, Narford Collection ; subject the arrest of a cavalier. Painted with great care. N o. 211 ^ . A tazza in the British Museum ; C(fJcO l( J*^{7q f /7l^ subject, Coriolanus met by his Mother. In the Casa Patrizi at Venice j A is a vase similarly signed, 1545 } ^ | (Urbani). ' No. 212. An oval cistern X^ya^ t^fio ^^"^^ >^<> Va/^ formerly in the collec- T ^ X^rtfK^^ ^'^ ^ 'Pt^'OC/- ^ tion of Mr. Fountaine; ^71X07^ ^ _^ ' ^ ^O/^.. painted with subjects \ 5 5 3 ~ after Giulio Romano. No. 213. Formerly in the Marryat, since in the Baron James de Rothschild Collection, was a fine plate, on which the siege of Goleta is depicted, with the arms of Gon- zaga on the rim. 18 inch diameter. It is figured in Marryat, third edition, p. 64. M D XXXXI. /// Urbino nella hot t Of!; di Francesco dc Si I juDio. (Silvano.) Y 2 68 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO, No. 214. Of the signed pieces by Guido Merlino it is difficult to ascertain which were executed at Urbino and which at Venice, except one which is in the Museum at Cassel, and signed Fate in botega di Guido Merlino in Orbino (MoHnier), which reads as though the piece were of Urbino production ; and that one on which he writes Fato in la Bottega de Guido Merligno, Vasaro da Urbino in San Polo a di 30 di Marzo 1542. This was clearly made at Venice. The Louvre plate (No. 357) Judith and Holophernes is signed and the date being subsequent, we may conclude that it also is of the Venetian botega. By Givonimo. No. 215. On a bowl in the South Ken- sington Museum, 4354. '57, with deep sunk centre, and on the border six oval sunk pools in the manner of Palissy, grounded alternately yellow, green, and blue, and painted with cupids in grisaille ; on medallion centre cupid in grisaille, on dark yellow ground ; the rest filled in with coloured grotesques on white ground. Reverse, concentric lines in blue and yellow, and signed. Diameter 15I in. No. 216. On a large plate No. K. 1818 in the Kunstgewerbe Museum, at Berlin, is a re- presentation of the Villa d' Este with gardens, &c., at Tivoli. At the back is inscribed ' il sontuosiss° et ameniss° palazzo et giardini di tiuoli fatto in Urbino del 1575 die 3 de agosto gironimo et tomaso fecit! DUCHY OF URBINO 69 URBINO. On a tazza in the South Kensington Museum, 6662. '60. Elliptic. Strap work in relief, terminating in blue masks; the surface painted with strap work and masks surrounding two medal- lions; on one Moses striking the rock, on the other the return of the spies from the Promised Land. Reverse, strap and scroll work, and four lions' masks in relief. Urbino. About 1580. II. 2j in., L. 8 in., W. 6J in. Variotis Marks of Urbiiio. No. 218. Occurs on a piece in the Fort- num Collection at the Ashmolean Museum, the inferior work appar- ently of a young artist. The same mark has been observed on other pieces by the same hand, one of which is lustred. No 219. On a plate. D'Azeglio Collection. St. Jerome plucking a thorn from the Lion's foot. Dated 1542. 70 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. * No. 220. On a plate representing St. Luke, seated on a bull in the clouds, and hold- ing an open volume. In the Ashmolean Museum (Fortnum Collection). No. 221. Occurs on the front of a fine dish, believed of Urbino. Painted with the martyrdom of St. Lorenzo, and dated 1531. It was sold for 295 guineas at Lord Northwick's sale. No. 222. On a plate, representing Diana and Actaeon. Formerly belonging to M. Delange, of Paris, and attributed by him to this fabrique. No. 223. On a large plate. Warriors discovering a treasure in a sarcophagus. Museum Pesaro. De Mely. ? Same as Molinier's No. 306, Urbino, a lustred cup. No. 224 This mark accompanied by the initials occurs on a ewer, 1594- painted with yellow scrolls on a blue ground, and inscribed ' YMASQVE • DE • BVONA ■ CANA.' In the Rothschild Collection at Paris, and believed of Urbino. We do not know the piece. DUCHY OF U RBI NO 7' URBINO. No. 225. On an istoriata plate formerly in M'* Cajani's possession at Rome, of this or the Caste! Durante fabrique, about 1540, representing 'Ascupapio et rescusita li niorti.' No. 226. Communicated to me by the late Dr. A. Foresi of Florence, as on a plate in his possession. Subject, the Rape of the Sabines, and supposed by M. Demmin to be by ' Giovanni Vasajo.' No. 227. I ^ ^ 9 This mark occurs on a piece ascribed by Mr. Chaffers to this — ^ — fabrique and to the brush of Caesare Cari, who painted in the ''r^r^ botega of Guido Merlino 1536-51 (?). jl^^ No. 228. On a plate, allegorical subjects, in the Museum at Padua. M. Molinier suggests the reading as '5/;«o//f S. A. M di Antonio Maria ni.' No. 229 On a plate, coarsely painted with gro- tesques, attributed to Urbino. -7630 72 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. No. 230. On a large basin, in the British Museum, with snake handles. Sub- ject, Adam and Eve in Paradise. In the later Urbino style. It came from the Abbd Stabini's to the Sloane Collection, and was the first piece of majolica possessed by the British Museum. On the exterior are coarsely executed grotesques, on V white ground. ^^^^^^^ 4 Pompio O. F. V. 1590 No. 231. On a plate. Castellani Collection. No. 232. On a large plate, in the British Museum, painted in dull blue camaieu, with the subject of the decol- lation of St. John. It is difficult to assign the piece to any known fabrique, but it may perhaps be an Urbino work of the later period. DUCHY OF URBINO 73 URBINO. Pieces by the Patanazzi. No. 233. Urbini Pafajm On an inkstand figured in Delange, pi. 100. fecit aiUlO I 584 No. 234. On a plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 2612. '56. Romulus receiving the Sabine women. Reverse, with title of the subject. Signed, and date 1606. Urbino. Diam. 19I in, VR B I-N- 1 a^o(r>- 74 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS URBINO. No. 235. Presumed to be a mark by Alfonso Patanazzi. No. 236. On a large cistern, formerly in Mr. Fountaine's Collection at Narford. No. 237. On a plate formerly in the possession of Monsignore Cajani at Rome ; subject, the Ex- pulsion from Paradise. No. 238. On a caudle cup. Two shields of arms and grotesques. Late Urbino, Patanazzi fabrique. Castellani Collection. DUCHY OF V RBI NO 75 URBINO. No. 239. On a plate. Two genii holding a shield of arms. Grotesques and cameos round. Urbino. Patanazzi school, Brambella Collection. Pavia. (Molinier.) No. 240. On a plaque in the KOnigl. UrbillO 1 705 Museum, Berlin, K. 2265, with landscape in the manner of Castelli. No. 241. On a lamp in the South Kensing- ton Museum, 6865. '60. A sliding pillar lamp with four burners ; the foot, pedestal, lamp, and cover of enamelled earthenware, with metal pillar, snuffers, &c., suspended by chains. Garlands of fruit, flowers, &c., hanging by ribbons, in blue, red, and yellow on a white ground. Signed under the foot. II. 28 in., diam. of base, 9 in. luibricii di Maio/ica Jiiia di Monfiiiy Rolct in U rhino A. 28 ^Ipri/e 1773. 76 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS BORGO SAN-SEPOLCRO Citta Borp'o S. Sepolcro ^ ^ No. 242. a 6 Febraio I 7 7 I . On a lamp of faience, white with - _ 7 r ' garlands of flowers. Mart. Koletus feat. SAN QUIRICO D'ORCIA Bar Terchi Romano in S. Quirico. No. 243. On a plaque in the Louvre, No. G. 601. Moses striking the rock. No. 244. On a basin in the South Kensington Museum, 5865. '59. Group of Hercules and other figures. A piece made for Card. F. Chigi. No. 245. J13o.r*'l(LKt ^ / i^oVrtA ^ plaque in the South Kensington Museum, 6657. '60. A tritcn and a nymph, &c., after An : Caracci San. Quirico (?) No. 246. On another example. STATES OF THE CHURCH 11 STATES OF THE CHURCH. DIRUTA No. 247. On a votive plaque. Two women seated on a bed, four others kneeling around. Inscribed, avendo • 10 • lOBE • DOE • AMALATE ■ IN • CHASA • ME • RECOMMANDAE • ACQUISTA • GLORIOSA ■ VER • MARIA ■ EF • SAO. Castellani Collection. No. 248. On a dish with the arms of Montefeltro. It belonged to Count Nieuwekerke, and was ascribed to Diruta. No. 249. On a plateau. Winged horses, cariatides, &c., a reflet. Diruta? Castellani Collection. C3 1. No. 250. Mark given by Genolini as on a piece attributable to Diruta. No. 251. On a plate. Daphne. In the Spitzer Collec- tion. (Molinier.) CO 78 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS DIRUTA. No. 252, On a fine tazza in the Hotel Cluny, Paris, painted in cama'ieu bleu, and heightened with golden lustre ; subject Diana at the Bath. No. 253. At the back of a bacile in the British Museum, painted in colour, and ascribed to this fabrique. r \ No. 254. On a plate in the Baronne Salomon de Rothschild Collection ; Phoebus pursuing Daphne, lustred with golden colour. STATES OF THE CHURCH 79 DIRUTA. No. 255. On a fine plate formerly belonging to Mr. Barker, since to M. Dutuit of Rome ; subject, Alexandra and Roxana painted in blue with gold re/let. Delange Recueil, pi. 45. No. 256. On a plate, with subject from the Orlando Furioso, La morte di Zerbino, formerly in the possession of the late Mrs. Bury Palliser. No. 257. Also occur on pieces supposed of this fabrique. 8o MARKS AND MONOGRAMS DIRUTA. No. 258. A plate in the Cam- pana Collection, No. 576, Louvre ; subject from Orlando Furioso. There is a similar signature of the Frate on another, No. 582, in the same Museum, and a ain on a plate in the Castellani Collection. No. 259. On a plateau in the Louvre, ascribed by M. Darcel to Diruta. G. V. No. 260. The initials, probably, of Giorgio Vasaio, whose name occurs on a piece of Count Baglioni of Perugia. (Chaffers, followed by Genolini.) STATES OF THE CHURCH 8i DIRUTA. No. 261. On a plate in the Louvre, d reflet, a triumph. On an archway is inscribed the artist's name (after whose engraving it was painted) ; and on the reverse A)itouio Lafreri 1)1 Demi a 1554. No. 262. On a plate witii candelieri in relief and central medallion. Museum at Limoges. (De M^ly.) I77I FABRICA DI MAIOLICA FINA DI GRHGORIO CAS FLU IN DI RVTA. No. 263. On a piece ascribed to Diruta by De M^ly. Head of a woman in profile, white border with yellow and blue arabesques. No. 264 On a plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 2605. '56. On the raised medallion centre grounded in dark blue is a trophy of books ; the rest divided 'a quartiere'; scale work, alternating with scroll foliage ; border of leafage. Reverse, the letter B. Diruta. About 1525-30. Diam. 13J- in. No. 265. On a plate, lustred. ' Pensa el fine Bella.' Passalaqua Collection (290;. Diruta. B ami lustnd scrolls. 82 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS DIRUTA. No. 266. On a plateau in the South Kensington Museum, 1432. '56. On the raised centre a female portrait in profile, inscribed ' Lorenza Bella,' surrounded by a double border of foliated scroll work. Reverse, petals encircling the mark in blue. Diruta? About 1530. Diam. i3i in- No. 267. On a small tazza in the South Kensington Museum, 8943. '63. Embossed and lustred. In the centre an acanthus leaf and scroll foliage ; the border of raised ovals and pellets. Reverse, rude lustre scrolls and the initial D. Diruta. About 1530. Diam. 8 in. (Soulages Collection.) A tazza in the Castellani Collection, with figure of St. Sebastian in the centre in rilievo, was marked with a D and scrolls. No. 268. On a tazza in the South Kensington Museum, 4332. '57. A lover and his mistress seated under a tree ; Cupid hovering in the air above; in the background the sea with ships. Reverse, ornamented with sprays of foliage, and the mark and date in blue colour. Diruta. Dated 1539. Diam. ^\ in. STATES OF THE CHURCH 83 DIRUTA. No. 269. Oil a plate in tlie South Kensington Miiseuin, 4383. '57. In the centre an escutcheon of arms; border of coarsely painted trophies in grisaille, height- ened with yellow on blue ground. Reverse, the mark. Diruta? About 1560. Diam. 9 in. No. 270 On a plate i:i the South Kensington Mu- seum, 4378. '57. Design a candeliere, the surface entirely covered with a composition of grotesque birds, foliage, mask, iV'c, outlined witii blue on a varied ground of blue, green, and yellow. Reverse, monogram and date, 1544. Diruta? Diam. 12} in. No. 271. On a tazza in the South Kensington Museum, 7155. '56. White ground with ornament in compart- ments, blue lined and touched with yellow ; in the centre a butterfly in the same colours. Reverse, blue lines and a mark. Diruta? About 1560. Diam. 8^ in. G 2 84 MARKS AND MONOGRAMS BAGNOREA •x-i.\;.>>,^\, ', 239 ; and in Lyons, 133 n. Cuccumos, Filippo, maker of porcelain in Rome in eighteenth centurj', 242. Cuzio of Pavia, amateur art potters, incised wares signed by them and dated 1676 to 1694; account of various members of the family, 119, 320, 321 ; marks 2, 4-7. Cyprus, early sgrafliato ware lately found there, 1 20. D. Dallari, Gio. Maiia, art potter at Modtna, Lodi, and elsewhere in eighteenth centur)-, 293. 317, 346, 347- Damascus wares, 43 n. ; ' Damas ' wares re- ferred to by European writers in fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, 91 n. ; special st) lc of form and decoration, hanging lamps, l.irge bowls, &.C., 92. 174 INDEX Davillier, Baron J. C, on Hispano-Moresque pottery, 97, 99, 100, loi, 102, 106, 113. D'Azeglio, Marquis, see Turin. Delia Vella, art potter at Bassano in eighteenth century, 307. Dennistoun, Jas., ' Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino' quoted, 31, 33 n., 145, 188 n., 196; marks, page 148 n. Devers, Giuseppe, head of modern art pottery at Turin, 325. Diago, Fr., a Valencian writer in 161 3 praises enamelled wares of towns in that province, specially Manises, 105. Dieulafoy, M., his discovery of ancient Persian tiles, see Susa. Dillon, Frank, his researches in Egypt, 82. Diomede Durante, head of a pottery in Rome in 1600, 36, 239, 240, 241 ; mark 279. Diomeo, painter of maiolica in 1544, probably at Viterbo, 238 ; mark 277. Dionigi Marini, art potter at Venice, signs plate dated 1636, 303. Diruta, claim that ' madre perla ' lustre was discovered there, fragments of lustred ware having been disinterred, 30, 227, 228 ; ac- count of pottery works there, 226-235 ; documents dated from 1387 to 1588 relating to Diruta potteries in archives of Perugia, 229, 230 ; chief examples of Diruta ware in collections, 231-235 ; marks 247-271. Doccia, pottery works of the Ginori family there, 346. Dolcebono, G. J., art potter at Pavia in 143 1, 318. Dolci, Lucio, Bernardino, and Ottaviano, artists at Castel Durante, 180. Domenico di Giovanni, renews tiled pavement at Siena about 1533, 134. Donatello, statue of St. George by him repre- sented on a Cafifaggiolo plate, 131. Donnino Garducci, family of art potters at Urbino in fifteenth century, 188, 189. Dortii, R. et Cie, modern art potters at Turin, 325- Dossena, Dr. Lorenzo, director of modern art pottery at Lodi, 317. Dossi, Dosso, and Battista, the painters, aided in art pottery at Ferrara in 1529, 2S6. Drayton House, Hants, Persian ware intro- duced in painting there of seventeenth century, 87. Duccio, Agostino di Antonio di, a pupil of Luca delia Robbia, 29, 160 n. ; his work at Perugia in 1461, 228. Durand, Guillaume, French prelate from whom Castel Durante derived its name, 173, 185. Durantino, Francesco, pieces supposed to have been painted by him at Urbino and else- where, 186, 217, 218 ; probably owned works at Bagnorea, 235 ; marks 210-213. Durantino, Guido, see Fontana, G. Diirer, A., his designs used on maiolica, 66, 221. Dusi, Ant., of Bergamo, art potter at Pavia in 1609, 320. Dwight, Dr., of Fulham, produced porcelain in 1671, 43. E. Edresi, Arabian writer on Africa and Spain, refers in twelfth century to gold-coloured pottery, 96. Egypt, excellence of its ancient glazed pottery, 2, 4 ; probably the parent of all later glazed wares, 80 ; lustred ware recorded to have been made there in eleventh century, 84. El Frati, pottery decorated at Diruta so signed, 232 ; marks 255, 258. Enamelled, stanniferous, or tin-glazed wares, 3; composition and characteristics, 12; tin glaze met with on Babylonian or As- syrian bricks, 12; theories as to its re- discovery and introduction into Spain, 14 ; early use in Germany, 18; in Italy, 19; Piccolpasso's account of composition and mode of application, 53 ; probably of Egyptian origin, 80; Hispano-Moresque pottery comprised in this class, 95 ; Italian painted wares, 121. Escolano, a Valencian writer in 1610, praises enamelled ware made in towns of that province, especially Manises, 105. Este, wares assigned to potteries there, 291, 292. Eximenus, a writer on Valencia in 1499, praises pottery of Manises, 106. INDEX 175 F. Fabio Ferrari, on origin of name 'niaiolica,' 17- Fal)riano, pottery made there in fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and in recent times, 236, 237 ; marks 273-275. Faenza, history of art potter)' there, 245-270 ; marks 285-378. Faggioli, potters in Faenza, 251, 253. Faience, see Fayence. F'arina, A., art potter at I'avia in cightecntli century, 322. Farnese, Cardinal, service of maiolica stated by Vasari to have been given to him by Duchess of Urbino, 38 ; service now at Naples wliich belonged to liim assigned to \'enice or Castelli, 303. Fayence, in Provence, disputes with Faenza the origin of the word faience applied to enamelled earthenware, 247. Fcderigo di Giannantonio, worked at I' rhino about 1530, 219. Felippe, art potters of Castelli in seventeenth century, 337. Ferabad, near Ispahan, tiles from palace there with figure of Shah Abbas on horseback, 87. Fcrniani, Count A. C, in 1693 head of pottery works still existing in Faenza, 251, 269. Ferrara, early discovery of art of making porcelain claimed for, 45; records of potteries there, and examples assigned to these, 284- 291 ; mark 391. Ferrari, G. A., art potter at Sassuolo in 1741, 283, 292. Ferrctti, S. and A., art potters at I.odi in eighteenth century, 317 ; mark 407 n. Fcrri, Agostino, art potter at Pavi.i in eighteenth century, 321. Filangieri, Prince, on pottery of Southern Italy, 114, 342. Finale in the Emilia, potteries established there in eighteenth century, 347. Fischer, Sigismondo, of Dresden, assisted Antonibon of Nove in manufacture of porcelain, 308. Florence, porcelain made there under Grand Duke P'lancis I, 42, 289; its charac- teristics and marks, and description of specimens in various collections, 43, 44 ; MS. account in Magliabccchian Library, 43 ; early pottery works in and near the city, 121. Flores, Juan, a Fleming, working as potter in Spain in 1 565, 1 14. Foligno, pottery works there referred to by Piccolpasso, 237. Fontana family of Urbino, originally Pellipario, 35 39; notes on various members by Sir J. Charles Robinson, 195-201. Fontana, Camillo, 36; works assigned to him, 209, 210, 2 89. Fontana, Flaminio, 196 : marks 189, 190. Fontana, Giuseppe, modeller of art pottery at Milan in eighteenth century, 314. Fontana, Guido, 177, 189, 192; supposed to be identical with (luido Durantino, 192, 201 ; works assigned to him, 201 203 ; marks 170- 178. Fontana, Nicola, see Nicol6 da Urbino. Fontana, Orazio, 36, 39, 66, 171 ; works as- signed to him, 203-209, 238, 322 ; marks 179-188. Fontcbasso, Giovanni, made porcel.iin at Tre- viso in nineteenth century, 306. Forastieri, Padre \'incenzo, signs maiolica made at \'ietri in 1784, 344. Foresi, Dr., of Florence, his discoveries re- lative to Florentine porcelain, 42, 43. Forli, history of pottery made there, and chief examples known, 270-280; marks 379- 389. Forms, decoration, uses, &c., of Italian pottery as described by Piccolpasso, 46 52. Fornovo, pottery works there in liflecnlh cen- tury, 347. Fortnum Collection, see Ashmolean Museum. Fortuny, Mariano, modern Spanish painter, examples of Spanish lustred ware in his collection, 100. Fostat, site of ancient Cairo, fragments of lustred pottery found there, 6, 89. Fountaine CoUecticm at Narford Hall, history, 76 ; its dispersal, 77. 176 INDEX France, maiolica in public and pri\ate col- lections, 73. Francesca, donna, 'scudelera' at Venice in fourteenth century, 297. Francesco de' Fattori, art potter in Urbania (Castel Durante) in eighteenth century, 154 ; mark 78. Francesco (detto Franciuolo), P. C. and G., art potters at Diruta in fifteenth century, 229. Francesco, Juliani, art potter at Fabriano in fifteenth century, 236. Francesco Nisi of Faenza, art potter at Mantua in 1616, 270. Francesco da Pesaro, art potter, died at Genoa in 1529, 327. Francesco Urbini, art potter at Diruta in six- teenth century, 232 ; mark 251. Franchini, Giovanni, made porcelain at Este in eighteenth century, 292. Franchini, Girolamo, modern art potter at Este, 292. Francis, second Grand Duke of Florence, porcelain made under his direction about 1580, 42, 289. Franco, Battista, prepared designs for maiolica, 38, 39, 181, 217. Frankfort, large terra-cotta altar-piece by Maestro Giorgio in Stadel Museum there, 159. Franks, Sir A. Wollaston, gifts by him to British Museum, 74, 87, 88, 89, 120, 128, 268 ; on Pesaro ware, 1 50 ; on work of Nicolo da Urbino, 190; on work of Xanto, 216; marks 190, 191, 362. Frate, II, artist at Ferrara in 1523, 287 ; mark 258. Frati, Dr., works referred to, 254, 352. Frattini, artists at Urbania (Castel Durante) in eighteenth century, 182. Friedrich, J., his ' Grundriss der Keramik' published in 1879, 352- Frongini, Marino, art potter at Pesaro in 1812, 155- Fuina, Gesualdo, and family, art potters at Castelli (1755-1822), 340. G. Gabellotto and Gian Maria of Faenza, art potters at Venice, 303. Gai, Pietro, of Pesaro, aided in reproducing metallic lustre in 1848, 155 ; mark 151. Galletti, Paolo, art potter at Milan in eighteenth century, 314. Gambyn, or Gambini, Giuliano, of Faenza, art potter at Lyons in sixteenth century, 249, 270; Scipio at Nevers, 270. Gardner, Prof. Percy, his Catalogue of Greek Vases in Ashmolean Museum referred to, 2 n. Garducci, see Donnino. Garnier, Edouard, his ' Histoire de la Cera- mique,' 351. Garzoni, in 1485 refers to maiolica of Faenza, 248 ; he disparages that of Treviso, 305. Satti, artist at Castel Durante in 1490, 176. Gatti, Lucio, from Castel Durante, taught art of pottery in the Ionian Islands in 1530, 180. Genoa, art potteries there, 327. Genolini, Signor Angelo, his ' Maioliche Italiane,' 352. Gentili of Castelli, a family of painters of art pottery in seventeenth and eighteenth cen- turies, 340 ; marks 516-519. Germany, early examples of enamelled pot- tery in various cities, 18; designs of German painters used on maiolica, 66 ; collections of maiolica in palaces, museums, &c., 72. Gheltof, Signor Urbani de, his works on Italian pottery, 353. Giacomo (or Jacomo), Antonio, of Pesaro, and his sons Francesco and Gasparo, art potters at Venice in sixteenth century, 36, 298, 299 ; marks 404, 407, 418. Giacomo de Bernardo, art potter at Venice in fifteenth century, 298. Giacomo di Pietro, art potter at Faenza in 1454, 247, 310. Giglio, Count Carlo Vicentini del, established art pottery in Vicenza in 1788, 349. Ginori of Doccia, made porcelain there in IiXDEX 177 1735 ; their maiolica works commcnGcd about i^'so, 346. j Gioanetti, Dr. V. A., produced excellent por- | cclain at Vinovo 1776 1814, 325; mark 476. (}iorgio Andreoli of Gubbio, ' Maestro Gior- gio,' 29, 32, 34, 37, 38 ; his ori;^in and his- tory, 158; works modelled by him in terra- cotta for churches in and near Gubbio, 159; his acquisition of the art of ruby lustre, 161 ; works assigned to him, 162, 318; varia- tions of his signature, 166; marks 79- 147. Giotto, jug apparently of enamelled ware in- troduced in a fresco by him, 20. (iiovanni Andreoli, brother of Maestro Giorgio, 158. Giovanni Antonio e Francesco da Urbino, made tile pavement for episcopal chapel at I'adua in 1497, 310. Giovanni Antonio, delto Zambecchino da Faenza, art potter in Rome in 1514, 239. Giovanni liatlista of Faenza, art potter at Verona in 1563, 270; mark 457. Giovanni dai liistugi, an early potter at Castel Durante, 174, 176. Giovanni dc Drusin, painter of art pottery from Candiana in 1604, 312. (iiovanni P'rancesco da I'esaro, art potter at Lyons in sixteenth century, 153 n. Giovanni I'cruzzi, work signed by him, 223. Giovanni \'irgilio, art potter at Hologna in '595. 2S3. Giovanola, Francesco and Alcssandro, art potters at Milan in eighteenth century, 314. Girolamo di Lanfranco, ' II Gabbiceio,' one of the Lanfranchi family of I'esaro, 144, 150 153 ; mark 68. Girolamo di Marco, renews tile paxement in liiena in 1600, 134, 347. (iirolamo, Rafaelio, of Monte Lupo,tazza signed by him, mark 61. Gironimo, Maestro, art potter of Pcsaro in 1542, 147 ; mark 70. Gironimo of Urbino, works painted by him, 210, 219, 329; marks 215 217. (iissone. Carlo, meddler of art pottery at Milan in eighteenth century, 314. (liulio Richard, modem art potter at Milan, 316. Giulio Romano, maiolica plateau painted with subject after him, 214. (liulio of Urbino, artist at Ferrara and else- where, 219, 281. Giustiniani, Nicola, head of art pottery in Naples in 1760, which still continues, 335. Glazed wares, 3, 4, 7. Glovis, a mark on Caflfaggiolo ware, its i»ro- bable signification, 129. Godman Collection of Siculo-Arabian, Da- mascus, I'ersian, and Hispano- Moresque wares, 89, 92, 93, III. ' Gombron,' a name applied to Persian wartr by English writers in seventeenth ;.nd eighteenth centuries, 43 n., 87, 88. Gonzaga-Este ser\ice of maiolica painted by Nicola da Urbino for Isabella d'Fste, pnr- ticms in various collections, 190 194. Goracchi da liorgo San .Sejiolcro, painter ol vases at Genoa in 1566, 327. Graffito, Jiv .Sgraffiato. Gross!, Antonio, art potfr at Turin in eigh- teenth century, 324. Grossi, Tonducci Cavina, head of art pottciy in Faenza at end of seventeenth century, 251. Grosso, painter on pottery at Ferrar.i in i 5?3, 287. Groilaglic, near Taranto, art pottery said Id have been made there. 343. Grue of Caslelli, a numerous family of art potters in seventeenth and eighteenth crn- luries, 335, 338 340, 343, 344 ; account by Signor (i. Cherubini of the various members, 339 ; marks 510-515. Guangeroli, a family of art potters in I'avia in eighteenth century, 321, 322. Gubbio, |)ieces lusired there sometimes signed both by artist and by maestro, 34 ; account of art potteries there, 156-173; altar-pieces in churches there ascribed to Maestro Giorgio, 1 59 ; marks 79- 151. Guido, son of Nicola da Urbino, src Fontana. Guitlo Durantino, sui)posed to be identical with Cniiilo I'ontana. scw Fonta^ia. Guido Meriino, or N'erlino, sec Merlino. 178 INDEX Guidobono, fainily of art potters at Savona in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 329, 330 ; marks 491, 492. Guy of Castel Durante, worked at Urbino, 219. H. Hannong, Pietro Antonio, of Strasburg, pro- duced maiolica and porcelain at Vino\o in eighteenth century, 325. Henderson Collection in British Museum, special examples, 92-94, 107, 110, 166, 256, 260, 282 ; marks 45, 94, 358. Henry III of France, in 1580 desired maiolica to be sent to him from Faenza, 249. Hevvelcke, set up porcelain works in Venice in 1758, 305- Hirschvogel, Veit, of Nuremberg, used tin glaze in fifteenth century, 18. Hirtz, Samuele, a Saxon, professed to make porcelain in Rome in eighteenth century, 242. Hispano- Arabian pottery, wall tiles on the Mosque at Cordova, 96. Hispano-Moresque pottery, historical account, 95-114; only of late years recognized as of Spanish origin, 95 ; belief of some writers that it was made in Italy by Moorish artisans, 95 ; its resemblance to early lustred tiles at Seville, Cordova, &c., 96 ; classification by Baron J. C. Davillier and others, 97. I. Ibn-Batoutah of Tangier refers in his Travels in Spain to the pottery of Malaga, 99. lero or Jero, Maestro, of Forli (possibly a con- traction of Girolamo or Geronimo or Piero ), 22, 178; pieces from his pottery, 255, 256, 271-278 ; marks 381 (?), 384. Imola, records of potteries there, 283. Incised wares, see Sgraffiato. Intra incised ware, assigned to Intra on Lago Maggiore, 118. Ippolito di Beneamatis da Cubbio, art potter in Rome in 15 17, 240. Ivica, one of the Balearic Islands, faience made there referred to by Vargas, 103 ; vessels of fine earth from thence protections against poison, 1 10. J- Jacomo Pinsur or Pittore, one of the Lan- franchi, and probably painter of pieces bearing initials J. P., 136, 148, 151 ; marks 69, 74, 75. Jacquemart, Albert, his 'Histoire de la Cera- mique,' 351. Jaen in Spain, pottery works there in 1628, 109. Jerusalem, tile decoration of Mosque of Omar, 83- K. Kashan, Persian tiles found there, 86. Kashany, name applied to tiles in Persia in 1350, 84. Khorsabad, wall of glazed bricks at. 6, 98. Konieh (Iconium), in Asia Minor, mosque decorated with tiles, S3. Kraut, Hans, potter at Villengen in sixteenth century, 19. Kutahia in Anatolia, variety of oriental pottery from thence, 92. L. La Fratta, incised wares assigned to this place, 118, 237. Lanfranchi of Pesaro, a family of art potters, 35, 37, 144, 150, 151, 153 ; marks 67-75. Laurati, Pietro (i 282-1 340), jug of enamelled ware introduced into a picture by him, 20. Lavolini, art potter of Castel Durante, used designs by RafTfaellino del Colle, 180. Layard, Sir Henry A., his ' Monuments of Nineveh' referred to, 5 n. ; discovers lustred tiles at Khorsabad, 98. Lazari, SignorVincenzo, his work on the Correr Museum referred to, 8n., 352 ; his discovery of early pottery at Padua, 309, INDEX '79 I.azzariiii, artists at Urban ia in c-iglitecnth century, 182. Lazzaro di Haltista di Facnza. art potter at Diruta in sixteenth century, 230. I.azzaro Levi, art potter at Mantua in seven- teenth century, 294. Leo X, Pope, represented on Cafirajjj,nolo plateau, 126. Leochadius Solobrinus of Forli, si>;ns pieces dated 1555 to 1564, 280; mark 388. Levantino, Luigi, art jjottcr at X'enirc and Savona, 329 ; marks 482, 436. Leyna, Giovanni Pietro, art potter at Mil.m in 1594. .3'4- Lindus, .ur Rliodian ware. Literature bearinj^ on maioiica. 350-357 ; list ' of works consulted, 359 371. I,ockwood, Miss, collection of Roman wares, j 241, 244 ; marks 29, 28L Lodi, art pottery made there in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 316, 317 ; mark 467. Lodovico, art potter from Candiana in 1604. ' 3(2 ; mark 399. I.ombardy, Piedmont. «.S:c., pottery works in, 314 331 ; marks 458-467. Lomello, Tiiovanni, modern art potter at \'inovo, 325- Loreto, vases and drug-pots of Urbino ware made for Duke (luidobaldo II, and sub- sequently presented by Duke Francesco Maria 11 to the Santa Casa, still preserved there, 39, 70, 204 ; small cups or saucers ^ claiming to be made from dust from Santa Casa, 186, 205, 238. Lorzi, Antonio dc, ' Scudeler ' at X'enice early in fifteenth century, 296. i Lotti, Pietro, modern art potter at Pesaro, 155. | Louvre, Paris, Museum of the, 22, 45 n., 73 : ! references to special examples : frieze from Susa, 5, 80; H ispano-Moresque, in : in- I cised wares, 1 18 ; Pesaro, 147, i 52 ; (lubbio, I 164,167,172; Castel Durante, 185 ; Urbino, j 2co; Diruta, 232, 233; Forli, 278, 279; marks 143 and onward, passim. Luca 15aldi da Urbino, art potter at Rome in sixteenth century, 240. Luca del fu liartolomco, worked at Urbino about 1544, 219. Luca deli. I Robbia, .t<'<- Robbia. Luccolo di (iiovanetto Andreuecoli, art potter at (iubbio in 1348, 157. Ludovico or Lodovico, Maestro, head of art pottery in X'enice in sixteenth century, 36, 301, 302, 305. Lustred ware, see Metallic lu.<^.tre. Lyons, Italian potters working there in sixteenth century, 124, I53n.. 221, 328. M. Madrid, potter)' founded at lUion Retiro by Charles III. no. .Magrini and Co., modern ;irt potters :it Pes iro, '55- .Mainardo de Antonio, art potter in \'enice in fifteenth century, 298. Maiolica or Majolica, origin of name, 17; at first restricted to lustred wares, 17; how api)licd by Piccolpasso, 63, 157; Scaliger's statement as to spelling of name, 101, 102 ; applied in a X'enelian decree of 1474 to wares from Spain, 104. Majorca, attacked by the Pisan fleet in ni5 and dishes said to have been brought them e, 10, 14. 82; records of manufacture of f.iienre there, specially at Nnra or Inca, loi, 102, 103; commerce « iih It.dy, 102. Malaga, probably earliest site of manufacture of lustred ware in Spain, 99; Alhambra vase and other pieces possibly made there, 99- loi. Malagola, Dr. Carlo, his researches among local records of Faenza and other places, 247,250, 282, 283. 354. Malatesta, Roberto, sends present of lustred ware to Lorenzo the Magnificent, 31, 145, 231. Manara, Paldasara, art potter at F.ienza in sixteenth century, 251, 253, 264, 265 ; marks 336 342. Manardi family, art potters at Bassano in seventeenth century, 304, 307, 317; marks 437, 438. Mancinus, P. P., signs a plaque as made by him in 1630 at Diruta, 234. Z i8o INDEX Manfredi family, Lords of Faenza, 246; jugs bearing impfesa of Astorgio I, who died in 1405, 20, 252. Manises, near Valencia, famous for its enamelled ware, 105, 106; process followed there, 108; lustred pottery still produced there early in nineteenth century, 109. Mantovani, Luca, partner in porcelain manu- facture in Venice in 1719, 305. Mantua, records of potteries there, 294. Marc Antonio, the three Graces, after him, on Gubbio lustred plate, 167. Marchionno, art potter at Castelli in seventeenth century, 338. Marforio, Sebasttano di, art potter at Castel Durante in 1519, 183 ; Baldassareat Venice, 303 ; mark 154. 'Margarita Preciosa,' written in 1330, contains recipe for stanniferous glaze, 18. Mariani, Gian Maria, art potter at Urbino about 1530, 219, 222, Marini, artists at Castel Durante in 1490, 176. Marino and his son, art potters at Venice, 303 ; mark 412. Marinone, Simone, of Pesaro, art potter at Bassano in 1540, 306; his descendants working there in eighteenth century, 307 ; mark 431. Mariotto da Montelupo, art potter at Rome in 1 5 14, 240. Martinelli, Antonio, art potter in Milan in eighteenth century, 314. Maruti, Raffaelle, modern art potter at Fabriano, 237. Marzi, Alfonso, art potter at Pesaro in eighteenth century, 154. Massaniello, his portrait and that of his wife on plates of Naples or Castelli ware, 336. Masseot Abaquesne, Italian art potter at Rouen in sixteenth century, 249. Matteo de Raniere da Cagli, art potter at Pesaro in 1462, 133, 144. Matteo di Alvise of Faenza, art potter at Venice in 1489, 269, 298. Mazzolini, Pietro, of Ravenna, art potter at Urbino in i 569, 282. Mazzuoli, G., modern art potter at Siena, 138. Medici, Cosmo or Piero de', commissioned Luca de la Robbia to construct writing cabinet of enamelled terra-cotta, 26. Medici family, probably created art pottery works at Cafifaggiolo, 124. Medici, Lorenzo de' (il Magnifico), his letter to Roberto Malatesta, acknowledging present of Pesaro ware, 31, 145, 231. Medina, tiles from, in Museum at Sevres, 81. Mel or Miele, Giovanni, of Flanders, supposed to have designed for Castel Durante wares, 185. Melchiore, Frate, of Faenza, art potter at Fer- rara in 1490, 269, 285. Melozzo da Forli, designs for maiolica prob- ably from his hand, 256, 272, 273, 276 n. ; his portrait on a tile, 276. Mely, F. de, ' La Ceramique Italienne,' 354. Meo Marchetti, art potter at Fabriano in fifteenth century, 236. Merlingo, or Merlini, or Nerglino, Guido, art potter at Urbino, 189, 192, 218 ; had a shop in Venice, 301, 305 ; marks 214, 405. Metallic lustre enrichment of pottery, early use in Egypt, Persia and Sicily, 6, 15; theories as to its first introduction into Italy, 16; its development, 29; Piccolpasso's ac- count of the process, 63, 157; iridescence sometimes due to other causes, 81 ; prob- ably of Egypto-Arabian origin, 84, 96, 98 ; its use in Spain on Hispano-Arabian and Hispano-Moresque wares, 95 ; rarely applied to Caffaggiolo ware, 128 ; probable early use of madreperla lustre at Pesaro, 146; account of lustre enrichment as applied at Gubbio, 156-173 ; classification of lustied wares, 162; various names applied to lustred wares m Italy and France, 173; modern imitations, I55> 173. 237- Mezza-maiolica, name applied to coarser lead- glazed and lustred ware, 16, 34 n., 121, 146, 162, 280, 317. Migliardi, Rinaldo and Cesare, modern art potters at Fabriano, 237. Milan, record of maiolica being mac'e there INDEX i8r in 1594, 314; important works there in ei^'htcenth century, 315 ; marks 458-464. Minghetti, Angelo, and Son, modern art potters at Bologna, 283. Modcna, records of potteries at various towns in Duchy, 292, 293. Mohammedan Conquest in seventh century, its |)robable effect in reviving arts of ancient Egypt, 82. Molaroni, modern art potter at I'csaro, pro- duced imitations of ancient wares, 155. Molinier, I-Imile, ' La Ceramic|ue Itahcnne au XV sii:cle ' and other works by him re- ferred to, 21 n., 22. 23 n., 251, 254, 257, 302, 3 '7) 356; his theories as to lustred wares of Pesaro and Uiruta, 227. Mondovi, art potteries there in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 326 ; marks 477- 479. Monte, in, art pottery at Faenza in sixteenth century, 251, 253. Monte, near Caffaggiolo, dish made there, 251 ; mark 43. Monte Lupo, art pottery made there, 139; marks 51-54. Monti, Santi and Vitaliano, modern art jjottcrs at Fabriano, 237. Montmorency, Constable de, obtained maiolica from Urbino, 201 ; and from Faenza, 249. Moorish potters, supposed to have passed into Sicily and Italy, and introduced metallic lustre, &c., 16, 342 ; their probaljle work in Si)ain. 96, 97, 99, 104, 105. Morcia, Ubaldo della, artist at Castel Durante, 180. Morclli, art potters at Castel Durante, 176. Moretti, a family of art ])otters at liassano in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 307. Muel, near Saragossa, process employed tliere in manufacture of art pottery, ,108. Muhamed ben Suleyman Attaalab, Spanish aitilicer in gold luttre ware in sixteenth century, 108. Miiller, l'"crdinand, of Mannheim, art potter at Naples in eigiiteenth century, 335. M usso, Bcnciletto, and family, of Savona, heads of modern art i)olteries at Mondovi, 326, 347 ; m.irks 477, 479. N. Nani, Antonio, art potter at Urbino in seven- teenth century, said to have visited Turin, 322, 323. Naj)les, early tiled pavements supposed to have been made there, 332, 333 ; maiolica of seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 334, 335 ; marks 501-505. Nardo, maiolica said to have been made there in sixteenth century, 347. Nassiri Kliosrau, his travels in 1035 to 1042, notices lustred ware in bazaars of old Cairti, 84. Negrini, C. J., art potter at Mil.m in eighteenth century, 314. Nevers, potters from Faenza workeil there in sixteenth centur)-, 249. Newdorfer, Johann, f.ijencc in Italian style bearing his name, 302. Nice, in Anatolia, mosque decorated with tiles, 83. Nicolaus de Ragnolis. of Faenza, his signature on a plate dated 1475, 247, 257. Nicoleti, enamelled i)hn|ue of fifteenth century at Padua so markeii, 310; mark 446. Nicol5 da Fano, artist at Fatn/.a in sixteenth century, 253, 263. Nicol6 di C;al)riele, art po'ter at Urbino about «53o. '93, 219- Nicolo (or Nicola) da Urbino, pr()l)ably a member of the I'ellipario or Fontana family, and father of Ciuido 1-ontana, 35, 37 ; early works from Castel Durante ascribed to him, 177, 178, \io; account of his most impor- tant works from Urbino, 189, 190 194, 255, 262, 287 ; marks 153, 170-175. Nicolo, Sier, ' Pocaler' at \'enice in fourteenth century, 296. Niculoso Francisco, worked in sixteenth cen- tury in .Spain in the manner of the Della Kobbia, 28, 1 1 1 ; account of his most im- portant work in -Seville, 112 1 14, 258. Nimriid, glazed bricks and tiles from. 5. No\e, near ISassano, maiolica made there in sevmteenth and eighteenth centuries. 308, 309 ; porcelain also made there in 175c, 30S ; marks 441-445. INDEX Nuvoletti, art potter at Scandiano in eighteenth century, 293. O. Ordelaffi, Lords of Forh, a family referred to by Dante, plaque of about 1480-90 bearing their arms, 271. Ottaviano of Faenza, art potter at Ferrara in I 1493, 269, 285. P. J'adua, named by Piccolpasso as seat of a pottery in his time, 309 ; traces of earlier works found by Signor V. Lazzari and others, 310; examples of maiolica and tiles, 310, 311; marks 446-453. Paladini, Egisto, modern art potter at Siena, 138. Palaia, pottery works there in sixteenth cen- tury, 347. Palermo, pottery works there in sixteenth cen- tury, 341 ; marks 506-509. Palliser, Mrs. Bury, on motto of Giuliano de' Medici, 129. Panocchia, Giov., art potter at Parma in 1425, 347- Pantales, Andrea, signs pharmacy jars dated 1616, 269. Pantaneto, tiles made there in 1600, 347. Paolucci, owned pottery works in Pesaro, closed in 1849, 155. Papi, Ciambattista, art potter at Castel Durante in seventeenth century, 182. Parma, pavement of early enamelled pottery in Museum, 22 ; art pottery works there in fifteenth, sixteenth, and eighteenth cen- turies, 348. Parolin, Francesco, of Bassano, directed art pottery at Nove in eighteenth century, 308. Passed, Ciambattista, his ' Istoria delle pitture in maiolica fatte in Pesaro' referred to, 29, 30, 31, 41, 133; epitome of this history, 140-147 ; fosters a revival of art pottery in Pesaro in eighteenth century, 154; on ruby lustre as used at Pesaro and Gubbio, 157, 161. Passignano, maiolica made there in seven- teenth century, 348. Patanazzi, or Palanati, family, artists at Urbino in the decadence, works signed by various members, 220 ; marks 233-239. Pavement, see Tiles. Pavia, exterior of S. Michele and other churches decorated with bacini, 10, 117; incised ware made there in seventeenth century, 119; history of art pottery there, 317-322 ; marks 465, 466. Pedrinus, Johannes, art potter at Forli in 1396, 270. Pedrotti, Dr. Francesco, modern art potter at Mondovi, 326, 347. Pellino, Marco, art potter at Pavia in eigh- teenth century, 321. Pelliparii, a distinguished family of art potters of Castel Durante, who emigrated to Ur- bino, and took the name of Fontana, 35, 177, 189; see also Fontana and Nicolo da Urbino. Pepi, Bernardino, art potter in Siena, in nine- teenth century, 134, 138. Peringer, Leandro, of Venice, his experiments in porcelain, 288. Persian ware, 43 n., 80-S9 ; ancient bricks and bas-reliefs of stanniferous enamel, 85 ; re- appearance of en imelled pottery, tiles, &c., in eleventh century h. D., probably due to Mohammedan conquest, 85 ; designs adapted from metal vessels, 86 ; places where found, 86 ; classification of Persian glazed pottery, and marks thereon. 87-89. Perugino, Pietro, his portrait on maioiica dish, 187. Pesaro, in Duchy of Urbino, claim by Passeri that the madreperla lustre originated there, 30 ; development of its wares, 35 ; history of its manufacture of pottery, 140-155 ; marks 57-78 (and note). Pescolanciano, in the Abruzzi, porcelain works established there about 1770, 343. Pessarotti, A., art potter at Casalmaggiore in 1 766, 346. INDEX 183 Pessina, Cailo, art potter at I'av ia in eighteenth century, 321. Petrus Andreas de Fa\entia, artist of tile pavement in S. Petronio, IJologna, 250, 254. Piaccntini, N., art potter at Parma in eigh- teenth century, 348. * Piaiti di pompa,' dishes so named, 67. Picchi, Luca, Angiolo, and (liorgio, art potters at Castel Durante, 180; Giorgio, the younger, painter at Urbino, 219. Picci, artist at Caste! Durante m 1490, 176. Piccoipasso, Cavaiiere Cipriano, director of art pottery at Castel Durante in sixtecnili century, liis MS. on the art of pottery now in Library of Soutii Kensington Museum, modern printed editions of it, 36 n , 174; abstract of this work, 46-65 ; his recipe for metallic lustre confirmed by modern experi- ments, 98 ; his account of sgraffio ware, 117; of the Gubbio lustre, 156, 157; his pottery works at Castel Durante, 174; l.itcr years and death, 175. Pier del Vasaro, Francesco, art potter at Castel Durante in 1490, 176; erected the largest furnace in Venice, ifc'o. Pier di Matteo di Agoletti, art potter in Bologna in 1549, 2S2. Picragiiolo, Francesco, and his f ither-in-law, Gian Antonio, of Pesaro, art potters in Venice in sixteenth century, 36, 301 ; mark 408. Pieragostino, art potter at Diruta in sixteenth century, 230. Piergeniili, director of art pottery at San Quirico in eighteenth centuiy, 224. I'icriiio del Vaga, maiolica cistern painted from design by him, 207. Piero dei I'onti (Pier Frutarnol), pcrniittcd to bring pottery from Ravenna to \'enice in 1522, 282. Pietro Lei da Sassuolo, painter at I'esaro and elsewhere in eighteenth eentiir)', 154, 293; mark 76. Pietro Lorenzi of Cadore, made porcelain at Nove in eighteenth century, 308. Pignani da Giialdo, Lorenzo, licensed to apply gold to maiolica in Rome in 1673, 242. I'iot, Lugene, on Pitcolpasso's MS., 173 ; his discovery of lustred ware in rubbish heaps at Diruta, 227 ; theories based thereon. 228 ; on art pottery produced at Pavia, 318-320. Pisa, exterior of churches decorated with bacini, fragments from churches of S. Cecilia, &c., 10, 14, 15 (illustration), 83, 102, 116; potteries in Pisa in early days, 138 ; maiolica and porcelain probably made there by N. Sesti, 133, 139. Plumbeous or lead -glazed wares, 7-12. Polien'.o (Pollenlia), potteries there in Roman times, 326. Pomis, Pietro, art potter at Lodi in 1625, 316. Pompei, Tito and Orazio, art potters of Cas- teili in sixteenth century, 337, 338. Porcelain, Chinese wares popular in Italy in seventeenth century, 41 ; endeavours in Furope to discover art of making porcelain, 42 ; made in Florence under Grand Duke Francis I about 1580, 42; examples of Florentine or Medicean porcelain, 43 ; earlier claims adxanccd for Venice and Ferrara, 44, 288, 305 ; reseniblance of some of these to Urbino ware, 45 ; porcelain made in Rome by Volpato and others in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 242 ; made in 1750 at Nove, 308 ; at N'inovo and Vische, near Turin, 325 ; at Capo-di-Monte, 335 ; at I'escolanciano, 343 ; at Doccia, 346. Porcellana, a name formi rly applieil in Italy to choicer descriptions of enamelled earthen- ware, 34, 146 ; a variety of decorative design styled ' a porcellana,' 34, 274. Pottery, definition, constituents, and classifica- tion, 2. Prestino, or Percstino, Maestro, of Gubbio, artist in lustred ware, 172; marks 148 150. Puente del Arzobispo, Spain, pottery works there, 109. Punzi, .\ntonio, modern art potter at \'ictri, 344- R. Kaccagna, Giovanni Maria (detio Tafl'arino), of Facnza, art [)otler at Imola in 1543, 269, 283. RatVaclle Ciarla, painter of designs on Urbino ware about 1530 1560, 39, 219. 184 INDEX Kafifaelle dal Colle, prepared designs for maio- lica, 37, 39 ; decorated Palazzo Imperiale near Pesaro, 37 ; his designs adopted at Castel Durante, 180. Raffaelle, Sanzio, origin of erroneous attri- bution to him of painting on maiolica, 37 ; original drawings and engravings from his designs bought by Guidobaldo II for use by art potters in Duchy of Urbino, 38 ; figures on Caffaggiolo plate once supposed to be intended for him and the Fornarina, 40, 131 ; drawing of his school, a design for the border of a plate, 66 ; paintings on maiolica adapted from his pictures, 137, 167, 193, 2CO, 208, 214, 233, 261, 308. Raffaelli, Signer Giuseppe, his memoirs on maiolica of Castel Durante, &c., 175. Ragazzini, Tomaso, art potter at Faenza in eighteenth century, 269. Rainoldi, G. M., art potter at Pavia in eigh- teenth century, 321. Ratti, Agostino, art potter at Savona in eigh- teenth century, 330; marks 487, 488. Ravello, mosaic of oriental tiles in cathedral, 342. Ravenna, potteries named by Piccolpasso, 281 ; decrees limiting importation of pot- tery, 281, 2c2; marked pieces, 282; mark 390. Recanti, pottery said to have been made there, 348- Reggiani & Co., modern art potters at Pesaro, '55- Reggio, pottery made there in 1565, 293. Renzo of Lanciano, painter of maiolica in fif- teenth century, 337. Reviera, Enrico la, art potter at Turin in seven- teenth century, 323. Rhages, or Rhei, near Teheran, ancient tiles found there, £6, 99. Rhodian or Lindus ware, its characteristics, 93. Riaiio, Signer J. F., his handbook on Spanish Arts, 97, 108, 1 10. Richard, Luigi, et Cie., modern art potters in Turin, 325 ; mark 474. Richard II of England, permits glass and earthenware from Venice to be sold in London free of duty, 300. Ridolfi, Giacomo and Loys, of Caffaggiolo, founded a pottery in France in 1590, 128. Rimini, named by Piccolpasso as site of a pottery, 280; pieces assigned thereto, 281 ; marks 392-397. Risio, Angelo Michele, art potter at Bologna in 1595, 282. Ris-Paquot, his work ' La Ceramique,' 351. Robbia, Luca della, and his family, 19; Sir J. C. Robinson's sketch of his life and works quoted, 23-28 ; medallions with impersona- tions of the twelve months assigned to him, 25 ; works relating to Delia Robbia family, 28 n.; vases made by them, 123; roundels at Venice, 297. Robinson, Sir J. Charles, quoted on Luca della Robbia, 23-28 ; his purchases for South Kensington Museum, 74; on Hispano- Moresque lustre, 97, 107; conclusions as to origin of ruby lustre, 161 ; account of the Fontana family, 195; notes on Francesco Xanto, 212. Rochechouart, Count Julien de, his ' Travels in Persia ' cjuoted, 80. Roda, Francesco, art potter at Lodi in eigh- teenth century, 317. Rolet, Martin, a French artist working at Urbania and elsewhere in eighteenth cen- tury, 223, 224 ; mark 24L Rombaldotti, Hippolito, painter of maiolica made at Urbania in seventeenth century, 185. Rome, art pottery recorded to have been made in city in sixteenth century, 239; pharmacy vases dated 1600,240; porcelain made there in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Volpato and others, 242 ; marks 278-284. Konca, Cav. Antonio, set up art pottery at Fabriano in 1S34, 237. Ronciglione, art pottery works established there in 1754, 348. Ronco, unsuccessful attempts to establish pot- tery there in seventeenth century, 348. Rossellino, Antonio, possibly designed roundels of Delia Robbia ware in Venice, 297. Rossetti family, art potters at Lodi in eighteenth century, 317; at Turin, 324; marks 467 n., 469. INDEX Rossi di Stcfano, Giovanni, art potter atTreviso in eighteenth century, 306. Rotlischild, collections of various members of the family in France and England. 73, 77 ; special references to, 129, 130, 138, 222, 223, 260 ; marks 19, 33, 34, 47, 50, 205, 213, 224, 254, 408. Rouen, potters from Faenza worked there in sixteenth century, 249. Rovezzano, maiolica said to have been made there, 348. Rubati, I'asquale, and his family, art potters at Milan in eighteenth century, 314, 315; marks 458, 459, 464. Rubbiani, Carlo, and I). Antonio, modern art potters at .Sassuolo, 293. Rubcrii, (i. M., art potter at Treviso in eightcentii century, 306. S. .Saliatini, art potters at Caste! Durante in 1490, 376. Saguntum, jasper red pottery menliimed by riiny, 103. Sala, Giacomo, art potter at I'avia in 1 431, 318. Salerno, mosaic of oriental tiles in ca heilral, 342. Salimbenc Andrcoli, brother of Maestro Giorgio of Ciubbio, works with him on lustred ware, 158, 168. Salmuzzo, Cnovanni Maria, art potter at I>as- sano, 304. Salomini, tiirolamo, art potter at Savona in seventeenth century, 329; marks 484, 493. Salting Collection, 77; reference to special examples: — Damascus, 93; Hispano-Mo- rescjue, ill ; Caffaggiolo, 130; Gubbio, 167; Castel Durante, 183; Utbmo, 191, 208; Faenza, 255, 261, 267; Forli, 272, 27S ; Venice, 301 ; marks 32, S3, 46, 93, 181, 291, 307, 308, 382. Salvatoic, I'ranccM o ('•., of Nuremberg, art potter at Venice in fifteenth century, 298. Salzmann, M., his discovery of pottery furnaces at l.indus, in island of Rhodes, 93. San Donino, pottery made there in fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, 348. San .Miniatello, piece so marked dated 1 581, 349- San Possidonio, art pottery there in eighteenth century, 293. San Quirico d'Orcia, pottery made there in eighteenth centurj', 224 ; marks 243- 246. Sant' Apollinarc, monks of .Monte Cassino said to have established potteiy works there, 344- Sant' Elpidio al Mare, furnaces recorded to have existed there, 348. Saragossa, lustred wares on sale there in six- teenth century, 108. .Sassuolo, art potteries there in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 292, 293. Saverio, F., of Castelli, 1 731 -1799, member of the Grue family, a skilful painter and modeller of groups, &c., travelled in France, Germany, and Kngland, 339. Savignoimi, Tomaso, said to have niade porce- lain in Rome in 1633, 242. Savini family, art potters at Castel Durante in 1490, 176, 240 ; I'ompeo, a modeller there in seventeenth cenlur)', 182. Sa\ ino, Giovanni I'aolo, painted at Koine in style of Urbino grotescjucs, 36, 240, 241, 291 ; mark 280. -Savino, (iuido da, referred to by I'iccolpasso, 47 ; stated to have established himself as an art potter at Antwerp, 36, 177. .Savona, eaily pottery works there, 32S ; ex- tensive art potteries in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 329 331 ; list of art potters, 331 ; marks 480 500. Scaldamazza di \'irgilioito, art potters in Faenza in sixteenth century, 253 ; Tomaso, worked in Mantua in 1552, 270. .Scaliger, Julius Caesar, his comp.irifon of Italian pottery with Chinese porcelain. 17; on wares of the Balearic Islands, 101 ; on the name maiolica, IC2. Scandiano, art pottery there in 1754, 293. Shah Abbas II, encouraged potter's art, is rc])resentcd on horseback in U)w relief on Persian tiles, 87. INDEX Sche!estadt, in Alsace, an art potter recorded to have died there in 1283, 18. Schiavone, Stefano, art potter at Pesaro, 145. Schioppa, modern art potter at Naples, 335. Schdn, or Schongauer, Martin, his designs used on maiolica, 66, 257. ' Scudella da donna di parto,' or ' vasi puer- perali,' described by Piccolpasso, 50. Sebastiani, Federicus, of Castelli, plaque signed by him dated 1368, 337. Segovia, pottery works there, no. Serullo, G. B., of Genoa, made tiles for Duke of Parma in latter years of sixteenth cen- tury, 348. Sesii, Nicolo, licensed by Ferdinando I to produce maiolica and porcelain at Florence and Pisa, 133, 138. Seville, works of Niculoso Francesco in that city, III. Sevres Museum, 21, 22, 45 n., 73, ill, 114, 164, 281 ; marks 54, 454, 458, 463. Sforza family, lords of Pesaro, encouraged art pottery, 30 ; Costanzo Sforza in 1478 sends present of 'vasa fictilia' to Pope Sixtus IV, 31, 145. 231. Sgrafifiati, graffiti, or incised wares, 9, 19, I16-120, 224, 237, 318; marks 1-7. Sicily, traces of Arab and Moorish potteries in the island, 341. Siculo, L. Marineo, writes in 1517 on faience made in Spain, especially at Valencia, IC4. Siculo-Arabian ware, 89 ; chief examples known and theories as to their origin, 90, 341, 342. Siculo- Moresque wares, ancient pottery found at Palermo, 114; certain pieces formerly so called found to have been produced in Valencia, 106, 107. Siena, 40 ; historical account of maiolica, tiles, &c., from thence, 133-138; maiks 44- 49. Siliceous, vitreous, or glass-glazed wares, 4 ; characteristics and varieties, 79-94 ; native to Egypt, 85. Silvano, Francesco, art potter at Urbino, 36, 219. Simone di Antonio Mariani, worked at Urbino about 1542, 219; mark 228. Simone, Bartolomeo di, payment to him for 'lavori di terra' in 1425, 122. Simone da Siena, di casa Piccolomini, art potter at Pesaro in 1462, 133, 144. Simono, Maestro, of Castcl Durante, piece signed by him dated 1562, 184; mark 164. Smith, Col. Sir R. Murdoch, col.ection of Per- sian pottery by him, his handbook, 87. Soden-Smith, R. H., his lists of books on pottery, &c., 357. Solobrin, Jerome, potter at Amboise 1494-1502, 280. Sordi, P. G., painter and director of art pottery at Lodi in 1625, 316, 317. South Kensington Museum, 19, 22, 23, 36, 38, 40, 45, 74 ; references to special examples : — Persian, 87 ; Siculo-Arabian, 89 ; Hispano- Moresque, 98, 100, loi, in ; incised wares, 116, 119; Delia Robbia vases, 123; Caffag- giolo, 126, 128, 129, 131, 133; Siena, 135, 136; Gubbio, 161-167, 171 ; Castel Durante, 183, i£6; Urbino, 2n ; Diruta, 233, 234; Bagnorea, 235 ; Faenza, 256, 257, 259, 260, 266,267; Forli, 271-278 ; Padua, 310; Pavia, 320 ; marks passim. South Kensington Museum Catalogue of Ma- iolica, &c., issued in 1872, the basis of present work, i n. ; special references to, 21 n., 91, 95, 106 n., 121, 133, 137, 140, 163, 177, i79> 1S8, 239, 242, 254, 274, 295, 320, 327. Spain, Arab conquests in, 711 A. D., early frag- ments of pottery found at Cordova and Granada, 13 ; Moors found kingdom of Ciranada in 1235, when Hispano-Moresque ware first appears, 14, 96, 97 ; see also His- pano-Moresque pottery. Spello, referred to by Piccolpasso, 237. Spinace de lesi of Gubbio, modern reproduc- tion of lustre, 173. Spindle-whorls (fusciarolli) of maiolica, 68. Spitzer Collection, its dispersal, 73 ; special pieces in it referred to, 125, 147, 167 ; marks 83, 91. Stailan, Armadeo, painter of maiolica at Milan in eighteenth century, 314. Stanghi, Piero Paolo, art potter at Faenza in 1559, 249, 287. INDEX 187 Stanniferous glaze, see Knamelled wares. St.'itcs of the Church account of potteries in various cities, 226 244. Stowe, collection of niaiolica there, its dispersal, 75- Successus, 1'. IClvius, father of Emperor I'er- tinax, had a jjottery at or near bavona, 328. Superchina, art potter at Castel Durante in 1490, 176. Superchino, Giovanni Giacomo, art po'.tcr at Rome in sixteenth centuiy, 240. Susa, frieze from palace at, now in the Louvre, 5, 80; pottery found there, 81. T. Taccoli, Marquis Achille, established art pot- tery at S. I'ossidonio in eighteenth centuiy, 293- Taffarino, sec Kaccagna. Talavera, important manufacture of pottery there in sixteenth centuiy, 109. Tamburino, Scipione, art potter at Mantua in seventeenth century, 294. Tardessiri, Domcnico, of I-'aenza, art potter at Lyons in sixteen! li century, 249, 270. Tcramo, maiolica made there by Liljerio Grue in eighteenth century, 344. Terchi. Hartolomeo, and other members of this family, wandering artists, working at Siena, San Quirico, Hassano, and elsewhere, 137, 224, 244, 307 ; marks 243 246, 4£3 436. Ttreni, Giox inale, da Monttlupo, inark 54. 'I'crenzio (11 Rondolino), art potter at I'esaro in 1550, 148 ; mark 71. Tesio, Giovanni, from Castel Durante, taught art of pottery in the Ionian Islands in 1530, 180. Theophilus, his ' Arts of the Middle Ages' re- ferred to, 8 n. Tiles, oriental, 81, 83, 84; I'crsian, 85; Rhodian. 94 ; Saracenic in Spain at Cordova, &c., 96 ; lustrcd slab found by Fortuny at Granada, ico; tombs at Seville covered with painted tiles, 1 11 ; pavements at I'arma, 22 ; in Santa Maria del I'opolo, Rome, 33 ; at Siena, 134; at Perugia. 232 ; tiles painted in Rouen by Italian artists in 1542, 249; pavement in S. Fctronio, IJologna, made in Kaenza in 14S7, 22, 250, 254; sepulchral inscriptions, &c., at Faenza dated 1498, 23 ; pavement in S Sebastiano, Venice, 256 ; pavement with portrait;, &c., from chapel of a villa near Forli, 274; pavement in Venice assigned to Castel Durante or Faenza, 297 ; pavement in chapel of Ves- covado, I'adiia, from Urbino, 188, 310; altar-piece at Genoa formed of tiles, dated 1529, 327 ; picture formed of tiles in church at .-Mbissola near .Savona dated 1576, 329; pavements in churches in and near Naples, 21, 332 ; in chapel of San Donato. nearC^as- telli, 337 ; oriental tiles inlaid as mosaic in cathedrals of Salerno and Ravello, 342. Timoteo della \ ite, influence of his works on painters of maii.'lica, 35. Tin glaze, see Enamelled wares. 1 inucci, P'rancesco, art potter and modeller at Rome in present century, 243. Tisio, Henvenuto (II Garofalo), a mark on maiolica seemingly referring to him, 261 ; see mark 310. Titian, superintended pre|)aration of art pot- tery at Venice ordered for Alfonso I of Ferrara, 299. Toledo, pottery works there in 1735, 1 10. Tomaso da I'erugia, art potter at Rome in I5I4< •40- Tommaso, art potter at \'enice in 1489, 298. Tonducci, art potter at Faenza in 1693, 269. Tonduz'.i, in ' llistorie di Faenita,' dated 1675, states that maiolica arrived at perfection there 300 years previously, 24S. Torre dci I'asseri in the Abruzzi, art pottery made there in eighteenth century, 344. Torteroli, G. T., art potter at Savona in eighteenth century, 330. Tie\iso, maiolica ascribed to, 305 ; mark 4C0. Tiiana, pottery works there, 109. Truvo, Nicola, art potter at Castelli in seventeenth century. 33S. Turin, doubtful claims as to potteries there in sixteenth century, 32.: ; examples of maiolica ' INDEX made there in seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, given by the Marquis d'Azegho, 323-325 ; marks 468-475. Tuscany, account of potteries in and abcut Florence and other cities of the Duchy, 121-139; stanniferous enamel used in Tus- cany in the second decade of fifteenth century, possibly earlier, 122. U. Ugolino of Forli, musician and philosopher, his portrait in tiled pavement, 276. Urbania, name conferred on Castel Durante in 1635, 36, 181. Urbino, city of, history of manufacture of maiolica there, and account of finest remain- ing examples, 1 88-223 > remarkable collection of Urbino ware in the muserm of the Bar- gello at Florence, 206 ; marks 170-241. Urbino, Duchy of, account of manufacture of maiolica in the various cities, 33-40, 141- 225. Urbino, Dukes of house of Montefeltro, 33 ; *Federigo, builder of castellated palace, en- couraged manufacture of maiolica, 33 ; his portrait on lustred tazza in the Louvre, 164; Guidobaldo I continued patronage of ceramic arts, 34; Guidobaldo II sent presents of maiolica to Emperor Charles V and other princes, 38, 204 ; vases ordered by him for his Speziaria, 39, 204 ; these subsequently given by Duke Francesco Maria II to the Santa Casa at Loreto, 39, 205 ; collections of maiolica made by various dukes passed to the Medici, and portions now in the museum of the Bargello at Florence, 69, 206. Urbino ware, one of the names given to maiolica, 188. V. Valaressi, Zacharia, of Faenza, his signature on an inkstand dated 1651, 269; mark 376. Valencia, potteries early established there, 13 ; historical account of wares of this kingdom, 103- 1 14; layme of Aragon protects Moorish potters of Xativa, 13, 104. Valvassori, Antonio, art potter at Pavia in eighteenth century, 322. Vannini, G.B.,art potter in Siena in eighteenth century, 138. Varion, G. P., a Frenchman, made porcelain at Este in eighteenth century, 292. Vasari, his Life of Luca della Robbia quoted, 24-27 ; his praise of Battista Franco, 38. Vasi puerperali, see Scudella. Velasco, Ignacio de, potter at Toledo in 1735, no. Venetian States, history of art potteries in various cities, 295-313 ; marks 398-457. Venice, early discovery of art of making porce- lain claimed for, 44, 288, 305 ; importation of pottery except certain Spanish wares prohibited in fifteenth century, 104, 297; ancient pottery found under St. Mark's and other edifices, 295, 296 ; records as to pottery works in the city, marks and examples in various collections, 295-305 ; marks 398- 429. Ventura di Mastro, art potter at Pesaro in 1462, 133, 144. Vergilio, Maestro, art potter at Faenza, 263. Verona, records of early potteries there, 312 ; mark 457. Verziera, Ant., art potter at Este in eighteenth century, 292. Vezzi, a noble family of Venice, took part in porcelain works there in 171 9, 305. Viadana, maiolica said to have been made there in sixteenth century, 349. Vicchii, Francesco, of Faenza, head of chief art pottery in that city in 1633, 249, 251, 269. Vicenza, art pottery works there in eighteenth century, 349. Viero, G. B., of Bassano, art potters at Nove in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 308, 309- Vietri sul Mare, near Salerno, art pottery established there in sixteenth century, 344. Vignola, Signor Giovanni, on maiolica of Pied- mont, 323 n., 324 ; his list of artist potters of Savona, 331. Vincenzio Andreoli, known as Maestro Cencio, son of Maestro Gioigio, referred to by INDEX I'iccolpasso, 63; works with his father, 158, 168, 169, 170. Vincenzo di 15encdctto Gabellotto of Faenza, art potter at Venice in 1574, 269, 303. Vincenzo di Simon delle Selle, art potter at Boloiina in 1 549, 282. V'inovo, near Turin, a ])ottcry csttiblished in Castello there under royal patronajje in 1776, 325 ; mark 476. Vische, near Turin, |)()rcclain made there in 1765, 325- Viterho, pottery made there in early times and in sixteenth cen'ury, 238 ; marks 278, 277. Vitreous wares, sie Siliceous wares. Volpato, Giovanni Trevisan, dcf/o, the en- graver, engaged in manufacture of porcelain and faience in Rome in eighteenth century, 242 ; account of other members of llie Volpato family, 243, 244 ; mark 284. W. Wallace Collection, 167; mark 101. Wallis, 1 lenry, ' Notes on early Persian Lustrcd Wares' referred to, 6 n , 81, 82, 84, 86, 357 ; his researches at Fostat, 6, 82, 84. Walpole, Horace, maiolica at Strawberry Hill, 75 ; C'lombron ware of his day, 87. Warka, once supposed to be the ancient Ur of the Chaldees, glazed terra-cotta coffins found there, 6. VVealc, W. H. J., List of Ceramic Literature, 357- Windsor, Royal collection at, design for border of a plate ascribed to school of Raffaelle, 66. X. Xanto, Francesco, of Urbino, 35, 36; maiolica by him lustred at Gubbio, 171 : pieces as- signed to him and his pupils, 211 217; marks 193-209. Z. ZafTarino, painter on pottery at Fcrrara in 1523, 287. Zaniora, pottery works there, no. Zavatinis, Joannes de, art potter at Pavia in 1 596, 320. Zener, Domcnico, of \'enice, maiolica signed by him dated 1568, 303; mark 415. Zerbi, Pio and Annunziata, art potters at r*a\ia in eighteenth centurj-, 321. Zona ((iiovanni) Maria, painter at Castel Durante, fine bowl signed by him dated 1508, 182, 255, 264 ; maik 152. Zonan Antonio, art potter at Mantua in fifteenth century, 294. Zucchero, Taddeo, service painted after de- signs by him, 39, 203. oxford: printed at THF, ri.ARFNDON PRKSS BV IIORACK HART, I'RINTI'R TO THK I NIVFRSITV 3 3125 00093 4741 I BKHNTANO'S. , fiooksrllers & Stationers. 37. Avenue