THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.
SPAIN: Ancient Pottery.--Valencia the Most Ancient Centre.--The
Roman Period.--Arabs.--Valencia under the Moors.--Its
Decline.--Malaga the Most Ancient Moorish Settlement.--The Alhambra
Vase.--Influence of Christianity.--Majorca.--Azulejos.--Modern
Spain.--Porcelain.--Buen Retiro.--Moncloa.--Alcora.--PORTUGAL:
Vista Allegre.--Rato.--Caldas.
[Illustration: Fig. 190.--Hispano-Moresque Vase. End of 13th Century.
(S. Kensington Mus.)]
A mere glance is all that is necessary to bestow upon the ancient
pottery of Spain before we resume the history of the Moorish
fabrications in that country. Valencia is the centre to which the
greatest antiquity must be accorded. Pliny alludes to Saguntum, now
called Murviedro, as having twelve hundred potteries, and Martial is not
stinted in his praises of their work. All the remains found there are of
the Roman period, and are classed under red Samian ware, and three other
groups, of which one was of a yellowish color and another of pale
terra-cotta. From that time we must make a great leap across the chasm
between the downfall of Roman civilization and the first Saracenic
occupation of the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century. Even then
there is little to guide research. Arabian azulejos have been met with,
and in 1239, four years after the Moorish kingdom of Granada had been
founded, a charter was granted by James I. of Aragon to the Saracen
potters of Xativa (San Felipe) relieving them from servitude on payment
yearly of one besant for each kiln. We have no means of identifying the
early works of these Saracenic workmen, and it is not until 1517 that
they are referred to in literature as producing well-worked and
well-gilded faiences, more highly esteemed than any other of Spanish
manufacture. Several writers of the sixteenth century praise the
Valencian pottery, but in the beginning of the seventeenth century it
began to decline. Christian designs (Fig. 191) take the place of
Moresque; and at the present day, according to Marryat, the
metallic-lustred wares of Manises, near Valencia, are made by an
innkeeper, who thus spends the time lying heavy on his hands by reason
of a lack of guests in his inn. In the olden time the pottery of Manises
was exchanged with Italy for that of Pisa, and was ordered by “the Pope,
cardinals and princes admiring that with simple earth such things can be
made.” Such is the difference between now and then.
[Illustration: Fig. 191.--Spanish Majolica. Dark-blue and Brown Painting
on White. (J. W. Paige Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]
From the style of the decoration it would appear that most of the
Valencian remains are to be attributed to the Christian period, _i. e._,
after the thirteenth century. The general color is yellow with
mother-of-pearl lustre. St. Catherine and St. John were highly venerated
in Valencia, and this veneration appears in the frequency of their
representation, either actually, or by their emblems, or in invocations
and passages from the gospel of the fourth evangelist. The eagle--the
emblem of St. John--and the opening words of his gospel appear also,
however, on wares from Malaga and Majorca; and, further, the yellow
lustre was produced at Barcelona. It is, therefore, evidently unsafe to
ascribe, after an examination of general characteristics, individual
specimens to a specific source.
[Illustration: Fig. 192.--The Alhambra Vase.]
Of the Moresque pottery it is probable that Malaga was the most ancient
centre. Its golden pottery is spoken of as an article of export as far
back as 1350. There also we are brought into contact with the famous and
beautiful vases of the Alhambra (Fig. 192). The palace itself was built
by Mohammed-ben-Alhamar, the first Moorish king of Granada, in 1273,
with the intention, possibly of rivalling the richly decorated mosques
of the Mussulman Arabs. The Alhambra vase is the only survivor of three
of similar style found under the palace pavement. The others fell
victims to the Vandalism of memento or relic hunters. The one still in
existence is seven feet in circumference and four feet three inches in
height. It is supposed to belong to about the year 1320. It is made of
earthen-ware, and is decorated in three colors. The ground is white and
the decorations are a golden yellow lustre and blue. The vase is not
only a masterpiece of Moresque art, but a magnificent example of the
decorative genius of the Moors, which spent itself in devising quaint
combinations of lines and in a wealth of arabesque. There are many other
pieces which, from their metallic lustre and blue ornamentation, are
also credited to Malaga, and date from the middle of the fourteenth
century. It is unfortunate that this exquisite art soon deteriorated. As
we approach the Christian epoch we come upon the works of copyists
devoid of intelligence, in whose hands the decoration they strove to
follow loses its delicacy and meaning. The Valencian art with which we
are acquainted was thus rising as that of Malaga was gradually, sinking
out of sight. Faience was made at the latter place in the beginning of
the sixteenth century. For a time the Catholic conquerors under
Ferdinand tolerated the art. But intolerant zeal asserted itself,
Moorish customs were suppressed, and at length the Moorish settlers were
driven into exile.
[Illustration: Fig. 193.--Hispano-Moresque Plaque in Frame. Diameter, 16
in. Copper Color on White: Metallic Lustre. (Wales Coll., Boston Museum
of Fine Arts.)]
The third great centre of the ceramic art was at Ynca, in Majorca, the
largest of the Balearic group of islands. Majorca was conquered by James
I., in 1230, nine years before he took Valencia; and no Moresque
specimen now known can be ascribed to a period preceding that date. The
lustre of Majorca was very bright, and the ornamentation consisted
mainly of scrolls and flowers. The other islands of the group, Minorca
and Iviça, were also seats of the manufacture. We shall afterward see
how closely Majorca was connected by its commerce with Italy.
[Illustration: Fig. 194.--Early Hispano-Moresque. (Boston Household Art
Rooms.)]
We have reserved the azulejos, or tiles (Fig. 194), the best indicators
of the progress of Arabian art, for separate treatment. We find in the
tiles of the Alhambra, in the buildings of Seville and the Cuarto Real
of Granada (Fig. 195), the products of the same skill which embellished
the edifices of Persia, Arabia, and the Maghreb. They are made of
light-colored clay, covered with a stanniferous enamel, upon which are
laid intricate designs in blue or golden lustre. The brilliant and
dazzling beauty they lent to the interior of the Alhambra, from
pavement, walls, and roof, can now only be imagined. So much did the
Spaniards admire the azulejos, that they were employed, not only for the
embellishment of public and royal edifices, but for the houses of the
wealthy. Their manufacture is continued in Valencia down to the present
day.
From what has been said, the chronological sequence of the
Hispano-Moresque potteries may, in part, be inferred. The most ancient
is that resembling the Alhambra vase, decorated with blue and yellow
lustre. As we come later down, the lustre assumes more of a golden hue,
and becomes exceedingly brilliant, as we find it at Valencia, when the
less dazzling wares of Malaga were falling into disfavor. The ruddier
copper lustres are the farthest removed from the early wares. They excel
in brightness, and show less restraint and chasteness of taste, and mark
the decline from those works which have given celebrity to
Hispano-Moresque pottery.
[Illustration: Fig. 195--Moorish Tile, from the Cuarto Real.]
[Illustration: Fig. 196.--Early Hispano-Moresque. (Boston Household Art
Rooms.)]
The Spain of our day retains not even a semblance of its former
greatness. What is best in its modern art, such as the terra-cotta of
Barcelona, contains no tradition of ancient times. At the Centennial
Exhibition, it was, as compared with leading European countries, poorly
represented. It may be assumed that Seville, famous for its azulejos
from the sixteenth century, and Valencia, which has an unwritten
continuous ceramic history from the Roman epoch to the present day,
would not send their inferior works to America. The former city was
represented by a pyramid of wares showing great diversity of design and
decoration. A large vase, best described as after the Alhambra type, was
of a yellow lustre, and surrounded by narrow gilt bands. There were also
a few smaller pieces of iridescent blue, green, and gold. A pair of
vases with floral decoration on a red ground and black base hardly
suggested relationship with the works exemplifying the exquisite taste
of ancient Spain.
The Valencian tiling was, as a rule, coarse and inartistic. On a series
of wall-pieces were figures of some of the apostles, and a landscape,
fairly drawn, but weak in color. The artist manifested an unfortunate
predilection for a shading of brownish purple, which enhanced neither
his figures nor landscapes. The old style of mosaic tiling was
represented by some specimens composed of small star-shaped and
elongated hexagonal tiles. There was no sign of the preservation of even
a tradition of Hispano-Moresque art. We may turn to Spanish history for
an explanation of this decadence, and find in the latter an illustration
of its history. Its art was essentially foreign; and when it fell
entirely into the hands of the Spanish, on the expulsion of the Moors by
the bigotry of Philip II., its doom was sealed. We read the history of
the ceramic art during its best days in Spain as an additional chapter
to the Saracenic and Maghrebrian, and as that of a branch which, by the
accident of location, and not from its having any element really
Spanish, came to be known as Hispano-Moresque.
We nowhere find any literary evidence that the Persians who settled in
Spain exercised any practical influence upon its ceramics. Very likely
they did; and, further, it is not improbable that commerce may have
brought Spain into a closer connection with the East than is generally
suspected. The early Hispano-Moresque works are so clearly suggestive of
Eastern influence, that one is almost led at times to question their
right to the name conferred upon them. As if to give the half-shaped
doubt a more decided form, we remember also that as the art becomes more
purely Spanish it declines from its ancient beauty. We can only admire
and criticise the odd combinations of color and form; and while
indulging in conjectures as to the immediate fabrication of the pottery
under consideration, we must regard it as illustrative of the
development of an art of Oriental origin.
The manufacture of artificial porcelain in Spain was instituted, about
1760, by Charles III., who took with him a number of workmen and artists
from Naples. This accounts for the similarity between the Spanish and
Neapolitan productions. The works were situated in the gardens of the
Buen Retiro at Madrid, and were kept strictly secluded from visitors.
The ware was of fine quality, and was said by some writers who had seen
specimens at the palace, to rival that of Sèvres. La China, as the
Royal Manufactory was called, was blown up by Lord Hill during the
Peninsular War, in 1812. A second manufactory was established at
Moncloa, near Madrid, in 1827. Mention is also made of a factory of
natural porcelain at Alcora, in 1756, but the reference must be accepted
with hesitation.
Of the ceramics of Portugal very little is known; but that little is
sufficient to lead us to wish for more exact knowledge. In this matter,
Portugal has not yet, in fact, been appointed to any recognized place in
history. Her ceramic art has not been known to Europeans for more than
ten years, and to Americans for little more than one; and we have no
means of telling whence it was derived. Probably it came from Spain, as
we learn that the Portuguese use azulejos as extensively as the
Spaniards. We are further told that many of their imitations are
exceedingly clever. Of the truth of this we have had ample evidence.
None of the imitation Palissy ware exhibited at the Centennial was more
realistic and full of life than that of Portugal. Some majolica vases,
with coiled snake handles, were very creditable. The snake evidently
plays an important part in Portuguese ceramics, as we met with it
elsewhere, and notably as the handle of a fish-shaped dish. Very
remarkable were the unique and droll little figures of painted pottery,
sometimes grouped into a humorous scene, sometimes single, and
illustrative of the national costumes. The humor which the Portuguese
contrived to infuse into their art evidently lent the pottery section of
their department at the Centennial its greatest attraction; and combined
as it was with excellent modelling and colors, the nature of which we
can hardly specify, it excited our curiosity to learn what historical
background there may be to the art which now chooses such expression. A
natural porcelain factory at Vista Allegre, near Oporto, is mentioned,
and the faience fabrics of Rato and Caldas.