A revival in the production of native decorative earthenware took place
in various parts of Italy, as also in the rest of Europe. The efforts
made to imitate true porcelain were reflected by improvements in the
quality and decoration of enamelled earthenware, and in the last century
we find potteries in various pacts of Piedmont and Lombardy, Venice,
Genoa and Savona, Urbino and Pesaro, Siena, Castelli, Florence and Rome,
producing wares of greater or less artistic excellence. But although
careful drawing is occasionally found, as on some of the pieces painted
by Ferdinando Maria Campana at Siena, from the prints of Marc Antonio,
and some charming designs with borders of amorini among foliage, and
subject pieces of great merit from the Castelli fabrique; and although
the “technique” of the manufacture is also of great excellence; the
ornamentation wants that masculine power of colouring and vigour of the
renaissance, so strikingly apparent upon the better productions of the
older furnaces, and the admirable delicacy and richness of effect to be
seen upon the earlier works.
The endeavours made throughout Europe to discover a method of making
porcelain, similar in its qualities or approaching to that imported from
China, had begun in the sixteenth century. In this direction also royal
encouragement was of the greatest value, and we find that first in the
field of discovery was, as naturally might be expected, that country in
which the enamelled earthenware had previously reached its highest
perfection. Under the patronage of the Grand Duke Francis I. about 1580,
experiments were made which at length resulted in the production of an
artificial porcelain of close body and even glaze. The existence of such
a production and the history of its origin have been revealed to us only
within the last few years, and we are indebted to Dr. Foresi of Florence
for having made this discovery, so interesting in the history of the
ceramic arts. He had noticed and collected some pieces of a porcelain of
heavy nature and indifferent whiteness, decorated in blue with flower
and leafage pattern of somewhat oriental style but at the same time
unmistakably European, on some of which a mark occurs consisting of the
capital letter F, surmounted by a dome. The earliest recorded European
porcelain had heretofore been that produced by Dr. Dwight, at Fulham, in
1671, and at St. Cloud in France, about 1695, but the specimens found by
Dr. Foresi were manifestly not attributable to either of these or any
other known sources. Further researches brought to light a piece of the
same ware on which the pellets of the Medici coat were substituted for
the more useful mark, and led to a search among the records of that
house. Dr. Foresi was rewarded for his trouble by the discovery that the
above-named duke had actually caused experiments to be made, and had
established a private fabrique in connection with his laboratory in the
Boboli gardens. The Magliabecchian library yielded an important
manuscript compilation by some person employed by the duke, giving the
nature of the composition and details of the production of this ware.
The marks on the pieces explained the rest. The Medici arms and the
initials F. M. M. E. D. I. I., reading “Franciscus Medici Magnus Etruriæ
Dux Secundus,” on one important piece now in the collection of the baron
Gustave de Rothschild of Paris, clearly attached it to his reign, while
the letter F, the initial of the city, and the dome of her cathedral of
which she was so proud, equally pointed to the place of its production.
Another exceptionally fine and interesting piece has recently been
acquired in Italy by signor Alessandro Castellani. It is a shallow basin
in the centre of which the figure of St. Mark, with 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. which is painted on the volume held beneath the lion’s paw, while
on the reverse of the piece the usual mark occurs, as given in the
accompanying facsimile. It has been suggested that this monogram may be
that of Raffaelle’s great pupil, Giulio Pippi _detto_ Romano, and that,
as it has been stated that he occasionally painted upon enamelled
earthenware, this piece may be considered as his work. That the design
was from the hand of that master is probable, and that its execution was
by able ceramic painters is equally so: but Giulio Romano died in 1546,
whereas the Medici porcelain does not appear to have been perfected
before 1580.
[Illustration]
This Florentine porcelain is especially rare; scarcely thirty examples
being known to exist. Three of these are at South Kensington, and one
is in the possession of the present writer. It is of value to our
subject, not merely as an important episode in the narrative of the rise
and progress of ceramic industry in Italy but from its exceptional
nature, as one at least of the specimens was decorated by an artist
whose handiwork is to be recognised upon pieces of the Urbino enamelled
earthenware. The fine “Brocca” 15 inches high, belonging to the baron
Gustave Rothschild, is surmounted by an elegantly formed handle
springing from grotesque winged masks, modelled in relief. The body is
decorated with two belts of grotesques, divided by a narrower one, on
which are masks and scroll ornaments; beneath these is a band divided
into arched panels or compartments, in each of which is a flower in
somewhat Persian taste. These grotesques are executed with great freedom
and force and at the same time with a careful finish and delicacy, and
in the manner of an unknown painter who worked at the botega of Camillo
Fontana.
It remains to us only to notice the productions of the present day, many
of the more meritorious of which are only imitations (in some instances,
we regret to say, produced for fraudulent purposes) of the more
excellent works of an original period of art: and to give some account
of the mode of manufacture, the forms and uses of the pieces, and the
manner of their decoration.
The first successful attempt at re-producing the Italian enamelled
pottery of the renaissance from original models was, we believe, made at
Doccia (the manufactory belonging to the Marquis Ginori) near Florence.
The greater number of these pieces were ordered by an unprincipled
dealer of that city who supplied the models, and by whom and his agents
they were more or less scratched, chipped and otherwise “doctored” to
look old, and so imposed upon unwary purchasers at high prices. The
writer recollects some of these specimens which were, years since,
offered to him at Leghorn by an English tradesman of position (himself
possibly deceived), to which a family history had been attached, their
reputed owner (it was said) being under the necessity of parting with
them. Since that period the productions of Doccia have improved, the
lustre pigment has been re-produced, and these revivals have been justly
admired at various international exhibitions of art and industry as
legitimate works of the manufactory.
But a still better imitation of the metallic lustre of Gubbio has been
produced by an artist of that city; and at Siena some excellent copies
of tiles and other pieces have been made; so also at Faenza. Bologna,
too, has made copies of the rilievos of Della Robbia which, like those
produced at Doccia, may be purchased new of the makers, or found,
scratched and dirty, in various curiosity shops throughout Europe, ready
to pass for old, some of the worst being occasionally signed as by Luca
to enhance their interest. It is to be regretted that a few of these
forgeries, as well as admirably executed terra-cottas, have found their
way into public museums under a false passport.
At Naples reproductions of the wares of Castelli are well executed.
In France the excellent reproductions of Persian and Rhodian wares by
Deck, and some good imitations of the Italian enamelled and lustred
pottery by various artists; and in England the pieces produced by
Minton, Wedgwood, and other manufacturers, have led to modifications and
adaptations, resulting in an important development of this branch of
artistic pottery.