FORLÌ, FERRARA, ETC.
The first notice we have of the pottery of FORLÌ is merely indirect,
occurring in a document referred to by Passeri and dated as early as
1396, a passage in which speaks of John Pedrinus “formerly of the
potteries of Forlì 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 refers to the painted majolica
of Forlì, 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 one of the important fabriques of northern Italy.
Our next evidence is more direct, and consists of a series of examples
in the South Kensington museum, the careful comparison of which has led
to the conclusion that the wares produced at the botega of Maestro
Jeronimo (?) at the latter end of the fifteenth and early part of the
sixteenth century were of a very high order. That numbered 7410 is the
finest piece with which the writer is acquainted, part of an historical
service made for Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, whose arms are
emblazoned on the rim. It has hitherto been a question as to which of
the early manufactories the production of this service could be
attributed, but we think that there can be no hesitation, after a
comparison with other pieces, in classifying it as a production of
Forlì. The pretty plate no. 1803 (engraved) approaches nearer to the
manner of the finer wares of Forlì than to any other fabrique with which
we can connect it, and the pavement of tiles no. 30, on which occurs the
date 1513, is remarkable, as shown in the next engraving, for the
portrait heads introduced, one of which is that of the celebrated
Melozzo; the other may perhaps be that of the artist who executed the
work, and who is unquestionably the same as the painter of the Mº _iero_
plate; from an inscription of doubtful reading it may be understood that
he signs this work as “Petrus,” while the letter R, the initial of his
patronymic, occurs with P at the side of what may be intended for his
portrait.
[Illustration]
Mr. Barker had a plate, from the Delsette collection, subject the story
of Alexander and Roxana, on which is inscribed “Leochadius Solobrinus
picsit forolivia mece 1555;” and in the museum at Bologna is a basin on
which is painted a representation of the supper at which Mary Magdalene
washes Jesus’ feet; on the back it is signed by the same artist, with
the date 1564. This is the latest signed and dated piece of the fabrique
with which we are acquainted.
[Illustration]
Potteries are said to have been established at BOLOGNA and IMOLA, and
pieces have been ascribed to them. A plate is in a French collection,
well painted and of about the year 1500, which has the name of RAVENNA
on the reverse.
Passing to the northern duchies of Italy we find that Alfonso I., duke
of Ferrara, found means, notwithstanding his troubled and warlike rule,
to establish a fabrique of Maiolica at his castle in FERRARA. Although
the precise period of the introduction of the art is unknown, as early
as 1436 the name of “Maestro Benedetto _bocalaro in Castello_” is
recorded; in 1472 one Enrico, and in 1489 Gio. da Modena, are named;
while in a _memoriale_ of expenses in 1443 occurs the first mention of
painted and glazed wares. A curious document in the archives of Mantua,
dated 1494, tells us that Isabella (d’Este), wife of the marquis of
Mantua (Gonzaga), had sent a plate which had been broken into three
pieces to be repaired at Ferrara by the _Maestri_ working at the castle;
this was done, and the mended plate returned at the desire of the
duchess of Ferrara with another as a present.
From 1506 to 1522 the artistic works seem to have been discontinued,
probably on account of the wars in which the duke was engaged: and from
1534 to 1559, during the reign of Ercole II., the work does not seem to
have been encouraged. Pietro-Paolo Stanghi of Faenza is the only artist
recorded, having made the ornaments to a stove in the castle; but
Alfonso II. took more interest in the manufacture, and Vasari speaks of
the fine productions of his furnaces. Nearly half a century then passed
away before we hear of fresh experiments in the production of porcelain
directed by Mº. Camillo, of Urbino, assisted by his brother Battista,
and which seem to have resulted in success. When injured by the
accidental explosion of a cannon, which ultimately caused his death and
that of three gentlemen in 1567, he kept the secret, refusing to divulge
it. This event is mentioned by Bernardo Canigiani, the ambassador of the
Florentine court, who speaks of Camillo da Urbino as a maker of vases,
painter, and chemist, and the true modern discoverer of porcelain,
“_Ritrovatore moderno alla porcellana_.” It would seem, however, that
his brother, Battista, must have known something of the process, which
he may have been able to perfect by experiments, for it appears that
between 1568 and 1569 the work was continued, as on the 17th December of
the latter year an entry is made of an unusual allowance of wine for a
workman engaged in preparing the ingredients “_per far porcellani_.” The
cruet or vase, here engraved, is of about this period; it is at South
Kensington, no. 505.
[Illustration]
It is greatly to be regretted that we have at present no clue by which
we can, even with probability, attribute any of the examples of maiolica
in our collections to the earlier works of the Faentine artists produced
under Alfonso I. at Ferrara; the more so as both under his reign and
under that of Alfonso II. the fabrique was conducted, not with a view to
profit or commercial enterprise, but simply from princely magnificence
and a love of art. The produce was for their own use, and for presents
among friends, but not for sale; we may therefore conclude that it was
of highly artistic and great technical excellence. This was exceptional
among the potteries of that period in Italy, most of which were
commercial undertakings, more or less patronized and encouraged by the
ruling families of their several localities. Some Ferrarese pieces have
doubtless been preserved, and are probably now classed among those of
Faenza with which they must have a great affinity.
It is not till 1579, when the art was in decline and when the Urbino
style of ornamentation prevailed, that, on the occasion of the marriage
of Alfonso II., it is believed that a _credenza_ was made, the pieces of
which are to be recognized by bearing the device of a burning pyre with
the motto “_Ardet æternum_.” The pieces of this service have a
distinctive character of their own, and although their connection with
Ferrara may be merely one of ownership and not of origin, we think it
well to class them under that head because we have no other standard to
which we can attach all that is known of the history of that princely
botega, and because these pieces have, in default of positive evidence
to the contrary, been accepted as Ferrarese. They are remarkable for the
purity of the white enamel ground; the grotesques are by another hand
than those on pieces universally believed to be of the later period of
Urbino or of Pesaro, but they are not easily distinguished without
examination of the specimens side by side. Two pieces are in the Louvre,
two others are at South Kensington.
Alfonso II. died in 1597, after which the dukedom was absorbed into the
States of the Church. The Este removed to Modena, to which place the
contents of the palace at Ferrara were carried, including the old
maiolica, some of which is mentioned in inventories of the seventeenth
century. A few pieces which escaped destruction during the French
invasion of Italy were gathered from neglected corners of the palace,
and placed in the public gallery of Modena in 1859.
Although the antique pottery of MODENA is referred to by Pliny and by
Livy, we have no exact record or marked example of wares produced there
during the period of the renaissance. Modenese artists in terra-cotta
worked at Ferrara, and Cristoforo da Modena was _boccalaro_ to the duke
of that territory in the sixteenth century. Piccolpasso names Modena as
a place where maiolica was produced, but whether of a superior or of a
more ordinary kind we are not informed. In the last century Geminiano
Cozzi, of that city, was the leading maker of porcelain at Venice about
1765, but the monopoly granted to the fabrique of Sassuolo impeded the
manufacture of enamelled wares elsewhere in the duchy.
At SASSUOLO, a town prettily situated ten miles to the south of Modena,
an establishment for the manufacture of enamelled earthenware was
introduced by Gio. Andrea Ferrari in 1741. It would seem that he
obtained from the duke Francesco III. the right of making ordinary white
and painted maiolica, as the stanniferous enamelled wares were then
universally denominated, to the exclusion of all rivals in the duchy and
all importation from other parts, except during the fair held at Reggio.
The work commenced in 1742, and in a few years he was joined by Gio.
Maria Dallari. Their rights were from time to time renewed, and in 1756
confirmed to the extent of granting the monopoly to the family for three
generations; the materials were not to be charged with import duty, and
the advantages secured to the fabrique were further extended in 1761 by
even excluding the foreign wares from the fair at Reggio; the
manufacturers on their part being bound to supply the duchy with an
abundance of good wares at moderate prices. These wares produced were
various, among others finer pieces painted in the Japanese style and
with flowers and gilding; groups of figures were also made, and a large
export business carried on.
From a document in the Archivio della camera di commercio, it would
appear that the art was introduced at MANTUA about 1450, and that its
workers had their statutes which were altered and amended from time to
time; but we are quite unable to judge of the character of the wares
produced. They were presumably of an inferior quality, for we have
already seen that Isabella D’Este in 1494 procured maiolica for her own
use from Ferrara, Urbino, &c., which would argue that the pottery of
Mantua was inferior. In the second half of that century Schivenoglia
mentions a _bottega di Maioli_, conducted by one Zonan Antonio
_Majolaro_, and remains of a furnace with fragments of wares were
discovered in 1864 on the _riva al Lago inferiore_, from whence a small
plate was procured, painted with a female bust, arabesques, &c. Campori
suggests that the _impresa_ adopted by Francesco Gonzaga after the
battle of Taro, namely a crucible in a fire and containing ingots of
gold, may be a distinguishing mark of the Mantuan faïence even of a
later period.
Our knowledge of the production of Maiolica, or rather of artistic
enamelled pottery, in VENICE may be said to begin with the year 1540.
Previous to that date there can be little doubt that the Venetian ovens
produced enamelled wares of greater or less merit, but we have no
sufficient record of their character. M. Jacquemart believes that works
existed at Venice as early as the second half of the fifteenth century,
arguing that if the qualities of the Venetian pottery were of so high an
order at that period as to induce the inventor of the celebrated _bianco
di Ferrara_ to order vases for his own pharmacy, it must have been
developed and perfected from an earlier date. But signor Lazari
considered that the examples of glazed tiles existent in the sacristy of
the church of Sta. Elena at Venice, having the arms of the Giustiniani
family and dating about 1450-80; as also those in the Lando chapel of S.
Sebastiano, having a monogram and the date 1510, and other examples
anterior to about 1545, were importations from Faenza or from Castel
Durante; an opinion shared by the writer after a careful examination of
those pavements. The woodcut, however, p. 182 represents a very fine
dish which we may reasonably ascribe to Venice; of about the year 1540:
now at Kensington, no. 4438.
Sir William Drake quotes a petition, dated 1664, from the guild of the
“Boccaleri” of Venice, in which reference is made to previous decrees in
their favour issued in the years 1455, 1472, and 1518, prohibiting the
importation of foreign earthenware; and a decree of the senate in 1665
prohibiting the importation or sale in Venice of any sort of foreign
earthenware by any person
[Illustration]
not being a member of the guild, but upon the condition that that body
should keep the city well supplied with “latesini,” and that shops
should be kept open for its sale. From the general tenor of this
petition we may reasonably infer that at the period of its presentation
the potter’s art in Venice was reduced to the production of very
ordinary wares. It is curious also, and perhaps confirmatory of the
inferiority of Venetian artistic pottery, that an exception in the
decree against importation should be made in favour of the maiolica of
Valencia, which we know also to have been imported into Genoa. This
ware, which had once been excellent, had greatly deteriorated in 1664.
The culminating period of the excellence of Venetian pottery in respect
to painting and design was probably the middle of the sixteenth century.
The earliest dated example is a deep circular dish in the writer’s
collection, the centre of which is occupied by the figure of a mermaid
floating on the sea, a horn in her right hand, and regarding herself in
a mirror which she holds in her left; the wide border is covered with
intricate and very elegant arabesque sprays of foliage with fruits and
flowers, among which are birds. The whole is painted in dull pale blue
on a grey enamel and heightened with white, and on the reverse is the
inscription “1540 · ADI · 16 · DEL · MEXE · DEOTVBRE.” In the Brunswick
museum there is a large dish, having the subject of Moses and Aaron
entreating Pharaoh, with a rich border of medallions figurative of the
months, &c., and the inscription “1568. Zener Domenigo da Venecia Feci
in la botega al ponte sito del Andar a San Paolo.” Pieces are in various
collections having for mark a C-formed fish hook, with loop at one
extremity and barbed point at the other. The only name which occurs in
connexion with these examples is that of one _Dionigi Marini_, who signs
a plate having this mark twice repeated, and the date 1636. In 1753 the
Bertolini obtained a decree of the senate permitting them to open a shop
in Venice for the sale of their maiolica, free for ten years of all
import and export duties. Notwithstanding, the manufactory had ceased
before the expiration of the term of the decree in 1763, when it was
annulled.
The leading characteristic of the enamelled pottery produced at Venice
in the sixteenth century is a close buff-coloured body, covered by an
even glaze of grey colour, produced by the ad mixture of a small
portion of zaffre, and known as “smaltino.” Upon this the design was
outlined and shaded in blue, of a rather low tone, the high lights being
touched in with white. Engraved
[Illustration]
is a large dish, very elegantly ornamented, probably made about 1540.
The reverse of the dishes generally have a belt of foliated sprays round
the rim, and radiating flutings or alternating thin and thicker lines
round the “cavetto.” It is worthy of remark that some of the Paduan
wares are similarly ornamented, and we may thence infer some connexion
between the establishments or an attempt at imitation; the fact that a
cross was adopted as a mark at both places is also noteworthy.
[Illustration]
The Venetian wares of the last century which, without positive proof,
are generally believed to have been produced by the Bertolini have also
distinctive qualities. They are remarkable for their thinness and
lightness; baked at a high temperature, they are almost as sonorous as
metal; the ornamentation round the rim is frequently executed in
rilievo, and they have been mistaken for enamelled copper with
_repoussé_ flowers, &c. The colours used were generally blue and brown,
with yellow occasionally, on a pale blue or dull white ground.
[Illustration]
We must refer to the large catalogue of the collection of Maiolica at
South Kensington, for notices of the less important establishments at
TREVISO, BASSANO, PADUA, VERONA, and some other towns: as also at MILAN,
TURIN, and NAPLES. In the last city, at the royal fabrique of Capo di
Monte established in 1736, several varieties of fine ware were made,
from a beautiful artificial porcelain to a faïence of high quality, of
which, however, little seems to have been produced.
In every large collection pieces will be found for which it is not easy
to assign any place as the fabrique at which they were produced. The
very interesting piece (in the woodcut p. 185) at South Kensington, no.
2562, is an example: it is of early date, and a certain oriental
character about the design would suggest the influence of Moorish
potters. Another such example is the dish, no. 2593, of the fifteenth
century and probably of Tuscan origin; we give also a woodcut of this.
THE END.
INDEX.
Alhambra, tiles and vase, 14, 75
“ vase, copy, 77
Altar pieces, ascribed to Giorgio, 114
Amatorii pieces, 64
Anatolian wares, 71
Andreoli, maestro Giorgio, 29, 36, 42, 114
“ his use of the ruby tint, 118
“ distinctions of his works, 118, 119
“ first dated piece, 120
“ “ and signed, 121
“ characteristics, 122
Arabic inscriptions, 16
Babylonian pottery, 5
Bacini, at Pesaro, &c., 10, 18, 22
Barbatina, explained, 129
Bartolomeo, 152
Bassano, 186
Beads, maiolica, 64
Benedetto, maestro, 177
Betrothal dishes, 30
Boccoleri, of Venice, their petition, 181
Bologna, 176
Borgo san Sepolero, 154
Botega, the meaning, 1
Cachan ware, 66
Cæsare da Faenza, 151
Caffaggiolo, 27
“ under the Medici, 43
“ usual subjects, 62
“ potteries, 88
“ characteristics, 89
“ examples at South Kensington, 92
“ name variously spelt, 94
Calata-Girone potteries, 85
Camillo da Urbino, 177
Campani, Ferdinando, 154
Capo di monte, 186
Castel Durante, 37, 127, 128
“ earliest signed piece, 130, 132
“ general decoration, 130
Cencio, maestro, 124
Chigi, cardinal, at San Quirico, 154
Chinese porcelain, imitations, 46
Ciarla, 152
Coffins, made of ware, 5
Damascus plate, 13
“ ware, 68
“ the name should be revived, 69
“ lamp, 69
“ two varieties, 69
Diruta, madreperla, 30
“ potteries, 154
Discs, on walls at Bologna, &c., 10
Discs, at Pisa, 18
Duccio, Agostino, 28
Egyptians, anciently used glaze, 3
“ turquoise blue, 5
Elizabethan “Damascus” ware, 69
Enamelled wares, 12
English reproductions, 50, 74
Enrico da Modena, 177
F. R. monogram, 170
Fabriano, potteries, 157
“ mark and date, 157, 158
Fabrique, the meaning, 1
Faenza, examples 23, &c., 40
“ origin of name, 61, 163
“ potteries, 163
“ earliest dates, 164
“ five divisions, 166
“ early characteristics, 171
“ late examples, 173
Fayence, how made, 3
Ferrara potteries, 34, 177
“ examples, 179
Florentine porcelain, 47
Fontana, Camillo, 37, 147
“ Flaminio, 148
“ Francesco, 127
“ Orazio, 43, 139, 146
“ originally Pelliparii, 127, 137
“ Guido, 142
“ Gironimo, 147
Forgeries, 49, 126
Forlì, 175
Fornarina, 45
Francesco Durantino, 150
Franco, Battista, 43, 150
French reproductions, 50, 74
Furnaces, as explained by Piccolpasso, 56
Gabriele, 152
German, early enamel glazing, 21
Giannantonio, 152
Giorgio. See _Andreoli_.
Giovanni da Modena, 177
Glaze, vitreous, invented in the East, 1, 2
“ upon tiles, 9
Gombrōn ware, 67
Græco-Roman pottery, 8
Gubbio, vases, &c., 38
“ wares, 111
“ early date, 113
Guy, from Castel Durante, 152
Hispano-moresque vase, 15
“ pottery, rare in Spain, 20
“ a doubtful variety, 71
“ formerly undistinguished, 75
“ varieties, 76
House of Loretto, dust collected to make cups, &c., 160
Imola, 176
Isabella d’Este, 177
Ispahan tiles, 67
Italian pottery, various names,, 61
Iviça potteries, 79
Lanfranchi family, 40
“ wares, 104
Lead-glazed wares, 6
Lindus wares, 65, 69
Lombard potteries, 34
Loreto drug pots and vases, 43, 144, 145
“ potteries, 159
Lustre, applied in Persia, &c., 6
“ earliest trace in Europe, 18
“ madreperla, 30
Lustre pigments, the secret lost, 126
“ modern imitations, 126
Madreperla lustre, 30
Maestro, the title, 114
Maiolica, the term, 20, 78, 112
“ proper restriction, 21
“ vases or drug pots at Loreto, 43
“ beads, 64
Majorca ware, 77
Malaga ware, 76
Manara (Baldasara), 169
Mantua, potteries, 180
Mariana (Gian), 152
Mariani, 152
Merlino, Guido, 151
Metallic lustre, 18
Metauro loam, 128
Mezza-maiolica, 21
“ outlines and designs, 30
Milan, 186
Modena, potteries, 179
Monte Lupo pottery, 100
“ inscription, 101
Moorish periods in Spain, 14
“ in Sicily, 17
“ art, prohibited in Spain, 76
Mosque lamp, 69
Nahinna ware, 67
Naples, reproductions, 50
“ potteries, 186
Natinz ware, 67
Nicola da Urbino, 138
“ first signed piece, 138
Orazio (Fontana) examples, 146
Padua, 186
Patanati, their productions, 152
Patanati, Vincenzio, his childish attempts, 152
Pelliparii, afterwards Fontana, 127
Persian wall tiles, 7, 65
“ ware at Pisa, 18
“ “ origin, 65
“ “ how to be divided, 67
Perugino, portrait, 135
Pesaro, ancient potteries, 10, 29, 32, 103
“ madreperla, 30, 103
“ renaissance potteries, 103, 106
“ “ inscriptions, 106
“ “ earliest dated, 108
“ modern, 110
Piccolpasso, his book, 51
“ his botega, 112
Picchi, Georgio, 152
Pirota (casa), 166
Pisa, potteries, 101
Plumbeous glaze, 8
Pottery, or Fayence, how made, 3
“ Græco-Roman, 8
“ best period of Italian, 42
Raffaelle, his designs, 42-45
“ ware, so-called, 62
Ravenna, potteries, 34
Rhodian wares, 69
“ characteristics, 70
Robbia, Luca della, 22, 25, 27, 89
“ Notice of his life, by Mr. Robinson, 24
“ Andrea, 28
“ Giovanni, 28
“ Girolamo, 28
Roman potteries, 45
“ in sixteenth century, 160
“ style of decoration, 161
“ biscuit porcelain, 162
Romano, Giulio, 48
St. Sebastian, rilievo, ascribed to Giorgio, 120
Saltzburg, chimney piece, 21
San Quirico, potteries, 154
Sassuolo, potteries, 180
Savino, Guido, 38
Scodelle, 63
Seggers, as explained by Piccolpasso, 54
Sgraffiati, wares, 86
“ “ the method, 86
Sicilian lustred ware, 84
Siena, potteries, 96
“ marks, 99
Silvano, Francesco, 152
Stanniferous, enamel, earliest date, 27
Strehla, terra-cotta pulpit, 21
Teheran ware, 67
Terra-cotta discs, on walls, 9, 10
“ pulpit, 21
Tiles, on walls, &c., 10, 22, 72
“ of the Alhambra, 14
“ at Leipsic, 21
“ in mosques, 65
“ of Ispahan, 67
“ in the Seraglio, 72
“ modern Indian, 73
“ at Cordova, 75
“ at Siena, 96
“ Faenza, 165
Tondi, of Luca della Robbia, 24
Tondino, the form, 63
Treviso, 186
Turin, 186
Unknown fabriques, examples, 186
Urbino, sketch of the ducal history, 35
“ vases, &c., 38
“ ware, the name, 62
“ ancient wares, 136
“ decorations, 152
“ no modern artistic pottery, 153
Valencia, potteries, 14, 79, 82
“ emblem of the Eagle, 80
“ ware, brought to England in 1400, 83
Vases, different shapes as given by Piccolpasso, 52
Venetian potteries, 34, 37, 181
“ earliest dated, 183
Verona, 186
V.I.N., monogram. See Cencio, 124
Vincenzio Patanati, 152
Viterbo, example of ware, 158
Vitreous, or glass-glazed wares, 4
Ware, soft and hard, 3
Xativa potteries, 80
Zanto, Francesco, 148
“ Mr. Robinson’s judgment on his works, 148
“ too severe, 149
Zonan, Antonio, 181
LONDON: BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
* * * * *
SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM ART HANDBOOKS.
EDITED BY WILLIAM MASKELL.
_1. TEXTILE FABRICS._ By the Very Rev. DANIEL ROCK, D.D. With numerous
Woodcuts.
_2. IVORIES: ANCIENT AND MEDIÆVAL._ By WILLIAM MASKELL. With numerous
Woodcuts.
_3. ANCIENT AND MODERN FURNITURE AND WOODWORK._ By JOHN HUNGERFORD
POLLEN. With numerous Woodcuts.
_4. MAIOLICA._ By C. DRURY E. FORTNUM, F.S.A. With numerous Woodcuts.
_5. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS._ By CARL ENGEL. With numerous Woodcuts.
End of Project Gutenberg's Maiolica, by Charles Drury Edward Fortnum