the province of Valencia; a good example exists of this pottery at the
museum (see woodcut); none, however, was so important as the manufactory
of Manises. Diago, in his "Anales del reyno de Valencia, 1613-40,"
repeats the words of Eximeno: "That the pottery made at Valencia is
painted and gilt with so much art, that it has enamoured every one, so
much so that the pope, the cardinals, and princes send for it,
astonished that things of such beauty can be made of earth."
[Illustration: PLATEAU, PROBABLY OF VALENCIA. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]
This and similar texts relating to the exportation of Spanish pottery
explains the fact of these specimens being so frequently met with in
Italy. Pottery of a dark copper-coloured lustre is made at the present
time at Manises, and the imitations and forgeries to be met with at the
dealers' shops in Madrid are made in that locality.
I have mentioned the different historical texts which allude to this
industry, and the technical receipts showing the ingredients employed to
give the lustre. It is now no longer possible to doubt that this pottery
came originally from the East. This opinion has gained ground of late
years; for among the objects discovered by Sir Henry Layard at Nineveh,
and in more recent excavations in Ephesus and Asia Minor, fragments of
pottery have been found with metallic lustre. This and other important
examples of artistic culture undoubtedly arose in Persia. No examples
which may be mentioned can give a better or more distinct idea of this
than a comparison between the Persian and Hispano-Moresque wares at the
South Kensington Museum. The technical proceedings and effect produced
by the metallic lustre on a white ground, with touches here and there of
blue, are exactly the same in both cases. The principal difference
consists in a greater richness and variety of ornamentation which we
find in the specimens brought from Persia, especially those covered with
a turquoise blue lustre, those of a dark blue and metallic lustre, and
those on which gold is applied _en froid_, of which I know no similar
examples in Spain. It is possible they may have existed in the mosques,
but no traces remain of mosques built by the Spanish Moors during the
13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. The mosques at Cordova and Toledo which
still exist are of an earlier date. If we judge by the mosque of Amru at
Cairo, and others of the same early period, tile decorations were not
used in their ornamentation, and it appears probable that this industry
only became important after the 10th century. The similarity of objects
used in Spain and Persia is constantly observed by travellers in that
country. Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who was sent there as ambassador from
the King of Castille from 1403 to 1406, gives a most interesting
description of tile decoration, by which we find they were used in the
same manner as in Spain. ("Historia del gran Tamorlan," Seville, 1582,
fol.) Another Spanish traveller, Silva de Figueroa, in a MS. belonging
to Don Pascual de Gayangos, in describing his embassy to Persia in 1618
mentions the manner in which these tiles were used. I do not quote from
many other travellers, for their remarks are hardly so valuable as those
of Spaniards, who were accustomed to see these objects in their native
country.
After mentioning the historical sources from which I have traced the
manufactory of Hispano-Moresque lustred ware in Spain, it is advisable
to enumerate the most important examples which have reached us belonging
to the 14th century, or to an earlier date.
The fine vase at the Alhambra, Granada. (See woodcut.)
A vase of the same character which exists at the Archæological Museum of
Madrid.
A vase of the same kind, which belonged to the painter, Mariano Fortuny,
and which was sold at the sale of his art objects in Paris, April 30th,
1875. (_Vide_ "Atelier de Fortuny," Paris, 1875.)
A fragment of another vase, which belonged also to Fortuny, and was sold
at the same time.
A fragment of a vase at the Museo of Granada; it is similar to the
others in form and size, but without metallic lustre.
A large plaque, or _azulejo_, which belonged also to Fortuny.
The _azulejos_, or tile decorations of the house known by the name of
Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo at Granada.
Several dishes and bowls at the Kensington, Madrid, and Cluny Museums,
which belong to this period.
Baron Charles Davillier in his article on Hispano-Moresque lustred ware,
in "Atelier de Fortuny," Paris, 1875, says that interesting specimens of
this pottery exist also at the Museum of Stockholm, and the Cathedral
of Mezzara in Sicily, but that he had not had the opportunity of
studying them.
[Illustration: MOORISH VASE AT THE ALHAMBRA.]
All these objects have hitherto been considered to have proceeded from
Malaga, writers on ceramic art derived their evidence from the text
already mentioned, given in Ben Batutah's travels, the only one which
alluded to the existence of this industry in Spain before the 15th
century; but since I have found in Edrisi's Geography a manufacture
mentioned of lustred pottery which existed at Calatayud at the beginning
of the 12th century, that is to say, more than _two centuries_ earlier
than Ben Batutah's travels, I consider it extremely difficult to
classify them.
The fine vase at the Alhambra is 4 feet 5-1/2 inches high by 8 feet
2-1/2 inches in circumference. It is decorated in the centre with two
antelopes, and a series of elegant traceries of knots, stems, and leaves
which cover the body of the vase. The colours employed are brown and
blue on a yellow ground, the metallic lustre is extremely pale, of a
mother-of-pearl colour. The following inscriptions are repeated all over
the vase in African characters:
[Illustration: Arabic
Felicity and Fortune.]
[Illustration: Arabic
Permanent prosperity.]
A similar vase was at the Alhambra until the beginning of the present
century; it disappeared at that time, and its present whereabouts is
unknown. Drawings exist of this vase which have been published in
Lozano's "Ant. Arab. de España," and Murphy's Atlas of "Arabian Ant. of
Spain."
The fine vase at the Museo Arq. of Madrid is similar in style. It has
been reproduced in a chromo-lithograph in Mus. Esp. de Ant. VI. p. 435.
Both these vases are decorated with colours which are disposed in quite
a distinct manner to all the other specimens of this pottery hitherto
known. The vase at Granada is ornamented in the centre with two
antelopes, and from drawings which have reached us of the companion
vase, we find birds are introduced in the decoration of the handles.
Animals combined with ornamentation are never met with in the immense
number of Moorish traceries of all kinds which may be studied at
Granada. This circumstance has induced me to consider these objects to
have been brought from Persia, for Ben Batutah tells us that several
Persians of importance had settled at Granada; and it is highly
probable that a direct communication existed between these two
countries. It is fair, however, to mention a detail which is against
this argument. The arms of the Moorish kings of Granada appear on the
vase which has disappeared from Granada, and although it may have been
ordered from Persia, it is also possible that it was made in the
province of Andalucia.
The vase which belonged to Fortuny, and the large _azulejo_, Nos. 42, 44
(_vide_ "Atelier de Fortuny"), are very different in style. They have no
colours, and their metallic lustre is very low in tone, a common
circumstance in Hispano-Moorish pottery. The following inscription,
[Illustration: Arabic]
[Illustration: TILE PROBABLY FROM THE ALHAMBRA; FORMERLY IN THE MARRYAT
COLLECTION.]
"Glory to Our Lord the Sultan Abul Hajaj," [A.D. 1333-1354.] occurs on
this tile, an inscription very frequently met with also on the walls of
the Alhambra. Abul Hajaj carried out works of restoration to a very
large extent at the Palace. The two large tiles on either side of the
entrance-door of the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo at Granada, although
not so fine as the vase and tile which belonged to Fortuny, are similar
in general character, and it is safe therefore to consider these
objects, and others of a similar kind, to have proceeded from the
manufacture of Malaga mentioned by Ben Batutah, or other pottery works
of the same kind, which probably existed at that time in the province of
Granada.
Metallic-lustred dishes have at times an even surface without
ornamentation in relief, and sometimes are ornamented with ribs and
convex dots, which appear to suggest that they are meant to imitate the
structure of nails, bars, or other work common to metal vessels, in the
manner of Etruscan vases.
The finest specimens of Hispano-Moresque ware at the Kensington Museum
are--
No. 8968-'63. A vase which belonged to the Soulages Collection. Mr.
Fortnum, in his "Majolica, Hispano-Moresco, Persian, Damascus and
Rhodian Wares, at the Kensington Museum," London, 1873, describes this
vase as spherical on a trumpet-shaped base, the neck of elongated funnel
form, flanked by two large wing-shaped handles perforated with circular
holes. The surface, except the mouldings, is entirely covered with a
diaper-pattern of ivory or briony leaves, tendrils and small flowers in
brownish lustre, and blue on the white ground. Spanish. 14th or 15th
century. (See woodcut.)
No. 486-'64. Bowl, funnel-shaped, with representation of a ship in full
sail, with the royal arms of Portugal, 15th century.
The following are also especially worthy of mention:--
No. 7659-'62. Bowl and cover, painted with a scroll diaper in alternate
compartments of gold lustre and blue, the cover surmounted by a
cupola-shaped ornament in gold lustre. 16th century.
[Illustration: VASE DIAPERED WITH IVY OR BRYONY IN GOLDEN LUSTRE.
HISPANO-MORESCO, 14TH OR 15TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]
No. 489-'64. Plateau with lustred arabesque ornaments in compartments.
In the centre are two simulated Arabic inscriptions. 15th century.
[Illustration: PLATEAU, DIAPERED AND WITH RAISED RIBS AND STUDS, IN BLUE
AND GOLDEN LUSTRE. THE ARMS OF LEON, CASTILE, AND ARAGON.
HISPANO-MORESCO. 15TH OR 16TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]
No. 1680-'55. Plateau, gold shield in the centre, with the arms of Leon,
Castille, and Aragon. The diapered ground is curiously ribbed, and
dotted with raised studs. (See woodcut.)
No. 243-'53. Plateau, in the centre an escutcheon of arms of Aragon,
Leon, and Castile. (See woodcut.)
[Illustration: SALVER, DIAPERED IN GOLDEN LUSTRE, WITH THE SHIELD OF
ARAGON, LEON, AND CASTILE. HISPANO-MORESCO. 15TH OR 16TH CENTURY. SOUTH
KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]
No. 104-'69. Vase, with shield of arms, seemingly of Sicily and
Portugal.
Specimens of a later date are distinguished by the redness of the
lustre, such as No. 327-'66, a bowl, with feather-like ornament in the
centre; Nos. 326-'66 and 328-'66 are good examples of this lustred ware
of the last and early present century made at Manises, Valencia.
It is almost impossible to classify the existing specimens of
Hispano-Moresque pottery. A few examples are marked with the monogram of
Manises, or possess some special sign, such as the Eagle of St. John,
which would make it appear they were made in the province of Valencia,
but as the texts from ancient authors only praise this pottery and give
no details of its general characteristics, it is very difficult to
assign any given specimens to the manufactories of Aragon and Valencia.
The receipts which I have given prove that the ingredients used were the
same, the modification in lustre was owing to the different combinations
of silver and copper. The system hitherto adopted of classifying this
ware by the localities in which it has been purchased is not a safe one,
unless borne out by further evidence. All that can be done at the
present time is to point out the oldest specimens, and probable period
of their manufacture. As a general rule the finest specimens are also
the oldest, for this industry decayed after the Moors were expelled from
Spain, and Italian pottery was imported into that country in the 16th
century.
The opinion which has been so generally accepted that gold lustred
pottery was made and exported from the Balearic Islands has been
contradicted by D^{n}. Alvaro Campaner y Fuertes in a letter addressed to
Baron Davillier which appeared in the "Museo Balear," Palma, 1875, in
which he refutes the Baron's arguments on the pottery which he supposes
to have come from that locality.
TERRA COTTAS.--_AZULEJOS_, OR WALL DECORATIONS OF
TILES.--EARTHENWARE.--BUCAROS AND UNGLAZED POTTERY.
The earliest historical notice which I have met with of Terracottas is
in a grant made in A.D. 1222, by King Don Fernando el Santo, in favour
of the manufacturers of bricks or tiles at Talavera (M. S. Bibl.
Nacional Madrid, Dd. 114, p. 17), and another document of a similar kind
by his son, King Don Alonso el Sabio A.D. 1281, in favour of the
Cathedral of Cordova, "that no pottery works should be allowed inside
the town, unless they were established in the same manner as in the time
of the Moors." (Mem. Hist. Español, t. ii. p. 45). Although this
information is not of great importance, it enables us to infer that in
the 13th century an industry existed in Spain which was closely
connected with pottery. Baron Davillier mentions a privilege granted by
King D^{n}. Jaime de Aragon to the inhabitants of Jativa, province of
Valencia, in which he commands, "that any master potter who made jars,
pots, pans, tiles, and bricks, should pay a tribute of one _besant_
yearly for each oven, and be permitted to carry out his industry with no
other obligation or service." (Col. Doc. Ineditos, vol. xviii. p. 67.)
The details concerning this industry in Cataluña are more interesting;
especially on account of the references given to the marks of the
objects proceeding from this manufacture. The potters, who were known by
the generic name of _olleros_ sent, in 1257, two individuals to form
part of the town council. They formed at that time a guild; in 1314 they
agree in their regulations as to the mark to be adopted for their
pottery, and the actual spot is mentioned on which every potter was to
stamp his wares. This stamp was ordered to be very visible, and
instructions are given as to the quality of the clay, and its
manipulation, in order to produce pottery of a first-class order. We
find statutes in this sense up to 1355. But we cannot find in the "Libro
de Ordenanzas" of the potter's guild that any laws existed touching the
technical details of this manufacture; most of the regulations refer to
the management of the guild from 1304, which was composed of potters,
bricklayers, jar-makers, and manufacturers of pottery for domestic
purposes of Barcelona. (Capmany, Memorias Historicas, 1779-92, vol. i.
part 3, p. 69.)
[Illustration: WINE JAR--"TINAJA." SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]
These references are not, however, sufficient to identify the kind of
pottery made at that time in Cataluña. It is highly probable that
lustred ware was also made there to a great extent, not only because it
was the most characteristic produce of the Peninsula, but also because
this ware was exported to a great extent, and highly esteemed.
The most important examples of Spanish terra-cotta which have reached us
are _tinajas_, large jars for holding wine and oil.
One of the best _tinajas_ which I know is at the South Kensington
Museum, No. 330-'66. (See woodcut.) It is a wine jar, amphora-shaped,
and ornamented with incised pattern of vine leaves, and stamped diaper
of a Gothic character. This and similar specimens have always been found
in Andalusia and the province of Toledo, and hence we may infer that the
chief centres of this industry existed at Toledo and Seville. They
continue to be made there, and are used for the same purposes as in the
Middle Ages, for keeping stores of wine, oil, meat, grain, etc.
Belonging to this section of objects of a large size, are some specimens
of glazed earthenware made for brims of wells. I only know four or five
examples in the local museums of Toledo and Cordova; the font of the
church of San Salvador, Toledo, belongs also to the same pottery. The
brim of a well, at the South Kensington Museum, No. 1763-'71, is of the
same manufacture. It was bought at Toledo for three guineas at a
shoemaker's shop. It is made of glazed white and green earthenware, with
ornamental Cufic characters in high relief all round, which appear to be
of the 14th century (see woodcut on next page). The inscription, which
is repeated, is imperfect, and all that I can decipher are the words:
[Illustration: Arabic
"The power, the excellence, and the peace."]
There is no difficulty in affirming that this form of earthenware was
made at Toledo, for Marineo Siculo, in his interesting volume treating
of "De las Cosas Memorables de España," Alcala, 1539, says, "much coarse
green and white pottery is made at Toledo."
[Illustration: BRIM OF WELL FROM TOLEDO. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]
The manufacture of tiles, as was the case with so many other industries
in Spain, was imported by the Arabs. In the Middle Ages it attained
great importance, and has never ceased in Spain up to the present day.
The earliest tiles (_azulejos_) made in Spain are composed of small
pieces let into the wall, forming geometrical patterns. The proceeding
is similar to that employed by the workers of Byzantine mosaic,--tile
decoration undoubtedly took the place of this mosaic work in Moorish
buildings. It is difficult to fix the precise period when they were
first made, but it must have been posterior to the 10th century, when
Moorish architecture underwent a radical change in its system of
decoration. The oldest tiles which exist in Spain are at the Palace of
the Alhambra, Granada. They belong to the 14th century. The great
variety of their design may be seen in Owen Jones' "Plans and elevations
of the Alhambra," London, fol. 1842, and the fine work published by the
Spanish government, "Monumentos Arquitectonicos." We can judge of the
style adopted by two interesting fragments, both of which came from the
Alhambra, No. 1104-'53, No. 324-'64, South Kensington Museum.
The earliest mention which I have found of this manufacture occurs in a
letter from Doña Juana de Mendoza, the wife of the Almirante de
Castilla, which is addressed to the lady abbess of the nunnery of Santo
Domingo at Toledo. She begs that a large number of "azulejos" of
different colours, black, white, yellow, and green should be sent to
her. She alludes, in the same letter, to painted tiles, and says she was
expecting a master potter from Seville to place these tiles in their
proper places. This shows us that it was only in the province of
Andalusia that the art was known of cutting these tiles into geometrical
sections and mosaic patterns. This letter is not dated, but it is bound
up with other documents of 1422, and evidence exists to prove that both
the Almirante and his wife were dead in 1431. The locality for which the
tiles were required was probably Palencia; the convent of Santa Clara
was built by them at that time, and they both were buried there. It was
extremely difficult to cut and join together these tiles; the workmen
who did so had to pass through a regular examination in compliance with
the municipal ordinances drawn up in the 15th century; without this
requisite they were not allowed to exercise their trade.
We know, from documents existing at the Archives of the Alhambra, at
Granada, that tiles were made there at the end of the 16th and beginning
of the 17th century. We find the names of Antonio Tenorio, Gaspar
Hernandez, and Pedro Tenorio working there at that time as master
potters.
The use of these _azulejos_ was not restricted to Moorish buildings;
they were largely employed to decorate the walls of Christian churches,
convents, palaces, and private houses. The style of work, however, soon
changed, for instead of being made of mosaic work, they were formed of a
single piece like the ordinary tiles, but imitating the Moorish colours.
In the 16th century designs of the Renaissance style alternated with
these, although the system and colouring continued the same. This style
continued in vogue until the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1610. A fine
collection may be seen at the South Kensington Museum of 200 tiles, in
which upwards of 150 varieties of design will be found, Nos. 308-'66 and
367-'66. Their chief characteristic is that only pure colours are used
without gradations or half tints. Lustred reflets are very seldom met
with in tiles; the only examples I know are two beautiful plaques of the
14th century of a pale lustre which are on either side of the entrance
door of the Moorish saloon called Cuarto Real de S^{to}. Domingo, at
Granada; some small polygons of copper-coloured lustre at the Tower of
la Cautiva, Granada: some few details in the coats of arms which are let
into the tiles which adorn the walls of the Chapel at the Alhambra, and
some few tiles with the arms of the Mendozas at the Casa de Pilatos,
Seville.
A few dishes belong also to the 15th century, ornamented with the same
colouring as the tiles without metallic lustre, and generally decorated
with fantastic animals. They are very scarce. Two examples exist at the
South Kensington Museum, Nos. 1459 and 1461-'70. They probably were made
at Seville; all those I have seen come from there, and we know that the
pottery from Seville was much esteemed. In Pedro de Medina's "Libro de
Grandezas y Cosas Memorables de España," Sevilla, 1549, fol. Iii., he
says, "In this town of Triana much excellent pottery of Malaga is made,
coloured white and yellow, and of different sorts and kinds. This
pottery is made in about fifty houses, and it is exported from here to
many localities. In the same manner excellent _azulejos_ are made, of
great variety of colour and design. And likewise fine reliefs of men
and other things. Great quantities of these _azulejos_ are taken to
different localities."
At the introduction of Italian forms of art in Spain, at the beginning
of the 16th century, artistic pottery divided itself into two
schools--one kept to the traditional designs and strong tones of colour,
the other used shaded colours, and especially yellow and blue tints, at
times imitating Italian maiolica, but always following the decoration
characteristic of the Renaissance style.
The Italian influence, and its finest results in Spain may be favourably
studied in Seville, in the tile decorations of the chapel at the
Alcazar, the doorway of the convent of Santa Paula, and a remarkable
sepulchre decorated with tiles at the church of St. Anne at Triana. All
these tile decorations are signed by the same person, and it would be
difficult to find any more remarkable.
The _azulejos_ at the Alcazar represent a picture in the manner and
style of Pietro Perugino; they are admirable in colour and design. Those
which decorate the sepulchre at the church of St. Anne have the
following inscription, "_Niculoso Francesco italiano me fecit, en el
agno del mil ccccciii._" Some very interesting tiles also may be seen in
one of the rooms in the lower part of the Alcazar; they are marked in
the following manner: A.V.S.T.A.--A.V.G.W.S.T.A. 1577-1578. On the floor
of the pavilion of the Emperor Charles V. in the garden there are also
some fine tiles which are signed Juan Hernandez, 1540.
We find mention in Cean Bermudez of a painter of _azulejos_ named Juan
Flores, a native of Flanders; he painted tiles for the royal palaces of
Madrid, the Pardo and Segovia; he was appointed Maestro Azulejero by
Philip II. in 1565.