manufactures of the Balearic Islands, although it is not easy to
determine the kind of pottery which was really made there. Bernardo da
Uzzano, in 1442, made a commercial treaty, (vide Davillier, "Faïences
Hispano Moresques," p. 26), in which he mentions the "faïence" made at
Mallorca and Minorca, which "was exported to a very large extent." The
royal Ordinances for the island of Iviza, which have not been mentioned
by either of these authors, state that the principal traffic and the
greatest industry of ancient times of the island of Iviza consisted in
some vessels of the finest earthenware, well baked and curiously worked,
of which an innumerable quantity were sent off to Africa and other
places, not only on account of the excellence of their worth, which was
admirable, but the speciality of the clay, which preserved from poison.
("Reales Ordinaciones de Iviza," Palma, 1751).
Manufactures of pottery also existed in a great number of localities in
Spain; the most important centres were at Talavera, Valencia, and
Triana. Judging by the manner in which different authors praise the
earthenware of Talavera, its productions were evidently the most
esteemed. The earliest mention we find of Talavera pottery occurs in a
MS. volume dated 1560--a history of this town, in which mention is made
of "white, green, blue and other coloured Talavera ware." In the
inventory of the effects of D^{na}. Juana, a sister of Philip II., 1573,
several objects of "white earthenware of Talavera" are mentioned. In a
report drawn up by order of Philip II. 1576, it is stated that Talavera
"produced fine white glazed earthenware-tiles, and other pottery, which
supplied the country, part of Portugal and India." Father Ramon de la
Higuera in his "Republicas del Mundo," 1595, mentions the ware of
Talavera in terms of the highest praise. In a MS. history of Talavera
written in 1651, (Bib. Nac. Madrid, G. 112,) the author, Father Alfonso
de Ajofrin, says that "the pottery is as good as that of Pisa, a large
number of _azulejos_ are also made to adorn the front of altars,
churches, gardens, alcoves, saloons, and bowers, and large and small
specimens of every kind. Two hundred workmen work at eight different
kilns. Four other kilns are kept to make common earthenware. Red porous
clay vases and drinking cups are baked in two other kilns, in a thousand
different shapes in imitation of birds and other animals, also
_brinquiños_ for the use of ladies, so deliciously flavoured that after
drinking the water they contained, they eat the cup in which it was
brought them." In another MS. history of Talavera (Bibl. Nac. G. 187) we
find mention of "perfect imitations of oriental china," and that the
pottery made there, "was used all over Spain, and sent to India, France,
Flanders, Italy and other countries, and was esteemed everywhere for the
perfection of the colouring and brilliancy of the glaze."
This information may be increased by quoting another interesting MS. on
the history of this town (Bib. Nac. F. 142) in which the writer, Fr.
Andres de Torrejon, who professed in the convent of Santa Catalina in
1568, says:--"The earthenware pottery made here has reached to a great
height of perfection; it is formed of white and red clay. Vases, cups,
_bucaros_ and _brinquiños_ are made of different kinds, dishes and table
centres, and imitations of snails, owls, dogs and every kind of fruits,
olives, and almonds. These objects are painted with great perfection,
and the imitations of porcelain brought from the Portuguese Indies are
most excellent. Every one wonders that in so small a town such excellent
things should be made. The varnish used for the white pottery is made
with tin and sand, it is now found to be more acceptable than coloured
earthenware, so much so, that persons of importance who pass by this
town although they have in their houses dinner services of silver, buy
earthenware made at Talavera, on account of its excellence. The sand
which was used to make the white varnish was brought from Hita, it is
now found at Mejorada, near Talavera. This sand is as fine and soft as
silk."
"The red pottery made at Talavera is much to be commended, for besides
the great variety of objects which they make, the different medals which
they place upon them, they have invented some small _brinquiños_ of so
small and delicate a kind, that the ladies wear them. Rosaries are also
made of the same material. A certain scent is added in the manufacture
of this pottery which excites the appetite and taste of the women, who
eat the pottery so frequently that it gives great trouble to their
confessors to check this custom."
In a volume of "Relaciones Topograficas de los Pueblos de España hechas
en 1576," (MS. in fol. t. ii.) we find, in speaking of Talavera, that
the author says: "What is most excellent there is the white pottery, and
tiles and other objects of this earthenware with which the kingdom and
part of Portugal are provided."
In Larruga's "Memorias Politicas y Economicas," (vol. x. Madrid, 1741,)
we find, p. 22, that "the manufactory of fine earthenware of Talavera de
la Reyna continued to make much pottery of importance until 1720: eight
kilns existed then, which employed more than 400 persons, men, women and
children. These manufactories possessed at that time large sums of
money. From that time this industry decayed to such an extent, that in
1730 only four kilns existed where pottery of a very inferior kind was
produced."
The industry was revived later on in the century, but the finest
specimens are of an earlier date. Larruga adds, in p. 17, vol. x., of
his "Memorias," that "Talavera ware is of a lighter clay than the
imitations of this earthenware which were made in other localities."
Pottery of a similar kind was also made in different other localities of
Spain. Mendez Silva says that at Puente del Arzobispo, near Toledo,
"fine pottery is manufactured in about 8 kilns, which produce more than
40,000 ducats yearly." ("Relacion General de España," Madrid, 1645, fo1.
32.) Paton likewise in his "Historia de Jaen," 1628, writes that "the
white unglazed earthenware made at these towns, is very remarkable for
the curious manner in which they imitate different figures of animals,
such as porcupines, fish, syrens, tortoises, &c." Objects of a similar
kind are still made in Spain.
The English traveller Clarke, in his "Letters concerning the Spanish
Nation during the years 1760-1761," London, 1763, p. 263, says, "the
pottery fabrics are very numerous and excellent, particularly
Talavera." And in "Annales de l'Espagne," by Alvarez de Colmenares,
Amsterdam, 1741, we find, p. 187, in speaking of Talavera, that "On y
fait des ouvrages vernissés d'une façon ingénieuse, avec des peintures
de bon goût; on estime ces ouvrages autant que ceux de Pise et des Indes
Orientales; on en fournit plusieurs provinces. Ce négoce rend plus de
50,000 ducats par an."
Udal ap Rhys in his "An Account of the Most Remarkable Places and
Curiosities in Spain and Portugal," London, 1749, in speaking of
Talavera says, "It is noted also for a very curious kind of earthenware
that is made in imitation of China."
Although we find by the remarks we have quoted from contemporary authors
that earthenware of every description was made at Talavera, the
specimens which are more generally met with may be divided into two
groups, which are painted on a white ground, either in blue, or in
colours in the manner of Italian maiolica. The most important examples
which have reached us consist of bowls of different sizes, dishes,
vases, tinajas, holy-water vessels, medicine jars, and wall decorations.
Blue oriental china was imitated to a vast extent, the colouring was
successful but the design was an imitation of the baroque school of the
time, and the figures, landscapes, and decoration follow the bad taste
so general in Spain in the 18th century. The imitations of Italian
maiolica are effective. The colours most commonly used are manganese,
orange, blue and green.
Several specimens of this manufacture are in the South Kensington
Museum; among these may be noted--
No. 327-'76. A large vase painted in blue with cavaliers and men on foot
in a hilly landscape, on the shoulder are the words "Silva Coronel."
No. 1282-'71. Holy-water vessel, with raised flowers and scrolls of
foliage with polychrome decoration.
No. 1281-'71. Soup tureen and cover, white, with raised scrolls and
groups of painted flowers.
No. 351-'76. Another soup tureen with cover and stand, painted with
garlands and the arms of Portugal. On the cover is a group of fishes and
shells in relief.
No. 1279-'71. A bowl decorated within with a bull-fight; outside are
storks and trees in green, orange, and manganese. (See woodcut.)
[Illustration: EARTHENWARE BOWL. TALAVERA WARE. SOUTH KENSINGTON
MUSEUM.]
Several pottery works were established in Spain in the 18th century, all
of them, in the same manner as the earlier fabriques, modified the
system of decorating their wares. In some instances the colours and
designs of Italian maiolica were imitated, others copy the blue
faïences of Pisa, Genoa, and Savona, while others adopted the styles of
Moustiers, Nevers, and Rouen, or English earthenwares.
Ten or twelve manufactories existed at Toledo in the 17th century which
imitated Talavera ware; in the 18th they hardly produced anything of
importance. Ignacio de Velasco in 1735 founded one at great expense at
Toledo in which imitations of Genoese pottery were chiefly made. At the
death of Ignacio in 1738, these works passed to his son George; in 1742
Francisco Hernandez directed them, and in 1747 imitated Japanese models.
Several specimens proceeding from Toledo, at the South Kensington
Museum, painted blue on a white ground, in the style of Savona and
Japan, belong to this period.
In 1755 thirteen pottery kilns existed at Puente del Arzobispo near
Toledo; they still worked in 1791, but their productions were very
inferior in artistic merit.
Earthenware pottery was made at Segovia from a very early period,
chiefly for domestic use, until a manufactory was founded by two
brothers--Manuel and Tomás Ledesma in 1752--they had seen some specimens
which were made at Bolonia for Isabel Farnesio, the widow of King Philip
V., and they endeavoured to imitate them. In 1774 they tried with a most
unsatisfactory result to imitate English wares. This industry fell into
decay towards the end of the century, and only ware of a very common
description was made there.
Talavera ware was also imitated at Zamora. At the middle of the 18th
century works existed there where pottery was made in the manner adopted
at Alcora with few results, for soon after it was established the master
potter, who was at the head of these works, left the locality.
["Memorias," Larruga, Vols. 13 and 34.]
The further we advance into the 18th century, the more we find the
tendency in Spanish ceramic art to imitate the pottery most in vogue in
other countries. Francisco Cavalli, a potter of Ruidoms, won a prize at
Tarragona in 1787, for his excellent imitations of brown and white
Genoese ware. [MS. fol. Bibl. de S. Magestad el Rey, S. 2, E. B. pt. 8.]
The efforts made by King Charles III. towards increasing industrial arts
in Spain, contributed to the reproductions and efforts made to imitate
foreign wares. When the king founded in 1768 the villages of La Carolina
and La Carlota in Andalucia, he ordered that pottery works should be set
up there. At the same time that he established at Madrid the important
porcelain manufactory of Buen Retiro, he wished that earthenware works
should exist in the same locality, where specimens should be made in
imitation of the best work produced elsewhere. The king was most anxious
to revive to a great extent the almost extinct industry of metallic
lustred pottery, and thanks to this we are able to know most accurately
the receipt and manner in which this lustre was applied. In the same
volume in which I found these documents, [Brit. Mus. MS. Egerton, 507],
are two reports addressed to Count Florida Blanca in 1786, by Iriarte
and Vargas, who were instructed to facilitate the development of this
industry. The first report contains information relating to the pottery
works of the county of Stafford; the second tells us that in the
building of San Isidro el Real, essays had been made to reproduce
English wares, and the lustred productions of Manises, with an idea of
establishing inside or outside of Madrid pottery works on a large scale,
under the protection of Count Florida Blanca. Iriarte and Vargas were of
opinion that these works should be established far from Madrid,
suggesting as the best spot El Viso in La Mancha, owing to the excellent
quality of the clay. Don Sebastian Schepers, a son or brother of
Cayetano Schepers, was at the head of these works. Cayetano was the
chief modeller at the Retiro manufactory. Their imitations of English
earthenware did not succeed; the varnish turned out badly, and they
determined to bring out English workmen. Their imitations of gold
lustred ware were eminently successful, so much so that competent judges
declared it was equal to what was made at Manises. Pottery works where
earthenwares of different descriptions were made existed also at this
time in Madrid; the best were those of Rodriguez and Reato, mentioned in
Larruga's "Memorias Economicas."
At the end of the 18th, and beginning of the 19th century, Valencia and
Aragon supplied the country with painted tiles. One of the finest
examples of this class which have reached us is the pavement of the
chapter house of the cathedral of Saragossa, on which landscapes,
medallions, and animals are finely designed in the Italian renaissance
style. In a shield may be read the following inscription:
Real^{s} Fb^{cas}
D E
Dª Maria Salb
adora
Disdier
Bru f^{t}
Año 1808.
Valencia has been much renowned for its manufacture of painted tiles,
_azulejos_, which continue to be made there in a very creditable manner
at the present time. J. Townsend, in his "Journey through Spain in the
Years 1786-1787, London," 1792, says: "I was most delighted with the
manufacture of painted tiles. In Valencia their best apartments are
floored with these, and are remarkable for their neatness and elegance.
They are stronger and more beautiful than those brought from Holland."
In a "Nouveau Voyage en Espagne," Paris, 1789, p. 56, the author says:
"L'industrie des Valenciens tire d'ailleurs parti de toutes les
productions de leur sol. Il contient une espèce de terre, dont ils font
ces carreaux de faïence colorée connus sous le nom de azulejos, et qu'on
ne fabrique qu'à Valence. On en pave les appartements, et on en revêt
leurs lambris; on y peint les sujets les plus compliqués, tels par
exemple qu'un bal masqué, une fête de taureaux. La couleur rouge est la
seule qui ne puisse être fixée sur cette espèce de faïence. Elle
s'altère par la cuisson." In "Voyage en Espagne, 1797-1798," Paris 1801,
the author says, p. 245: "Les plats sont faits de faïence bleuâtre ou
toute autre couleur orné de figures d'oies."
Before we pass to describe another most important branch of Spanish
pottery the unglazed earthenware must be mentioned, which from a very
early period has constituted and still constitutes a most important
branch of its industry. This pottery, generally used for cooling water,
consists of white porous vessels of which a large modern collection may
be seen at the South Kensington Museum proceeding from Andujar and La
Rambla (Andalusia). This industry remains in precisely the same state as
in the time of the Arabs.
The earthenware vessels called _Bucaros_ are similar to these. This
porous pottery was made to a very large extent at Talavera. It was
imported originally from America; the great centre existed at Mejico.
The paste of this ware is unglazed and whitish, black or red--when
painted the colours chosen are generally red, black, and gold. It was
made in Spain as early as the 16th century, and we constantly find
_Bucaros_ alluded to in documents of this period. In the inventory of
the effects belonging to D^{na} Juana, the sister of Philip the Second,
drawn up in 1573, _bucaros_ made at Lisbon, Estremoz, and Montemayor in
Portugal, and those of Ciudad Rodrigo and Castille, are also mentioned.
Madame d'Aunoy in her "Voyage d'Espagne," Lyon, [MDCXCIII.], mentions
the habit of Spanish ladies of eating this porous clay. At the South
Kensington Museum there are several good specimens of red pottery of
this kind, Nos. 285 to 318--'72, which, as we have remarked were made at
Talavera and Toledo.
ALCORA POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.
Don Buenaventura Pedro de Alcantara inherited in 1725 the estates
belonging to the title of Aranda in the province of Valencia. Count
Aranda found that the inhabitants of the village of Alcora made coarse
earthenware of every description, and that their vicinity to the sea
coast favoured exportation; he determined, therefore, upon establishing
in 1726 a manufacture of pottery there, in which fine wares might be
made in imitation of those imported from Italy, Germany, France and
England. The count's efforts were so successful that in less than two
years specimens of different kinds of Alcora pottery were exported to a
very large extent.
No account has hitherto been published which gives any idea of the
importance of this manufactory, nor have the names of the artists who
worked there been known, or the works which they executed. Wishing to
ascertain this, I applied to the Duchess of Hijar, the present
representative of the house of Aranda, and permission was granted me,
thanks to the kindness of the Duchess's _Apoderado general_, Sr. Robles,
to look through the Archives, where the accounts, contracts, and details
of the manufactory are kept. This has enabled me to give an idea of the
importance of this industry, and the names of the artists who worked
there, which have been ignored until the present time by writers on
ceramic art.
Count Aranda spent in 1726 about £10,000 in establishing the manufactory
of Alcora, and in May, 1727, the first specimens appeared, consisting of
pottery made "in the manner of China, Holland, and other localities."
The manufactory was at that time under the superintendence of Dn.
Joaquin Joseph de Sayas and Joseph Ollery, a Frenchman, chief
draughtsman and carver, who was engaged at a good salary in 1726, and
brought to Alcora from Moustiers by the painter, Edward Roux. In 1728
Count Aranda increased his salary owing to the "excellent manner in
which Ollery has worked at Alcora, the fine and numerous models which he
constructed, which have contributed to make my manufacture the first in
Spain."
Five painters and two modellers from Cataluña and six Valencian painters
and two modellers joined these French artists. The personnel of the
fabrique was completed with eleven potters from the locality. The French
painters, M. Pierre Maurissy and M. Gras, and the master of the
modellers, M. Sebastian Carvonel, were engaged in 1728 for two years to
work at the manufactory. Ollery only appears in the lists up to 1737.
The Count granted him a yearly pension of 500 francs besides his salary,
"for his especial zeal in the improvement of the manufactory, and his
great skill in directing the construction of every kind of work." From
this date until the manufacture of porcelain in 1764, only Spanish
artists worked at Alcora.
The Count was able from the year 1729 to circulate the pottery made at
Alcora through the Spanish dominions, free of custom-house duties. The
government granted him several other privileges and the manufactory
continued to improve, and spared no pains to import the foreign shapes
and designs which were most acceptable. No Spanish pottery manufactory
could compare with Alcora in the excellence and beauty of its work.
Among the obligations of the artists engaged, whether Spaniards or
Frenchmen, was that of teaching drawing and modelling to a certain
number of pupils. A special Academy was created for this purpose, which
at one time held more than one hundred pupils, who were constantly
renewed and increased with those who appear henceforward in the works at
Alcora. In 1736 there were fifty-six painters, eleven masters, twenty
workers at the wheel, and twenty-five apprentices. In this same year,
1736, specimens of pottery made at Alcora were sent "to all the
dominions of Spain, Rome, Naples, Malta, many Italian cities, Portugal,
and some provinces of France."
The manufactory produced yearly about 300,000 specimens of different
kinds. The ordinances are interesting which in 1732-1733 prescribe,
"that in our manufactory only pottery of the most excellent kind should
be made, similar to the Chinese, to be equally fine as to the earths
employed, that the models and wheels should be perfect, the drawing of a
first-rate kind, and the varnish and colours excellent, and the pottery
light and of good quality, for it is our express wish that the best
pottery should only be distinguished from that of an inferior kind by
the greater or less amount of painting which covers it."
Miguel Soliva, Christobal Cros, Francisco Grangel, Miguel Vilar,
Christobal Rocafort, Vicente Serrania, and Joseph Pastor were the best
painters at Alcora in 1743; they decorated a fine dinner service made
for the Tribunal of Commerce, and the large slabs for the Convent of Las
Descalzas Reales at Madrid, representing the Virgin as the Divine
Shepherdess.
Pottery painted with metallic lustre was made in 1749. We find among the
receipts used in that year one brought from Manises for this object.
We find it also stated in the communications which passed between the
Tribunal of Commerce and the count in 1746, that "the perfection of the
earthenware of Alcora consisted in the excellent models which had been
made by competent foreign artists, the quality of the earth and receipts
brought at great expense from abroad." Joseph Ochando is mentioned in
that year as an excellent painter, and Juan Lopez as the best carver and
modeller. This document tells us "that from the earliest period of the
manufacture pyramids with figures of children, holding garlands of
flowers and baskets of fruits on their heads, were made with great
perfection, likewise brackets, centre and three-cornered tables, large
objects, some as large as five feet high, to be placed upon them,
chandeliers, cornucopias, statues of different kinds, and animals of
different sorts and sizes. The entire ornamentation of a room has also
been made here; the work is so perfect that nothing in Spain, France,
Italy or Holland could equal it in merit."
The objects which were made to a great extent at this time consisted in:
Vases of different shapes.
Small pots, Chinese fashion.
Teapots and covers, Chinese fashion.
Teapots and covers, Dutch fashion.
Cruets, complete sets, Chinese style.
Entrée dishes.
Salt-cellars, Chinese style.
Escudillas (bowls) of Constantinople.
Barquillos (sauce bowls), Chinese style.
Bottles, in the Chinese manner.
Cups, plates, and saucers of different kinds with good painted
borders in imitation of lace-work (_puntilla_); some were designed
in the Chinese manner, and especial care was taken with
fruit-stands, salad-bowls and dishes.
Trays and refrigerators.
In 1750 Count Aranda passed the pottery works on to a private company,
in whose hands they remained until 1766. We know the pottery continued
to be excellent. Unfortunately almost all the details of this period are
missing from the Archives. One of the few documents remaining is a
contract drawn up in October, 1741, with François Haly (the name of this
artist is given by Baron Davillier), a Frenchman, in which he agreed to
work at the manufactory during a period of ten years with a yearly
salary of over 1000 francs, under the following conditions:
"That the travelling expenses of his wife and children should be given
him, and that his salary should be paid as soon as he made before the
Director and two competent judges the different kinds of porcelain which
he had undertaken to make." He agreed to give up his receipts, and it
was promised him that he should have two modellers and one painter
working by his side, and that if in one year Haly's porcelain was
satisfactory the Count undertook to make him a present of 1000 livres
(_tornoises_).
Towards the middle of the century, porcelain was made for the first time
at Alcora. A contract was drawn up on 24th March, 1764, with a German,
called John Christian Knipfer, who had already worked there in the
pottery section. By the original agreement, which exists at the
Archives, we find he was to prepare works of "porcelain and painting
similar to those made at Dresden, during a period of six years, under
the following conditions:"