Maiolica

The name is thought to come from the medieval Italian word for Majorca, an island on the route for ships bringing Hispano-Moresque wares from Valencia to Italy.

Moorish potters from Majorca are reputed to have worked in Sicily, and it has been suggested that their wares reached the Italian mainland from Caltagirone.

[4] In the 15th century, the term maiolica referred solely to lustreware, including both Italian-made and Spanish imports, and tin-glaze wares were known as bianchi (whiteware).

The colours are applied as metallic oxides or as fritted underglazes to the unfired glaze, which absorbs pigment like fresco, making errors impossible to fix but preserving the brilliant colors.

[10] Analysis of samples of Italian maiolica pottery from the Middle Ages has indicated that tin was not always a component of the glaze, whose chemical composition varied.

[15] Refined production of tin-glazed earthenwares made for more than local needs was concentrated in central Italy from the later thirteenth century, especially in the contada of Florence.

In Romagna, Faenza, which gave its name to faience, produced fine maiolica from the early fifteenth century; it was the only significant city in which the ceramic production industry became a major part of the economy.

The early sixteenth century saw the development of istoriato wares on which historical and mythical scenes were painted in great detail.

Italian cities encouraged the pottery industry by offering tax relief, citizenship, monopoly rights, and protection from outside imports.

[23] To face the competition from porcelain and its vibrant colours, the process of third firing (piccolo fuoco) was introduced, initially in North-West Europe around the mid of century.

With the introduction of the third firing technique and increasing interest in botany and scientific observation, a refined production of maiolica decorated with naturalistic flowers was developed.

[24] Italian maiolica remains commonly produced in many centres in folk art forms and reproductions of the historical style.