Ceramic Ceramics

Rare surviving small piece of early tableware. Suitable for everyday use as a charming piece of history for the dining table. French faience salt. Oval shape with a leafy sprig in...

The socarrat is a slab of fired clay or thick tile, glazed in white and generally decorated in reddish or brownish and blackish tones, intended to be placed between beams, on roofs a...

Dutch delftware Pear. Delft, 1750-1780 The pear with stem is modelled on a base of leaves and is painted in realistic colours. Dimensions: heigh...

Dish with a wide-spreading flange, the surface painted entirely with a blue and white chinoiserie decoration of two men in a garden-like landscape. Both men carry...

Italy, 18th Century Ceramic hanging platter. Measures: Ø 34 x D 5 cm.

Cerámica esmaltada con decoración de reflejo metálico Se trata de una cerámica esmaltada, es decir, con un baño de esmalte blanco, muy puro en los mejores ejemplos, que se cuece en ...

A black ceramic figural stirrup vessel from Moche culture circa. 100-500 AD, located in nowadays Northern Coast of Peru. The hollow pot is in a rare bla...

Pair of Chinese plates with floral motifs from the Compagnie des Indes dating from the 18th century. It is decorated in the centre with a flower...

This is a very fine hard paste porcelain Tea Bowl and Saucer by New Hall, dating to the 18th century, George 111rd period, circa 1785. Both pieces have 24 vertical flutes. Both pie...

The socarrat is a slab of fired clay or thick tile, glazed in white and generally decorated in reddish or brownish and blackish tones, intended to be placed between beams, on roofs a...

Rare surviving small piece of early tableware. Suitable for everyday use as a charming piece of history for the dining table. two red bands around the top. the base decorated with...

A ceramic stirrup vessel pot from late Moche culture circa 500-700AD in nowadays Northern Coast of Peru. The hollow vessel features a rounded body and...

The socarrat is a slab of fired clay or thick tile, glazed in white and generally decorated in reddish or brownish and blackish tones, intended to be placed between beams, on roofs a...

White lobed dish. Delft, 1650-1700. Dimensions: diameter 33 cm / 12.99 in. The white lobed dish is composed of twenty-seven double lobes around a curved ...

Glazed ceramics with lustre-painted decoration This is glazed ware, i.e. it is glazed with a white enamel bath, very pure in the best examples, which is f...

This large Chinese Imari porcelain charger dates to the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, circa 1760.   Finely potted with a lovely rich, glassy white glaze, the charger is hand-p...

Blue and white floral chinoiserie jar. Delft, 1650-1680 The ovoid jar has a lightly spreading foot and a short, straight upright neck. The jar is p...

17th century Spanish Talavera pharmacy jar in blue glazed ceramic.

This is a good porcelain TRIO of a Tea Cup, Coffee Cup and saucer by the Derby factory, made during the George 111rd period, circa 1795. The pieces are well potted in the Hamilton...

Delightfully painted in soft tones of blue conveying the lightness and charm of Chinoiserie. Painted with a chinoiserie landscape scene of a large peony growing behind a fence wit...

The socarrat is a slab of fired clay or thick tile, glazed in white and generally decorated in reddish or brownish and blackish tones, intended to be placed between beams, on roofs a...

Cerámica esmaltada con decoración de reflejo metálico Se trata de una cerámica esmaltada, es decir, con un baño de esmalte blanco, muy puro en los mejores ejemplos, que se cuece en ...

Polychrome covered jar with peacock and dragon in a landscape. Delft, 1690-1700 The Peacock pottery [attributed to] The octagonal baluster jar wi...

Blue and white chinoiserie bowl Delft, 1660-1680 The blue and white bowl stands on a foot, has a high, strongly cantilevered wall and is ...

Triangular spice. Glazed ceramic. Talavera de la Reina, Spain, 17th century. Has damage. Triangular glazed ceramic spice rack decorated with a...

The blue and white dish has a wide, spreading flange and is painted in the centre with a Chinese-style rocky landscape with plants, flowers and birds. The depiction is framed within a polygon shape. The well and flange are divided into eight wide and eight narrow panels...

Rocking cradle with child. Delft, 1750-1780 Polychrome figure of a child in a rocking cradle with open hood. The child is dressed in a yellow nightgown and sleeping cap with reddish-brown and green dots. It sits upright under a marbled blanket and holds the sides of the yellow cradle with both hands. Dimensions: length 12,5 cm / 4.92 in., width 9 cm / 3.54 in., height 11,5 cm / 4.52 in. Figures of children in a rocking cradle are generally dated to the second half of the eighteenth century. They may have been inspired by plates, made at the birth of Prince William V...

Glazed ceramics with lustre-painted decoration This is glazed ware, i.e. it is glazed with a white enamel bath, very pure in the best examples, which is f...

Glazed ceramics with lustre-painted decoration This is glazed ware, i.e. it is glazed with a white enamel bath, very pure in the best examples, which is f...

Maiolica sugar bowl Antonio Ferretti Manufacture Lodi, Circa 1770-1780 Maiolica polychrome decorated “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire). It measures 3.54 x 4.52 x 3.54 in (9 x 11,5 x 9 cm) Weight: 0.394 lb (0.179 kg) State of conservation: small and slight chips on the edges. The small sugar bowl has a swollen and ribbed body resting on a flat base. The cap-shaped lid follows the rib of the container and is topped with a small knob in the shape of a two-colored fruit. The sugar bowl is painted “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire) with the characteristic floral motif of bunches and isolated semis. An example which closely corresponds to this one is kept at the Civic Museum in Lodi (G. Gregorietti, Maioliche di Lodi, Milano e Pavia, Catalogo della Mostra, Milano, 1964 n. 137). This decorative style represented a strong point of the Lodi factory, which established itself thanks to the vivid nature of the colors made possible by the introduction of a new technique perfected by Paul Hannong in Strasbourg and later introduced by Antonio Ferretti to Italy. The production process, called “piccolo fuoco” (third fire), allowed the use of a greater number of colors than in the past; in particular, the purple of Cassius, a red made from gold chloride, was introduced. Its use allowed for many more tones and shades, from pink to purple. The Ferretti family started their maiolica manufacturing business in Lodi in 1725. The forefather Simpliciano started the business by purchasing an ancient furnace in 1725 and, indeed, we have evidence of the full activity of the furnaces starting from April of the same year (Novasconi-Ferrari-Corvi, 1964, p. 26 n. 4). Simpliciano started a production of excellence also thanks to the ownership of clay quarries in Stradella, not far from Pavia. The production was so successful that in 1726 a decree of the Turin Chamber came to prohibit the importation of foreign ceramics, especially from Lodi, to protect internal production (G. Lise, La ceramica a Lodi, Lodi 1981, p. 59). In its initial stages, the manufacture produced maolicas painted with the “a gran fuoco” (double fire) technique, often in turquoise monochrome, with ornamentation derived from compositional modules in vogue in Rouen in France. This was also thanks to the collaboration of painters like Giorgio Giacinto Rossetti, who placed his name on the best specimens next to the initials of the factory. In 1748 Simpliciano made his will (Gelmini, 1995, p. 30) appointing his son Giuseppe Antonio (known as Antonio) as universal heir. After 1750, when Simpliciano passed away, Antonio was directly involved in the maiolica factory, increasing its fortunes and achieving a reputation on a European level. Particularly important was the aforementioned introduction in 1760 of the innovative “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire) processing, which, expanding the ornamental repertoire with Saxon-inspired floral themes, was able to commercially compete with the German porcelains that had one of its most renowned offerings in the naturalistic Deutsche Blumen. Antonio Ferretti understood and promoted this technique and this decoration, proposing it in a fresher and more corrective version, less linked to botanical tables, both with or without contour lines, as well as in purple or green monochrome. After efforts to introduce more industrial production techniques to the sector succeeded, even the Ferretti manufacture, in the last decade of the eighteenth century, started heading towards decline despite its attempts to adapt production to neoclassical tastes. In 1796 the Napoleonic battle for the conquest of the Lodi bridge over the Adda definitively compromised the furnaces. Production resumed, albeit in a rather stunted manner, until Antonio's death on 29 December 1810. (M. L. Gelmini, pp. 28-30, 38, 43 sgg., 130-136 (for Simpliciano); pp. 31 sgg., 45-47, 142-192 (for Antonio). Bibliography G. Gregorietti, Maioliche di Lodi Milano e Pavia Catalogo della Mostra, Milano, 1964 n. 137; C. Baroni, Storia delle ceramiche nel Lodigiano, in Archivio storico per la città e i comuni del circondario e della diocesi di Lodi, XXXIV (1915), pp. 118, 124, 142; XXXV (1916), pp. 5-8; C. Baroni, La maiolica antica di Lodi, in Archivio storico lombardo, LVIII (1931), pp. 453-455; L. Ciboldi, La maiolica lodigiana, in Archivio storico lodigiano, LXXX (1953), pp. 25 sgg.; S. Levy, Maioliche settecentesche lombarde e venete, Milano 1962, pp. 17 sgg.; A. Novasconi - S. Ferrari - S. Corvi, La ceramica lodigiana, Lodi 1964, ad Indicem; Maioliche di Lodi, Milano e Pavia (catal.), Milano 1964, p. 17; O. Ferrari - G. Scavizzi, Maioliche italiane del Seicento e del Settecento, Milano 1965, pp. 26 sgg.; G. C. Sciolla, Lodi. Museo civico, Bologna 1977, pp. 69-85 passim; G. Lise, La ceramica a Lodi, Lodi 1981; M. Vitali, in Storia dell'arte ceramica...

Acquareccia plate Patanazzi workshop Urbino, last quarter of the 16th century It measures diameter 17.12 in; foot diameter 11.53 in; height 1.88 in (43.5 cm; 29.3 cm; 4.8 cm). Weight State of conservation: wear and a few small minimal detachments of enamel, chipping on the raised areas, peeling of enamel at the brim on the back. This large, shallow basin is equipped with a wide and convex well. It is umbonate with a contoured center. The brim, short and flat, is enclosed in a double rounded and barely raised edge. The basin has a flat base without rims; it has a slightly concave center in correspondence to the well. The shape takes inspiration from the basins associated with the metal forged amphora pourers that traditionally adorned the credenza. These were used from the Middle Ages to wash hands during banquets. Two or three people washed their hands in the same basin and it was considered an honor to wash one’s hands with an illustrious person. The decoration is arranged in concentric bands with, in the center of the umbo, an unidentified shield on a blue background: an oval banded in gold with a blue head, a gold star and a field with a burning pitcher. Rings of faux pods separate the center from a series of grotesque motifs of small birds and masks. These go around the basin and are, in fact, faithfully repeated on the brim. The main decoration develops inside the flounce of the basin, which sees alternating symmetrical figures of winged harpies and chimeras. The ornamentation, outlined in orange, green and blue, stands out against the white enamel background. This decorative style, defined since the Renaissance as “grottesche” or “raffaellesche”, refers to the decorations introduced after the discovery of the paintings of the Domus Aurea towards the end of the fifteenth century. The discovery of Nero's palace, buried inside Colle Oppio by damnatio memoriae, occurred by chance when a young Roman, in 1480, fell into a large crack which had opened in the ground on the hill, thus finding himself in a cave with walls covered with painted figures. The great artists present in the papal city, including Pinturicchio, Ghirlandaio, Raffaello, immediately visited these caves. The decorations found there soon became a decorative subject of immense success: the term grotesque , with the meaning of “unusual,” “caricatured,” or “monstrous,” was later commented by Vasari in 1550 as “una spezie di pittura licenziose e ridicole molto”( “a very licentious and ridiculous kind of painting”). The decorations “a grottesche” also widely circulated in ceramic factories, through the use of engravings, variously interpreted according to the creativity of the artists or the requests of the client. Our basin is reflected in similar artifacts produced at the end of the sixteenth century by the factories of the Urbino district. See the series of basins preserved in the main French museums, among which the closest in morphology is that of the Campana collection of the Louvre (Inv. OA1496); this however has a more complex figure decoration, while the decoration of our specimen is sober and with a watercolor style. The style, sure in its execution, approaches decorative results still close to the works produced around the middle of the sixteenth century by the Fontana workshop. The decoration is closely linked to their taste, which later finds its natural outlet, through the work of Antonio, also in the Patanazzi workshop. Studies show the contiguity between the two workshops due to the kinship and collaboration between the masters Orazio Fontana and Antonio Patanazzi, both trained in the workshop of Guido Fontana il Durantino. It is therefore almost natural that their works, often created according to similar typologies and under the aegis of the same commissions, are not always easily distinguishable, so much so that the presence of historiated or “grottesche” works by Orazio is documented and preserved in Antonio Patanazzi's workshop. Given that the studies have always emphasized the collaboration between several hands in the context of the shops, it is known that the most ancient “grottesche” works thus far known, can be dated from 1560, when the Fontana shop created the so-called Servizio Spagnolo (Spanish Service) and how, from that moment on, this ornamentation became one of the most requested by high-ranking clients. We remember the works created for the Granduchi di Toscana, when Flaminio Fontana along with his uncle Orazio supplied ceramics to Florence, and, later, other commissions of considerable importance: those for the service of the Duchi d’Este or for the Messina Farmacia of Roccavaldina, associated with the Patanazzi workshop when, now after 1580, Antonio Patanazzi began to sign his own work. Thus, in our basin, the presence of masks hanging from garlands, a theme of more ancient memory, is associated in the work with more advanced stylistic motifs, such as the hatching of the chimeras and harpies. These are found here on the front with the wings painted in two ornate ways. In addition, the theme of the birds on the edge completes the decoration along the thin brim and can be seen as representing an early style typical of the Urbino district during a period of activity and collaboration between the two workshops. Later, a more “doll-like” decorative choice, typical of the end of the century and the beginning of the seventeenth century, characterized the period of the Patanazzi workshop under the direction of Francesco. Bibliography: Philippe Morel, Il funzionamento simbolico e la critica delle grottesche nella seconda metà del Cinquecento, in: Marcello Fagiolo, (a cura di), Roma e...

This is a very beautiful porcelain coffee can with a hand painted scene of Notre-Dame Cathedral, made by Paris, France, dating to the late 18th century, circa 1795. The coffee can is broadly cylindrical tapering slightly to the base, with a ring handle having an inner spur. This is a very finely hand painted coffee can with a view of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, all in many different coloured enamels. The view even shows various figures in the foreground, all set in a rectangular thick gilded border, against a lovely lemon yellow ground. with further hand painted gold gilded rims and outer handle. Overall a very distinctive, beautifully decorated coffee can. NOTES Notre-Dame de Paris, often simply referred to as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral and is the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals from the middle ages, situated on the Île de la Cité, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The Roman Catholic cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Notre-Dame was built on the ruins of two earlier churches, which were themselves predated by a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter. The cathedral was initiated by Maurice de Sully, bishop of Paris, who about 1160 conceived the idea of converting into a single building, on a larger scale, the ruins of the two earlier basilicas. The foundation stone was laid by Pope Alexander III in 1163, and the high altar...

Blue and white lobed dish with landscape. Northern Netherlands, 1650-1680. Dimensions: diameter 21,5 cm / 8.46 in. The blue and white lobed dish is composed of sixteen small lobe...

Rare surviving small piece of early tableware. Suitable for everyday use as a charming piece of history for the dining table. The oval centre painted with a large berry and leafy ...

Dutch delftware pear. Delft, 1750-1780 The pear with stem is modelled on a base of leaves and is painted in realistic colours. Dimensions: heigh...

Rocking cradle with child. Delft, 1750-1780 White figure of a child in a rocking cradle with open hood. It sits upright under a blanket and holds the sides of the cradle with both hands. Dimensions: length 13,5 cm / 5.31 in., width 9 cm / 3.54 in., height 11,5 cm / 4.52 in. Figures of children in a rocking cradle are generally dated to the second half of the eighteenth century. They may have been inspired by plates, made at the birth of Prince William V in 1748, depicting a child in a cradle. At the time, the rocking cradles with children may also have been initially intended as an expression of support for the House of Orange. Separately, they were perfect gifts for a married couple to wish them a child-rich marriage. Nice condition, some minor glaze damage, as to be expected with antique delftware.

Decorated with a chinoiserie scene of a man sitting on rocks within a landscape. Surrounded by a triple-circle center and an interlocking arc and trefoil border. The rim with 27 flut...

Chinoiserie lobed dish in blue, yellow and purple. Delft, 1680-1690 Dimensions: diameter 34 cm / 13.58 in. The lobed dish is composed of nine, wide lobes around a nine-fold cent...

18th Century Spanish Ceramic Plate with Architectural Scene

17th century Spanish Talavera pharmacy jar in blue Glazed ceramic.

The blue and white dishes have wide-spreading flanges and are painted with a Chinese figure in an oriental landscape. The eight-panelled border is alternately decorated with floral motifs and oriental landscapes.  The decoration is inspired by Chinese porcelain from the transitional period at the end of the Ming and the start of the Qing dynasty. The porcelain of the last Ming emperor Chongzhen (reigned 1628-1644), the first Qing emperor...

A rare Dutch Majolica plate with a decoration of a tulip. Northern Netherlands, probably made in the city of Rotterdam. Made 1620 - 1640 Dutch majo...

17th century Spanish Talavera pharmacy jar in blue glazed ceramic.

17th Century Spanish Talavera pharmacy jar in Blue Glazed ceramic.

17th Century Spanish Talavera pharmacy jar in blue glazed ceramic.

18th century Japanese Kakiemon foliate rimmed bowl, Edo period (1603-1867). This charming bowl's decor shows a guardian lion ("shi shi") and a floral...

A set of two peacock design Delft plates, and two larger Delft dishes. All hand-painted with "peacock" pattern. 2 plates marked "De Porceleyne Claeuw" Dimensions: diameter of 9" / 23cm each plate. 2 dishes are also marked, one for "De Porceleyne Claeuw" (Porcelain Claw) and the other one marked 'De drie...

A fine and rare Japanese ao-oribe glazed minoyaki stoneware dish, late Momoyama or early Edo period, 17th century, Japan. The circular dish of wheel thrown stoneware, glazed in the ...

The blue and white dish has a narrow, flat flange and is painted in the centre with a Chinese figure in an oriental garden landscape in a double circle. The brushwork is executed in blue within purple outlining on a light blue-coloured tin-glaze. The Chinese figure carries a guzheng, a Chinese zither, wrapped in a cover. On the well and flange are six different landscapes and terrace scenes, partly filled with Chinese men and women. The reverse is painted with four circles with a dot and four smaller circles.  The decoration is inspired by Chinese porcelain from the transitional period at the end of the Ming and the start of the Qing dynasty. The porcelain of the last Ming emperor Chongzhen (reigned 1628-1644), the first Qing emperor...

A very fine and exceptionally rare pair of circa 1760 Qianlong period Chinese export for the Anglo-Indian market chargers of large size, the molded and scallop-shaped bodies painted with delicately enameled 'bianco-sopra-bianco' floral borders with polychrome lotus flowers and buds surrounding central cusped cartouches painted...

18th century Chinese Export Famille rose tureen with lid & underplate.

Hand-Painted ceramic jug with lead lid, dated from 1762, initials G. and R. and signed at the bottom, with scenes of windmills and a house.

Blue and white plate with a chinoiserie landscape with two sitting Chinese figures, within a double circle. The back of the plate is painted with the number 5, and the foot rim is pi...

This is a hard paste porcelain coffee can & saucer duo by New Hall, hand decorated with their Chinese figure pattern number 421, dating to the English George 3rd...

18th century Indigo blue glazed ceramic jar.

Blue and white lobed dish with landscape. Northern Netherlands, 1650-1680. Dimensions: diameter 33 cm / 13 in. The blue and white dish is composed of twenty-seven double lobes around a curved center. It is painted with a house and barn along the water front within a double circle, framed by a narrow band of stylized ornaments. The border is alternately painted with stylized flowers and branches of leaves...

Maiolica flower pot “a mezzaluna” decorated with trompe l’oeil Pasquale Rubati Factory Milan, 1770 circa It measures: 4.7 in (cm 12) X 5 in (...

A rare large Chinese export porcelain 'Table Bay' dish Qianlong period, circa 1735-1750 Diam. 27.5 cm This version of the ‘Table Bay’ porcelain docu...