Earthenware Ceramics

Made in England circa 1810, this mochaware pitcher is decorated with "Trees" and "Seaweed" It is molded in an elegant shape with an extra-wide mouth, probably made this way so that pieces of fruit in a punch could pour out. The pitcher has bands of orange-brown slip decorated with both "Trees" and "Seaweed". These dendritic designs are part of what make mochaware is unique. The design is formed by using small amounts of an acidic dark brown liquid and carefully dropping this liquid onto the alkaline orange slip...

We are pleased to offer this exceptionally large and rare mid-19th century English mochaware bowl. Each piece of mochaware is unique. Made in England ci...

18th century polychrome earthenware shoe slippery A Dutch earthenware shoe slippery, dated circa 1750, The Netherlands in beautiful polychrome colors, blue, purple, orange, green, ...

Eye-catching Majolica glazed ceramic trompe l'oeil black small wall plate attributed to Vallauris. France, 1960s. This plate has a black background a...

An 18th century European ceramic pitcher, most probably from Germany, with glazed decoration in blue colour representing flowers on a beige background. It has most probably been used...

19th Century Green Majolica Mallard Duck Plate Hippolyte Boulenger Choisy le Roi, circa 1890. The manufacture of Choisy le Roi was one of the most important manufacture at the end of...

Majolica dish hand made and hand-painted in Deruta, Italy, according to the original Renaissance painting technique. The dish is enriched by the presence of four metamorphic dolphin-...

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...

Glazed Ceramic Candle Holder by Vallauris, France, 1950-1960s Beautiful candle holder for two candles in fat lava glazed ceramic. Nice colors: Shades of brown with white and red acc...

Colorful Majolica asparagus and artichoke plate Salins, circa 1890.   

Made in England circa 1815 this mochaware pitcher is decorated with bands of lovely milk chocolate-colored slip. The color works beautifully with the unpainted creamware body of the handle and interior of the pitcher. Just below the top edge, we see a band of black and white rouletting, and above the bottom edge is a similar black and white rouletted band. Dimensions: 5.75" tall x 4" at the widest point Condition: Very Good: two short hairlines of approximately half an inch are seen on either side of the top edge. There is a hairline on the underside which does not go through. Price: $760 Background of Mochaware: Mochaware pottery...

Large English Majolica begonia leaf decorated with strawberries and cherries, circa 1890.

Pablo Picasso’s Tête de Faune (A.R. 51), created in 1948 at the renowned Madoura pottery studio, exemplifies the artist’s ability to transform ceramics into expressive works of art. ...

Unusual 19th century majolica asparagus plates with large green cabbages leaves on a yellow background (usually on blue background), very colorful plates...

French Majolica plate with a purple butterfly on the centre surrounded by fruits, circa 1890.

A rare and beautiful wall relief featuring different beautifully hand-painted portraits of women, designed by Birger Kaipiainen for Rörstrand and manufactured in Sweden in the 1950s....

Rare Majolica turquoise aqua asparagus platter with fern signed Clairefontaine, circa 1880.

Crespina Faenza, last quarter of the 16th century Maiolica painted in two colors, light blue and yellow, on a thick, rich layer of white enamel. It measures 2.24 in (5.7 cm) in height, 6.10 in (15.5 cm) in diameter. lb 0.55 (kg 0.25) State of conservation: mimetic restoration. The small cup has a raised central “umbone”, a perforated brim and a shaped rim. It rests on a high jutting foot. The "crespina" shape, in some inventories is cited as "tacce de frute" (fruit cups). It was particularly appreciated in the Renaissance and has variants based on the formal types and the different sizes. The decoration, made according to the dictates of the “compendiario” style, used few standardized colors: blue and yellow on a thick white and shiny enamel, deliberately chosen as the colour which was most reminiscent of silver. This choice derived from a trend in creative design of the era: the shapes used in the molds were often taken from metal objects. An idea which would last throughout the Renaissance. The work shows, in the middle of the “umbone”, a winged putto stepping forward while playing a long thin trumpet. The depiction of the putto is fully representative of the repertoire of the Faenza workshops of the sixteenth century. Some specimens with this type of decoration have been published in a volume by Carmen Ravanelli Guidotti: there appears the whole productive repertoire of this fundamental moment of transition between the taste for the “istoriato” style and the great simplification of decoration in the “compendiario” period. This style, in its simplicity, however, saw its expression in a rather varied collection of decorative subjects, including old-fashioned busts...

18th century polychrome earthenware shoe slippery A shoe slippery in polychrome beautiful colors, blue tones, yellow, green, some red and deep purple in the floral decor made by Mak...

A Mid Century Modern teapot and milk jug from the series "Blå eld" translated to Blue fire in English is quality earthenware from Rörstrand, Sweden desig...

A George Jones Majolica 10-inch Oval Pen Tray, with green-glazed relief-molded lily pads with white blossoms and naturalistically glazed bullrushes on turquoise-glazed water forming the ground, with a yellow ocher rim, the reverse glazed in brown and green tortoiseshell...

Large plate Made and hand painted in Italy according to the original Renaissance painting technique. The plate is decorated in polychrome painted majolica, according to a rich grotes...

This pair of antique English dishes shows a fabulous bird's eye view of an elephant in an imaginary setting. Two figures ride an elephant throug...

Maiolica tureen Antonio Ferretti Manufacture Lodi, circa 1770-1780 Maiolica polychrome decorated “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire). It measures 9.05 x 12.59 x 9.05 in (23 x 32 x 23 cm) ...

Picasso's face ceramics, such as Visage AR 490, are fascinating for several reasons. They blend tradition with modernism: Picasso merged ancient ceramic techniques with his signature...

French Majolica leaves platter, circa 1890.

A set of four early Wedgwood creamware Neoclassical dessert dishes made circa 1780. Sir William Hamilton’s Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman an...

Majolica plate two parakeets on a blue background with oranges signed Salins, circa 1890.  

PICHET AU OISEAUX (A.R 456), 1962 incised with number 80/200 and Edition Picasso and Madoura, with the Edition Picasso and Madoura Plein Feu pottery stamps on the underside. Painted ...

Set of five knife rests signed Desvres, circa 1890. Colorful with coat of arms and acanthus leaves.

Vintage Jasba vase in blue drip glaze featuring the indented On close inspection the glaze includes flecks black and sea-blue which give greater depth to th...

Théodore Deck (1823-1891) Courtly Love Polychrome enamelled earthenware Pair of subjects representing two lovers in the Middle Ages Each signed below with the stamp “Th.Deck” Extr...

Quimper ceramic earthenware vessel with lid Substantial piece in weight and feel with beautiful floral motif Wonderfully vibrant colors Marked identi...

We have incredible pieces in this Majolica collection, including lots of different-style platters, serving cradles, pitchers, and very rare sauce bowls. This 19th-century Majolica as...

Wonderful weathered glazed earthenware jug from the south of France., France, circa 1850-1900. Despite of its age in a good condition.

Made in Italy in the 70s by Ernesto Treccani. This is an incredible polished earthenware piece that would fit perfectly in a museum. Measures: height: 140 cm width: 41 cm depth: 22 ...

French Majolica leaves & grapes plate Onnaing, circa 1900.

A rarely found English Majolica mask handled and climbing Ivy water pitcher, marked Samuel Alcock & Co. circa 1875. A round bellied cobalt blue body ...

Arabia, Finland. Art Deco bowl in glazed faience. Beautiful marbled glaze. 1920s/30s. Measures: 27 x 5 cm. In excellent condition. Stamped.

Lovely German Majolica cat with her kitten plate, circa 1900.

A set of six (one bonus tile thrown in of a double but in bad condition) Victorian hand painted Minton China Works in Stoke-upon-Trent, England, English tiles designed by John Moyr Smith...

Pablo Picasso Profil de Jacqueline (A.R. 457), 1962 Edition Picasso Terre de faïence rouge et décor à la couverte gravé au couteau et patiné noir. Rouge et noir Haut. 3,5 cm – Diam. ...

Minton Majolica centerpiece, naturalistically modeled as a pond bed with simulated water glazed in cyan blue, with green glazed lily pads and flowering pond lilies (lotus), and reeds glazed in various shades of green, with brown and ochre-glazed cattails molded in high relief to form the border, with a central lotus flower glazed in white and blue, concealing a solid brass original fitting for a candle, doubling as a receptacle for an (optional) additional tier which would have screwed into the fitting; the fitting is removable. Impressed marks to reverse: 'MINTON' and Minton date cypher for 1863; an impressed 'A' possibly for the designer, Thomas Allen...

Wayte & Ridge Majolica Monkey wall pocket, 18 inches high, English, ca. 1860, molded as a monkey climbing a tree, holding a simulated coconut forming the flower bowl, with molded loz...

The Art Deco Bauhaus Liqueur Set by Eva Zeisel for Schramberg Majolica, a treasure from the 1930s, stands as a sublime fusion of avant-garde design and functional elegance. Crafted d...

Pair of Large Plates Gaetano Battaglia 19th century made of earthenware decorated with mythological scenes Italy (Naples) Diameter 50 cm good cond...

This is a charming little 1950's Majolica lemon salt and pepper shaker. This is a little whimsical little tree design that holds the lemons on top. This was made in Japan and has gre...

Gorgeous Majolica by Griffen, Smith & Hill Etruscan Majolica large pitcher in shell and seaweed pattern. This pitcher is an unusually sought after s...

1959 / 2004 based on Red Rose Plate from 1959 earthenware plate with acrylic display box plate diameter: 23 cm or approx. 9" display box: 32 x 30 cm or approx. 12 1/2" x 11 3/4" edit...

George Jones Majolica Strawberry server on white wicker ground with rare cream and sugar Baskets, English, circa 1868. Impressed British Registry Mark to reverse for 16 June 1868. This was one of the first majolica patterns registered by George Jones. (Please see our listing on 1stdibs for the same model in a yellow wicker...

A majolica game pie dish made by Minton & Co. in 1864. The dish takes the form of a wicker basket and is covered with oak leaves, acorns, vines,...

This handbuilt ceramic compote vessel by Ilona Golovina is a poetic meditation on surface tension, time, and subtle transformation. Raised on a cylindrical foot, the bowl’s minimalis...

An attractive and unusual vintage serving platter, embellished with a central divider of beautifully crafted and hand-painted garden vegetables. A raised, embossed and painted green ...

Paire of Japanese style Old Hall Earthenware vases decorated with gilt elephants. Design attributed to Christopher Dresser (a similar model in C.W Dress...

Mintons, England. Two antique plates in hand-painted faience. Chinese style, early 20th century. Largest measures: 23.5 x 20.5 cm. In excellent condi...

Discover this rare 19th-century polychrome earthenware set, featuring a covered asparagus server with a matching platter. This French Barbotine asparagus server is a true collector's...

The designs on this French faience group is typical of pottery made in Rouen. Early 20th Century French Hand-Painted Faience Vasse from Rouen Marking on the bottom: " Rouen Fait ...

A large vintage serving platter featuring the Harvest Fruit brown and white transfer-ware pattern by the celebrated English pottery firm, John...

Elegant surrealist sink lavabo made with the Talavera technique. Artist, Cesar Torres portraits the colonial art of Mexico. The Spanish colonial style sink is a perfect piece to bring personality and light to bathrooms and restrooms. Its warm colors bring light to the piece, creating a cozy effect in the atmosphere where it is placed. The Talavera is not just a simple painted ceramic: its exquisite decoration is the product of a delicate process of alchemy that translates into fine enamels. In Puebla, Mexico few people still produce using Talavera with the ancestral techniques.One of those few is Cesar Torres, Don Cesar...

The designs on this French faience group is typical of pottery made in Rouen. Early 20th century French hand-painted Faience Terrine from Rouen. Marking on the bottom: "Rouen Fait...