Majolica Furniture
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Material: Majolica
19th Century English Majolica Wall Plates with Vine and Grape Motifs, Set of 3
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a wall or a shelf with this elegant set of antique plates. Crafted in England circa 1880, each painted platter features vine, leaf and grape motifs in high relief throughout...
Category
Late 19th Century English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Side Table White Marble Top Mirror Steel Legs Green Majolica Tiles, Also Outdoor
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
Side table or End table with white Carrara marble top, hight polished stainless steel legs and embellished with 20 green glazed ceramic tiles. The majolica elements are hand crafted ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Marble, Carrara Marble, Metal, Stainless Steel
Mid-Century French Hand Painted Ceramic Barbotine Floral Platter Signed Lefranc
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a kitchen wall or a breakfast room with this large antique majolica plate. Sculpted in France circa 1930, and signed by French artist "L. Lefranc", this French barbotine pla...
Category
Early 20th Century French Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Half Moon Jug
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Echoing the silhouette of a celestial arc, Half Moon Jug by Ilona Golovina is a sculptural ceramic vessel that merges ancient symbolism with contemporary restraint. Handbuilt with a ...
Category
2010s American Arts and Crafts Majolica Furniture
Materials
Other
$2,200
One-of-a-kind Compote Vessel No. 10
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Delicate yet grounded, this hand built ceramic compote vessel by New York-based artist Ilona Golovina resembles an artifact unearthed from volcanic soil. Its petite, chalice-like for...
Category
2010s American Arts and Crafts Majolica Furniture
Materials
Other
One-of-a-kind Compote Vessel No. 9
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Crafted by hand, this one-of-a-kind compote vessel by Ilona Golovina exemplifies her ongoing exploration of contrast—between surface and depth, rawness and refinement, ancient and mo...
Category
2010s American Arts and Crafts Majolica Furniture
Materials
Other
One-of-a-kind Compote Vessel No.7
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This handbuilt footed compote vessel by Ilona Golovina is a striking fusion of elemental texture and sculptural refinement. Elevated on a cylindrical base, the bowl’s organic form an...
Category
2010s American Arts and Crafts Majolica Furniture
Materials
Other
Byzantium Moon Jar Hand Painted Ceramic Italy Contemporary, 21st Century
Located in London, GB
Byzantium moon jar, 2024, full-fire reduction earthenware (majolica) 40 cm diameter, hand painted unique piece.
The decor and the colours of this stunning piece are inspired by a Byzantine frieze in Sant' Apolinnare in Classe church in Ravenna, Italy.
Bottega Vignoli is a brand of artistic ceramics based in Faenza, one of the most representative ceramic production centres in Italy. Founded in 1976 by sisters Saura and Ivana, Bottega Vignoli stands out for its limited production, accurate details and skilful experimentation resulting in stunning unique and one of a kind pieces. Their style is immediately recognizable and expressly follows the path...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Contemporary Italian Apple Jade Green Majolica Crown Bowl with Platinum Accents
Located in New York, NY
Contemporary handmade Italian post-modern Work of Art in the shape of a Fleur de Lys crown in majolica, exclusive design by Ceramica Gatti, a long tradition studio and famous designe...
Category
2010s Italian Art Deco Majolica Furniture
Materials
Enamel
Early 20th Century French Hand Painted Barbotine Decorative Dish with Handles
Located in Dallas, TX
Display your fruit or other perishables in this colorful antique Majolica dish. Created in Provence, France crafted, circa 1920, the decorative p...
Category
Early 20th Century French Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Lucky Horn Ceramic Sculpture Glazed Majolica Platinum Gold Hand Painted, Italy
Located in London, GB
Francesco Raimondi, Lucky Horn, 2020 glazed earthenware, platinum and gold, hand painted, unique piece
Measures: Approximate 100cm x 25 cm
A cornicello It...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Renaissance Revival Majolica Furniture
Materials
Platinum, Gold
$7,577 Sale Price
20% Off
Bordallo Pinheiro Vine Mid Century Plates - Set of Twelve
Located in Dallas, TX
A striking set of twelve mid century majolica Bordallo Pinheiro vine plates from Portugal. In a rich tomato red glaze, each plate is molded with a raised vine and leaf motif, showcas...
Category
1980s Portuguese Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Midcentury French Hand Painted Barbotine Jardinière with Floral and Leaf Motifs
Located in Dallas, TX
This elegant antique Majolica vase was sculpted in France, circa 1950. This colorful cachepot has a traditional hand painted decor embellished with high relief flowers and leaves in ...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Plate Centerpiece Tray Bowl Decorated Ornament, Wall Dish Majolica Red, In Stock
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
This exclusive ceramic plate is handmade and hand-painted in Italy following the original Renaissance painting technique, unchanged over time, which we observe to the letter: it is d...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Early 20th Century French Painted Ceramic Barbotine Figure Pitcher by Onnaing
By Onnaing
Located in Dallas, TX
This large majolica water pitcher with back handle was crafted by Onnaing in Northern France, circa 1910. The colorful pitcher depicts the French collector assessor Camille Pelletan, sited on a sign which reads "Reforme Urgente". The antique ceramic jar...
Category
Early 20th Century French Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
An Austrian majolica pottery wall charger depicting a medieval man circa 1900
Located in Central England, GB
This superb large Austrian majolica pottery wall charger is highly decorative with its central finely moulded three dimensional Renaissance portrait of a medieval bearded noble man wearing an ornate tunic and matching hat.
The central portrait is boardered by a flared rim which is also ornately moulded with intricate floral decoration.
The beautiful coloured glazes used throughout this stunning charger are rich and translucent.
There are initials at the base of the portrait J R. On the reverse, the charger has an impressed L9 and a hand painted N...
Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Renaissance Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Pottery
Six Wedgwood Majolica Argenta 'Lincoln' Pattern Dessert Dishes
By Wedgwood
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Six Wedgwood majolica Argenta palette ‘Lincoln' pattern dessert plates with finely molded maroon prunus blossoms and dark taupe pine branches surrounded by a yellow Greek key border. The dishes are decorated in the japonisme style and feature the “Three Friends of Winter” motif, an Asian artistic convention showing the pine, plum, and bamboo together to represent steadfastness, perseverance, and resilience.
The Wedgwood factory introduced muted Argenta glazes to its majolicas in the 1880s to keep up with ever-changing fashions. The Argenta glaze color palette was more subdued than that of traditionally vibrant majolica, and was thus more appealing to the Aesthetic Movement japonisme style that pervaded the market. These Argenta majolica dessert dishes...
Category
Late 19th Century English Japonisme Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Earthenware, Majolica
$668 Sale Price
24% Off
Vase Vessel Majolica Ornament Hand Painted Empire Red Limited Edition Italy
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
This lavish majolica vase is painted in polychrome, characterized by the elegant presence of naturalistic ornamental motifs that enhance its forms beautifully. Its powerful aesthetic...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Gaudin French Majolica Horse
By Atelier Primavera au Printemps, Jean Gaudin
Located in Queens, NY
French 1940s Majolica stylized horse with extended legs & head arched towards back in pale blue with white mane & tail (att: PRIMIVERA/GAUDIN)
Category
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century Majolica Figural Jardinière by Henri Giraud, Mark for Choisy-Le Roy
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A French late 19th century Majolica figural jardinière (planter) modeled as a young Neapolitan vintner boy balancing a weaved basket over h...
Category
Late 19th Century French Country Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
$5,400 Sale Price
20% Off
19th Century French Hand Painted Barbotine Faience Vase with Bird Motifs
Located in Dallas, TX
The colorful antique majolica vase was created in France circa 1890. Round in shape, the decorative ceramic vase features intricate details, including painted flowers and three birds...
Category
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Faience, Majolica
Glazed Majolica Statute, Carlo Lorenzetti for Pietro Melandri, 1934
Located in Roma, IT
Diana the Huntress is an original decorative object realized by Carlo Lorenzetti for Pietro Melandri in 1934.
Original Faenza Ceramics. Original glazed majolica.
Good condition...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century English Majolica Teapot
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Vibrant and whimsical late 19th century Majolica teapot with yellow background. The geranium decoration on the front and back with acorn finial.
Category
1880s English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
A French 19th century hand painted majolica dish from the Gien factory C 1875
Located in Central England, GB
This most impressive large twin handled table centrepiece is stunning in its fine hand painted detail. It was made in France at the Gien Faience Pottery Works and bears the early fac...
Category
Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century French Hand-Painted Barbotine Vases Signed P. Perret, Set of Three
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a shelf of a console with this elegant set of colorful majolica planters. Sculpted in Vallauris, France, circa 1890, and signed by the artist Pierre Perret, each ceramic jar...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Vintage Palissy Style Hand Painted Handcrafted Art Plate by Jay Willfred Sadek
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Palissy Style Art Fruit Plate, Large Fruit and Leaf Plate, the Fruit Plate Made in Portugal by Jay Willfred Sadek
Category
Mid-20th Century Portuguese Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Porcelain
Large White Gold Ceramic Plate Majolica, Decorative Wall Dish, Bowl Deruta Italy
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
Large ceramic plate in white and gold luster, hand painted in Italy and handmade with the pottery wheel. This majolica plate can be used as a centerpiece...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Gold
Side Table White Marble Top Mirror Steel Legs, Blue Majolica Tiles Also Outdoor
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
Side table or End table with white Statuary marble top, hight polished stainless steel legs and 20 Blue glazed ceramic tiles. The majolica elements are hand crafted and hand painted ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Marble, Stainless Steel
Modern Vase, Matte Finish Warm White, Spheres 24kt Gold Luster, Handmade Italy
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
Elegant warm white vase with a matte finishing, alternating with reflective surfaces embellished with 24Kt gold luster. This technique sees ceramics to undergo three cooking phases: ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Gold, Gold Plate
Light Blue and Gray Ceramic Majolica Amphora Hand Painted Francois Boucher Italy
Located in Recanati, IT
Large ceramic amphora with handles, made and painted entirely by hand, central Italy production, year 2009. The decoration on the vase is a reproduction of a painting by Francois Bou...
Category
Early 2000s Italian Neoclassical Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Dinner Plates Set Four Charger Plate Table Serving Majolica Ceramic Blue Pink
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
This colorful set of 4 majolica charger plates is handmade and hand-painted in Italy following the original Renaissance painting technique, unchanged over time, which we observe to the letter.
The elegant decoration is composed by a halo of blue foliage that resembles four groups of wings surrounding light pink backgrounds: further ornamental elements develop from the center of the plate, projected outwards and giving movement to the entire compositional structure.
The beauty of these majolica plates is underlined by the artist's visible brushstrokes that give them a unique style.
Further possibility to order a set of 6 or 12 charger...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Handmade Majolica Gecko Tile, Made in Italy
Located in Rijssen, NL
Fun and playful tile with the image of a gecko. In a gorgeous bright orange color. Avalaible in two sizes. These tiles could be combined with eachother or incorporated into a custom ...
Category
2010s Italian Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Pottery, Majolica
$164 / item
Tableware Set Ceramic, Serving Centerpiece Bowl, Charger Plates, Blue Majolica
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
Exclusive ceramic set for the decoration of the table in blue and white, consisting of a bowl centerpiece with snake-shaped handles and four tablemats painted with the technique of m...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Contemporary 8 Large Egg Plates Ceramic Clay Handmade Mexican
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Ceramic 8 plate set with salt and pepper cart made in modern egg design by Lorenzo Lorenzzo
Lorenzo's work alludes to his favourite meal, breakfast, creating a contemporary design f...
Category
2010s Mexican Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Charger Plate Set Six Dinner Plates Table Serving Majolica Ceramic Blue Pink
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
This colorful set of 6 majolica charger plates is handmade and hand-painted in Italy following the original Renaissance painting technique, unchanged over time, which we observe to the letter.
The elegant decoration is composed by a halo of blue foliage that resembles four groups of wings surrounding light pink backgrounds: further ornamental elements develop from the center of the plate, projected outwards and giving movement to the entire compositional structure.
The beauty of these majolica plates is underlined by the artist's visible brushstrokes that give them a unique style.
Further possibility to order a set of 4 or 12 charger...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
19th Century French Hand Painted Barbotine Wall Platter Signed Aine Gambut
Located in Dallas, TX
This colorful, antique terracotta hanging plate was sculpted in Beaune, France, circa 1860. The oval plate is hand painted in a green and violet palette and has a beautiful trompe l'...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century French Clairefontaine Painted Ceramic Barbotine Fish Pitcher
Located in Dallas, TX
Add to your pitcher collection with this colorful antique Majolica water pitcher; sculpted in Clairefontaine, France, circa 1890, he ceramic jug...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Contemporary Italian Enameled Black White Majolica Crown Bowl & Platinum Accents
Located in New York, NY
Contemporary handmade Italian work of art, a bowl in the shape of a crown in majolica by Ceramica Gatti, a long tradition studio and famous designer Ettore Sottsass' favorite. This A...
Category
2010s Italian Art Deco Majolica Furniture
Materials
Platinum, Enamel
Suite of Two Ceramic Vases by Antonio Lucietti, 1974
Located in VILLEURBANNE, FR
A pair of prototype vases crafted in polychrome glazed majolica, displaying vibrant shades of green, red, blue, and white.
Each vase is composed of three distinct pieces: a square b...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$3,410 Sale Price
44% Off
Water jug bundle of asparagus, 19th century
By Onnaing
Located in Paris, FR
This stunning pitcher, inspired by the creations of the renowned Onnaing manufactory, is a true work of art in earthenware. Featuring an elegant and refined design, this pitcher stan...
Category
19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Garibaldi's Portrait Majolica, Ceramic, Made in Italy
Located in Roma, IT
This Garibaldi's Portrait Majolica is an original decorative object realized in ceramic.
An interesting colored ceramic tile representing the Italian 19th century general Giuseppe...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$261 Sale Price
25% Off
Set of Eleven Hand Decorated Italian Majolica Cabinet Plates, Circa 1920
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
All eleven of these very charming cabinet plates having crazed bodies with hand painted mythological & romantic vignettes, surrounded by borders decorated with foliate designs interspersed with cherubs & masks.
All signed with artists monogram CM...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Neoclassical Revival Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Pair of Thomas Minton Majolica Jardinières
By Thomas Minton
Located in Stamford, CT
A beautiful pair of English Majolica jardinières by Thomas Minton. Shape numbers 1388 and 1389.
Category
17th Century English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$8,600 / set
Antique Majolica Sculpture
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
Antique Majolica sculpture.
Category
Early 20th Century Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$495 Sale Price
28% Off
Mediterranea Ceramic Plate Hand Painted Glazed Majolica Italy Contemporary
Located in London, GB
Bottega Vignoli, Mediterranea large plate, hand-painted Italian majolica
Approx. 55cm diameter
Perfect décor for the wall or simply placed at the centre of a table, this stunning ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Set of Three Late 19th Century Italian Majolica Plates
By M. Cupi
Located in San Francisco, CA
A set of three, late 19th century. Italian Majolica plates / chargers. Decorated with armorial crests of three different designs. Very good dra...
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Renaissance Revival Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
$650 Sale Price / set
25% Off
19th Century English Majolica Hand Painted Sardine Cover Box with Plate
Located in Dallas, TX
This colorful barbotine dish was created in England circa 1880; attributed to Georges Jones & Sons, the dish is rectangular in shape and sits on an attached platter base; it features...
Category
Late 19th Century English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Italian Majolica Figural Compote, circa 1880
Located in New York, NY
Italian Majolica Figural Compote, circa 1880
Category
1880s Italian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Ceramic 1910, Sign: 7104 Austria, Julio Dressler established
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Sign: 7104 Austria
Julio Dressler established the unit in 1888 in Bela or Biela Bohemia. This town used to be in Austria, but changed to Czechoslovakia ...
Category
1910s Austrian Art Nouveau Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Ceramic Circle Side Table Light Blue Color Butterflies Hand Painted Majolica
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
Of extraordinary beauty and unique charm, the blue butterfly has always been considered the bearer of wishes. According to ancient beliefs it has the power to make dreams come true. ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
Art Nouveau Jardiniere with Lion Head ls by Julius Dressler, Early 1900s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Eye-catching Art Nouveau jardinière by Julius Dressler.
Stamped and numbered on bottom.
Gorgeous shades of greens, teal and brown with lion heads holding rings.
Beautiful represe...
Category
Early 20th Century Czech Art Nouveau Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Porcelain
$784 Sale Price
20% Off
19th Century French Ceramic Barbotine Wall Platter with Apples Signed Longchamp
By Longchamp
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a kitchen wall with this colorful, antique Majolica plate! Sculpted in France, circa 1880, the large platter is round in shape, and features hand painted motifs with three ...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
19th Century English Majolica Decorative Plates, Set of 3
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a wall of a shelf with this colorful set of decorative plates. Crafted in England circa 1880, each plate is heavily textured and brig...
Category
Late 19th Century English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Early 20th Century French Barbotine Faience Wall Cornucopia Dated 1915
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a kitchen wall with this elegant antique cornucopia vase. Crafted in France, and made of faience, the vase features acorn and leaf motifs on branch form, all in high relief....
Category
Early 20th Century French Majolica Furniture
Materials
Faience, Majolica
French Art Nouveau Majolica Vase with Thistles and Lizards, circa 1900
Located in New York, NY
This beautifully designed and highly decorative Art Nouveau ceramic vase is outstanding by all measures. It is very impressive and fabulously rendered in a most unusual technique, co...
Category
Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Pair of Wedgwood Cache Pots
By Wedgwood
Located in New York, NY
Pair of Wedgwood Majolica cache pots or wine coolers with strong Majolica colors of blue, yellow, green and brown. A grape and wine theme design decorated with clusters of grapes, grape vines and bearded Bacchus busts...
Category
19th Century English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$8,750 / set
19th Century French Painted Ceramic Barbotine Basket from Montigny-sur-Loing
Located in Dallas, TX
Place this sculptural, antique jardinière on a shelf or on a kitchen counter for a pop of color. Crafted in Montigny-sur-Loing, France circa 1860, the colorful basket has a central handle and features a double vase decorated with floral and leaf motifs in high relief. The elegant, artistic planter with flowers is in excellent condition and has rich, pigmented colors in a blue, black, green and pink palette. Different markings on the bottom.
Impressionist ceramics term generally applies to "paint the slip" or "batch gouache". At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the towns of Montigny-sur-Loing and Marlotte are many artists living places like Jean-Baptiste Corot, Eugène Thirion (1839-1910), Adrien Schulz (1851-1931), Numa Gillet (1868-1940) and Lucien Cahen-Michel (1888-1980), all attracted by the quality of the landscape and the light. When Eugene Schopin founded in 1872 a ceramics factory, he worked with the painters to create a range of designs inspired by Impressionism and decorated according to new public demands. Several ceramic factories will develop around this Impressionist movement. The most famous, such as Georges Delvaux (1834-1909), Albert Boué (1862-1918) and Charles Alphonse Petit (1862-1927), will produce until 1922. Other manufacturers, such as Theodore Lefront...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Pair of Italian Majolica Busts, circa 1870
Located in New York, NY
Pair of Italian majolica busts, circa 1870.
Category
Late 19th Century Italian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$3,500 / set
Art Nouveau Majolica Oval Asparagus Dish Manufactured by Orchies France
By Orchies
Located in Paris, FR
This 19th century Majolica asparagus hand-painted plate was made in France. Decorated in the middle with asparagus in barbotine - slip with yellow shell pattern on the lip and art no...
Category
19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Majolica Porcelain Trompe l'Oeil Asparagus Covered Box
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Majolica lidded Box Tromp l'Oeil to look like asparagus. The box is a wonderful decorative piece in the kitchen or dining room - holding anything from office supplies at a kitchen w...
Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Porcelain
Antique and Vintage Majolica Platters, Pottery and Other Furniture and Decor
The popularity of Victorian majolica, the gaily colored, metallic-oxide-glazed earthenware, has ebbed and flowed for more than a century. Right now, antique and vintage majolica plates, pitchers, decorative objects and other pieces appear to be having a moment — again.
Starting in the 1850s, people in the U.S. and the U.K. embraced these affordable housewares with unusual polychrome palettes (turquoise and pink) and whimsical forms (candlesticks shaped like dolphins). By the 1870s, majolica was being mass-produced for an ever-expanding middle class in countries like England, France, Sweden, Hungary and Portugal. Majolica was Art for Everyman. Its popularity coincided with interest in exotic Japonisme and scientific studies by the likes of Carl Linnaeus, Charles Darwin and John James Audobon.
Despite a similarity in name, Victorian majolica is significantly different in subject matter and form from its Italian forebear, Renaissance maiolica. That earlier earthenware bore gaily painted religious and mythological scenes, and unlike majolica, with its lively contours, was not molded or three dimensional.
What was the attraction of majolica for the 19th-century collector? “Imagine what it looked like in a Victorian interior, with dark woods, heavy drapes and upholstered chairs and sofas,” says Susan Weber, founder of the Bard Graduate Center in New York. “Majolica is robust and extremely tactile. With its naturalistic shapes, colorful glazes and often humorous themes, it appealed to the growing consumer society.”
In England, manufacturers like Minton began to produce decorative, relief-molded majolica tiles for the interiors of taverns, train stations, even the famous Queen’s Dairy at Frogmore, on the grounds of Windsor Castle. In 19th-century France, Sèvres and smaller ceramics firms began to reinterpret the snake-decorated platters made by Bernard Palissy, a 16th-century self-taught French potter. The result was a type of majolica called Palissy ware, which, like the originals, was festooned with odd creatures (lobsters, lizards and snakes) modeled by hand.
The late Moroccan-born, Paris-based decorator Alberto Pinto often placed Palissy ware in his clients’ living rooms, posing individual pieces on brackets against a background of stamped, gilded leather. Pinto, in turn, influenced such contemporary decorators as Harry Heissmann of New York. After 1900, people got swept up in the romanticism of Art Nouveau and ceased buying majolica. The 1970s saw a revival of interest, and in 1982, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York, organized “English Majolica,” an exhibition featuring 75 examples from Minton, Wedgwood and George Jones, among other makers.
On 1stDibs, find antique and vintage majolica tea sets, vases, candlesticks, tureens and other furniture and decorative objects.
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