Majolica Furniture
to
163
1,070
617
1,575
133
6
332
208
157
63
40
19
17
15
15
12
1
1
1
1
1
35
929
611
139
239
251
31
113
9
33
38
6
60
21
7
10
3
1,717
355,868
294,991
231,839
148,620
1,550
756
316
254
231
1,714
1,647
1,690
84
71
65
63
60
Material: Majolica
18th Century Italian Blue & White Faience Albarelli Apothecary Jar Pair
Located in Forney, TX
A remarkable pair of two antique European tin-glazed earthenware apothecary jars. circa 1770
Originally used as medicinal pottery jars that held ointments and dry drugs at apothecar...
Category
18th Century Italian Baroque Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Earthenware, Faience, Majolica, Pottery
SAINT-CLEMENT French Art Deco Ceramic Parrot Pitcher, 1920
Located in Saint-Amans-des-Cots, FR
French Mid-century ceramic parrot pitcher by SAINT-CLEMENT, France, 1920s. It was around 1920 that the Faïencerie Saint-Clément began producing pitchers in the shape of animal. It w...
Category
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Earthenware, Majolica
Iconic Wall Clock Junghans Uhren, Hard to Find Marmolada Design Max Bill
Located in Bochum, NRW
Important modernist glazed ceramic kitchen clock designed by Max Bill for Junghans, Germany 1956, featuring a 60-minute timer, a mechanical 8-day movement, a yellow-and-white ceramic...
Category
1950s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Brass
19th Century German Majolica Swan Plate circa 1900
Located in Austin, TX
19th Century German Majolica Swan and cygnets Plate Circa 1900.
Category
Early 1900s German Country Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
French Majolica Large Urns- A Pair
Located in Downingtown, PA
French Majolica Large Urns,
A Pair,
Circa 1870-90
The pair of French large majolica flower urns are each raised on four leaf-shaped feet. The urns are of ...
Category
1870s French Arts and Crafts Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$7,500 / set
English Majolica Vine & Strawberries Plate, circa 1880
Located in Austin, TX
English Majolica vine & strawberries plate, circa 1880.
Very rare color.
Hairline.
Category
1880s English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
19th Century Italian Majolica Dog Pitcher Nove Di Bassano
Located in Austin, TX
19th century Italian Majolica Dog Pitcher Nove Di Bassano.
signed Giovanni Battista Viero GBV.
Category
1890s Italian Art Nouveau Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Ceramic, Faience
Eichwald Secessionist Majolica Centerpiece Pedestal Bowl
By Eichwald
Located in Doylestown, PA
Striking antique majolica pedestal bowl hand-painted in yellow, pink, green and black glazes by Eichwald, early 20th century. It features classic art nouveau decorative elements with...
Category
Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Pair of Minton Majolica Cobalt-Blue Ground Reticulated Garden Seats, 1871
By Minton
Located in Milan, IT
Splendid Pair of Minton Majolica Cobalt-Blue Ground Reticulated Garden Seats
Shape no. 1364.
Each hexagonal, with a paneled side pierced in the Aesthetic style with yellow-centered w...
Category
1870s British Aesthetic Movement Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Mid-19th Century French Hand Painted Ceramic Barbotine Cache Pot with Bird Decor
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a tabletop with this colorful, antique Majolica planter. Sculpted in France circa 1860, the ceramic vase stands on three bracket feet over a round and bombe body topped with...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Rare Fratelli Fanciullacci for Elbee Gilt and Sgraffito Vase, Italy Mid Century
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Rare Modernist vase with complex textured glazes, scraffito, and gilt decor was created by Fratelli Fanciullacci for Elbee Imports. Top and bottom parts of the vase are decorated wi...
Category
20th Century Italian Organic Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Gold
$620 Sale Price
20% Off
Massive Italian Majolica Allegorical Charger by A. Deruta
By Deruta
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Massive Italian Majolica allegorical charger by A. Deruta
Gorgeous continuous Italian Renaissance style decoration
Ready to hang.
Category
20th Century Italian Renaissance Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$2,200 Sale Price
20% Off
Vallauris Majolica Ceramic Large Wall Plate Trompe L'oeil Seafood Motif
By Vallauris
Located in Barcelona, ES
Eye-catching Majolica glazed ceramic trompe l'oeil plate attributed to Vallauris. France, 1960s.
This large plate has a black background and a colorful trompe l'oeil decoration comp...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Pottery, Ceramic
A Thomas Sergent Palissy Ware Majolica Wall Pocket with Snake, French, ca. 1875
By Thomas Sargent
Located in Banner Elk, NC
A Highly Rare Thomas Sergent Palissy Ware Majolica Trompe-l'oeil Wall Pocket, naturalistically molded as an oak tree, with green-glazed leaves and acorns, a fledgling blackbird in ne...
Category
19th Century French Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century Majolica Aqua Shell Oyster Platter Sarreguemines
Located in Austin, TX
Oversize 19th Century Majolica turquoise aqua oyster platter signed Sarreguemines.
The platter have 12 shells between rope pattern and seaweeds.
Category
1890s French Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
George Jones Majolica Wheat Pitcher with Green Acanthus Leaves, Ca. 1875
By George Jones
Located in Banner Elk, NC
George Jones Majolica Pitcher, of baluster form with relief molded stiff acanthus leaves, grasses, and wheat on a brown ground, the top banded with stylized leaves glazed in chartreu...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Small 19th Century Majolica Palissy Fish Wall Platter
Located in Austin, TX
Rare small Palissy platter with a fish, lizard, butterfly, ivy leaves attributed to Thomas Sergent.
Category
1880s French Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Kira & Jacques Molin, Set of 12 Plates, Manufacture of Charolles, France c. 1970
By Jacques Molin
Located in St Ouen, FR
Founded in 1844, the Charolles factory is characterized by the quality of its traditional earthenware and its artisanal know-how passed down from generation to generation in this sma...
Category
1970s French Romantic Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
French Majolica Strawberries Plate Luneville, circa 1880
By Luneville
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica strawberries plate circa 1880 Luneville.
Category
1880s French Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Blue Butterflies Vase, Vessel Glazed Ceramic, Majolica Ornament, Handmade Italy
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, Majolica
Talavera Mural Azulejo Tile Folk Contemporary Mexican Ceramic Blue White Mosaic
By Cesar
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
This contemporary azulejo tile forms a mosaic perfect for kitchen decorations or any exterior space. Made with the Talavera technique. Artist, Cesar Torres portraits the colonial art of Mexico, but this time with a contemporary touch. This wall decoration can be arranged to fit specific spaces or simply hanged as a painting on the wall.
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 learned his art in the workshop of the Uriarte family, an excellent workshop where his grandfather worked. In his creations he uses the black and white mud that is obtained from the nearby hills of Loreto and Guadalupe, and colors of mineral origin that he creates in his workshop with recipes from his grandfather.
All the pieces are modeled in a traditional way and go through a production process that usually takes from one to two months, between drying, burning, and painting.
Being surrounded by a living tradition, Cesar Torres Jr., learned from his father since childhood. Architect by profession, Cesar Jr. has come to revolutionize and modernize with new designs and ideas of the current world, nevertheless always respecting the tradition of the processes and materials that make Talavera a Creole art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Spanish Colonial Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
Large Francois Maurice French Palissy Majolica Platter
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Francois Maurice French Palissy Majolica wall platter which features three fish and an eel to the centre. Scattered around the platter are shellfish, a frog, a tortoise, a lizard, a snake, a langoustine, beetles, fern leaves, lily pads and cat tails. Colouration: blue, green, white, are predominant. The piece bears maker's marks for the Francois Maurice pottery.
Category
1890s Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Majolica Vegetables Platter Vallauris, circa 1950
By Vallauris
Located in Austin, TX
Large French Majolica vegetable wall platter Vallauris, circa 1950.
On a black background it's a trompe l'oeil platter with tomatoe, salas, carrot...
Category
1950s French Country Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Majolica Seaweeds Oyster Plate Keller and Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica oyster plate attributed to Keller Et Guerin Saint Clement, circa 1890.
Reference / page 98 "Collecting oyster plates" of Jeffrey B. Snyder.One small chip.
Category
1890s French Aesthetic Movement Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Cunha Palissy Majolica Crab Wallpocket
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Jose A Cunha Portuguese Palissy Majolica wall pocket which features a crab on cabbage leaves. Colouration: green, pink, are predominant. The piece bears m...
Category
1890s Portuguese Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century Majolica Monkey Pianist Humidor Tobacco Jar Sarreguemines
Located in Austin, TX
Amusing Majolica monkey pianist tobacco jar Sarreguemines, circa 1880.Rarely found complete with his lid ,he wear a costume of Oriental style, he play piano and two books are represe...
Category
1880s French Rococo Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Delphin Massier Art Nouveau Majolica Figural Egret Planter, Vallauris
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Delphin Massier Art Nouveau Majolica figural egret planter, Vallauris, circa 1900.
Category
Late 19th Century French Art Nouveau Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Majolica Duck Tureen Sarreguemines, circa 1880
Located in Austin, TX
Large fine Majolica duck tureen signed Sarreguemines, circa 1880.
The base imitate the water of the pond.
Category
1880s French Rustic Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
19th Century Majolica Palissy Lizard Wall Platter Alfred Renoleau
Located in Austin, TX
19th century Majolica Palissy lizard oval wall platter signed Alfred Renoleau.
2 lizards, shells and frog.
Category
1880s French Rustic Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Majolica Asparagus Serving Set by Elchinger, France, 7 Pieces
By Elchinger
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
A charming French Majolica asparagus serving set by Elchinger, featuring a rich green glaze with raised asparagus motifs. This Barbotine ceramic set includes one large serving platter and six matching plates. The intricate relief detailing and vibrant colors make it a perfect addition to any Majolica collection or a stylish choice for serving asparagus and other delicacies.
Platter dimensions: approx. 39 x 24 x 3 cm (15.4 x 9.4 x 1.2 inches)
Plate dimensions: approx. 24 cm (9.4 inches) diameter each
A beautiful example of classic French Barbotine pottery...
Category
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Partridge Majolica Game Pie Dish Made by George Jones, Ca. 1867
By George Jones
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
A majolica game pie dish designed by George Jones circa 1867-1869 in the ‘Partridge’ shape. The game pie dish is decorated with a lovely turquoi...
Category
1860s English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Earthenware, Majolica, Pottery
19th Century Majolica Strawberry Server George Jones
By George Jones
Located in Austin, TX
19th-century Majolica strawberries server with 2 pots for cream and sugar signed George Jones.
Napkin trompe l'oeil.
Measures: 14.5 inches by 9 inc...
Category
1880s English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Dinner set for 6 (12 pieces) Hand Painted Italian Faience Garofano Faenza
Located in London, GB
Hand painted dinner ware set with Garofano pattern (6 covers - 12 pieces: 6 soup bowls and 6 plates) hand-painted majolica from Faenza, Italy .
Created and decorated entirely by hand by master craftsmen from Faenza, Italy.
The set can be fully customised in terms of number of place settings and additional bespoke elements that can be added to complement the set: side dishes, serving plates, trays and many more.
Faenza, located between the Adriatic Sea and Bologna, is known as the “City of Ceramics.” The term faience is a French version of the town’s name.
Faience (majolica) production occurred in Faenza during the Middle Ages. In the 1500s, a week-long fair took place where local ceramic manufacturers set up stalls.
Faenza majolica was highly regarded among the wealthy, many of whom commissioned ceramic mastesr to create pieces featuring heraldry, hunting, and mythological designs. During the Renaissance, Faenza became well known for its “beautiful lady” plates...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Renaissance Revival Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Rare Henriot Quimper France Faience Vase, Abstract Hand Painted Decor
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Rare Henriot Quimper faience vase is hand painted with abstract decor of complex geometric bands on the base and on top and abstract leaf garland in the central area of the vase. M...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Faience, Pottery, Ceramic, Majolica
Majolica Fireplace Mantel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Belle Époque South of France 19th century fireplace mantel frame, lavender color, hand sculptured and glazed. Measures: Middle part where the head is measures 21.5 and bottom middle ...
Category
Early 20th Century French Belle Époque Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Jasba Keramik Set of 2 Lava Vases, West German Pottery 1960s
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Set of 2 vintage vases features bright lava glaze in white, accentuated with pink, orange, mint green, and yellow overlays over dark espresso brown background glaze. The rims are ac...
Category
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Pottery
Unmatching Pair of Majolica Ceramic Trompe L'oeil Crab Lobster Large Wall Plates
Located in Barcelona, ES
Extra large spider crab and lobster seafood plates wall decoration, Majolica, glazed ceramic. Portugal, 1950s
Rare find.
A colorful pair of fine Majolica glazed ceramic plates with s...
Category
20th Century Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Ceramic
French Majolica Rooster Tureen Caugant
Located in Austin, TX
French country majolica rooster tureen, circa 1950 signed Caugant.
Category
1950s French Country Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
circa 1910 Arts & Crafts Oak Wall Coat Rack, Beveled Mirror & Hand Painted Tiles
Located in Lisse, NL
Large size, great shape and excellent condition antique coat rack.
If you are looking for a stylish and practical coat rack in the Arts & Crafts style then this period piece could be perfect for you. It is truly stylish, entirely original and, as you can see in our images, it is in very good condition. This quality antique is handcrafted from solid oak and it comes with the inlaid, hand painted and glazed tiles. These tiles are extra special, because on top of the glazing are unique, gilt and stylized flower motifs. This luxurious and colorful coat rack also comes with all the original and aesthetically beautiful hooks...
Category
Early 20th Century European Arts and Crafts Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Mirror, Oak
19th Century Majolica Bamboo Umbrella Stand Onnaing
By Onnaing
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica Bamboo umbrella stand signed Onnaing with a banana tree, circa 1890.
Reference / Page 21"Faience d'Onnaing" of C. Campion.
From the collection...
Category
1890s French Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Ceramic, Faience
French Majolica Oyster Plate Russian Imperial Eagle, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica oyster plate called Russian imperial eagle, circa 1890.
Reference / page 132 "Oyster Plates" of Jeffrey B. Snyder.
Category
1890s French Aesthetic Movement Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
19th Century Victorian Majolica Minton Lily Pitcher
By Minton
Located in Austin, TX
19th Century Victorian Majolica Minton Lily Pitcher.
Category
1880s English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Ceramic
Large Majolica Wall Pocket Dog Delphin Massier, circa 1890
Located in Austin, TX
Large French Majolica dog wall pocke Delphin Massier.
Height / 8.5 inches.
The Massier are known for the quality of their unique enamels and paintings. The Massier family produced di...
Category
1890s French Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Pair of Vallauris Glazed Ceramic Majolica Gurgle Fish Jug Pitchers, 1950s
By Vallauris
Located in Barcelona, ES
Unmatching pair of Modernist glazed ceramic gurgling fish water jugs / pitchers by Vallauris, France, 1950s-1960s
Eye-catching hand painted fat lava gurgle fish vases...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Ceramic
Arts & Crafts Coat Rack w. Majolica Glazed, Stylized Flower Tiles & Bronze Hooks
Located in Lisse, NL
Stunning design and good condition, hand crafted oakwood wall coat-rack with unique tiles.
This rare and highly stylish Art Nouveau / Jugendstil coat rack is entirely original and i...
Category
Early 20th Century European Art Nouveau Majolica Furniture
Materials
Bronze
19th Century French Majolica Oranges Wall Platter
Located in Austin, TX
19th Century French Majolica oranges Wall Platter.
Category
1890s Finnish Rustic Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
19th Century French Majolica Beehive Tobacco Jar
Located in Austin, TX
19th Century French Majolica Beehive Tobacco Jar.
North of France.
Category
1890s French Country Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
19th Century English Majolica Oyster Plate
Located in Pearland, TX
A gorgeous antique 19th-Century English majolica oyster plate, circa 1870-1890. This fine quality oyster plate has six wells with lovely soft shades of turquoise, blue, and lilac. It...
Category
Late 19th Century English Country Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
French Majolica Parakeets Plate Salins, circa 1890
By Salins
Located in Austin, TX
Majolica plate two parakeets with oranges Salins, circa 1890.
Category
1890s French Art Nouveau Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Art Nouveau Handmade and Hand Glazed Planter Jardinière, Stamp: Wessel 958
By Wessel & Muller
Located in Verviers, BE
Brilliant Handmade Majolica Hand-glazed
Art Nouveau planter jardinière, 1920.
Stamp Imperiale Royale, WESSEL
Handmade and hand-glazed in brilliant details.
Made in Germany
Art Nouv...
Category
1920s German Art Nouveau Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Talavera Jar Decorative Vase Folk Art Vessel Mexican Ceramic Blue White
By Cesar
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Elegant white and blue jar made with the authentic Talavera technique. Master artisan, Cesar Torres portraits the colonial art of Mexico.
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...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Spanish Colonial Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
Jerome Massier Fils Majolica Hunting Dog Vase
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Jerome Massier Fils Majolica figural vase which features a hunting dog stood in front of a tree trunk. Colouration: white, brown, green, are predominant. The piece bears an impressiv...
Category
Early 1900s Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Set of two exceptionally rare majolika basket vases, Amphora, 1910s Bohemia
Located in Wien, AT
Exceptional set of two vases, so-called basket vases, made from 1910 - 20, by the famous Amphora factory in Bohemia.
The vases have a round base and taper towards the top. They have...
Category
1910s Czech Jugendstil Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
George Jones Majolica Egyptian-style Sphinx Bowl
By George Jones
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
George Jones Majolica figural bowl with a mythological theme which features two Egyptian sphinxes seated on a mottled oval base supporting a bowl...
Category
1870s Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Midcentury Italian Terracotta Foo Dog Garden Seats, a Pair
Located in Kennesaw, GA
This is a facing pair of midcentury Italian glazed terracotta foo dog garden seats in very good condition. They are a rare find! They are unmarked and i...
Category
1960s Italian Chinese Export Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Terracotta
19th Century French Hand Painted Ceramic Barbotine Fruit Wall Platter
By Longchamp
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a kitchen wall or a breakfast room with this large antique majolica plate. Sculpted in France circa 1880 in the manner of Longchamp, the colorful porcelain platter is decora...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Glazed Ceramic Gurgle Fish Jug Pitcher by Vallauris, 1950s
By Vallauris
Located in Barcelona, ES
Oversized Mid-Century Modernist glazed ceramic gurgling fish water jug / pitcher. Manufactured by Vallauris, France, 1950s
Eye-catching hand painted brown, orange and blue-green large Majolica ceramic vase, fish glug jug...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Ceramic
19th Century Majolica Oyster Flowers Plate Longchamp
By Longchamp
Located in Austin, TX
French Majolica oyster plate with flowers circa 1890 signed Longchamp.
Category
1890s French French Provincial Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Italian Albarello Jar with Interlacing Bands Motifs, 19th Century
Located in Dallas, TX
The interlacing band motifs on this Italian albarello jar are quite mesmerizing. Hand-painted in the 1800s, this majolica apothecary container has an arabesque of white bands, partia...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Paint
Minton Majolica Pigeon Centrepiece Bowl
By Minton
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Minton Majolica centrepiece bowl which features three pigeons perched on a leafy oak branch, supporting a large basketweave bowl on their fan tails. Bowl is decorated with oak leaves...
Category
1870s Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
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.
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Antique Furniture Restoration
Antique Renaissance Furniture
Ancient Roman
Antique Flower Patterns
Antique Fairings
Antique Folding Furniture
Antique Brown Glaze
Antique Cut Glass
Antique Unusual
Antique Plinth
19th Century Gold Frames
Antique French Empire Furniture
Antique Linens
Antique Hand Iron
American Masterpiece
Antique Hand Colored Prints
Acanthus Leaves
Antique Red Painted Furniture