| Fioritura
Maiolica's Heyday - A Berlin Collection
Author: Tjark Hausmann
Review by Steven Goldate
 Within
the rich history of world ceramics, maiolica is a fascinating area
of study. Those who have studied Italian maiolica of the 15th-17th
centuries cannot help but be captivated by the timeless beauty of
the Italian Renaissance masters of painting on tin-white glaze.
Influenced by potters from Eastern Spain, maiolica developed in
Italy in the 15th century, reaching its zenith (Fioritura) in the
16th century. A tin-white glaze covered a yellow to brown clay and
presented a canvas on which to paint cobalt blues, copper greens,
iron reds, browns and yellows in different shades. Motifs ranged
from family crests to portraits, ornamental designs to flora and
fauna, religious motifs and scenes from the legends and myths of
antiquity, popular during the period. Soon gold luster was also
added to the palette. Many designs were executed on platters, the
image following the shape of the rim, with a central design in the
middle. Grotesques were another popular motif and in the latter
period landscapes became more common.
While platters, with their relatively flat surface, offered an
ideal canvas for decoration, other forms such as jugs, vases and
albarellos (the characteristic Italian ‘waisted’ apothecary
jar) were also popular. Different regions specialized in certain
motifs. Montelupo, Caffagiolo and Siena concentrated on antique
mythology and ornament, in Faenza, urban scenes and pageantry were
popular, while in Deruta, beautiful maidens and religious scenes
abounded. Other famous areas of maiolica production centered on
Gubbio, Castel Durante, Urbino and Pesaro.
 According
to the authors, Italian maiolica began a slow descent after around
1540. Masterworks were still being made, but became scarcer as time
went on. Centers of activity shifted to Sicily in the middle of
the 16th century, then to Naples in the 17th century.
There are not many significant collections of Italian maiolica
outside of the country, however the ‘Berlin Collection’
is considered such a one. Whom this private collection actually
belongs to is intriguingly never mentioned. There is only talk of
a mysterious ‘head of the household’ – obviously
a euphemism for a collector of no small means, judging by the value
of many of the pieces described in the book.
Tjark Hausmann’s Fioritura, which can be translated as ‘heyday’,
is not a book written in a narrative style but rather a catalogue
of one man’s collection. Each double-spread page depicts and
describes in detail a particular work and what is known of its maker.
It begins with early Spanish tin-glaze and works its way through
Italy’s main maiolica regions. In the course of this survey,
we encounter many familiar names: Cipriana Picolpasso, Della Robbia,
Guido di Savino, Nicola di Gabriele Sbraga and many other masters,
as well as lesser known painters.
This oversize volume is replete with high-quality reproductions
of magnificent examples of Italian maiolica and is a joy to behold
– and read, if you understand German. While the language barrier
may be a drawback for some, this publication is nonetheless a must
for any serious scholar of Italian maiolica or lover of the genre.
G + H Verlag 2002. ISBN 3931768643.
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