Italian Pottery Sites

[fossilfly]

A similar thread in the Murano forum is one of the most popular and longest threads in the forum and is continually updated by members who find a site or webpage that is of interest.

I will start this thread off with the website of the Museum of Deruta Ceramics (http://www.museoceramicaderuta.it) and http://www.museicivicipesaro.it . Both have samples of important Ceramics from the region throughout history.The sites are in Italian, with no english option, as far as I can tell, but the recent acquisitions downloads can be valuable for research as they have photocopied images of recent museum purchases and loans, and an interactive search feature. Still a worthwhile resource, especially if you will be visiting the area.

[fossilfly]

For those looking to not just collect Italian Ceramics, but to learn the art hands, here is a listing of courses (In Italian of course) that are available. I cannot recommend any of them, I just added the link for your reference.

http://www.tuttocorsi.com/arte/ceramica.html

[fossilfly]

Heres more on classes and learning how to create ceramics in the Deruta style.

http://www.scuoladarteceramica.com/

They also have a forum (In Italian) that you can post questions about the school.

The english version is here:
http://www.schoolofceramics.org/

[fossilfly]

For collectors of Italian Pottery who are looking verify authenticity or determine a manufacturer, it is often easier to figure out than with Murano Glass. Most pottery is stamped or marked by the manufacturer before being glazed.

Here are a few site that have pictures drawings of various pottery manufacturers in Italy.

One of the better sites for comtemporary pottery, with marks for many companies.

http://www.ceramics.it/marchi_en.html

Basic, but with ranges of dates of manufacture.

http://www.ronzan.it/marchi.htm


Specifically about Capodimonte Porcelain with a well researched history of Capodiamonte.

http://www.onlinecollectibles.com/faq/capodimonte2.htm

[fossilfly]

Another site about Italian Pottery with a history of the pottery and the area, and also how the industry was changed by the introduction of Chinese porcelain in the 1700's (a similar challenge today!). The video clip is worth a visit, it shows how the pottery is designed, spun on a pottery wheel, painted and fired.

http://www.maiolicheginapelli.it/english/ceramica.php

[fossilfly]

The previous post got me thinking, How many clips are on youtube about Deruta pottery?

Quite a few (http://youtube.com/results?search_query=deruta+pottery&search_type=&search=Search). Some amazing clips take you through the whole process from hand molding the clay on the wheel through painting and glazing the pottery. Most people do not realize that the colors are not readily apparent before firing, so the artists have to work with often minimally visible glaze, which only after firing becomes fully colored.

[fossilfly]

Here is another webpage, titled "The Art and History of Majolica", located at

http://www.rencentral.com/GSS/lesson11-maiolica.shtml

it has a concise history of Majolia plus a few photos of some great items. The whole site is dedicated to the "lost" art of Illumination, or artistic lettering, which is often found on Majolica pottery.

[fossilfly]

A primer on the Capodimonte porcelain, found on the always helpful Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capodimonte_porcelain

[fossilfly]

A manual of marks on pottery and porcelain; a dictionary of easy reference (1894)



Thanks to antiquerose123 who found this gem, below is the URL for a scanned copy of pottery marks guide from 1894. It has pottery marks from around the world, but also 15+ pages on Majolica marks, and interesting, pottery marks from Venice too.

http://www.archive.org/details/manualofmarksonp00hoopuoft

[TxSilver]

I didn't see a reference to this site of Italian ceramic marks, so thought I would post it. There are 17 pages of marks (though not the one I was looking for).
http://www.oldandsold.com/pottery/italy1.shtml

[fossilfly]

Heres another with the history of Capodimonte porcelain.

http://www.antique-china-porcelain-collectibles.com/capodimonte-porcelain-history.htm

[fossilfly]

The National Gallery in Washington DC has a permanent collection of Italian Renaissance Ceramics, some from Deruta, but much of itfrom elsewhere in Italy.

If you can't make it to the National Gallery, their website has a online tour of their stunning pieces here:

Italian Renaissance Ceramics (http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/itacer/itacer-main1.html)