SPAIN: Islamic Arabs conquered Spain in 714. Slowly, Christian Spain reconquered the country until only Andalucia was Moslem in the 13^th C .The last Moorish kingdom, the Nasrids, was defeated in 1492. Rich, intricate and exquisitely crafted leather -work, metal ware and other crafts were products of the Islamic culture in Spain during the Middle Ages.

Ceramics:

Pre Islamic: Strong indigenous pottery tradition with unglazed incised ware and some lead glazing from Roman influences. Interested in complicated shapes.

Nasrid Luster: Famous "golden "pottery made in the city of Malaga in the 13^th Century. Tin glazed earthenware was decorated in cobalt blue and golden amber yellow luster. Lusterware technology probably came from Egypt. Malaga luster was exported to Italy in the 14^th and 15^th C as well as to Northern Europe. Most outstanding examples of this work is the Great Vases of the Alhambra, a group of five foot tall earthenware, cobalt blue under-glaze, and luster decorated vases that were made to be placed in the alcoves of the Alhambra Palace.

Hispano-Moresque Ware: Lusterware made in Christian Spain in the cities of Valencia and Manises by Moorish craftsman. Luster yellow amber and then later orange gold. Combined Islamic designs such as the six pointed star, abstracted foliage, the tree of life, and pinecones with Christian themes and the famous bryony ( a kind of squash) intertwined vine. Entire population of Muslims was banished from Spain in 1609.

Apothecary jars called arbarello in Spain were first made in Mesopotamia, where hospitals and medical schools were founded, to hold herbs and drugs. This jar form was tin-glazed, which was stable for storing these drugs and was in great demand throughout Europe.

Technique: Because of the increased demand for pottery, ware was made by forming clay inside of a spinning mold of bisque or plaster. Enabled large amounts of pots to be made with little or no trimming.
 

ITALY: Early traditions of pottery come from the Romans with their Arretino ware and the green lead glazes. During the Middle Ages, influences of Byzantine ware can be seen in the green lead glazes over incised sgraffito ware that were found in Macedonia and other areas and were traded in Italy.

Middle Ages 1200-1400 : Luster pottery from Valencia was imported to Italy. Tin ware was also imported to Italy from the Middle East and Sicily. Some of the best dated luster ware from Spain can be found on the exterior church walls of Pisa known as bacini: Egyptian Fatmid of the 11^th c set into the wall of San Sisto 1180, lusterware from Andalucia in the 13^th C on Santa Cecilia and luster from Valencia of the 15^th C in the Convent of Sant'Anna.

By the 13^th C Tin-glaze ware was established in Tuscany and Umbria. using copper green and manganese brown.. Later cobalt blue was introduced.

Maiolica is a term for both luster and tin-glazed ware coming from Spain but the original meaning and the derivation of the word is not clear. Several sources suggest that the name doesn’t come from Mallora the name of the island port off the coast of Spain but instead means "obra de malequa" the Spanish name for luster which was Italianised to maiolica. In 15^th and 16^th C Italian documents, luster ware is referred to as maiolica and tin-glaze is bianchi.

Renaissance 1400-1550: Tin glaze pottery developed rapidly throughout Central and Northern Italy. Improvements in kilns and glazes and the introductions of new colors that could withstand higher temperatures made possible the Renaissance style of maiolica.

Florence:: Large dishes made influenced by Spanish ware but used the brown and green palatte "Famigli verde". " Oakleaf" drug jars and jugs used figures, birds and lions along with indented leaves in blue relief. 1000 such jars were commissioned in 1430 for the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova. Influenced by the innovative painting, architecture and sculpture of the 15^th Century.

Faenza: Influences of Hispano-Moresque can be found in the decorative vocabulary such as the leaf and flower patterns, the arabesques and scrolls as well as contour panels for designs. Original ideas can be found in the use of the peacock eye feather, classical architecture features, portraits of people and sayings for commemorative purposes such as weddings and births.

Deruta: Local pottery center for hundreds of years, began making tin glazed ware in the 1470 and in 1501 began to make luster. One of only two places in Italy that did use the luster technique. It has been suggested that either Moorish potters, fleeing Spain came to Deruta or more possibly, there was a connection between the nearby artists of Perugia and the Papal court. (The pope was Spanish and had luster-ware made in Valencia for his palace in Rome). Luster emphasized the 2D surface of the pot. Most of the designs of Deruta were outline drawings and were not interested in the illusion of 3D.Luster was used to emphasis the sun and light and the sunflower theme.

Gubbio: Learned the luster technique from Deruta. Very elaborate and ornate work. Famous potter was Maestro Giorgio Andreoli

Venice: Instead of putting a clear glaze over the tin glaze oxides like the rest of Italy, the potters of Venice painted oxides on the tin ware and fired it. Influence of naturalistic flowers from the Turkish pottery at Isnik.

Istoriato Maiolica ( History paintings) In the 16^th C large plates were used as "canvases" for elaborate paintings whose subject was borrowed from the Bible or classical mythology and whose images were copied from the prints of painters,Raphael, Durer, and Mantegna.. The painter of the "histories" was not the same person as the maker of the ware. Now there was a new "designer- painter" who was out to astound the viewer with his expertise. Probably these were first developed in Faenza, other centers were Florence, Urbino and Castel Durante.

Luca della Robia 1400-1482 was a sculptor who began to make terracotta bas relief to be used in architectural adornment using the tin glazing technique in a slightly different way. Instead of over-painting with oxides, he added the oxides to the tin glaze and made solid colored glazes.

Bibliography:

Caiger-Smith, Alan, Lustre Pottery, New York: 1985.

Carnegy, Daphne, Tin-glazed Earthenware, Radnor: 1993

Cooper, Emmanuel, A History of World Pottery, Radnor: 1991

Falchi, Rodolfo, Concise Guide to Majolica, London: 1994

Hess, Catherine, Italian Maiolica, Malibu, 1988

Poole, Julia, Italian Maiolica, New York, 1997.

Papanikola-Bakirizis, Demetra, Ceramic Art from Byzantine Serres, Chicago: 1992