Italian Traditional Pottery

Italian maiolica the term for tin-glazed earthenware, was brought to Italy from Moorish Spain during the Medieval Ages first produced around 1350. But it wasn’t until the height of Renaissance that pottery reached its artistic peak. Early maiolica had a limited colour palette- a classic white base with manganese (brown) and copper (green) glaze designs. By 1460, the technological advancements in kilns and glazing gave makers much more artistic opportunity resulting in much more vibrant, polychrome ceramics that we associate with Italian pottery today. By the end of the 15th century, small towns were renowned for their high-quality maiolica and each town had developed their own distinct styles. Some were larger cities, such as Siena, but more often they were small towns whose market was a large nearby city to which they were politically affiliated. Two prominent examples were Deruta, near Perugia and Montelupo, near Florence. Both of these towns are located along riverbanks – the Tiber in Umbria and the Arno in Tuscany – where there are natural clay deposits, perfect for the production of maiolica. The rich variety across regions of Italy makes more sense when you consider that until 1870, Italy wasn’t a unified country but rather a number of kingdoms and papal states.

New Work

I started making a sugar pot last week, and some flower shaped vases. I wanted to make some more vessels with lids and create a spoon that accompanies the pot. The design is inspired by traditional Portuguese tile-art. Also I wanted to develop my flower designs into creating forms which are actually this shape. The corners were fiddly to put together but the time I invested in it has given me a refined modern flower shape which I am happy with.

Balkan Traditional Pottery

There is very limited information on traditional ceramic techniques from the balkans, however from my own observation and experience traditional folk-based pottery is characteristic of red earthenware clay and simple slip-ware decoration or the technique of thinner liquid slips being dripped and dragged into fine patterns.

Troyan pottery

The Troyan style evolved in the 19th century based on Thracian and Slavic designs. characteristic red clay is always used and traditionally the vessels were painted with soft, predominantly primary colours. Objects such as bull's horns and feathers were used to achieve a peacock or butterfly like design which is repeated in a precise circular pattern.

Independent design shops in London

tate modern