Historic Ornament, Vol. 2 (of 2): Treatise on decorative art and architectural ornamentWard, James
History
Historic Ornament, Vol. 2 (of 2): Treatise on decorative art and architectural ornament
Ward, James
Architecture -- History; Decoration and ornament -- History; Decorative arts -- History
The same author translates a document he found in the British Museum,
which gives a description of the whole of the making and preparing of
the golden lustre as used at Manises in 1785: speaking of its
composition, the document runs thus: “Five ingredients enter into the
composition of the gold colour: copper, which is the better the older it
is; silver as old as possible; sulphur, red ochre, and strong vinegar,
which are mixed in the following proportions: of copper three ounces, of
red ochre twelve ounces, of silver one _peseta_ (about a shilling),
sulphur three ounces, vinegar a quart.” All these ingredients are fused
together, and afterwards ground and diluted with water and the vinegar
to make the gold-coloured glaze or varnish for use in the decorating of
the ware. A woodcut gives a very imperfect idea of Hispano-Moresque
pottery, as the lustre and colour is everything in the ware; the designs
generally are very simple leaf-work shields and small geometric
repetitions. The beautiful dish (Fig. 7) is one of the finest examples
of the ware made at Murcia in the province of Valencia. The statement of
Eximenus regarding the Pope, the cardinals, and princes sending for this
ware seems to have been correct, for most of the pieces known have been
found or brought from Italy, to which country the majority of them had
evidently been exported.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.—Valencia Dish; Hispano-Moresque. (S.K.M.)]
Besides the lustred ware manufactured in the peninsula in the Middle
Ages, the _Azulejos_, or tiles of bright colours, were made in small
pieces, and were embedded in the walls to form geometric patterns. This
manner of using these tiles was derived from the coloured and geometric
Byzantine mosaics, tiles being used in Spain where mosaics would be used
in the Eastern Empire; and perhaps the earliest use of them in Spain was
in the Alhambra decoration of the fourteenth century. Afterwards the
tiles became larger and more complete in their patterns. Terra-cotta
figures and ornament, green and white-glazed pottery were also made by
the Moors in Spain.
In the sixteenth century Spanish pottery design was of the Italian
Renaissance character. Unlike the Moresque work, the designs were shaded
and the colours more subdued, but the Moresque design still continued in
favour, and to keep its flat treatment and bright effect of colour. The
Italian kind of pottery was made at Talavera, at Andujar, and at La
Rambla, as well as unglazed porous and coloured ware at the former
place, and white unglazed pottery at the latter places. Coarse green and
white pottery was made at Toledo in the sixteenth century; a large
well-head or brim, with an interlaced Moresque band in relief, from this
place is now in the Museum at Kensington.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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