The Arts and Crafts of Older Spain, Volume 2 (of 3)Williams, Leonard
History
The Arts and Crafts of Older Spain, Volume 2 (of 3)
Williams, Leonard
Decorative arts -- Spain -- History
Returning to the Ordinances of Granada, those which concern the potters
or _olleros_ generally are dated 1530, and inform us of the price of
glazed and unglazed articles in common use, such as _ollas_ or pots
(with and without glaze), _cazuelas_ or earthen vessels for cooking
meat, plates of many colours and dimensions, _jarros_ (jugs), _alcuzas_
(vials), _cantaros castellanos_ (Castilian water-pitchers), _cantaros
moriscos_ (Moorish water-pitchers[64]), _morteros_ (mortars),
_lebrillos_ (earthen tubs), _candiles_ (lamps with a green, white or
yellow glaze), _orzas_ (gally pots), _botijas_ (narrow-necked jars), and
_salseras_ (saucers).
[64] The watersellers' Ordinance of 1516 enacts that each of these
vendors shall carry a minimum load of six _cántaros_, and that the
cántaros themselves shall be "of the round shape, and not the
Moorish ones, as these have long spouts; each _cántaro_ to be
closed with a cork." The latter is the typical pitcher of Morocco.
"As we were talking, neighbours dropped in, in the familiar Eastern
way, and sat quiet and self-contained, occasionally drinking from
one of the two long-necked and porous water-jars, known as
'Baradas' or the 'coolers,' which stand, their wooden stoppers tied
to them with a palmetto cord, on each side the divan."--Cunninghame
Graham, _Mogreb-el-Acksa_, p. 88.
The shape and colouring of many of these common articles have been
continued till to-day, especially in Andalusia. I reproduce a photograph
of some (Plate l.), in which the influence of the East is unmistakable.
The smaller of the two unglazed jars is used for carrying and cooling
water, and is made at Loja. The other, which is often used for storing
honey, is from Guadalajara. The spherical vessel is a kind of bottle for
_aguardiente_. It is glazed a brightish green, and is made in various
parts of Andalusia, as are the gourd-shaped _calabazas_, which have a
yellow glaze. The smallest vessel, or that which has a funnel-shaped and
bulging mouth, is coated with a coarse metallic glaze coloured in white
and blue, and proceeds from Granada.
[Illustration: L
COARSE SPANISH POTTERY
(_Modern_)]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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