Majolica Furniture
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Material: Majolica
Italy Mid-18th Century White Majolica Center Piece by Pasquale Antonibon
Located in Brescia, IT
Magnificient and exceptional centrepiece in white majolica with polychromes flowers and branches produced around 1740 - 1770 by the ancient Pasquale Antonibon Manufacture based in N...
Category
Mid-18th Century Italian Rococo Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
French Majolica Camel-Form Lidded Box
Located in Downingtown, PA
An Exotic Cargo: A French Majolica Camel-Form Lidded Box, St. Amand,
Circa 1870
This charming French majolica lidded box is a delightful example of the imaginative and naturalistic forms that characterized 19th-century majolica production. Crafted by the St. Amand pottery in circa 1870, the piece is a sculptural rendering of a seated camel, a subject that would have appealed to the era's fascination with exoticism and global trade. The camel is naturalistically colored and rests on a raised, mottled green ground, suggesting a desert landscape.
The lid of the box is formed by the camel's loaded pack, which is meticulously detailed with a variety of goods. This top section is removable, revealing a square, hollow interior in a contrasting light blue glaze—a small, hidden surprise. The impressed mark "St Ad" on the base confirms its origin from the Saint-Amand-les-Eaux pottery. This pottery, which was active from the 17th century to 1920, was renowned for its high-quality, brightly colored tin-glazed earthenware, a technique known as faience in France. St. Amand's work, often featuring rich glazes and creative forms, was widely exported and highly sought after for both tableware and decorative objects.
Majolica, with its vibrant glazes and playful designs, saw a resurgence in popularity in the mid-19th century, particularly in England and France. This camel-form box is a perfect example of how the pottery of this period moved beyond purely functional forms to create whimsical and narrative pieces. It reflects a world increasingly connected by trade and travel, where images of distant lands and their inhabitants entered the domestic sphere. This piece, from a private New York collection and with a provenance tracing to Jesse Davis Antiques...
Category
1870s French Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
French 19th Century Longchamp Majolica Oyster Plate with Painted Floral Décor
By Longchamp
Located in Atlanta, GA
French Longchamp Terre de Fer Majolica oyster plates from the late 19th century, with flowers and pink outline. We currently have 10 plates available, priced and sold individually. A...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
A George Jones Majolica Tureen with Recumbent Doe, English, ca. 1875
By George Jones
Located in Banner Elk, NC
A George Jones Majolica Game Pie Tureen, the cover formed as a domed rustic mound with green glazed ferns and grasses, surmounted by a naturalistically molded and glazed recumbent do...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Cunha Palissy Majolica Crab Wallpocket
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Jose A Cunha Portuguese Palissy Majolica wall pocket which features a crab on cabbage leaves. Colouration: green, pink, are predominant. The piece bears m...
Category
1890s Portuguese Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Blue and White Dutch Delft Tile with Pikier, Mid 17th Century
Located in AMSTERDAM, NH
The Netherlands
Amsterdam
Circa 1625 – 1650
A blue and white Dutch tile with a decoration of a Dutch soldier from the period of the 80 Years War. This soldier could be a member of t...
Category
1620s Dutch Baroque Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Bitossi for Peasant Village Large Shell-shaped Bowl, Red Glaze Italy Mid Century
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Shell-shaped ceramic bowl is glazed in red with complex variations in glaze color accentuating the intricate shape of the bowl.
The bowl is signed on the bottom with "Italy 68105 ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Pottery
French Majolica Manta Ray Dish Platter, Desvres, circa 1960
By Desvres
Located in ASNIÈRES-SUR-SEINE, FR
This incredible little manta ray platter is extremely rare.
Would be great for aperitif, tapas, shrimps, small sea food.
René Delarue opened his own earthenware factory in Desvres i...
Category
1960s French French Provincial Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Vallauris Glazed Art Nouveau Planter Jardinière, 1930s
By Vallauris AM
Located in Verviers, BE
Brilliant handmade hand glazed Art Nouveau planter jardinière, 1930s
Wonderful Art Nouveau period/ monumental ceramic planter jardinière, h...
Category
1930s French Art Nouveau Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Sculptural "Rhino #5" Table Lamp by Bill Stewart, American Art Studio Pottery
By Bill Stewart
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Striking ceramic table lamp is comprised of hand-sculpted rhino figurine with a bird sitting on its neck; the rhino is mounted on long conical totem pole, formed in coil technique. ...
Category
20th Century American Post-Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Terracotta, Pottery
Minton Majolica Pigeon Centrepiece Bowl
By Minton
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Minton Majolica centrepiece bowl which features three pigeons perched on a leafy oak branch, supporting a large basketweave bowl on their fan tails. Bowl is decorated with oak leaves...
Category
1870s Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Art Nouveau French Antique Ceramic Vase in Blue Majolica with White Gold Flowers
Located in New York, NY
1900-1910 French Art Nouveau Earthenware Vase in faience by Keller
Guérin - Lunéville, raised on 4 feet and decorated with hand-painted flowers enameled in white and azure sky ...
Category
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Majolica Furniture
Materials
Gold
$222 Sale Price
50% Off
Palissy Ware Majolica Ewer, Portuguese, Manuel Mafra, Caldas da Rainha
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Palissy Ware Majolica Ewer, Portuguese, circa 1880 by Manuel Mafra, Caldas da Rainha.
For over 28 years we have been among the Nation’s preeminent specialists in Fine antique Majolica.
Book Reference:
Marshall P. Katz, Portuguese Palissy Ware...
Category
1880s Portuguese Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
American Etruscan Majolica Teapot in the Form of a Cauliflower
Located in Downingtown, PA
American Etruscan Majolica Teapot in the form of a Cauliflower,
Early Majolica-type body,
Circa 1860
The green molded tromp L'oeil teapot is des...
Category
1860s American American Craftsman Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Spanish Manises Majolica and Wrought Iron Gothic Revival Floor Lamp, 1900s
Located in Warsaw, PL
Exceptional floor lamp from Manises, Spain, circa 1900, uniting richly glazed majolica ceramics with elaborate wrought iron work in the Gothic Revival style.
The wrought iron base a...
Category
Early 1900s Spanish Gothic Revival Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Wrought Iron
Majolica Fireplace Mantel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Belle Époque South of France 19th century fireplace mantel frame, lavender color, hand sculptured and glazed. Measures: Middle part where the head is measures 21.5 and bottom middle ...
Category
Early 20th Century French Belle Époque Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century French Majolica Cache Pot with Poppies Decor
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
A very colourful 19th century Majolica cache pot, vividly decorated with an entrancing motif of flowering poppies and foliage, and set against a yellow background imprinted with an i...
Category
19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Rare Majolica Ceramic Glazed Rabbit Pitcher, circa 1900
Located in ASNIÈRES-SUR-SEINE, FR
This rare majolica rabbit pitcher was probably produced for the Paris World's Fair in 1900.
Animal-shaped pitchers are a great classic of majolica.
The...
Category
Early 1900s French Country Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Joe Tilson Majolica Edition 45/200
By Joe Tilson
Located in London, GB
Joe Tilson - (RA) British Pop Artist b.1928
'Persephone 4' 1992
Majolica Edition 45/200.
Category
1990s British Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Wood
Minton Majolica Blackberry Jug
By Minton
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Minton Majolica jug/pitcher which features a blackberry bush bearing fruit. Barrel effect ground. Brown ground version. Colouration: brown, green, blue, are predominant. Marks includ...
Category
1850s Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Aldo Londi for Bitossi Majolica Plate Tray Flower Decor, Italy 1950s-1960s
By Aldo Londi, Bitossi
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Modernist plate, tray, or shallow bowl features graphic abstract floral decor on green background glaze. The platter is sculpted with rhythmically scalloped edge that adds visual in...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Porcelain, Pottery
French Wide Majolica Vegetable Serving Platter
Located in LA CIOTAT, FR
An attractive and unusual vintage serving platter, embellished with a central divider of beautifully crafted and hand-painted garden vegetables. A raised, embossed and painted green ...
Category
20th Century French Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
19th Century French Hand Painted Ceramic Barbotine Pig Pitcher Onnaing Style
By Onnaing
Located in Dallas, TX
This colorful, antique water pitcher was crafted in Northern France, circa 1880. The jug, titled "Cochon au Jambon" (pig with ham), features a pig sculpture with a laurel leaf crown ...
Category
Early 20th Century French Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
1950
s Ceramic Lemon Salt
Pepper Shakers
Located in Charleston, SC
This is a charming little 1950's Majolica lemon salt and pepper shaker. This is a little whimsical little tree design that holds the lemons on top. This was made in Japan and has gre...
Category
1950s Japanese Other Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Circa 1920s American McCoy Amaryllis Pattern Console Set
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Circa 1920s McCoy Amaryllis pattern console set, American. Majolica pottery; 1926 pattern. Comprised of a small bowl & 2 small vases. 5/8" pre-glaze loss to interior rim, now with mi...
Category
1920s American Art Deco Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Art Nouveau Majolica glazed tableware set of 10 pieces Leaves pattern in relief.
Located in Verviers, BE
Art Nouveau Majolica glazed tableware set of 10 pieces Leaves pattern in relief.
Sarreguemines Majolica is a type of earthenware, decorated with colored lead glazes.
Majolica was m...
Category
1930s French Art Nouveau Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Minton Majolica Mallard Game Pie Dish, Liner and Cover
By Minton
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Minton Majolica game pie dish with liner which features a hare, mallard and blackbird on a bed of fern and oak leaves. Coloration: brown, green, turquoise, are predominant. The piece...
Category
1850s English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Large Minton Majolica Wine Cistern, circa 1875
Located in New York, NY
Modelled by Louis-Francouis Jeannest (1813-1857).
Literature: Marilyn G. Karmason with Joan B. Stacke, Majolica: A Complete History and Illustrated Survey, 1989, p. 64, illustrated...
Category
1870s Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
A George Jones Majolica Rooster Teapot, English, ca. 1872
By George Jones
Located in Banner Elk, NC
A George Jones Majolica Rooster (Cockerel) teapot, English, ca. 1872, naturalistically modeled as a running cockerel, the tail feathers forming the handle, the open beak forming the ...
Category
1870s English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Antique European Majolica Compote with Ornate Relief and Green Glaze
Located in Black Rock, CT
A richly detailed antique ceramic compote, likely Italian or French in origin, dating from the late 19th to early 20th century. This footed tazza features a dramatic scalloped edge w...
Category
19th Century Art Nouveau Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Antique Handmade Faience Italian Bread Basket
Located in New Orleans, LA
An outstanding, hand painted, handmade pottery, bread holder created in Naples, Italy circa 1920s having intricate colorful applied swags of flowers around the boat shaped rim above a floral painted lattice work below. Superb attention to detail and selection of it's colors of spring green, blue, rose, yellow and lavender. The workmanship is absolutely stunning to behold and would make a beautiful centerpiece for your dining table, sideboard or in your cabinet. Put a floral frog...
Category
1920s Italian Grand Tour Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$155 Sale Price
40% Off
Italian Art Deco Tea Set by Richard Ginori in White and Tiffany Green Majolica
Located in Roma, IT
A set made in Italy by the historic ceramic and porcelain company Richard Ginori, founded in Tuscany in Sesto Fiorentino in 1896, and currently owned by the luxury brand Gucci (Kerin...
Category
1930s Art Deco Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Minton Majolica Nautilus Shell Flower Pot
By Minton
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Minton Majolica flower pot (jardiniere) which features a nautilus shell on a coral-like base which is draped in seaweed. Colouration: turquoise, gr...
Category
1870s English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Antique 1920’s Grand Tour Italian Venice Majolica Vase
Located in New Orleans, LA
An antique, grand tour, Italian hand painted and transfer ware majolica handled vase with panels depicting Ancient Greek Society, handles in the shape of winged griffin's and grotesq...
Category
1920s Italian Grand Tour Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$376 Sale Price
74% Off
19th Century Rare Small Majolica Plum Platter Perret Gentil Menton
Located in Austin, TX
19th Century Rare Small Majolica Plum Platter signed Perret Gentil Menton.
French Riviera.
5.5 inches diameter.
Category
1890s Finnish Rustic Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica, Ceramic
Large George Jones Majolica Cow Cheese Dome and Stand, Pink Ground, English 1873
By George Jones
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Full-Size George Jones Majolica Cow Cheese dome and stand (Stilton Dish), 11.75 height x 12.5 diameter inches, on a vivid deep pink glazed ground with str...
Category
1870s English Victorian Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century French Hand Painted Ceramic Barbotine Fruit Wall Platter
By Longchamp
Located in Dallas, TX
Decorate a kitchen wall or a breakfast room with this large antique majolica plate. Sculpted in France circa 1880 in the manner of Longchamp, the colorful porcelain platter is decora...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Contemporary Ceramic Vase Vessel Sculpture Shiny Metallic Luster made in Italy
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
The sculptural vase 'Panoplia Titanium' is distinguished by its particular shape characterized by an alternance of voids and overlapping solids that make it a vase with 'a thousand f...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
Large School of Paris Palissy Majolica Wall Platter With Snake And Fish
By Francois Maurice
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
School of Paris French Palissy Majolica wall platter which features fish (a carp, a pike), a snake, a frog, langoustines, insects and shells. Rippled water-effect ground. Colouration...
Category
1880s Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Portuguese Majolica Palissy Walnuts Platter Aires C. Leal Caldas Da Rainha
Located in Austin, TX
Portuguese Majolica Palissy Walnuts Platter signed Aires Constantino Leal Caldas Da Rainha.
Circa 1940.
5.5 inches diameter.
Category
1880s Portuguese Country Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Blue and White Dutch Delft Tile with the Good Shepherd, Early 18th Century
Located in AMSTERDAM, NH
The Netherlands
Rotterdam
Circa 1720 - 1740
An unusually fine painted religious 'open air' tile with deep shades of blue and a shining glaze, decorated with the story of the lost sheep...
Category
Mid-18th Century Dutch Baroque Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Renaissance Revival Set Of Amphora And Pedestal
Located in Guaynabo, PR
This is a Renaissance revival style large Majolica amphora vase with rectangular pedestal. Their background are hand painted cobalt blue and decorated with an off-white relief of Gre...
Category
20th Century Unknown Renaissance Revival Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$1,760 Sale Price / set
20% Off
Majolica Porcelain Trompe l
Oeil Asparagus Covered Box
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Majolica lidded Box Tromp l'Oeil to look like asparagus. The box is a wonderful decorative piece in the kitchen or dining room - holding anything from office supplies at a kitchen w...
Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica, Porcelain
English majolica tea plate with leaf design, c. 1840
Located in Kenilworth, IL
English majolica tea plate with intricately impressed leaf surface. Areas of inconsistencies in the glazing, with a lighter spot on one area of the rim.
England, circa 1840.
Dimensi...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century French Montigny-sur-Loing Barbotine Vase with Floral Reliefs
Located in Dallas, TX
Add color and dimension to any interior with this exquisite antique majolica vase. Sculpted in Montigny-sur-Loing, France circa 1860, the tall oval vessel stands on a rectangular bas...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Faience, Ceramic, Majolica
French Majolica Oyster Aqua Turquoise Plate Sarreguemines, circa 1870
Located in Austin, TX
French aqua turquoise Majolica oyster plate signed Sarreguemines Majolica, circa 1870.
6 shells and space for the lemon on the center.
Category
1870s French French Provincial Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Large Griffen, Smith&Hill Etruscan Majolica Pitcher Shell Seaweed Pattern, 10ins
Located in Banner Elk, NC
Gorgeous Majolica by Griffen, Smith & Hill Etruscan Majolica large pitcher in shell and seaweed pattern. This pitcher is an unusually sought after s...
Category
1880s American Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Vintage Italian Ceramic Animal Figurine Turkey Porcelain Bird Figure Tureen
Located in Wommelgem, VAN
Mid century tall Italian animal figurine Ceramic decorative Turkey Tureen with ladle Vitrine object
Material: porcelain, ceramic, tin glazed earthenware...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Baroque Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Porcelain, Majolica
$1,550 Sale Price
31% Off
Charger Plate Blue Butterflies Gold Luster Hand-Painted Italian Ceramic
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
This exquisite Italian hand-painted ceramic charger plate is part of the 'Petalouda' Collection by deBlona. Featuring a mesmerizing butterfly motif, the design showcases shimmering b...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Majolica Furniture
Materials
Gold Plate
Bordallo Pinheiro Majolica Cabbage Platter
Located in Boca Raton, FL
Vintage Portuguese Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage platter .
Category
1960s Portuguese Organic Modern Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
$100 Sale Price
33% Off
French Majolica Artichoke Plate Sarreguemines, circa 1900
Located in ASNIÈRES-SUR-SEINE, FR
Introduced into France for Queen Catherine de Medicis, who was fond of it, the artichoke acquired its letters of nobility by becoming one of the favorite dishes of Louis XIV.
Like f...
Category
Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Kira
Jacques Molin, Set of 12 Plates, Manufacture of Charolles, France c. 1970
By Jacques Molin
Located in St Ouen, FR
Founded in 1844, the Charolles factory is characterized by the quality of its traditional earthenware and its artisanal know-how passed down from generation to generation in this sma...
Category
1970s French Romantic Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
French Vallauris Majolica Oyster service, platter and six plates
By Vallauris
Located in ASNIÈRES-SUR-SEINE, FR
Superb Vallauris oyster service, with diffrent shades of brown and peach.
Platter measures 17,3 X 11,4 inch.
Plates are not signed, platter is signed.
Category
1960s French French Provincial Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Rare Brown Westhead Moore Majolica Game Pie Dish
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
Brown Westhead Moore and Co Majolica game pie dish which features a crouching rabbit knop, surrounded by various game and leaves. Basketweave ba...
Category
1870s English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century Majolica Portuguese Palissy Tobacco Jar Manuel Mafra
Located in Austin, TX
Large Portuguese Palissy tobacco jar attributed to Manuel Mafra.
This tobacco jar is decorated in high relief of a frog, large butterflies, bugs, shells, a snake, a crocodile, on the lid a large shell with a lizard on the top, a butterfly and a bug.
Very rich decoration all-over the pot.
Reference / Page 38 " Portuguese Palissy Ware...
Category
1890s Portuguese Rustic Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Faience, Majolica
Early 20th Century French Palissy Majolica Platter with Snake, Frog, and Shells
By Bernard Palissy
Located in Dallas, TX
Alive with texture, color, and movement, this early 20th-century French Palissy-style majolica platter brings the natural world to life in vivid relief. At the center, a coiled snake winds through a vibrant marsh, surrounded by frogs, newts, snails, and scattered shells. Glossy glazes in deep green, golden ochre, and cobalt blue add a sense of depth and dampness, while the high-relief modeling invites both touch and close inspection.
Evoking the spirit of Bernard Palissy and the rustic naturalism of 19th-century revivalists, this hand-modeled ceramic piece is more than a decorative dish, it’s a sculptural landscape. The reverse reveals a warm, mottled terracotta finish, grounding the piece in its artisanal origins.
Whether placed on a console, set into a cabinet, or mounted on a wall, this antique French platter...
Category
Early 20th Century French Majolica Furniture
Materials
Ceramic, Majolica
Sunflower green majolica tea plate by Wedgwood, c. 1850
By Wedgwood
Located in Kenilworth, IL
Sunflower majolica tea plate in a vibrant green with a basketweave pattern around a scalloped edge. Stamped on the underside.
England, mid 19th century.
Category
Mid-19th Century British Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century English Majolica Begonia Leaf Plate
Located in Winter Park, FL
A 19th Century English Majolica glazed ceramic begonia leaf plate with a single green leaf on dark brown ground with yellow accents. Mottled green,...
Category
19th Century American Beaux Arts Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
19th Century English Wedgwood Green Majolica Foxglove Leaf Platter
By Wedgwood
Located in Pearland, TX
A rare antique English Wedgwood emerald green glazed majolica foxglove and leaf pattern serving platter, tray, or dish, circa 1870. Maker's mark on reverse. This lovely dish features...
Category
1870s English Antique Majolica Furniture
Materials
Majolica
Iconic Wall Clock Junghans Uhren, Hard to Find Marmolada Design Max Bill
Located in Bochum, NRW
Important modernist glazed ceramic kitchen clock designed by Max Bill for Junghans, Germany 1956, featuring a 60-minute timer, a mechanical 8-day movement, a yellow-and-white ceramic...
Category
1950s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Majolica Furniture
Materials
Brass
Antique and Vintage Majolica Platters, Pottery and Other Furniture and Decor
The popularity of Victorian majolica, the gaily colored, metallic-oxide-glazed earthenware, has ebbed and flowed for more than a century. Right now, antique and vintage majolica plates, pitchers, decorative objects and other pieces appear to be having a moment — again.
Starting in the 1850s, people in the U.S. and the U.K. embraced these affordable housewares with unusual polychrome palettes (turquoise and pink) and whimsical forms (candlesticks shaped like dolphins). By the 1870s, majolica was being mass-produced for an ever-expanding middle class in countries like England, France, Sweden, Hungary and Portugal. Majolica was Art for Everyman. Its popularity coincided with interest in exotic Japonisme and scientific studies by the likes of Carl Linnaeus, Charles Darwin and John James Audobon.
Despite a similarity in name, Victorian majolica is significantly different in subject matter and form from its Italian forebear, Renaissance maiolica. That earlier earthenware bore gaily painted religious and mythological scenes, and unlike majolica, with its lively contours, was not molded or three dimensional.
What was the attraction of majolica for the 19th-century collector? “Imagine what it looked like in a Victorian interior, with dark woods, heavy drapes and upholstered chairs and sofas,” says Susan Weber, founder of the Bard Graduate Center in New York. “Majolica is robust and extremely tactile. With its naturalistic shapes, colorful glazes and often humorous themes, it appealed to the growing consumer society.”
In England, manufacturers like Minton began to produce decorative, relief-molded majolica tiles for the interiors of taverns, train stations, even the famous Queen’s Dairy at Frogmore, on the grounds of Windsor Castle. In 19th-century France, Sèvres and smaller ceramics firms began to reinterpret the snake-decorated platters made by Bernard Palissy, a 16th-century self-taught French potter. The result was a type of majolica called Palissy ware, which, like the originals, was festooned with odd creatures (lobsters, lizards and snakes) modeled by hand.
The late Moroccan-born, Paris-based decorator Alberto Pinto often placed Palissy ware in his clients’ living rooms, posing individual pieces on brackets against a background of stamped, gilded leather. Pinto, in turn, influenced such contemporary decorators as Harry Heissmann of New York. After 1900, people got swept up in the romanticism of Art Nouveau and ceased buying majolica. The 1970s saw a revival of interest, and in 1982, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York, organized “English Majolica,” an exhibition featuring 75 examples from Minton, Wedgwood and George Jones, among other makers.
On 1stDibs, find antique and vintage majolica tea sets, vases, candlesticks, tureens and other furniture and decorative objects.
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