Book xx

.," confirms this opinion, and undoubtedly refers to vessels similar to those of the Roman period. (_De vasis Escariis, potoriis vinariis et aquariis, oleariis, coquinariis et luminariorum._)

After the Roman domination and Visigothic monarchy, ceramic art in Spain may be divided into the following groups:--

1st. Objects imported by the Moors into Spain; these consist of remains of pottery belonging to the first period of their invasion; lustred wares, manufactured in the Peninsula, which attained great importance during the Middle Ages, and still continue to be made in the present day; terra-cottas, and green and white glazed pottery; and lastly tiles, _azulejos_, of bright colours in the Moorish style.

2nd. Pottery of a distinct Italian style, made principally at Talavera; porous, unglazed, coloured pottery, _bucaros_; white, unglazed pottery, made at Andujar and La Rambla.

3rd. Pottery and porcelain made at Alcora, and the porcelain manufactory of Buen Retiro, near Madrid.

HISPANO MORESQUE EARTHENWARE.

The Spanish Peninsula was invaded by the Arabs about the year 711 A.D., and they absorbed for several centuries the industries of the country. Ceramic Art attained great importance in their hands during the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, for even while the pottery works established at Talavera, Seville, and other localities, manufactured pottery to a very great extent, which was chiefly imitated from Italian models, the Moorish style still continued, and has never been interrupted in the province of Valencia down to the present day.

The Arabs had as early as the beginning of the 12th century, if not even before, established the industry of metallic-lustred pottery in Spain. It remains to be seen what were the leading characteristics of the pottery of the period of the greatest importance of the Spanish Moors from the 8th to the 11th century.

Cordova, the capital of the independent Caliphs of Damascus, was the centre from which works of art of all kinds of a high order were largely exported. The ruins of the palaces at Medina Az zahra have, it is deeply to be regretted, never been excavated, and Granada is the only locality where some fragments of Moorish pottery may be studied belonging to this time.

Granada was almost unknown in the 8th century; the ancient Roman town of Illiberis, about six miles from the present site of Granada, had alone any importance: it was one of the bishoprics of Andalucia. The Arabs first settled in the remains of the Roman city: in the 10th century they removed to the spot occupied by the present town, and Illiberis was then abandoned. Roman remains are frequently found at Illiberis, as are also vestiges of the Moorish occupation, chiefly consisting of objects in bronze and fragments of pottery. These specimens are decorated with arabesques in green and black on a whitish ground. Some interesting examples may be studied at the small _Museo Provincial_ at Granada, which certainly belong to the 10th or beginning of the 11th century. One of these fragments has unreadable Arabic letters; another is decorated with a stag; the most remarkable is a plate fourteen inches in diameter, in the centre of which is represented a falcon on a horse's back. The form and every detail of the horse, the plaited tail, ending in the form of a trident, all are identical with one on which is mounted a man holding a hawk in his hand, carved on the ivory casket described on page 133 as dated 359 of the hegira (A.D. 969), and probably of Cordovese manufacture. Both these objects possess a very decided Persian character, and undoubtedly belong to the date ascribed; for besides the circumstance of their having been found in ruins of this period, the shape of the horse is conclusive; its character changes soon after, as we find in the miniatures of the MS. of the 13th century at the Bib. Nationale de Paris, containing the "Séances de Hariri." It is almost impossible to assert whether this pottery was made in, or imported into Spain. One argument in favour of its Spanish-Moorish origin is that the glaze and paste are similar to pottery which we know was manufactured at Granada. The common earthenware proceeding from that locality is decorated in much the same manner.

Soon after the fall of the Caliphate, metallic-lustred ware was made in Spain: Edrisi, the most remarkable Arabic geographer of the Middle Ages, in describing Calatayud, says: "Here the gold-coloured pottery is made which is exported to all countries." ("Descrip. de l'Afrique et de l'Espagne," Leyde, 1866.) Edrisi was born in the year 1100. He studied at Cordova, and finished writing his book in 1154. The circumstance of this pottery being mentioned in the 12th century as excellent enough for exportation, certainly makes it appear probable that the _fabrique_ already existed at an earlier date, especially when we bear in mind that Calatayud was conquered in the year 1120 by the Christians, and it is impossible to suppose that they established an Oriental industry there which was foreign to their culture, or to the contemporary Christian art. This text of Edrisi's has hitherto not been properly interpreted. In Jauber's translation (Edrisi, Paris, 1836-40), he interprets the word _guidar_, [Illustration: Arabic], _lutum purum_ of potters, as the name of a gilt textile, perhaps because in his time it was difficult to believe in the existence of metallic-lustred pottery. In the Edit. of Leyden, by Messrs. Dozy and Goeje, the sense of the word is properly given; indeed, Jauber himself translates it by _porcelain_ in the chapter of this volume which refers to China.

This text of Edrisi's has never yet been quoted by writers on Ceramic Art; but once known it is impossible for a moment to state that the earliest manufacture of Moorish lustred ware was that at Malaga, an opinion which has been supported hitherto on the quotation from Ben Batutah's works, which will be given later on. I regret to have found no other allusion to the lustred ware of Aragon until the 10th century. No mention is made of it in the geographical texts published by Juynboll, Al Makkari, or other Arabic writers. From what we know of Aragon in the 16th century, it was a great centre of this industry, and its productions rivalled those of Valencia and Andalucia.

The next text which alludes to this manufacture is given by Ben Batutah, a celebrated traveller, who, after travelling for twenty years in the East, went from Tangiers to Granada, from 1349 to 1351. Passing by Malaga, he says: "At Malaga, the fine golden pottery is made which is exported to the furthermost countries." ("Voy. d'Ibn Batoutah," Paris, 1853-58, vol. iv. p. 367.) This text has been constantly reproduced and commented upon, since Baron Charles Davillier first drew attention to it in his interesting little _brochure_ on "Faïences Hispano-Moresques."

The next time I find lustred pottery mentioned is in the 15th century. Eximenus, in his "Regiment de la cosa publica," Valencia, 1499, in speaking of the excellent things made in the kingdom of Valencia, says: "The twenty-seventh excellent thing is that some artificial objects are made there which bring great renown to the country, for they are excellent and beautiful, and are now to be found in other localities ... but above all is the beauty of the gold pottery so splendidly painted at Manises, which enamours everyone so much, that the Pope, and the cardinals, and the princes of the world obtain it by special favour, and are astonished that such excellent and noble works can be made of earth."

Lustred pottery had already attained great importance in Aragon early in the 16th century. We find in a deed granted at Calatayud in 1507, that "Muhamed ben Suleyman Attaalab, an inhabitant of the suburb of the Moors at Calatayud, and an artificer of lustred golden earthenware, engaged himself with Abdallah Alfoquey of the same locality, to teach him the said industry, in the space of four years and a half, from the date of the deed." ("Estado social de los mudejares de Castilla, by Fernandez y Gonzalez," Madrid 1866, p. 437.) At Muel, a village in the province of Aragon near Zaragoza, this industry existed to a great extent in 1585. In the travels of Henrique Cock ("Relacion del viage hecho por Felipe II. en 1585," por Henrique Cock, publicado por Morel Fatio y Rodriguez Villa, Madrid, 1876,) we find the following interesting details of the manner in which this pottery was made, p. 30:--

"Almost all the inhabitants of this village are potters, and all the earthenware sold at Zaragoza is manufactured in the following manner. First the vessels are fashioned of a certain ingredient the earth furnishes them in that locality, in the shape they may require. Once made, they bake them in an oven fitted for the purpose. They then remove them to varnish with white varnish and polish them, and afterwards make a wash of certain materials in the following manner: twenty-five pounds, _one arroba_, of lead, with which they mix three or four pounds of tin, and as many pounds of a certain sand which is to be found there. All these ingredients are mixed into a paste like ice; it is broken into small pieces and pounded like flour, and kept by them in powder. This powder is mixed with water, the dishes are passed through it, and they are rebaked in the oven, and keep their lustre. Afterwards, in order that the pottery may be gilt, they take very strong vinegar, mixed with about two reales (a small coin equivalent to 6_d._) of silver in powder, vermilion, and red ochre, and a little wire. When all is mixed together, they paint with a feather on the dishes any decoration they may like, rebake them, and then they remain gold-coloured for ever. This was told me by the potters themselves."

But nothing can be compared in exactitude to the following receipt of the manner of preparing this lustred ware, which I was fortunate enough to find in a manuscript in the British Museum. (Egerton, No. 507, MS. fol. 102).

Count Florida Blanca wishing in 1785 to establish at Madrid a manufactory of metallic-lustred ware, had the following report on the actual state of the industry sent to him from Manises with full details of the manner in which it was required to be carried out.

"After the pottery is baked, it is varnished with white and blue, the only colours used besides the gold lustre; the vessels are again baked; if the objects are to be painted with gold colour, this can only be put on the white varnish, after they have gone twice through the oven. The vessels are then painted with the said gold colour and are baked a third time, with only dry rosemary for fuel.

"The white varnish used is composed of lead and tin, which are melted together in an oven made on purpose; after these materials are sufficiently melted, they become like earth, and when in this state the mixture is removed and mixed with an equal quantity in weight of sand: fine salt is added to it, it is boiled again, and when cold, pounded into powder. The only sand which can be used is from a cave at Benalguacil, three leagues from Manises. In order that the varnish should be fine, for every _arroba_, 25 pounds of lead, 6 to 12 ounces of tin must be added, and half a bushel of fine-powered salt: if a coarse kind is required, it is sufficient to add a very small quantity of tin, and three or four _cuartos_ worth of salt, which in this case must be added when the ingredient is ready for varnishing the vessel.

"Five ingredients enter into the composition of the gold colour: copper, which is 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; three pounds (of twelve ounces) of the earth or scoriæ, which is left after this pottery is painted with the gold colour, is added to the other ingredients.

"They are mixed in the following manner: a small portion of sulphur in powder is put into a casserole with two small bits of copper, between them a coin of one silver _peseta_; the rest of the sulphur and copper is then added to it. When this casserole is ready, it is placed on the fire, and is made to boil until the sulphur is consumed, which is evident when no flame issues from it. The preparation is then taken from the fire, and when cold is pounded very fine; the red ochre and scoriæ are then added to it; it is mixed up by hand and again pounded into powder. The preparation is placed in a basin and mixed with enough water to make a sufficient paste to stick on the sides of the basin; the mixture is then rubbed on the vessel with a stick; it is therefore indispensable that the water should be added very gradually until the mixture is in the proper state.

"The basin ready prepared must be placed in an oven for six hours. At Manises it is customary to do so when the vessels of common pottery are baked; after this the mixture is scratched off the sides of the basin with some iron instrument; it is then removed from there and broken up into small pieces, which are pounded fine in a hand-mortar with the quantity of vinegar already mentioned, and after having been well ground and pounded together for two hours the mixture is ready for decorating. It is well to observe that the quantity of varnish and gold-coloured mixture which is required for every object can only be ascertained by practice."

Excellent lustred ware was made at Murcia, and in several villages of the province of Valencia; a good example exists of this pottery at the museum (see woodcut); none, however, was so important as the manufactory of Manises. Diago, in his "Anales del reyno de Valencia, 1613-40," repeats the words of Eximeno: "That the pottery made at Valencia is painted and gilt with so much art, that it has enamoured every one, so much so that the pope, the cardinals, and princes send for it, astonished that things of such beauty can be made of earth."

[Illustration: PLATEAU, PROBABLY OF VALENCIA. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]

This and similar texts relating to the exportation of Spanish pottery explains the fact of these specimens being so frequently met with in Italy. Pottery of a dark copper-coloured lustre is made at the present time at Manises, and the imitations and forgeries to be met with at the dealers' shops in Madrid are made in that locality.

I have mentioned the different historical texts which allude to this industry, and the technical receipts showing the ingredients employed to give the lustre. It is now no longer possible to doubt that this pottery came originally from the East. This opinion has gained ground of late years; for among the objects discovered by Sir Henry Layard at Nineveh, and in more recent excavations in Ephesus and Asia Minor, fragments of pottery have been found with metallic lustre. This and other important examples of artistic culture undoubtedly arose in Persia. No examples which may be mentioned can give a better or more distinct idea of this than a comparison between the Persian and Hispano-Moresque wares at the South Kensington Museum. The technical proceedings and effect produced by the metallic lustre on a white ground, with touches here and there of blue, are exactly the same in both cases. The principal difference consists in a greater richness and variety of ornamentation which we find in the specimens brought from Persia, especially those covered with a turquoise blue lustre, those of a dark blue and metallic lustre, and those on which gold is applied _en froid_, of which I know no similar examples in Spain. It is possible they may have existed in the mosques, but no traces remain of mosques built by the Spanish Moors during the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. The mosques at Cordova and Toledo which still exist are of an earlier date. If we judge by the mosque of Amru at Cairo, and others of the same early period, tile decorations were not used in their ornamentation, and it appears probable that this industry only became important after the 10th century. The similarity of objects used in Spain and Persia is constantly observed by travellers in that country. Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who was sent there as ambassador from the King of Castille from 1403 to 1406, gives a most interesting description of tile decoration, by which we find they were used in the same manner as in Spain. ("Historia del gran Tamorlan," Seville, 1582, fol.) Another Spanish traveller, Silva de Figueroa, in a MS. belonging to Don Pascual de Gayangos, in describing his embassy to Persia in 1618 mentions the manner in which these tiles were used. I do not quote from many other travellers, for their remarks are hardly so valuable as those of Spaniards, who were accustomed to see these objects in their native country.

After mentioning the historical sources from which I have traced the manufactory of Hispano-Moresque lustred ware in Spain, it is advisable to enumerate the most important examples which have reached us belonging to the 14th century, or to an earlier date.

The fine vase at the Alhambra, Granada. (See woodcut.)

A vase of the same character which exists at the Archæological Museum of Madrid.

A vase of the same kind, which belonged to the painter, Mariano Fortuny, and which was sold at the sale of his art objects in Paris, April 30th, 1875. (_Vide_ "Atelier de Fortuny," Paris, 1875.)

A fragment of another vase, which belonged also to Fortuny, and was sold at the same time.

A fragment of a vase at the Museo of Granada; it is similar to the others in form and size, but without metallic lustre.

A large plaque, or _azulejo_, which belonged also to Fortuny.

The _azulejos_, or tile decorations of the house known by the name of Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo at Granada.

Several dishes and bowls at the Kensington, Madrid, and Cluny Museums, which belong to this period.

Baron Charles Davillier in his article on Hispano-Moresque lustred ware, in "Atelier de Fortuny," Paris, 1875, says that interesting specimens of this pottery exist also at the Museum of Stockholm, and the Cathedral of Mezzara in Sicily, but that he had not had the opportunity of studying them.

[Illustration: MOORISH VASE AT THE ALHAMBRA.]

All these objects have hitherto been considered to have proceeded from Malaga, writers on ceramic art derived their evidence from the text already mentioned, given in Ben Batutah's travels, the only one which alluded to the existence of this industry in Spain before the 15th century; but since I have found in Edrisi's Geography a manufacture mentioned of lustred pottery which existed at Calatayud at the beginning of the 12th century, that is to say, more than _two centuries_ earlier than Ben Batutah's travels, I consider it extremely difficult to classify them.

The fine vase at the Alhambra is 4 feet 5-1/2 inches high by 8 feet 2-1/2 inches in circumference. It is decorated in the centre with two antelopes, and a series of elegant traceries of knots, stems, and leaves which cover the body of the vase. The colours employed are brown and blue on a yellow ground, the metallic lustre is extremely pale, of a mother-of-pearl colour. The following inscriptions are repeated all over the vase in African characters:

[Illustration: Arabic

Felicity and Fortune.]

[Illustration: Arabic

Permanent prosperity.]

A similar vase was at the Alhambra until the beginning of the present century; it disappeared at that time, and its present whereabouts is unknown. Drawings exist of this vase which have been published in Lozano's "Ant. Arab. de España," and Murphy's Atlas of "Arabian Ant. of Spain."

The fine vase at the Museo Arq. of Madrid is similar in style. It has been reproduced in a chromo-lithograph in Mus. Esp. de Ant. VI. p. 435. Both these vases are decorated with colours which are disposed in quite a distinct manner to all the other specimens of this pottery hitherto known. The vase at Granada is ornamented in the centre with two antelopes, and from drawings which have reached us of the companion vase, we find birds are introduced in the decoration of the handles. Animals combined with ornamentation are never met with in the immense number of Moorish traceries of all kinds which may be studied at Granada. This circumstance has induced me to consider these objects to have been brought from Persia, for Ben Batutah tells us that several Persians of importance had settled at Granada; and it is highly probable that a direct communication existed between these two countries. It is fair, however, to mention a detail which is against this argument. The arms of the Moorish kings of Granada appear on the vase which has disappeared from Granada, and although it may have been ordered from Persia, it is also possible that it was made in the province of Andalucia.

The vase which belonged to Fortuny, and the large _azulejo_, Nos. 42, 44 (_vide_ "Atelier de Fortuny"), are very different in style. They have no colours, and their metallic lustre is very low in tone, a common circumstance in Hispano-Moorish pottery. The following inscription,

[Illustration: Arabic]

[Illustration: TILE PROBABLY FROM THE ALHAMBRA; FORMERLY IN THE MARRYAT COLLECTION.]

"Glory to Our Lord the Sultan Abul Hajaj," [A.D. 1333-1354.] occurs on this tile, an inscription very frequently met with also on the walls of the Alhambra. Abul Hajaj carried out works of restoration to a very large extent at the Palace. The two large tiles on either side of the entrance-door of the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo at Granada, although not so fine as the vase and tile which belonged to Fortuny, are similar in general character, and it is safe therefore to consider these objects, and others of a similar kind, to have proceeded from the manufacture of Malaga mentioned by Ben Batutah, or other pottery works of the same kind, which probably existed at that time in the province of Granada.

Metallic-lustred dishes have at times an even surface without ornamentation in relief, and sometimes are ornamented with ribs and convex dots, which appear to suggest that they are meant to imitate the structure of nails, bars, or other work common to metal vessels, in the manner of Etruscan vases.

The finest specimens of Hispano-Moresque ware at the Kensington Museum are--

No. 8968-'63. A vase which belonged to the Soulages Collection. Mr. Fortnum, in his "Majolica, Hispano-Moresco, Persian, Damascus and Rhodian Wares, at the Kensington Museum," London, 1873, describes this vase as spherical on a trumpet-shaped base, the neck of elongated funnel form, flanked by two large wing-shaped handles perforated with circular holes. The surface, except the mouldings, is entirely covered with a diaper-pattern of ivory or briony leaves, tendrils and small flowers in brownish lustre, and blue on the white ground. Spanish. 14th or 15th century. (See woodcut.)

No. 486-'64. Bowl, funnel-shaped, with representation of a ship in full sail, with the royal arms of Portugal, 15th century.

The following are also especially worthy of mention:--

No. 7659-'62. Bowl and cover, painted with a scroll diaper in alternate compartments of gold lustre and blue, the cover surmounted by a cupola-shaped ornament in gold lustre. 16th century.

[Illustration: VASE DIAPERED WITH IVY OR BRYONY IN GOLDEN LUSTRE. HISPANO-MORESCO, 14TH OR 15TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]

No. 489-'64. Plateau with lustred arabesque ornaments in compartments. In the centre are two simulated Arabic inscriptions. 15th century.

[Illustration: PLATEAU, DIAPERED AND WITH RAISED RIBS AND STUDS, IN BLUE AND GOLDEN LUSTRE. THE ARMS OF LEON, CASTILE, AND ARAGON. HISPANO-MORESCO. 15TH OR 16TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]

No. 1680-'55. Plateau, gold shield in the centre, with the arms of Leon, Castille, and Aragon. The diapered ground is curiously ribbed, and dotted with raised studs. (See woodcut.)

No. 243-'53. Plateau, in the centre an escutcheon of arms of Aragon, Leon, and Castile. (See woodcut.)

[Illustration: SALVER, DIAPERED IN GOLDEN LUSTRE, WITH THE SHIELD OF ARAGON, LEON, AND CASTILE. HISPANO-MORESCO. 15TH OR 16TH CENTURY. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]

No. 104-'69. Vase, with shield of arms, seemingly of Sicily and Portugal.

Specimens of a later date are distinguished by the redness of the lustre, such as No. 327-'66, a bowl, with feather-like ornament in the centre; Nos. 326-'66 and 328-'66 are good examples of this lustred ware of the last and early present century made at Manises, Valencia.

It is almost impossible to classify the existing specimens of Hispano-Moresque pottery. A few examples are marked with the monogram of Manises, or possess some special sign, such as the Eagle of St. John, which would make it appear they were made in the province of Valencia, but as the texts from ancient authors only praise this pottery and give no details of its general characteristics, it is very difficult to assign any given specimens to the manufactories of Aragon and Valencia. The receipts which I have given prove that the ingredients used were the same, the modification in lustre was owing to the different combinations of silver and copper. The system hitherto adopted of classifying this ware by the localities in which it has been purchased is not a safe one, unless borne out by further evidence. All that can be done at the present time is to point out the oldest specimens, and probable period of their manufacture. As a general rule the finest specimens are also the oldest, for this industry decayed after the Moors were expelled from Spain, and Italian pottery was imported into that country in the 16th century.

The opinion which has been so generally accepted that gold lustred pottery was made and exported from the Balearic Islands has been contradicted by D^{n}. Alvaro Campaner y Fuertes in a letter addressed to Baron Davillier which appeared in the "Museo Balear," Palma, 1875, in which he refutes the Baron's arguments on the pottery which he supposes to have come from that locality.

TERRA COTTAS.--_AZULEJOS_, OR WALL DECORATIONS OF TILES.--EARTHENWARE.--BUCAROS AND UNGLAZED POTTERY.

The earliest historical notice which I have met with of Terracottas is in a grant made in A.D. 1222, by King Don Fernando el Santo, in favour of the manufacturers of bricks or tiles at Talavera (M. S. Bibl. Nacional Madrid, Dd. 114, p. 17), and another document of a similar kind by his son, King Don Alonso el Sabio A.D. 1281, in favour of the Cathedral of Cordova, "that no pottery works should be allowed inside the town, unless they were established in the same manner as in the time of the Moors." (Mem. Hist. Español, t. ii. p. 45). Although this information is not of great importance, it enables us to infer that in the 13th century an industry existed in Spain which was closely connected with pottery. Baron Davillier mentions a privilege granted by King D^{n}. Jaime de Aragon to the inhabitants of Jativa, province of Valencia, in which he commands, "that any master potter who made jars, pots, pans, tiles, and bricks, should pay a tribute of one _besant_ yearly for each oven, and be permitted to carry out his industry with no other obligation or service." (Col. Doc. Ineditos, vol. xviii. p. 67.)

The details concerning this industry in Cataluña are more interesting; especially on account of the references given to the marks of the objects proceeding from this manufacture. The potters, who were known by the generic name of _olleros_ sent, in 1257, two individuals to form part of the town council. They formed at that time a guild; in 1314 they agree in their regulations as to the mark to be adopted for their pottery, and the actual spot is mentioned on which every potter was to stamp his wares. This stamp was ordered to be very visible, and instructions are given as to the quality of the clay, and its manipulation, in order to produce pottery of a first-class order. We find statutes in this sense up to 1355. But we cannot find in the "Libro de Ordenanzas" of the potter's guild that any laws existed touching the technical details of this manufacture; most of the regulations refer to the management of the guild from 1304, which was composed of potters, bricklayers, jar-makers, and manufacturers of pottery for domestic purposes of Barcelona. (Capmany, Memorias Historicas, 1779-92, vol. i.