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Terracotta ware:
As was the case in all the ceramics centres in Italy, in Deruta, too, in the domestic environment this type of earthenware was used mainly in the ktchen, for drawing water, as well as for cooking and conserving food. It should not be forgotten that at the heart of every ceramic artefat, even the most elaborate, lies a terracotta base. It was not uncommon for the same workshop to produce valuable pieces in conjunction with others such as these. For centuries, potters have passed down the various shapes fundamental to this type of earthenware together with their same modest decorations, right up to the present day. The objects exhibited here were being produced in deruta from at lest the 16th century onwards and are still manufactured in nearby Ripabianca. They consist of terracotta artefact with a transparent glaze and decorations executed with a paintbrush and slip, at times enriched with touches of green derived from copper and brown from manganese. top
- Archaic majolica:
The term archaic majolica is used to indicate the first ceramic ware produced in Italy coated with a white tin glaze and the green derived with two colors only, the brown derived from manganese and the green derived from copper (or the blue derived from cobalt). The production of archaic majolica is widespread throughout north-central-Itally from about the miffle of the 13th century until towards the first half of the 15th century. In Deruta archaic majolica, given the current state of knowledge can be dateed back to the second half of the 14th century, whilst the first known document relating to potters from deruta dates back to 1287. top
- Renaissance Majolica:
In the final decades of the 15th century a type appears in Deruta which represents the transition from the production in the « severe style » to that which can more properly be characterised as renaissance. This is thee type defined by Rckam as “petal-back” owing to the characteristic presence of simple decorations in the form of petals on the plates and bowls. The scene is dominated in this period, however, by thee production of lusterware, which was to make thee factories of Deruta famous. The scene is dominated a sophisticated technique of middle Eastern derivation involving a chromatic treatment carried out on the previously-enamelled surfaces of ceramicobjects which, through the application of certain pastes and through a special third firing, produces a gold or red iridescent effect.
The contemporany polychrome production is characterised by decorations such as the “crown of thorns” “imbrication”, “floral volutes” and “porcelain, which are sometimes arranged in quarters around the wide border of the plates. Favorites subjects include: portraits of “belle donne”, allegorical scenes and mythological scenes, often inspired by the Umbrian painting school of the time. An exception to this rigid decorative layout is the Deruta striated-ware produced by Giacomo Mancini otherwise known as “il Frate”. The most commonly found Renaissance shapes are: the “display plate”, thee “love- trophy” in the various genres known as “ballate”, “gamely” and “impaliate”, given on the occasion of a betrothal dance, a wedding and to a woman with child respectively, and include water ewers and basins, pharmacy albarellos and spouted drug
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- Lustres and metallic
tints:
These are special decorative effects produced on the coating of ceramic artefacts by means of a reducing atmosphere - reduction of oxygen in the firing room with smoke-producing substances - and low heat. These effects are the result of firing processes which fix minuscule particles of metal on the surface of the coating. The Lustre effect is obtained when the particles are distributed over the glazed substance of the coating so as to crate an iridescent phenomenon, and the tint when the particles are so close to one other that they produce an impression of almost solid metal.
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Pharmacy ware:
- "COMPENDIOUS"
Decoration in Deruta:
This type of decoration was originally executed in Faenza in the mid XVI century, but very soon spread out to various parts of Italy and
Europe.
Deruta itself was a very important centre of this style in the second half of the XVI century and production continued well into the XVII century.
The white tin bearing glaze applied in a thick coat over the terracotta artefact, and the "compendious" decorations , executed with rapid
brushstrokes and a simple approach,also in terms of the colours used , almost alwais blue, orange, yellow and green, also met with success in Deruta.
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- Devotional plaques:
Against the complex and extremely variegated backdrop of the sacred and devotional use of yhe various regions of italy, Deruta stands out quite clearly for its production since at least the 16th century to the present day, of a series of subjects whose iconography is especially dedicated to the Madonna, as well as others of an ex-voto type, in particular those intended for the sanctuary of the Madonna dei Bagni.
These plaques – in relief or painted – were placed for the most part on small posts and in niches along the wayside or at crossroads, on the facades of the images cab be traced back to much-celebrated
prototypes.
- “Grotesque” and “calligraphic” decorations:
"Grotesque" decorations are commonly found in Reinassance maiolica.
They were derived from wall paintings found i Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome, the so called "Grottoes" which were discovered in the XV century.
The style consist of fantastic animals, cornucopias, busts, trophies of arms, and other minute motifs surrounded by stylised floral
decorations.Grotesque style is sometimes defined as Raphaelesque.
"Calligrafic" decoration mostly in deep blue monochrome is widespread in the XVII century and seeks to imitate the minuscule vegetable and
animal decoration found on Dutch maiolica (Delft) in its turn drawn from oriental porcelain and from MiddleEastern ceramics.
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- The Eigtheenth
century:
Comparatively little is known about this period in the History of
Deruta Pottery.
It may be said that this production still shows a degree of consistency
and quality, whilst the shapes and decorations appear to be in keeping
with the taste of the time (porcelain). After that begins a period of
decay due to the concourse of industrial processes used on English and
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The Milziade Magnini
Collection:
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Twentieth century
Masters:
Thanks to big masters of the century, so as A.Micheletti, A.Magnini, D.Zipirovich and U.Grazia, after the impoverishment production of the XIX century, reviwed the great Reinassance tradition of Maiolica both in copies and interpretation of the tradition and in the
innovations.
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