Majolica Art Pottery

The very earliest examples of tin-glazed and decorated earthenware date back to 9th century Baghdad. By the 11th century this art form was flourishing and Islamic ceramists were producing richly decorated pieces of lusterware used to adorn many civic and religious buildings. As traders traveled, so did the ceramics; through northern Africa, through Moorish Spain to the island of Majorca. In the early 13th century, Majorca was one of the major ports used by trading vessels travelling between Spain and Italy. Regardless of it’s place of origin, the tin-glazed ceramics being imported into Italy, through Majorca, came to be referred to as Maiolica (Majolica in English). It was not long before the Italians started to create their own tin-glazed pottery, initially functional items. It was during the Renaissance, when art for the sake of art starts to be seen, that the talented Italian ceramists and artists elevate decorating pottery to the artform that remains to this day.