The Majolica method of painting ceramics developed from luster which is one of the oldest and most beautiful ways of decorating ceramics. The two basic differences are that luster needed pure metals to create the colors and had to be fired at a lower temperature, between 500º C and 700º C. The metals used were gold, silver, tin, platinum, and copper. Silver and copper created brown, orange and red. Reds sometimes appeared so dark as to look black.
What makes Majolica different from other methods is that an opaque, white glaze-base is laid on to bisque, already fired clay, this is painted with ceramic colors and the two are then fired together. This integrates the colors that touch to form another color, gives shading and perspective. What has been painted cannot be altered, so every brush stroke must be correct. To repair you have to scrape off what is incorrect, then add more base and colors, it will never be exactly the same and when fired the differences can be seen and will spoil your work. When you see the magnificent murals painted in the past you realize what superb artists and craftsmen they were.
The following is a simple explanation of the method of working. Two firings are needed, the first one being to fire the clay. When the temperature reaches 600º C it becomes a ceramic product but for commercial use it has to be fired to a higher temperature and becomes a material that is solid, breakable but still porous known as bisque. For the second firing the bisque fired pieces are covered with a layer of a white opaque glaze-base, which can be applied by throwing, dipping or spraying. When dry the glaze-base is cleaned off the footings of plates, jars and lids and the edgings and backs of tiles and the trademark is painted on. The prepared designs, which have been drawn and pounced, are marked onto the glaze-base with vegetable ash, after which the pieces are decorated with colors. When finished the glaze-base and decoration are fired together and vitrify at 980º C. This process turns the glaze-base into an opaque layer of glass which prevents the bisque from being porous and leaves a shiny, smooth surface that enhances the lines, colors and quality of the decoration.
The Arabs conquered Spain in 714 AD, but the technical knowledge in luster did not reach Spain until two centuries later. It was first made in Malaga which was the main port in Spain for the Arab kingdom whose capital was Granada. By the 13th century, luster was well established in Malaga, which was famous for its red-yellow-gold pots and plates. At first it was made for the Arab nobility, but it then became an important export shipped to Barcelona, Italy, France, Damascus, and England. With the start of the economic decline of the Arab settlement, the making of luster moved to Valencia, which by the end of the 14th century had become the center for ceramics still using the same production methods.
The method of working was changing and evolving, new ways of making colors were found without having to use expensive metals, so work became cheaper, quicker and needed a higher temperature for firing. The new method was called the Majolica Method. Plates, pots, tiles for walls, floors, and ceilings were all being produced using blue-a popular and predominant color. The word azulejo, which means tile in Spanish, originates from this tradition. Azul means blue and lejos means far off. Today, azulejo means tile and, translated literally, means blue-distance-a color to be seen from far off. It became an illustrated method of informing the illiterate public; decorations on church walls told Bible stories; chemists' pots depicted plants and their Latin names; tiles showed craftsmen and workmen doing everyday jobs; the process of making wine, bread, oil, and many other specialties was shown.
Italy had been importing luster from Spain for several centuries but in the 15th century started to produce ware in the towns of Deruta and Gubbio. To start with, they were greatly influenced by the Valencia style, leaving the background white and using similar figures, animals and borders but they gradually developed, creating beautiful and different designs and colors. Using a dark-colored background and the colors in a much more subtle way, the Italians became perfectionists in their work, in contrast to the more free and liberal brush-strokes used in Spain. The method spread to other parts of Europe in the 16th century: to Holland where it is known as Delft, France as Faience and then to England in the 17th century, where production lasted about one hundred and fifty years and was known by the name of Lambeth and now is known as Majolica.
They were making jars, plates, statues and tiles. The industry sprang up in many parts of England, the main town being Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The first World Industrial Fair was in London in 1851; it was an international success and influenced all the crafts, in industrial and artistic ways, showing new designs and methods of working. Production lasted until about 1910 and now every piece made during this period has become a trophy for the collectors.
What is sad is that the use of this method of decorating is dying; you now cannot start to work and learn at 13 years old and if you study ceramics and painting, drawing with a paint brush, these are now two completely different subjects. Painting in the Majolica method is a specialty in itself; you have to learn to move the paint brush to control both the shape of the brush stroke and intensity of the color, knowing it cannot be corrected. Now there are very few factories that work using this method and when I say factories I mean human factories where everything is done by hand. The work involved makes the pieces too expensive for everyday use and sadly nowadays very few can afford such a luxury.
I will not bore you with all the problems we have had with tiles, they are explained in my web ceramic dictionary in the section Categories, Tile Problems.
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