{"id":1781,"date":"2017-03-07T13:57:45","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T13:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/?p=1781"},"modified":"2021-07-15T10:48:02","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T09:48:02","slug":"majolica-product","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/majolica-product\/","title":{"rendered":"Majolica – One word for two different products. How might that happen?"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. \u00a0Earthenware decorated with coloured glazes 2. Tin-glazed earthenware painted with enamels<\/h2>\n

Designs for the two distinct types of Minton majolica product both called ‘majolica’ sit side by side in the Majolica Box, The Minton Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How did\u00a0that happen? Why not simply Earthenware decorated with coloured glazes <\/em>= Majolica; <\/strong>Tin-glazed earthenware painted with enamels <\/em>= Maiolica<\/b>?<\/p>\n

Other blogs<\/a> refer. Today we\u00a0look at how it might have\u00a0happened.<\/p>\n

\n

Majolica Product. Was LEAD the elephant in the room?<\/h2>\n

Can we imagine\u00a0any circumstance under which\u00a0Leon Arnoux,\u00a0“the man who made Mintons”\u00a0might\u00a0lie?<\/p>\n

What if there was a threat to his\u00a0future well-being? Or to that of the owner, Herbert Minton? Or to their sons, daughters, grandchildren and workforce?<\/p>\n

We guess that would do it. Yes, Arnoux\u00a0does seem to have\u00a0lied in 1853 when he said “Lead is very little used now…”[read more=”Click here to Read More” less=”Read Less”]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Majolica<\/a>
Leon Arnoux publicly states “Lead is very little used now…”, Lectures on the Results of the Great Exhibition of 1851 delivered before the Society of Arts, Manufacturers, and Commerce, 1852.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lead was essential to the success of the pottery industry being the main ingredient in both coloured glazes earthenware (majolica) and tin-glazed earthenware with brush painted decoration (delft). Furthermore, sales were about to increase at the Minton factory due to the new ‘Palissy’ earthenware painted with coloured lead glazes.<\/p>\n

But lead in\u00a0the glazes is\u00a0killing workers. Average life expectancy of a ‘dipper’ is 26 years only<\/strong>.\u00a0Health care\u00a0watchdogs are campaigning to reduce soluble lead levels. The pottery industry, its leaders and\u00a0shareholders\u00a0seem like\u00a0in public to be trying, but in private they are resisting reform. Borax\u00a0lacks the winning sparkle\u00a0of\u00a0lead,\u00a0and is\u00a0more expensive.<\/p>\n

[\/read]<\/strong><\/p>\n

majolica product. Alternative Facts<\/h5>\n

Anything Arnoux can do to\u00a0divert attention away from\u00a0LEAD, he must consider<\/strong>.\u00a0So when asked\u00a0to\u00a0lecture “On Ceramic Manufactures, Porcelain and Pottery” <\/strong>he\u00a0decides to be\u00a0economical with the truth. In fact LEAD is very<\/em> much used now (1852). He quotes a large amount of borax. Most noteworthy, he\u00a0neglects to\u00a0provide\u00a0the figure for\u00a0lead.<\/p>\n

During the lecture\u00a0there is no mention of\u00a0Minton’s ‘Palissy ware’. The product that\u00a0was to\u00a0become wildly\u00a0fashionable and\u00a0mass-produced. The majolica <\/strong>of coloured glazes that we know and love. Minton had named it ‘Palissy ware’ but soon allowed – possibly<\/em> encouraged<\/em> –\u00a0the name ‘majolica’ to be used for both. <\/strong>[read more=”Click here to Read More” less=”Read Less”]<\/p>\n

From Arnoux’s own notebook [date unknown]<\/em>\u00a0a formula for\u00a0a lead glaze used on majolica is reproduced in Joan Jones’ book\u00a0(1993). The glaze would have been coloured by the addition of one or other metal oxide.<\/p>\n

\"Majolica<\/a>
Joan Jones, 1993, ‘Minton the first 200 years of Design and Production’. This majolica product contains no tin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
That is 51 per cent red lead (a form of lead oxide)\u00a0by weight. Nearly six times more lead than borax…<\/strong><\/h5>\n

a little way to go before borax\u00a0is substituted for\u00a0lead, right Leon?<\/p>\n

[\/read]<\/p>\n

\n

Majolica product. Another source\u00a0of\u00a0confusion<\/h2>\n

That lecture, by\u00a0Leon Arnoux in 1852, is interesting for another very important reason…<\/p>\n

\"Majolica<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Everyone\u00a0today knows that the Minton factory\u00a0named\u00a0their majolica product with coloured lead glazes ‘Palissy ware’. <\/strong>Their tin-glazed earthenware in imitation of Italian maiolica they named ‘Majolica’.<\/strong> Minton’s ‘Palissy’ soon also became known as ‘majolica’. Minton’s ‘Majolica’ stayed as ‘majolica’. As a result there were now two distinctly different products with the same name.<\/strong><\/p>\n

majolica n.\u00a0 Definition.<\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>[read more=”Click here to Read More” less=”Read Less”]<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Any earthenware decorated with coloured lead glazes<\/strong> applied directly to an unglazed body. Hard-wearing, typically relief molded. Minton’s ‘Palissy ware’ soon known also as ‘majolica’, was introduced at the 1851 Exhibition and later widely copied and mass produced<\/span><\/u><\/a>. Commonly known\u00a0as ‘majolica’, ‘lead-glazed majolica’ and as ‘coloured glazes majolica’.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. An alternative spelling for maiolica<\/strong> which is tin-glazed<\/strong> earthenware with opaque white glaze decorated with metal oxide enamel colour(s).\u00a0 Maiolica, reached Italy mid 15th century. Renaissance Italian maiolica became a celebrated art form. Maiolica developed also as faience (France), and delft (UK and Netherlands). Commonly known as ‘majolica’ (especially in the US), ‘maiolica’ and ‘tin-glazed earthenware’.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. English (mostly Minton) tin-glazed <\/b>earthenware in imitation of Italian Renaissance maiolica having an opaque white glaze with fine painted in-glaze decoration. Also introduced at the 1851 Exhibition. Very rare. Commonly known as ‘majolica’ and as English tin-glazed majolica’<\/b>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [\/read]<\/p>\n

    \"Majolica<\/a>
    Minton’s ‘Palissy ware’ also known as ‘majolica’.\u00a0 Impressed ‘MINTON’. Coloured lead glazes applied directly to the ‘biscuit’. Naturalistic hen and useful pot\/posy vase with foliage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \"Majolica\/<\/a>
    Minton’s ‘Majolica’. Impressed ‘MINTON’.\u00a0 Opaque white tin-glaze with fine-painted in-glaze decoration. Italian Renaissance style. Image thanks to Karmason Library, Majolica International Society.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Differences between the two majolicas not understood<\/h2>\n

    Unfortunately,\u00a0the\u00a0differences were\u00a0not widely understood\u00a0until 1999<\/span><\/u><\/a>.\u00a0But by then four major\u00a0books on majolica\u00a0had already\u00a0been published.<\/p>\n

    Authors\u00a0had not fully\u00a0appreciated\u00a0that\u00a0when Arnoux in 1852\u00a0said “We understand by majolica…”\u00a0he was describing only\u00a0<\/em>the tin-glazed product,<\/strong> imitation Italian maiolica.<\/p>\n

    Today, many glazes are lead-free. Nothing has been\u00a0found to\u00a0equal the depth and vibrancy of Minton’s lead glazes. There will never be anything better.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Areas of no confusion<\/h2>\n
    \"majolica<\/a>
    An early exhibition Catalogue of medieval art categorises Della Robbia Ware, Italian Majolica and Palissy Ware in distinct\u00a0sections. Minton copied all these names for his imitation wares. 1850, Journal of Design and Manufactures, Vol. III pp. 67-73<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    There was no confusion<\/strong> (above)\u00a0in the cataloguing at the exhibition of medieval art, by the Society of Arts, published\u00a0in the Journal of Design and Manufactures, Vol. III (1850).<\/p>\n

    \"majolica\/<\/a>
    1858, Digby Wyatt, M., Journal of the Society of Arts, May 26, p.442. No confusion here about the separation of majolica product ‘Majolica’ and ‘Palissy ware’.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    There was no\u00a0 confusion<\/strong> in the list of branches [products]<\/em> that Digby Wyatt<\/strong> promises to examine in some little detail [English way of saying ‘in great detail’.]<\/em><\/p>\n

    Continued later…<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"majolica\/<\/a>
    Minton Archives, website clip. Classification of Minton Art Materials as they were in 1871<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    There was no confusion<\/strong>\u00a0in the factory.<\/p>\n

    Even the 1871 Art Materials catalogue\u00a0lists Majolica (tin-glaze imitation Italian maiolica)<\/em> and Palissy (colored lead glazes)<\/em> as distinct.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n

    But when we come to the Catalogue of the 1851 Great Exhibition, confusion arises<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

    Majolica naming\u00a0confusion deliberate<\/i>?<\/h2>\n

    [read more=”Click here to Read More” less=”Read Less”]<\/p>\n

    \"Majolica<\/a>
    1851 Industry of All Nations Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue illustration of a Minton flower vase. The text reads “Mintons… exhibit some excellent flower-vases, coloured after the style of the old Majolica. The quiet tone of colour… for their fanciful surfaces…”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    If (OK, a big ‘if’) Minton had vetted the catalogue entry, would they have deliberately left the\u00a0description more than a little confusing?<\/p>\n

    Or\u00a0can the apparent anomalies be explained away?<\/p>\n

    The illustrated ‘flower-vase’ appears to be Minton Palissy ware [coloured-lead-glazes majolica]<\/em> but the description “after the style of the old majolica” and “quiet tone of colour” sound like Minton’s\u00a0Majolica (tin-glazed\u00a0imitation Italian maiolica).<\/p>\n

    \"Majolica<\/a>
    Minton\u00a0majolica jardini\u00e8re and stand. Coloured lead glazes applied directly to the biscuit. Shape exhibited at the 1851 Exhibition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \"Majolica<\/a>
    Minton majolica jardini\u00e8re. Coloured \u00a0lead glazes applied directly to the biscuit. Shape exhibited at the 1851 Exhibition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Can this style be found anywhere\u00a0in Renaissance maiolica? The wreath, yes, Luca della Robbia,\u00a0but the pot? [Please\u00a0tell us\u00a0if you know of any Renaissance pot in this style]<\/em><\/p>\n

    Maybe \u00a0“fanciful surfaces” refers mainly to the wreath. Then, yes, “quiet tone of colour” is a fair description.<\/p>\n

    Digby Wyatt (continued)<\/h5>\n

    Seven years\u00a0after the Great Exhibition of 1851\u00a0Herbert Minton\u00a0dies\u00a0(1st April 1858). His friend Digby Wyatt’s paper is published by the Journal of the Society of Arts May 26. Page 442 –\u00a0There was no\u00a0confusion in the list of products that Digby Wyatt promises to examine.\u00a0He is as good as his word until he\u00a0reaches\u00a0Majolica and Palissy ware\u00a0– the sensation of the\u00a01855 Paris Exhibition and the most successful\u00a0and interesting of any Minton product –\u00a0when he conveniently runs out of time.\u00a0Is this\u00a0co-incidence? <\/strong>Wyatt is\u00a0content with\u00a0the word ‘Majolica’ to include both products,\u00a0thereby\u00a0continuing the (deliberate?) confusion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    [\/read]<\/p>\n

    1867 Exhibition Report by Leon Arnoux<\/h5>\n

    Nine years later, in his\u00a01867 Exhibition Report, Arnoux\u00a0details materials and\u00a0process for Palissy faience [ware] <\/em>without mentioning lead…<\/p>\n

    [Ed. Text in brackets below\u00a0is our own]<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n

    The Palissy faience is composed of a clay slightly coloured [buff], covered with different [lead] glazes, which have been previously coloured by means of metallic oxides [iron for yellow, manganese for purple, cobalt for blue, copper for green, etc.]; these glazes of different colours being applied, some by the side of others [combined upon the same piece], or blended one into another [mottled]\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    and he provides\u00a0some information on\u00a0earthenware types.<\/p>\n

    \"Reports<\/a>
    Reports on the Paris Universal Exhibition, 1867 Report on Pottery by Leon Arnoux Esq. A\u00a0good description of coloured lead glazes earthenware and of\u00a0tin-glazed earthenware. No mention of lead or tin for clarification.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \"A<\/a>
    A summary of what Arnoux wrote\u00a0in his\u00a0description of coloured-lead-glazed earthenware and tin-glazed earthenware above. (Ed. Text in brackets is our own)<\/em>. Mentioning lead and tin where appropriate dispels confusion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Finally, at the end of the report Arnoux’s\u00a0summary employs the word ‘majolica’<\/strong> to describe both Minton’s\u00a0tin-glazed majolica\u00a0and<\/em> Minton’s\u00a0coloured lead glazes\u00a0Palissy<\/b> ware.\u00a0<\/b>Still no mention of\u00a0lead or tin for clarification, so very confusing. Deliberately confusing?<\/b> Hard to know.<\/p>\n

    \"Reports<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n
    Majolica – in conclusion<\/h5>\n

    In\u00a0conclusion we\u00a0offer two explanations\u00a0to the\u00a0title question\u00a0“How did one word get used for two quite different products?”<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. To describe\u00a0Italian tin-glazed earthenware the\u00a0British had for a long time\u00a0been\u00a0using\u00a0the word ‘majolica’ instead of the\u00a0centuries old ‘maiolica’. Minton\u00a0simply used\u00a0the British spelling ‘majolica’\u00a0for\u00a0his tin-glazed product in imitation of Italian\u00a0tin-glazed\u00a0maiolica.<\/li>\n
    2. The lead-abolition\u00a0campaign. Without it, we suggest, Minton, Arnoux, industry, and media\u00a0would\u00a0have had no\u00a0difficulty\u00a0describing Minton’s new products separately, as they did in the factory.\u00a0They\u00a0might have used words along these lines:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n

      “Majolica is the name\u00a0used by Minton\u00a0for the\u00a0t<\/b>in-glazed earthenware painted with metal oxide enamels in imitation of Italian tin-glazed maiolica.”<\/p>\n

      “Palissy ware is the name\u00a0used by Minton\u00a0for earthenware decorated with the\u00a0new range of coloured lead glazes. This\u00a0product soon\u00a0became known also as majolica.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      Join the MajolicaSociety<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/h2>\n

      Subscribe for Madelena alerts<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      1. \u00a0Earthenware decorated with coloured glazes 2. Tin-glazed earthenware painted with enamels Designs for the two distinct types of Minton majolica product both called ‘majolica’ sit side by side in the Majolica Box, The Minton Archive. How did\u00a0that happen? Why not simply Earthenware decorated with coloured glazes = Majolica; Tin-glazed earthenware painted with enamels = […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,23],"class_list":["post-1781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-majolica","tag-maiolica","tag-majolica-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1781"}],"version-history":[{"count":103,"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3123,"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1781\/revisions\/3123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madelena.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}