Albino Majolica

Etruscan Ivory Ware shell dish

The very first thing I need to say is that I hate the term "albino majolica."

I don't know who coined the phrase "albino majolica". I've always attributed it to Charles Rebert - but for all I know it was a term in use before the publication of his book "American Majolica 1850-1900". One thing is certain though - his use of the term in his book was picked up by Mariann Katz-Marks in her original soft cover books on majolica which were extremely influential in the formation of the American majolica market despite glaring inaccuracies. From there it entered the collecting lexicon.

What I dislike most about it is that it is a misnomer. "Albino majolica" is not majolica at all; it is decorated earthenware. A loose case can be made for describing luster glazed earthenware as majolica but it too does not fulfill one of the simple definitions of majolica: an earthenware body covered with an opaque tin glaze; covered again with colored glazes and fired a second time at a high temperature to fuse the colored glaze to the opaque under glaze. Decorated earthenware is covered with a white slip and a transparent or opaque glaze. Lusters are applied on top of the glazed ware and fired at a low temperature. They wear off easily because they don't fuse with the glaze underneath, they sit on top of it.

The same can be said of plain decorated earthenware. This is glazed then covered with firing enamels which are heated to fix the enamel color to the body. In neither case are these true majolica.
The ware we call "albino majolica" is actually a modern tern for the decorated earthenwares made in England by companies like George Jones. Many of these used the same molds that produced majolica which may account for some of the confusion.

George Jones earthenware cheese bell

George Jones majolica cheese bell

George Jones earthenware dresser plate

George Jones majolica dresser plate

George Jones earthenware wild rose cheese bell

George Jones majolica wild rose cheese bell

George Jones earthenware strawberry server

George Jones majolica strawberry server

With all that said, decorated earthenware can still be very beautiful.

Probably the most famous "albino" or decorated earthenware came from the Etruscan Works of Phoenixville. The Ivory Ware line is usually placed under the umbrella of the "albino" name along with the decorated earthenware product from the company, Venecine.

Etruscan Venicine Cauliflower sugar bowl

Etruscan Majolica Cauliflower sugar bowl

Ivory Ware was the company's version of the Belleek wares so popular at this time. Made with an eye towards capturing some of this market, the ware was a blatant imitation of Belleek in both glaze and subject matter. What the company could not capture with the thick earthenware body, was the translucent quality of porcelain that made Belleek so desirable. In spite of not marking most Ivory Ware - in the hope of confusing the consumer into thinking it was fine imported ware - it proved to be an unsuccessful product and never achieved the success their majolica and creamware would achieve.

Etruscan Ivory Ware Shell compote

Etruscan Ivory Ware Maple plate

The Etruscan decorated earthenware line Venecine, was among the most beautiful pottery this or any American company was making at the time. It's well known that the "majolica girls" took great pride in work that they did on this line since it required so much more skill than the majolica wares. The results speak for themselves.

Etruscan Venicene Shell plate

Etruscan Venicene Hawthorn pitcher

Etruscan Venicene cheese bell

It's unfortunate than none of these pieces are appreciated much by majolica collectors today. The prices they bring are always just a small fraction of what a full color majolica example would bring.

Other companies whose work is often included under the term "albino majolica" is Haynes' Avalon Faïence and Clifton Decor of the Chesapeake Pottery and Edward Bennet, both of Baltimore. These too are decorated earthenware although the French term "faïence" is sometimes used to describe this type of over-the-glaze enamel decoration as well.

Like the decorated earthenware of the Etruscan Works, prices and demand for these is generally quite weak.

So where does this leave the modern collector? Like any other antique, I would suggest buying what you like. There are great bargains to be found in these types of wares if the savvy collector just keeps his eyes open. Although they'll never achieve the prices nor the popularity of true majolica, they are still beautiful and an integral part of Victorian pottery history.

Friends, Family and Collecting

A couple of weeks ago, one of my best friends passed away suddenly. We had been close friends for 25 years. The most difficult thing about losing someone close to you is that a part of you is lost as well. All of those shared memories that brought you so close to each other are now yours alone. There is no one left to laugh with over the silly things that the two of you experienced together. It is a terrible loss of love.

When I think of my friend Phillip, I am reminded of his outrageous sense of humor.
 
Phillip hated majolica. As a joke he once bought me a reproduction of a piece of majolica, but this wasn't just any reproduction. He went out of his way to find what he described as the most over-the-top ridiculous majolica type object he could find.  I will never forget the fiendish glee that overtook him when I opened the gift. He laughed so hard when he saw my blank reaction he was doubled over. What he didn't realize was that the reason I didn't get the joke was because he had given me a reproduction of the Eureka triangular owl and fan teapot.

To him it was a ridiculous modern interpretation of what was worst about majolica.  When I told him it was a reproduction of a real piece of majolica it confirmed for him how absurd majolica really was. It was an affirmation of his hatred of the stuff.

Now, I'll admit that Phillip is not the only one of my friends who hates majolica, because practically all of them do. ( I can't say all of them because one of my friends has actually grown to like it. I wrote about his turn around here.) Most of them can't understand what I see in it. To them it is everything that was bad about the Victorians: it's garish, old fashioned and ostentatious. They come into my apartment, which is full of the stuff, and totally ignore it; that is when they're not talking about how ugly it is. I'll admit that I wish that at least a couple could appreciate why I like it, but they don't.

The same is not true about my relatives. While none of the younger generation like it, both my sisters and my late Mother love it. My Mother actually encouraged me to collect it. She saw it as a nice way of getting me to invest my money in something. One of my sisters even started her own collection and now has a much larger collection than I do. Of course none of her daughters like it but she doesn't care because it brings her joy.

The bottom line is that is my feeling as well. That is why we collect, regardless of what it may be we are collecting. When I look at my majolica I feel happy. I have surrounded myself with things that bring me joy and because it does that it has fulfilled its obligation to me. You really can't ask for more.

Actually, I take that back. I can ask for more.

I wish I could hear Phillip's laugh again.

Second Chances

Life rarely offers second chances.

About 20 years ago when I was a relative fledgling antiques dealer I sold a sugar bowl that was part of a cream and sugar set I had held on to for a few months at home. (You can see a picture of it in my collection here c. 1990. The cream and sugar are on either side of the top shelf.) 

It was in the Wedgwood St. Louis pattern. Although I really liked the piece I was in a stage of my career where I couldn't really afford to keep inventory sitting around on my own shelf at home. I placed both the creamer and the sugar in my showcase in Adamstown, PA., but only the sugar sold. (I think it sold for $225.) I guess the price of the creamer was too high.

After the bowl sold, I took the creamer and placed it in a box with other majolica odds and ends I had put away. As time went on I found more pieces of St. Louis and I eventually exhumed the little creamer and placed it with the matching pieces from that set on my shelf. I grew quite fond of the pattern and eventually did a painting of it. (You can see the creamer in the lower right hand corner of the painting below.)

I regretted having sold the sugar bowl. For years I searched for a replacement but never found one. It left a hole in my collection that bugged the heck out of me.

This past month I replaced the sugar bowl with EXACTLY THE SAME BOWL! How do I know it was the same bowl? From photographs I had taken as part of my inventory all those years ago. After 20+ years the majolica gods forgave my mercenary indiscretion and reunited the two pieces that had been together before this for 120 years.

I'm glad to have it back. It now sits proudly in my cupboard with my other St. Louis pieces and the little creamer right next to it.

Now, if only I could find a teapot!

Massier Floral Form Majolica

The Massier family made such a variety of elegant, fanciful majolica that it's hard to focus on just one subject when writing about them, but for me the floral form pieces were unique among majolica manufacturers.
Where all members of the family made majolica, they also each had their own special biases. Clement Massier, probably the best known of the group, pioneered the use of metallic and iridescent glazes for earthenware. Jerome favored majolica human and animal forms while Delphine loved plants. It is from Delphine we get the largest variety of floral majolica.
The Massiers made  everything imaginable in a floral form from dishes to wall pockets to clocks. The most extravagant of the floral pieces had to be the jardiniėrs particularly those with matching pedestals. Today these sell for thousands of dollars and are hard to find outside of France. But when you do, they are a treat to behold!

Other floral pieces from the family are beautiful but more reasonably priced, like the plates, vases and clocks. Of course there are always exceptions like the beautiful orchid vase below with the butterfly which recently sold for several thousands of dollars.

Page from the Massier catalog showing some of their offerings

If these appeal to you now is the time to buy because Massier is currently the hottest name in majolica and the prices will only skyrocket with time.