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Aragonese Ceramics

Teruel

Architectural ceramics and holy-water stoups
14th-19th centuries
Potters in Aragón were first of all Mudejars, then Moriscos until 1609, when they were expelled from Spain. The Mudejars and Moriscos used green, white and decorated ceramic fittings to give gloss and colour to their brick buildings. There are large quantities of gargoyles, tiles of different shapes, and plates and bowls made especially for this purpose.

18th- and 19th-century ceramics are popular and naïve in character. The many holy-water stoups and cemetery plaques that have survived are evidence of the religious nature of Spanish society at that period.

Plato seder de la serie verde y morado Teruel. Siglo XV

Salvilla de la serie de la hoja-ala Teruel. Siglo XVIII.

Tableware and objects with green and purple decoration
14th-15th centuries and 18th-19th centuries
Teruel potters produced the largest – but also the least refined – pieces of this type. The green is darker than that of Paterna or Barcelona, and the ornamental motifs – of animals, plants and heraldry – were executed using thicker brushes.

In Teruel polychrome was used only for the decoration of tiles and religious plaques. Green and purple, however, have remained traditional colours there to the present day. The iconographic repertory of the 18th and 19th centuries has survived in the repetition of highly schematic plant and figurative elements.

Tableware with blue decoration
15th century and 18th century
The blue of Chinese export porcelain was one of the favourite colours of Aragonese potters. While iconography and composition during the 15th century was predominantly of Islamic origin – with axis of symmetry, profuse ornamentation and concentric bands – in the 18th century the iconographic repertory of the Far East came into fashion. Copies were not made from original examples but from Italian reinterpretations that reached Spain through maritime trade.

MUEL

Arista tiles
16th century
Throughout the 16th century friezes of tiles were produced using the arista technique (of Islamic origin), decorated with grotesques in Italian Renaissance style.

Jarra de la serie de reflejos dorados Muel. Segunda mitad del Siglo XVI

Lustreware
1550-1650
The main features of Muel pieces are the brown tone of the lustreware, diametrical bands that cross the plates from side to side, reticulate pine cones, split leaves and lines drawn with a comb brush as in Manises, and the presence of the passionflower, a plant motif of local origin.

Plato de la serie azul Muel. Siglo XVIII

Tableware with green, purple and blue decoration
17th century
Many objects of this type retain the shapes of metal lustre pieces: plates with a central boss and small jars with appendages in the shape of rams’ heads. Decorative motifs on other pieces, such as borders with scales, indicate the presence of craftsmen from Barcelona in Aragón. Without them, the potteries would have been deserted after the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609.

Tableware with blue decoration
17th and 18th centuries
The decoration of pieces of this type shows a variety of influences. The ribbon motif, profile busts and fish were copied from Barcelona potters, while the Berain-style garland derives from Alcora wares, and the leaf-wing has its origin in ceramics from Liguria (Italy).

Plato Vilafeliche. Siglo XVIII

VILLAFELICHE
18th century
Production at Villafeliche began later and lasted for a shorter time. Characteristic pieces include large, specially commissioned plates with inscriptions; items decorated with artichokes – a large plant motif; a large number of drinking bowls (chocolate cups) decorated with little flowers, a motif taken from the Alcora bouquet series with the flowers executed with a sponging technique derived from Savona (Italy).