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Deruta in Umbria, Italy, is one of the most famous centres for ceramics and chinaware production in Italy. Although some of the best Italian majolica was produced between 1440 and 1540, the characteristic styles of Deruta, outlined below, reached their highest levels of development in the early 16 C. These styles are now widely copied in other Italian ceramics centres but the best examples are still produced in Deruta and there are numerous shops offering a wide range of Derutaware at competitive prices. Much of the production is carried out as a cottage industry, with unbaked clay plates, bowls and other objects being brought in to the ovens to be baked and then taken away again to be hand-painted, before being brought back once more for glazing. This means that the artistic quality of the decoration varies and it is well worth your while to visit as many shops as possible to compare similar items before making your final purchase.
Deruta Deruta ceramics styles
Ricco Deruta
Its origins, as for the
Raffaellesco, date back to the Renaissance
period. The painters of that time commonly copied the decorations of great
contemporary artists, such as Raphael and his master Pietro Vannucci called the
Perugino. We can identify the bloomed scrolls and the blue arabesque
characterising this style in the frescoes of these two
artists.
Deruta Arabesco a very common style, derived from the patterns on ware imported from the east in the 15th
century.
The origins of
the town of Deruta are for the most part obscure. It has always had
important links to
Perugia, which acts as a powerful bastion to the
south and with
Todi, another fortified
town further south towards Rome.
During the 13 C Deruta had its own statutes, followed in 1465 by a new document
written in the vernacular which mandated the presence in the castle of four
"boni omini", elected
by and from among the residents, in addition to the podestą delegated from
Perugia. In the second half of the 15 C, the residents were decimated
by plague, and the city walls collapsed through lack of maintenance. In addition, during the
"Guerra del Sale" (1540), Deruta, which had aligned itself against the Pope,
was attacked and devastated. However, the submission of Perugia to the Church
also brought a long period of peace to Deruta. During these years of
peace, Deruta became famous for the high quality of its majolica.
Early furnaces are evident as one enters the historical centre of Deruta
through the Porta di S. Michele Arcangelo. In the small Piazza Biordo Michelotti
one may view the sober lines of the gotho-romanesque church of S.
Arcangelo, in front of which
there is a fine polygonal
fountain dating from 1848.
Piazza Biordo Michelotti
Next is Piazza dei Consoli, where the
Palazzetto Municipale,
dating from 1300, is located. Its atrium houses a collection of
neolithic and Etruscan archaeological finds. The Palazzo houses, in addition, the
Pinacoteca and the Museum of Ceramics. The Pinacoteca contains an important collection of paintings originating from the churches of S. Francesco, S. Antonio, the Defunti di
Ripabianca and the hospital of S. Giacomo, and also a part from the rich collection of Lione
Pascoli. Paintings of the Alunno, the Baciccio, Stendardo, Amorosi, Fiorenzo di Lorenzo and Guido
Reni are on display. The Museum of Ceramics houses a magnificent display
of ceramic works of art from archaic to modern times.
Deruta
ceramics museum
Antique
Deruta majolica
Italian ceramics,
ceramica, ceramiche, pottery, majolica, maioloca,
maioliche,
tableware, collectables
- call them what you will, the appealing colors of the Italian majolica palette
brighten any room and lend themselves to easy mixing and matching of patterns.
www.montelupo.com Montelupo
Fiorentino, the historic centre of Tuscan hand-painted ceramics
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