Spanish Ceramics before 1603
- Comments
-
Glasgow Museums has an important collection of late medieval and Renaissance Spanish ceramics, including notable pieces of fifteenth and sixteenth century lustreware. By the 1400s Spain was producing the very finest pottery in Europe, using techniques brought to Islamic Spain before the twelfth century by settled Muslim potters. Beautifully decorated in a manner now often called ‘Hispano-Moresque’, these tin-glazed ‘lustreware’ pieces fused Islamic and Gothic styles and motifs to create ambitiously decorative and expertly executed wares. Admired by an elite clientele and exported throughout Europe, Spanish lustreware was particularly prized in Italy, where many wealthy families commissioned tableware painted with their coats of arms, such as the dish with the heraldic shield of the Tondi family of Siena. By the fifteenth century, the small Spanish village of Manises, Valencia, was associated with some of the very best lustreware, and the collection boasts some magnificent examples thought to have originated from this important production centre. Contemporary with these pieces are a number of tiles, including pieces decorated with intricate geometric designs achieved via a technique known as ‘Cuerda seca’ (dry cord). Some of the most important pieces in this collection were donated by Sir William and Lady Burrell in 1944.
- Broader term
- Staff Contact