Italian pottery is the earthenware and related ceramic production of Italy, best known for maiolica, a tin-glazed earthenware painted in bright colours that reached its height during the Renaissance. Italian potters also produced lead-glazed slipwares, sgraffito wares, terracotta and, in later centuries, a wide range of decorative and studio ceramics.
Maiolica flourished from the fifteenth century in centres such as Faenza, from which the word faience derives, as well as Deruta, Gubbio, Urbino, Castel Durante, Montelupo and Venice. Painters created istoriato wares with narrative scenes from mythology and history, lustred dishes, armorial plates and albarelli for pharmacies. The tradition was revived in the nineteenth century, when factories such as Cantagalli in Florence made accomplished reproductions in Renaissance style, and in the twentieth century Italian designers and potteries produced bold modern ceramics. Collectors of early maiolica look for quality of painting, glaze and colour, and restoration, which is common on older pieces. Distinguishing Renaissance originals from later copies requires experience. Decorative Italian pottery, from apothecary jars to large chargers, adds strong colour to kitchens, dining rooms and garden rooms.
