Magnificent 17th century Portuguese faience vase, of ovoid bodyand short neck, decorated in cobalt-blue tones on a tin-whiteenamelled glaze.The ornamentation of the bulbous body is divided into threehorizontal bands, separated by thin plain fillets. In the central register,exuberant branches of flowering chrysanthemums alternatewith architectural groupings. The vegetal composition is markedlysymmetrical, structured around a central axis, where buds andleaves are arranged in mirrored fashion, creating a harmoniousdesign in which each element corresponds to its counterpart on theopposite side. These motifs are separated by a group of buildingsshown in perspective—probably a set of kilns—and set within ayard featuring a leafy tree with three canopies of probable Orientalinfluence. This pattern is repeated on the upper band of the vase,near the neck.In the lower band, the surrounding decoration is composedof repeated vertical panels, arranged radially.The piece displays yellowish earthenware, characteristicof Lisbon production, and was covered with an opaque tin-whiteenamelled glaze and subsequently decorated in cobalt blue over the unfired glaze, with fixation of both colour and glaze achievedthrough firing.1The ‘bleeding’ of the cobalt-blue pigment, visible in theornamentation, corresponds to a phenomenon also known as‘reboar.’ It becomes particularly evident through the dragging ofthe pigments, and may result from excessive solubility of the colouringoxides. To prevent it, a reduction of the maximum firingtemperature would have been necessary, a technical solution thatwas still unknown or unachievable at the time, due to the limitedability to control the rudimentary kilns of the period.2This appearance should not be understood as an imperfection,but rather as a common mark of manual production, whichconfers the piece a distinct aesthetic and expressive value, resultinghere in a vibrant and lively surface.In Lisbon, several workshops were devoted to the productionof faience, frequently referred to as ‘porcelain’,3 due to themimetic parallel established with this art of Oriental origin, referencingits manufacturing quality. Here, we highlight the ‘blueand white’ decoration, applied to the body in tripartite bands, withparticular emphasis on the lower pattern, which evokes Chinese Ming-dynasty vases through the radial arrangement of repeatedcartouches decorated with lotus flowers. The high decorative densityand the landscape in which the expanded chrysanthemums—oneof the noble plants of the Chinese tradition—are set reinforce thisformal and iconographic affiliation.This allegorical valorisation of national faience productionas ‘porcelain’ was expressed in the commemorative arch erectedby the potters in 1619, on the occasion of the visit of Philip III ofSpain (II of Portugal), in which the kingdom’s ability to manufacturelocally what had previously been imported from China wasexalted. This arch displayed pottery objects, such as a faience vaseinspired by Chinese porcelain, and a quatrain addressed to themonarch with the following verses:Aqui monarcha excelso soberanoVos oferece a arte peregrinaFabricado no reino lusitanoO que antes nos vendeu tão caro a China]4(Here exalted and sovereign monarch,Offers you the wondrous artMade in the Lusitanian realmWhat China sold us so expensively before) In these workshops, kilns played a central role. João Migueldos Santos Simões notes, in the first volume of his Corpus daAzulejaria Portuguesa, that “it was undoubtedly in the mid-16thcentury that the first ‘Venetian kilns’, also known as ‘Pisan kilns’,were installed in Lisbon, capable of firing glazed wares with opaquewhite glaze, distinguishing themselves from the ‘Moorish kilns’,with direct flame, used for firing red ceramics.”5Indeed, in Frei Nicolau de Oliveira’s Livro das Grandezas deLisboa, published in 1620, we find reference to the existence, inLisbon, of twenty-eight ‘Venetian kilns’.6Associated with the Oriental inspiration of this vase aremotifs of a symbolic nature referencing the productive universeof pottery. The schematic representation of firing kilns, arrangedon uneven ground and accompanied by vegetal elements, suggestsa peripheral pottery workshop, evoking production spaces locatedoutside the urban centre, as was customary in Lisbon potterymanufacture, especially for safety reasons.This is an emblematic rather than topographical scene, acommon practice in the 17th century, in which ceramic decorationincorporates stylised references to the artisan world, affirming theidentity of pottery production in the creation of Portuguese faience.The mark left by the potter on this vase thus goes beyondthe utilitarian function of the piece, fixing in matter the sensitivememory of the creative gesture with a view to its projection through time.
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1 In this context, the ‘high-firing’ colours used in Portuguese pottery faience are generally limited to blue—based on cobalt oxide—characterised by having a melting point close to that ofthe glazes that serve as their base, at around 900°C.
2 Canotilho, Maria Helena Pires César, Processos de cozedura em Cerâmica, Séries Estudos, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança ed., 1999, p. 58. Apud Sébastian, Luis, A Produção Oleira de Faiança em Portugal, séculos XVI–XVIII, Doctoral dissertation in Archaeology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2010, p. 463.
3 In Portuguese faience, due to its ‘counterfeit resemblance (imitation) to Chinese porcelain’.
4 Lavanha, João Baptista, Viagem da Catholica Magestade d’el Rey D. Filipe II, N.S. Madrid, 1622.
5 Simões, João Miguel dos Santos, Azulejaria em Portugal nos séculos XV e XVI, Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1990, p. 101 (1st ed. 1969).
6 Oliveira, Frei Nicolau de, Livro das Grandezas de Lisboa, Lisbon, Na Impressão Régia, MDCCCIV, p. 179: “8 Fornos de louça vidrada; 28 Fornos de ‘Louça de Veneza’”.