Majolica pottery is near and dear to my heart because both my mother and I have collected it for years, and my search for majolica has led me to so many wonderful antique shops, shows, and may even be responsible for my interest in selling antiques. Most antique dealers started out as collectors, then when things reach a critical mass they have to start finding ways to whittle their collections down and logically begin selling off things they can live without.
It often starts with one innocent pitcher or plate, like the pieces below. The large blackberries on basket weave plate is a common majolica motif and was my first-ever majolica purchase:
No matter how much I appreciate the all-white/cream shabby chic color palette, I always end up with colorful decorative collectibles in my home. I just love color, and majolica pottery is known for the colorful glazes and fanciful forms. I can't tell you how many times I've noticed this type of pottery in decorator magazines. It gives a punch of color to a cupboard, bookshelf, or mantel where some pizazz is required.
Majolica isn't the name of a company, like "Roseville", let's say. It was made by numerous pottery companies in Europe and the U.S., and was actually at the peak of popularity in the 1850's in England, and later around 1870's in the U.S. By 1900, this style of pottery was considered gaudy and over-the-top, (which is exactly why I like it), and most manufacturers moved on to other styles of pottery.
I was planning to bring everyone that reads this up to speed on majolica basics, and in my search for resources online I came upon www.e-how.com, a site that will provide you with more information than I could ever begin to cover here. In fact, there's a series of video clips that pretty much blow my plans out of the water. I imagine I could learn quite a bit from e-how myself, and I'm planning on exploring it more fully when I have time! So in the remainder of this post, I'll just share some examples of majolica so you can see what I'm talking about......
Birds, flowers, butterflies, and deeply veined leaves were often used in majolica designs. There are many pieces that reflect the aesthetic movement, like the Asian/fans/cherry blossoms platter below right:
This egg coddler is very rare:
Some majolica and other items for sale at the Shirley Street Antique Mall in Naples, Florida:
Most large antique malls should have some majolica for sale. Once in a while a piece will pop up at a flea market or garage sale, but not very often. Because of its age and fragility, it isn't something that people just toss around. Many pieces you will see will have some damage or repairs. Since I only collect it for its decorative value, I overlook minor damage. I try not to pay over $100 for a plate or small pitcher, but the more elaborate pieces can sell for several hundred dollars. Finer examples such as a jardiniere on a pedestal may be valued in the thousands.
These drawings are from the Griffin, Smith Company catalog, whose factory was churning out majolica in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, in the 1880's. This particular page of the catalog shows the familiar begonia leaf dishes, and some butter pats:
I bought the pitcher below at a flea market for $4.00, but it has several areas of damage. It's probably worth my while to have it repaired, which I might do eventually. I'm lucky that I know a good pottery repair man who does a fabulous job on pieces such as this. He's also fast. When I first started having majolica repaired, about 12 years ago, I gave a corn motif pitcher to a local woman that specialized in pottery repair. She had it for over two years!
I hope you will start noticing majolica now, if you haven't already, and don't forget to explore www.e-how.com. You might even bump into me over there!
love majiolca...so gorgeous! And wow, I really love the drawing (almost like a botanical print), wicked cool!
-c
Posted by: Cindy | 10/17/2009 at 01:03 PM
How can I find out what a majolica bowl inherited from my grandmother would be worth? I have photos. Thank you.
Posted by: Jennie Ayers | 02/02/2010 at 07:32 PM