Ceramiche Ricciardelli Faenza :: Decori nella storia

Over the centuries different decors have been followed each other and each one has represented the reality of its time.

The Ricciardelli workshop revives these decors, as a memory of ancient magnificence together with other modern ones in order to keep going to tell the story of our time.

On this page you can find every traditional and innovative decors painted by Ricciardelli Liliana.

After the medieval period or “archaic” phase, come a perfecting of Faenza ceramics, especially of majolica, both in the whiteness and density of its coat and in its chromatic rage – and also because new colours were adopted, including an intensive yellow and a brilliant blue.

Taken as a whole, the Faenza workshop production of the early Renaissance, called the “severo” style (that means severe) for its use of clearly defined and recurrent ornamental motifs, may be divided into two major periods, each including various “families” or smaller decorative groupings.

The first periods was characterized by “zaffera blue relief” family with themes that came from the Byzantine world.

During the second period, there grew up alongside the gothic-style motifs of the “floral-gothic” (cartoccio) family, ornamentation originating in the Middle and Far East and constituting the decorative families named “peacock feather ocelli”, “Persian palmette”, and “alla porcellana”.

“Cartoccio”

This “floral-gothic” decor is composed of one or more leaves with curled end and folding on themselves. Usually dot, little roses and little spirals are added.

This decor is a theme of ancient eastern origin and it represents the sunrise. It is called in this way because remind to the spot shaped like an eye in the feather of peacock.

The colours used are turquoise blue, violet, green and yellow just called “Yellow Pavona”.

The decor name shows an ancient and orient origin. This décor represents a shaded blue flower with green leaves and little roses with a yellow point in the middle. The flower symbolizes a vertical section of a pine-cone whereas the little rose is a pine-cone seen from the top.

These motives are usually put together in order to make up the border to human figures, animals and holy images.

Blue decor on white coating that represents thin, interwoven shoots with little curled leaves. It was born as interpretation of a chrysanthemum that appears in Chinese manufacture. Sometimes the motif encircles a shell or imaginary animals.

The word “grottesche” or “raffaellesche” identifies a decorative type inspired by the decoration discovered in Domus Aurea remains called “grotte” (caves). Typical subject were mix of imaginary animals, cornucopia, shells, putto.

In the early 16th century a technical innovation was introduced: new glaze colour called “berettino”, that means a colour among blue and grey. This enamel was used for basic of decorative motifs such as grotesques, trophies of war, festoons of leaves and fruit, and quartering executed in opaque white.

This decor is very bright and rich as a fabric, it represents alternate regular sections on polychromatic ground (blue, yellow and sometimes green). Inside each section there are leaves, spirals, dolphin, putti and other typical grotesque element.

This decor is characterized by arrangements of ancient weapon and shield, musical instruments and book on white or “berettino” glaze.

This style is characterized by a white, thick coating glaze on the object, whence the common meaning of the term “white-ware style”. This glaze enhances unusual forms, such as “crespine”, which are ribbed bowls or cups with a scalloped rim.

The decoration is simple – small figures, putti, coats of arm, light garlands of leaves and flowers, all characterized by a brief, light composition. They are just barely sketched in or “abbreviated” – compendiato in Italian, and thus the adoption of the term “compendiario” to describe this style of majolica painting.

The decor “Garofano” belong to the grand fue “chinoiserie” decoration (920°) producted by Ferniani Manufactory since 1767. This style is still the most famous and continuative faience traditional decoration, as well as it is the symbol of faience majolica all over the world.

“Garofano” means carnation. The décor is characterized by flowering garden to which in the middle there is a imaginary flower that shows a wide likeness to carnation, on a blue meadow. Beside there is a little gate.

“Ghianda” (that means acorn) together with “Festoon” summarize the neoclassical taste.
These decors are characterized by a yellow and olive green oak twig in the middle of the object, whereas on the border there is adorned with lace, festoon and string of pearls.

The colours is light blue, brown manganese, yellow and green.

At the end of 17th century Ferniani Manufacturing spread an other elegant décor called “foglia di vite” (in English “vine leaves”) beside the “Acorn” and the “Festoon”.
It is represented by a pairs of different tones of green with a brown shoot.

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"Decori popolari": uva blu e ruggine (XIX sec.)

Blue and rust grapes was borne as a simple and of the common people revisiting of the elegant décor “vine leaves”. This décor is mainly used in kitchen ware together with Romagna motifs on print.

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"Raffaellesco" (XIX sec.)

One of the most famous expression of nineteenth-century majolica is a revival of grotesque. In the middle of 19° century, Faenza remade the Renaissance style in different way (imaginary figures, sphinx, grotesque mask) with a light, quick and rich of shade painting on strict symmetric structure.

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During the second half of the 19th century, Faenza proposed a new style: majolica painting, imitating the easel painting technique. This style was able to impose itself as a real local specialization with portrait (painting) and landscape painting.

During the twenties of the last century, the workshops in Faenza proposed a décor that draws decorative motifs of Mediterranean tradition together with Art Decò elements, and brushstroke of pure gold in third firing.

The “Melograno” (that means pomegranate) is characterized by a monochromatic blue composition with pomegranates encircle with leaves, flowers and ringlet. In the middle of this composition there can be animals, bird and peacock, that is a recurrent figure in the Art Decò period.

The “Blue Carnation” was borne as monochromatic blue restyling of the most famous faience typology the eighteenth-century “Garofano”, by the well-known desiner Gio Ponti in 1946.

“Arabesque Faience” is a decor elaborated by ceramist Liliana Ricciardelli. This décor is characterized by interlaced flower motifs.

The colours is “zaffera” blue, green and pure gold in third firing. In an other version is used also orange.