DESCRIPTIVE

DICTIONARY FOR 500 YEARS OF

SPANISH-TRADITION CERAMICS
[13th Through 18th Centuries]
by Florence C. Lister and Robert H. Lister
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Special Publication Series, Number 1
published by
The Society for Historical Archaeology
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The Society. for Historical Archaeology
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/
A DESCRIPTIVE DICTIONARY
FOR 500 YEARS OF
SPANISH-TRADITION CERAMICS
[ 13th Through 18th Centuries}
Florence C. Lister
and
Robert H. Lister
1976
Special Publication Series, Number 1
published by
The Society for Historical Archaeology
John D. Combes, editor
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Introduction
AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS finding His-
panic pottery in the debris of presidio along
some northern frontier of Spain's colonial
empire may be interested solely in assigning
to it a date and probable place of manufac-
ture, thus establishing a temporal framework
of reference and placement of the site within
former communication networks. Art histo-
rians look at the same pottery in terms of
form, decoration, or color to ascertain the
aesthetic matrix from which it sprang. Stu-
dents of technology interest themselves in
the motor processes and tools which pro-
duced the vessel, while other potters criti-
cally judge its weight and engineered parts.
Chemists, physicists, or geologists may
analyze interactions of clays or minerals
composing the ware. All these approaches to
the pottery are important legitimate areas for
study, yet none can be satisfactorily under-
stood without knowledge of the underlying
cultural background of the makers. Without
such historical ground work, the study of
Spanish-tradition pottery, emerging as it
does from a complicated layered welter of
Roman, Byzantine, Gothic, Near Eastern,
Oriental, and Renaissance forces, becomes a
hopeless quagmire.
The r yth century was chosen as a begin-
ning date for the work to follow because that
period was a watershed in Spanish history,
dividing a Moresque past from a European-
ized future. During that time two ruling
houses of Christian Spain reconquered the
peninsula to the southern Atlantic shores
and to the Mediterranean. The fabulous era
of Muslim political control and cultural
domination thus was directed toward an in-
evitable conclusion. Under Ferdinand III
of Castile and Leon, all of Andalusia, the
seat of the highest Spanish Muslim achieve-
ments, was wrested back into the Christian
camp when Sevilla fell in 1248. James I of
Aragon-Catalufia similarly had pushed
through the Levante, taking Valencia from
the Almohades just ten year earlier in 1238.
Only the wedge of hilly Granada remained
between these two arms of Christendom.
There the Nasrid dynasty, with tenuous re-
ligious and cultural ties to the Marinids ruling
in Morocco, was allowed to exist for two and
a half centuries because ofits practical impor-
tance to these Christian neighbors. Heavy
tribute was extracted from it, and a conve-
nient haven was provided for Muslims ex-
pelled from other parts of Spain (Burckhardt
1972: 182; Jackson 1972: 85).
These political events had a direct bearing
upon the history of Spanish ceramics, as well
as other decorative arts, and serve to explain
developments during the next 250 years,
when another decisive junction was reached.
Prior to the r yrh century all pottery so far
known in Christian Spain was from a Ro-
mano-Visigothic heritage-wheel turned,
heavy walled, generally undecorated, utilita-
rian objects meant to be used in an every-
day life which can best be described as primi-
tive (Llubia 1967: 27-32). In the Islamic
Guadalquivir River valley, however, there
had been a notable advancement in ceramics
over the preceeding five centuries stemming
from cultural importance placed upon all de-
corative crafts, which drew upon both the
eclectic background of Arab culture-an as-
similation of Graeco-Rornan, Byzantine, and
Oriental art grammars-and the Romanized
Visigothic roots of the local inhabitants. The
use of the potter's wheel; two chambered,
updraft kilns; lead and tin glazes; luster
over-glazing; slip, glaze, impressed, or re-
lief designs; cuerda seca techniques; and a
wide range of small and large forms useful
in an elaborated mode of life were usual
(Gomez-Moreno 1951: 311-23; Llubia
1967: 33-81). Furthermore, there was a cul-
tural attitude which permitted the creation of
pottery solely as objects to be admired. Then
in that fateful r yth century came the end of
Muslim Andalusia and an abrupt downgrad-
ing ofwhat had been an important subsidized
industry.
2
Sevilla had become the Andalusian pro-
vincial capital under the Almohades, and it
was there that craftsmen had set up their
various workshops in order to produce
goods which gradually seduced the puritani-
cal Moroccan nomads to a life of luxury.
Most of the potteries were located outside
the city on the opposite bank of the Guadal-
quivir (Ainaud de Lasarte 1952: 197). In the
eight month siege of Sevilla by the Castilians,
it is probable that they were abandoned, se-
verely damaged, or destroyed. Nor could
they have been put back into operation soon
because, for security reasons and in order to
provide his soldiers with rewards in the form
of real estate, Ferdinand ordered Sevilla
emptied of her Muslim inhabitants, most of
whom were artisans and merchants. These
refugees, who fled to the uncertain security
of Granada where they were to prosper again
under royal patronage, in time were replaced
by local Christians or Christianized Muslims
and other artisans moving down from the
north. This displacement of craftsmen
caused a sharp decline in the quality and kind
of all decorative materials produced in
Sevilla (Jackson 1972: 87). Those Muslims
who remained under the pretext of conver-
sion not only faced harsh personal treatment,
but a demoralization which likewise affected
their Christian co-workers. Much of the so-
cial and financial support necessary to create
luxury goods vanished, and contacts with
wellsprings of inspiration in the Muslim East
ended. Some of the ceramic forms and pro-
cesses used in caliphate and tai/a regimes for
specialized wares continued without change
in Sevillian ateliers and those of Toledo, her
new political and commercial associate in
Castile. They also continued at Granada,
which has made exact provenience now im-
possible to determine. But almost nothing is
known of more ordinary Andalusian ear-
thenware made during the 250 years be-
tween the Reconquest and the Columbus
voyages to America (Gestoso y Perez 1903:
133-4; Llubia 1967: 124). It is assumed that
production continued of simple unglazed,
Introduction
lead glazed, or tin glazed functional vessels
by then characteristic of most all Spanish
homes. In the passages to follow several ex-
planations for the absence at Sevilla of these
kinds of ceramics, as yet untested ar-
chaeologically, are offered. For the present,
this interim appears as the Dark Ages of
Sevillian domestic pottery.
The post-Reconquest situation in Ara-
gon-Cataluiia was quite different. First, Mus-
lims in that part of Spain were tolerated and
incorporated into all craft activities, includ-
ing pottery-making in which they shared the
skills and styles evolved during the entire
Muslim occupation of the peninsula. Sec-
ondly, there were many ties to other
Mediterranean lands, traditionally through
southern France and subsequently as a result
of political control of Sicily and Naples and
farflung trading activities from North Africa
around the whole eastern Mediterranean
(Jackson 1972: 89, 93). Barcelona devel-
oped as a major maritime force in this
trade, at the same time creating a bourgeoisie
incorporating many Frenchmen. The end re-
sult, so far as ceramics is concerned, was the
rise of a number of thriving industries whose
works mirrored many diverse streams of
influence.
In the northern Aragon town of Teruel,
established originally as an outpost to protect
the road of conquest to the south and famous
for tile decorated Italian-style towers, Chris-
tians, peaceful Moors, and Christianized
Muslims together produced a rich array of
wares based upon an old Cordoban scheme
of copper green and manganese purple-
brown decoration laid over a white ground
which originally was slip and later was tin
glaze. Forms and motifs upon them were a
fusion of Islamic and Gothic patterns, includ-
ing quaint depictions of the Teruel towers
with their bands of colored tile and the city
walls, a synthesis usually called mudejar-
romdnico or mudejar-gotico (Ainaud de Lasarte
1952: 166-76; Gonzalez-Marti 1944, Vol. I:
549-98; Llubia 1967: 129-35). This palette
and hybrid mode of design became charac-
Introduction
terisric of most of eastern Spain and some
places in Italy, principally Orvieto and
Faenza, during the r yth and rarh centuries
(Charleston 1968: 146; Gaiger-Smith 1973:
83; Gonzalez-Marti 1944, Vol. I: 175-85;
Liverani 1960, PI. I -4). Barcelona and
Paterna, a small town near Valencia, were
two of the most important Spanish pottery
producing centers to share these characteris-
tics, making hollow ware and a number of
types of ceiling and floor tile. By the r yth
century another Muslim introduction, cobalt
blue, largely had replaced the copper green
and manganese purple-brown, though at
Teruel blue was sometimes combined with
green. Although altered in some details, de-
signs continued to reflect the multicultural
heritage of the region.
The Valencian area was one of particularly
fine potting clays, a circumstance which, to-
gether with amorisco artisan base, allowed the
capital to prosper through the activities of
one and then another ceramic industry. Her
potters grew to be the most skilled in Chris-
tian Spain, and many traveled to southern
France and Barcelona to practice their craft.
As Paterna began to show signs ofexhaustion
in the late rarh century, a neighboring village
of Manises thereupon embraced a special-
ized process perfected in the Muslim king-
dom of Granada and continued to dominate
production of fine wares through the t yth
century (Ainaud de Lasarte 1952: 32-77;
Charleston 1968: 140-2; Frothingham
1951: 79-209; Gaiger-Smith 1973: 65-80;
Gonzalez Marti 1944, Vol. I: 363-510).
Meanwhile back at Granada during the
same 250 year period between the mid r yth
to the beginning of the r oth centuries, there
had been an impressive ceramic develop-
ment far outstripping that occurring con-
temporaneously among Christian neighbors
who were building Gothic cathedrals and
lavish castles but were not concerned with
pottery-making. It had been made possible
by the arrival of skilled craftsmen driven
there from other parts of Spain, a motivating
encouragement and support from official-
3
dom, an intensification of artistic identity
which sometimes occurs under pressure, and
open channels ofcommunication with Seljuk
Turks and other outstanding Muslim pools of
inspiration and raw materials. Because of
these factors, plus a cultural orientation to-
ward luxurious, materialistic court life,
ceramics made primarily in Malaga, Granada,
and Almeria became important not only for
local consumption but as commodities in in-
ternational trade. Vast sweeps of brilliant
color achieved through mosaics of tile frag-
ments decorated new palaces. In hollowware
many of the old Muslim forms known
from Cordoba were continued or revamped,
but other exotic shapes were fashioned
using new processes involving molds and jig-
gers combined with advanced throwing
techniques. Intricate designs were derived
from varied combinations of molded relief
friezes, impressed patterns, and passages
painted in costly cobalt blue and oxides of
silver and copper, the latter two requiring a
third firing in specially constructed muffle
kilns (Frothingham 1951: 15-78; Gaiger-
Smith 1973: 55-64; Llubia 1967: 82-110;
Torres Balbas 1949: 212-19).
These ornate Nasrid ceramics, no doubt
made contemporaneously with unknown
humbler wares suitable for ordinary homes
(Torres Balbas 1949: 210-12), had almost
incalculable impact upon Christian potters
dwelling on either side of the enclave of
Granada but with very different end results.
Religious or political differences did not pre-
vent Christian nobility from admiring Mus-
limcraftsmanship and commissioning Nasrid
embellishments for public buildings and pri-
vate homes. In the eastern part of Spain it
was the display vessels coated with metallic
pigments which were most coveted. One
suspects a Granada-to-Valencia flow of pot-
ters, gathering momentum in the rath cen-
tury and becoming intensified after the fall of
the Nasrids in 1492, purposefully was not
halted because of an economically important
industry evolving at Manises. This enterprise
absorbed Granadine artisans and put their
4
talents in making lusterware to use (Torres
Balbas 1949: 214). With the aid of Christian
navy blockades mounted off the Malaga
coast, by the end of the r sth century Manises
had become the prime lusterware center of
Spain. As with earlier Levantine wares, the
luster forms and designs were a combination
of Muslim and European themes, the former
becoming less important as time passed and
the latter taking new directions as the Middle
Ages drew to a close. An extensive com-
merce carried shipments from the Manises
factories to Majorca, where they were re-
routed to Italy and other Mediterranean
bazaars. This practice led to the corrupted
Italian term ofmaiolica, now applied to all tin
glazed pottery of the Mediterranean area.
Although under the Catholic Kings east-
ern Iberian provinces shared the Spanish
throne at the time of the discovery of
America and some men from these regions
were aboard during Columbus's first voyages,
Aragonese and Catalurians were prohibited
from participating in those early overseas
activities. It is ironic, then, that the best
pottery made in Spain at the beginning
of the 16th century seldom, if ever, got to the
colonies (Goggin 1968: 207). Moreover, Ius-
terware was too fragile, too expensive, too
Eastern. It was a ceramic legacy from the last
Hispano-Moorish kingdom to have no fu-
ture in the New World. Indeed, its future in
Spain was limited. By 1500 craft standards at
Manises were slipping; nor were they excep-
tional at other places, such as Teruel, where
luster was then becoming a provincial prod-
uct (Frothingham 1951: 210-36). A cen-
tury later sawthe final expulsion of the moris-
cos who for 200 years had furnished most of
the lusterware expertise, and added to that
was the fact that Italianate polychromes were
gaining on Iusterware in the popularity polls.
Other eastern Spanish maiolicas also did not
get to the New World in appreciable quan-
tity. Given the Mediterranean orientation of
Aragon-Catalufia, the prevailing miserable
condition of what few roads then existed in
Spain, and an excessive tax on all goods
Introduction
shipped overland from a production point
to a market, it was totally impractical to ship
Aragonese or Catalufian blue on white table-
ware to the export docks at Sevilla. In view
of growing Italian and Sevillian competi-
tion, there also was not much profit to be
gained in sending it by sea to Sevilla for
reshipment abroad.
Thus because of historical and geographi-
cal circumstances, at the beginning of the
16th century, it was Sevilla who was destined
to ship first her ceramic wares, all of which
were earthenware categories, and then her
ceramic technology to the Spanish overseas
empire. Of further significance was to be
her role as a diffusionary agent in transmit-
ting to America a long sequence of ceramic
styles and usages which had their origins
elsewhere.
The first of these emanated from
neighboring Granada and involved the manu-
facture and employment of a luxury cera-
mics, tile. Occasional tile had been used in
Almohade Sevilla, the Giralda Tower and
the Torre del Oro retaining a few examples.
But through later commissions given by
municipal officials to Nasrid artisans, for
example the alicatado embellishment of the
Alcazar (Burckhardt 1972, PI. 42-4; Cop-
plestone and Myers 1970: 57;]ackson 1972,
Fig. 75; Torres Balbas 1949: 314-7, Fig.
357), a palace modeled after the Alhambra,
there emerged a new fascination with this
form of architectural ceramics meant pri-
marily to be wall mounted rather than used
on ceilings or floors. Alicatado and cuerd seca
tiles made in Sevillian factories in imitation
of those in Granada soon rivalled the origi-
nals and produced a general revitalization of
the entire local potting craft (Ainaud de
Lasarte 1952: 198-207). This was an
achievement which bore fruit in subsequent
restoration projects at the Alhambra palace
of Nasrid rulers. The mesquita of the Cor-
doba cathedral still exhibits such a Sevillian
panel dated 137I. Expectedly, Sevillian pot-
ters appear to have used luster overglazing
only on tiles (Frothingham 1951: 272-7). In
Introduction
the r yth century these types of tile came to
be regarded as old fashioned and were re-
placed by an intaglio process called arista or
cuenca which was still in common use when
the American adventure began. Such tiles
were exported to the Caribbean colonies and
early colonial Mexico (Goggin 1968: 144-6;
Lister and Lister 197 5b: 21, 24; 1975C: 31).
They were, however, the last vestiges of old
Moorish Spain and within fifty years gave
way to an entirely new concept based upon
smooth surfaced tile decorated in elements
painted in polychrome colors.
Some significant pieces of glazed statuary
were modeled in Sevilla about the middle of
the r yth century, the most well known being
the twelve apostles for the Sevilla cathedral
then under construction (Ainaud de Lasarte
1952; 208; Llubia 1967: 124). These figures,
while not comparable in spirit nor in finish to
later sculpture in other media, do represent
the first rays of imported Italian influence
which were to direct the course of r orh cen-
tury ceramic development in all Spain. Also
they were the first major ceramic objects
with a thoroughly Christian theme to be
made in Sevilla. It would be interesting to
know if morisco or Jewish converso artisans had
a hand in their production.
In regard to hollow ware, Sevillian potters
must have continued throwing, and occa-
sionally lead glazing, the same range of func-
tional wares they had known for centuries.
They are known to have continued the same
large pedestal based church bowls and the
heavy, moldmade, relief adorned fountain
mouths. From the Nasrids, they adopted the
use of jiggering and by this mechanized
means formed plates which, after bisquing,
were treated in cuerda seca devices inherited
from former Muslim occupants (Ainaud de
Lasarte 1952: 233-8).
Like their contemporaries in the rest of
r yth century Spain, Sevillian potters also set-
tled on the maiolica technique for produc-
tion of most routine tableware, which still
consisted largely of communal rather than
individual pieces. The all-purpose basic plate
5
form was identical to many older plates pre-
viously covered with cuerda seca patterns, but
which, for more general use, at the close of
the century were merely immersed in a white
tin glaze solution, partially redipped in a
green lead bath, or were painted with one
or two encircling lines in cobalt blue or a
few calligraphic-like swipes of manganese
purple-brown. There are some indications
that the same sort of low level pottery was in
domestic use at Granada just before its fall
(Torres Balbas 1934: 387-8). Only a limited
number of other vessel shapes were tin
glazed, all similar in general contours and
lack of refinement to common ceramics used
elsewhere in Medieval Europe. It was a mod-
est sort of ordinary pottery meant to serve
the needs ofcommon folk, and it was the first
maiolica earthenware brought to America,
probably as part of the few belongings of
colonists coming with Columbus on his Sec-
ond Voyage of 1493-4 (Goggin 1968:
117-44, 207-8; Lister and Lister 1975b:
19-23).
As with the tile, this kind of simple stan-
niferous ware belonged to a past which was
soon to be forgotten in the remarkable trans-
formation about to occur in Sevillian life. By
the middle of the 16th century it gradually
was supplanted by a new complex of styles
for the first time having their roots totally
embedded in European soil.
Spanish ceramics stood at another divide
at the arrival of the 16th century, the end of
one era and the beginning of another. In just
one astounding year shortly earlier, or 1492,
three far reaching historical events occurred
which had varied results on pottery-making:
the Jews were expelled from Spain, the Mus-
lims were defeated, the Christian Spaniards
arrived in the New World.
The Jewish population of Spain, heavily
concentrated in Andalusia, traditionally had
shared the same occupations as the Mus-
lims (Jackson 1972: 104). They were busi-
nessmen or artisans, and over the centuries
had contributed their cultural resources to
Spanish life. The number of Spanish Jewish
6
potters is unknown, nor, because of a com-
mon artistic background with the Arabs, can
specific modes be assigned to them. It is
believed, however, that their influence must
have been considerable, although probably
Jewish potters would have been required to
break their vessels each year at Passover.
Their departure from the Spanish craft scene
was no less unfortunate than the status of the
remaining conoersos, who had become the
target of the Spanish Inquisition which held
its first autode Ie in Sevillain 1481 and which
during the next decade burned 2000 heretics
at the stake (Mariejol 1961: 45). Converso
properties, which were confiscated to help
defray the cost of the ten year campaign
against Granada, might well have included
potteries. At any rate, the prejudicial climate
of Sevilla at this period for the unconverted
and converted alike has been compared to
Nazi Germany and certainly could not have
promoted artistic creativity (Highfield 1972:
265; Jackson 1972: 147).
When the Nasrids fell, there was a similar
mass exodus of all groups of Muslim society.
The ceramic richness of these last Spanish
Muslims quickly dissipated, though with the
noted exceptions of the lusterware tradition
in Valencia and the cult of the tile in Sevilla.
Nevertheless, the basic pottery-making
technology of the Muslims and the Jews re-
mained the basic pottery-making technology
of Christian Spain.
The Spaniards brought their necessary tin
glazed ceramics from Sevilla with their colo-
nies planted in the Caribbean during the first
fewdecades of the 16th century. Likelymany
common utility vessels were produced in
Hispaniola. However, with the first stable
Spanish colony established on the American
mainland came the introduction of the entire
pottery-making tradition (minus lusterware
and some specialized forms) as it had evolved
in Spain up to that time, both the tangible
and the intangible accumulation of knowl-
edge and lore derived from centuries of ap-
prenticeship, from the preparation of clays
and the chemical formulary necessary for
Introduction
certain glazes to the patron saints who
watched over potters' labors. The emphasis
in early Mexico necessarily was upon stout
functional vessels which primarily had to be
useful and only secondarily attractive. In
nearly all urban centers Spanish potters and
native proteges made wheel thrown, un-
glazed or lead glazed, kiln fired earthenwares
for household and commercial use-the
wheels, the glazes, and the kilns all being new
to the Americas. Some of the forms they
made in colonial Mexico originally had been
aboriginal culinary utensils, but the Span-
iards had had long experience in putting
other people's ideas to their own uses. One,
or possibly two, maiolica industries soon
were begun to supply finer tablewares. Local
materials produced some slight differences,
but generally the forms and limited decora-
tions on these tin glazed types were much the
same as they had been in Sevilla, as though
the potters had hardly paused while being
transplanted from the banks of the Guadal-
quivir to the shore of Texcoco (Lister and
Lister 1975C: 31-3).
But styles were beginning to change
rapidly back home as the pace of interna-
tionallife quickened and Sevilla became rich
on the American trade. In Spanish ceramic
arts, aswell as in all other artistic expressions,
the 16th century actually belonged to the
Italians. Italian artisans moved into Sevilla
(though many Italian merchants had been
there for centuries) (Pike 1966: 1-2), bring-
ing with them Renaissance techniques and
decorative themes for tile and hollow ware,
and in some instances, actual pots to be re-
sold overseas (Ainaud de Lasarte 1952:
208-15; Frothingham 1969: 1-36; Gaiger-
Smith 1973: 106-07; Gestoso y Perez 1917:
6-1 I; Gonzalez Marti 1954: 134-47; Lister
and Lister 1975C: 33-5). Ceramics assumed
new importance which by mid century sup-
ported some fifty Sevillian work yards
operating, as they had since Almohade days,
in the extramural quarter across the river
from the town (Gestoso y Perez 1919: 2-3).
As new styles were perfected, a sudden pas-
Introduction
sion for pottery seems to have engulfed all of
Spain. The arrival of lealo-Flemings and leal-
ians at factories in Castile resulted in another
great burst of activity (Hispanic Society of
America 1944: 8- I 6; Martinez Caviro 1969:
13-6; Vaca Gonzalez 1943: 36-7). Then
during the course of the next two centuries
pan-Europeanization unfolded as successive
waves of stylistic vogues from Flanders, Hol-
land, France, lealy, and even China swept
through busy Spanish locerias. There they
were digested and reworked, finally to
emerge as regional expressions which be-
came identifiable as typical Spanish styles.
The most productive and influential potting
town was Talavera de la Reina in Castile, heir
to Toledan craftsmanship but without the
restrictions of mudejarismo (Ainaud de
Lasarte 1952: 25I -8I; Hispanic Society of
America 1944: 3). Sevilla gradually assumed
the role of an adaptor, not an innovator. Her
importance in funneling these many artistic
forces to the Americas remained significant,
though often it was through the actual prod-
ucts of other potteries. Once in the envi-
ronment of the colony, these modes were
either accepted, usually with indigenous
modifications, or were rejected. Through
time the differences between Iberian work
and colonial work became wider as trade
with the motherland dwindled and increased
with the Orient. But nonetheless, an intrigu-
ing parallelism existed between Spanish
ceramic design in Espana and Hispanic
ceramic design in Nueva Espana.
The offshoot industry devoted to making
maiolica was active in Mexico for the entire
viceregal era. Its products went in trade
throughout the Caribbean, to northern
South America, to all northern frontiers as
they were colonized, and south to Guatemala
(Lister and Lister 1975b: 35-38). Remaining
fragments of these ceramics often now are
the only clues to the passage in another day
and time of men from the Spanish world.
Elsewhere in Spanish colonial America
utility potteries sprang up where local de-
mand was sufficient. Only two enterprises
7
making tin glazed hollow ware important in
intercolonial trade presently are known
south ofMexico. The apparent earlier opera-
tion, probably dating from the late r orh or
early r zrh century, was located on the Pacific
shore of the Isthmus of Panama (Lister and
Lister 1975b: 43-46; Long 1967: 12-22). It
supplied colonists on the west coast of South
America with sturdy tableware decorated in
colors and patterns reminiscent of works
from contemporary Andalusia, particularly
Granada. This Nasrid kingdom had been in-
corporated into the province of Andalusia
after Ferdinand and Isabela celebrated their
victory there just months before Columbus
set forth to bring new lands to the Spanish
crown. Even though their luxury produc-
tions ceased immediately, Granada morisco
craftsmen, working in many small kiln sites
on the Alhambra grounds and in the town
below, Valencian Christians who established
shops at Malaga (Ainaud de Lasarte 1952:
222, Figs. 620-3; Temboury Alvarez 1939:
432-3), as well as Granadine moriscos ab-
sorbed into the Sevillian operations un-
doubtedly continued to make contributions
to the pool of less elaborate design modes
mutually shared by all decorators.
By the r rrh century maiolica potteries also
functioned in the capital of the Audiencia of
Guatemala. Designs and colors in use there
seem derived from Sevillian prototypes
which had settled into a predominately
green-yellow scheme of monteria or repeti-
tious animal stylizations (Lister and Lister
1975b: 38-43)
During the colonial period maiolica tiles of
the sort first introduced to Spain at the be-
ginning of the 16th century also were made
in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru. In the case
of the latter two productions, the designs
were almost undiluted Renaissance Sevillian
(Frothingham 1969: 79-84), for example in
Peru being used frequently to repair panels
of imported tiles damaged in earthquakes.
However, because colonial Mexico sat at a
crossroads between East and West and her
Amerindic core was irrepressible, her tile
8
patterns were more variable in content and
execution. Yet the pervading presence there
too of Renaissance Sevilla cannot be denied
(Cervantes 1939, Vol. II).
The above telescoped review of historico-
technological growth and diffusion of Span-
ish-tradition ceramics should underscore
the importance to American archaeolo-
gists of a familiarity with this multifaceted
complex in the Old World in order to com-
prehend what evolved in the New. The
glossary presented below is intended as one
means to this end. Beside the undeniable
necessity of defining terminology, it is antici-
pated that a perusal of such a descriptive
dictionary will provide a reader, motivated
enough to pursue it to a conclusion, with a
concise idea of some procedural, stylistic,
and chronologie developments within the
larger scope of the total tradition.
Obviously, over a period of time every
craft inspires a special set of terms to desig-
nate localities, tools, and materials of manu-
facture; methods customarily observed;
functions anticipated for articles created; and
decorative treatments popular at various
periods or for particular objects. Such a vo-
cabulary is, of course, part of the language of
Spanish ceramics.
But beyond this basic set of words, in
Spain there was a further etymologic en-
richment resulting from the Arabicizing cen-
turies undergone by the craft. Even though
Romance vernaculars remained the common
languages throughout the various Muslim
occupations, it is noteworthy that many
words used around the potteries had their
origin in Arabic. It is also observed, but can-
not be explained at present, that most of this
Arabic terminology did not diffuse across the
Atlantic with the remainder of the complex
of ceramic traits. The reason cannot entirely
be that by the mid 16th century the craft had
become so Hispanicized as to make Arabic
terms obsolete because many were still in use
in Sevilla at the beginning of this century and
others continue to the present (Gestoso y
Perez 1903: 64). Nevertheless, it was the
Introduction
Italo-Spanish vocabulary which passed to the
Americas. Among other non-Arabic addi-
tions to the language of Iberian ceramics are
those seated in gross specializations imposed
by the Medieval European guild structure
and regional preferences which absorbed
varied Occidental and Oriental concepts.
For the modern student there are prob-
lems in understanding old source materials
arising from usage of words not now gener-
ally understood. Furthermore, the delight of
Castilian speakers in use of diminutives,
augmentatives, and compounded words has
led to shaded interpretations not always simi-
larly present in English, and the inter-
changeability of certain phonetic letters has
confused spellings. In archival materials
there is a frustrating lack of concern for capi-
tal letters, short sentences, and punctuation.
As in English, a lamentable inconsistency
in descriptive words exists, wherein one
man's brasero may be another man's lebrillo.
Added to these troublesome considerations
is the mentioned distribution of the Iberian
pottery tradition to Spain's huge overseas
empire where, with the development of de-
rivative colonial activities, there was inevi-
tably a concurrent growth of colloquialisms.
Thus, for example, there are arabismos, his-
panismos, and mejicanismos, which when
reduced to their ultimate base meanings
mayor may not be identical.
This listing of terms, plus brief comments
about some of them, is not intended to be
exhaustive with a full gamut of derivatives or
synonyms. Nor are illustrations of forms in-
tended to exhibit the full range of variations.
Furthermore, this glossary contains refer-
ences to objects or institutions that are not
pottery per se but were connected in some
way with the manufacture or distribution of
pottery and hence appear in descriptive ac-
counts. In short, this dictionary is a compila-
tion of pottery-related terms based upon
documentary sources describing pots and ar-
tistic climate, archaeological analyses, exten-
sive firsthand museum, field, and workshop
observations, and long term personal experi-
Introduction
ence with the joy and pitfalls ofpotting. Most
key words considered useful for understand-
ing r yth through r Sth century Spanish
ceramics and the environment in which they
were created are included, whether the pot-
tery is found in an excavation, on a museum
shelf, or in a cluttered dank workroom,
whether it is native or diffused, and some-
times whether it is past or present, the latter
several distinctions often arbitrary in this liv-
ing craft. Many of the words have multiple
meanings, but only those of significance in
9
ceramics are noted. For historical interest, a
few prominent geographical place names,
personages, and institutions are included.
Duplication of information is unavoidable in
a work such as this, but an effort has been
made to restrict pertinent data to one, rather
than many, related entries. In the interest of
brevity and readability, bibliographic refer-
ences are omitted from entries, but a
selected list of source materials will guide
researchers to most needed information.
LANDMARKS OF SPANISH HISTORY
Moorish invasions 7 I I -9I 2
Cordoban Caliphate 912-1031
Taifas (Almoravid, Almohade) 1010-1266
Nasrid Kingdom of Granada 1238-1492
Isabela of Castile-Leon and Ferdinand of Aragon-Catalufia married,
Spain united 1469- 15 16 Discovery of America 1492
Hapsburgs 15 I 6- I 702 Conquest and colonization
of America
Bourbons 1702-1804 Push to Northern frontiers
of Nueva Espana
Wars of Independence 1804-14
Ferdinand VII 1814-33 Independence of American colonies
10 ablandar
m
ablandar
To smooth or soften with the
fA] h , " d ~ , , , in wedging day to pre-
pare It for use
aborrando
Decorative style using outlining of elements by a
darker color
Such a technique was used on Spanish ceramics
of the r yth through r yth centuries, when dark
purple-brown manganese lines outlined motifs
filled with copper green. In the 16th century this
treatment appeared as part of a Renaissance
method of tile painting introduced to Sevilla by
Italians. Later in the century such definition of
elements became common on hollow ware as
pictorial representations increased in popularity
and the palette became multicolored. The outline
and fill method. of painting first appears on Mexi-
can maiolica at the beginning of the r rrh century
on a type with obvious Italianate derivation and is
referred to in guild ordinances defining methods
for fine wares.
The term also means a preliminary sketch of a
design in carbon, which burned out during firing,
filled in with more permanent colors.
borronear: to outline, sketch
Synonym: en silueta
abrazadera
Gallery or ring of clay attached to certain flat
forms, such as the mancerina, to steady a second
vessel carried on its surface
abrazar: to embrace or clasp
acampando
Bell-like
This descriptive term was applied to the sound
emitted when a well fired vessel was struck. The
proper sound told the craftsmen that a bisqued
pot was suitable for glazing.
campana: bell
acanalado
Fluted or channeled
In pottery such surface treatment may be ac-
complished by pressure on body walls of either a
tool or a finger after throwing. For more precise
channels a mold generally was used to form thin
walls.
Fluted vessel walls are characteristic ofManises
baroque lusterware vessels made in copy ofmetal
services. This treatment also occurs on some
Spanish polychrome maiolicas of the 16th and
early r rrh centuries, but it is a technique more
achinada
associated with r Sth century tin glazed and porce-
lain wares of Alcora and Buen Retiro, Fluted
vessels first appear in Mexican ceramics of the
r zth century but are more frequent in the rSrh
century styles, though in neither instance are they
numerous.
canal: a channel
Synonym, in part: gal/onado, ovalado
aceitera
Oil cruet
Generally this was a small jug with
globular body, narrow neck, small
orifice, and a single handle. In order
to be impervious, such a vessel al-
ways was glazed on the interior and
usually also on the exterior. This form occurs in
lead and tin glazed variations.
aceite: oil
Synonym, in part: botell, frasco ; uinagrera
acerco
Valencian term for lead oxide
acicate
Two short parallel lines connected at one end by a
handled V
A series of such elements to form encircling
bands or dividers was a design treatment common
on r yth century Manises lusterware,
Literal meaning: Moorish pointed spur
acbinada
In Chinese style
The motifs, design layouts, and vessel forms of
Chinese porcelain dramatically influenced all
European ceramics of the 16th through r Sth cen-
turies. Spanish potters were exposed to Oriental
ceramics through Portugal, incorporated into the
Spanish empire for sixty years, which dominated
the Far Eastern trade during the 16th century.
However, it is more likely that chinoiserie ap-
pearing on Spanish ceramics came indirectly via
Delft copies ofMingproducts, the LowCountries
also being part of the Spanish empire. Chinese
influence on Spanish maiolica is more subtle than
that on Mexican maiolica and is mainly reflected
in use of a blue on white palette, division of field
of design, and a few isolated motifs.
Chinese style design and forms were much
more important in Mexican maiolica production
as a direct result of the Manila trade begun in
1573 which brought thousands of pieces of porce-
lain to Nueva Espana. Forthright stylistic borrow-
ing by Mexican potters and decorators began in
11 achocolatado
the late r rrh century and dominated the output of
fine grade ceramics at Puebla for the first half of
the r Sth century. Little comparable influence is
seen on lesser grade wares, other than a marked
preference for the blue on white scheme.
achocolatado
Chocolate colored
This term appears in the literature in reference
to the tone of some luster overfired overglaze
colors on Manises vessels, but it is of further
etymological interest.
Chocolate is from the Nahuatl word, chocolatl.
A bitter beverage made from ground roasted
cacao beans was introduced to Spain shortly after
the conquest of Mexico, though Columbus is re-
ported to have taken some beans back with him in
1502. The drink did not appeal to European
tastes until sugar, vanilla, and occasionally cin-
namon were added. During the r rth and rSth
centuries the drinking of chocolate became so
fashionable that a thriving cacao bean commerce
with southern Nueva Espana developed. This
chocolate vogue led to the evolution of spe-
cialized pottery vessel forms in which to serve the
drink.
Adarvejo de los Moros
Sector of San Pedro parish of Sevilla inhabited by
a number of Muslim or morisco potters during the
15th and 16th centuries
Literal meaning: Narrow Lane of the Moors
adefer
Small tile used in friezes or in pavements
adobe
Unfired brick
adormidera
Opium poppy
A motif consisting of an open flower on a
curved stem with leaves went by this name in
Spanish ceramics. It was widely used in both bor-
ders and focal areas and was particularly popular
in rSth century Talaveran and Puente del Ar-
zobispo works. Some Mexican maiolicas have the
same general kind of motif.
adornista
Class of ceramic decorators in Spanish guild
hierarchy whose duties included painting such
motifs as escutcheons, laces, and the insignia of
religious orders
adorno: decoration
aguila bicefala
agarradero
Lug; handle
Handles were not generally important on
either Moorish or Christian pottery in Spain,
though they were present when functionally
necessary on pouring vessels or porringers. An
exception is the large winged appendage, serving
no utilitarian purpose, attached to either side of
certain Nasrid amphorae. In the rSth century
Talavera potters made similar decorative use of
paired heavy, Solomonic handles on bulbous jars.
Mexican potters also tended to use few han-
dles, preferring cups without such devices, though
handled cups modeled after English tea or coffee
cups were made in lesser grades of pottery.
agarrar: to grasp, catch hold of
agrietado accidental
Crazing
The formation of networks of surface cracks in
glaze due to tensile stresses between clay and
glaze was common in Spanish-tradition ceramics,
more so on Mexican maiolica than on Spanish.
Had less soda ash been added to the glaze solu-
tions or light clays with appreciable lime content
making them susceptible to higher shrinkage
been used, this defect would have been at least
partially corrected.
grieta: a crack
Synonym: cuarteado
agrietado intencional
Crackling
The intentional crazing for effect, used on
some Chinese wares, was not copied by Spanish
potters.
Synonym: estriado
aguamanil
Water container
The usual Spanishaguamaniles
were tall necked jars, with or
without handles, and with drain
spouts near the base or were a
horizontal barrel with spout.
Common forms were unglazed
to permit evaporation for cool-
ing the contents, but fancy ves-
sels were glazed on both surfaces. The term also
means a wash bowl.
agua: water
Synonym, in part: jarro, jofaina, pila
aguila bicefala
Design of a two-headed eagle under a crown
12 ala
The motif, symbol of the Hapsburgs, appears
on some Spanish decorated pottery, usually drug
jars meant for royal apothecaries. It was a motif to
see some use on ceramics in Mexico and
Guatemala. It was not common, however, nor
was the motif restricted to use during the
Hapsburg reigns, which ended in Spain in 1702.
ala (Arabic deriv.)
Brim of plate form
In 16th century Spanish and Mexican maiolica
this was an important part of plates, being sharply
defined by the angular contours of the vessel and
carrying a prominent band design.
Synonym: aleta
Literal meaning: wing
alabanza (Arabic deriv.)
Praise or commendation
Such statements in cursive or foliated Kufic
script comprise decoration on many Spanish Is-
lamic works of art, including ceramics.
alabeado (Arabic deriv.)
Warped
One of the frequent imperfections seen in
Spanish-tradition ceramics is the warping of ves-
sels so that curvature is deformed. This defect
results from uneven drying or improper stacking
within the kiln.
alafia (Arabic deriv.)
Arabic inscription meaning mercy or pardon
In Spanish ceramics this term refers to a de-
based Kufic pattern, calligraphicin nature, arising
from an inscription. The pattern was used fre-
quently on luster pieces from the last decades of
the 14th century. It carried over in a much weaker
rendition on some of the earliest Spanish maio-
lica, presumably made by morisco potters in Se-
villa or Granada, to be shipped to the West
Indies.
alambique (Arabic deriv.)
A still in which earthenware vessels were used
Although such devices are known to have been
used for distilling water, perhaps in Andalusia
they also were employed for the making of conac,
for which the area is still famous, In Mexico alam-
biques distilled water and made tequilaand mescal.
alamina (Arabic deriv.)
Inspector or tax collector
Spanish potters, as other tax-ridden craftsmen,
had to pay special fees on raw materials, finished
products, kiln firings, and on export and import.
albahaquero
al Andalus (Arabic deriv.)
Arabic name for Andalusia
The area of the Guadalquivir and]Ucar valleys
in the southwestern part of Iberia was occupied
by Islamic invaders from 71 I to 1492. It was the
region with closest cultural and commercial ties
to the Americas.
alarca (Arabic deriv.)
Mexican term for tin glaze
Stanniferous glaze as made in Mexico consisted
of one part fritted lead and tin to three parts of
massicot, or calcined soda ash and very fine quartz
sand. All these ingredients were dissolved in wa-
ter. The proportions of tin to lead were variable
according to the type of maiolica to be finished,
but they were comparable to Spanish and Italian
standards.
alargado (Arabic deriv.)
Oblong tile
These tiles, with pointed ends, were made in
Valencia during the middle of the r yth century.
Their usual decoration was figural or emblematic.
Literal meaning: elongated, extended
alaria (Arabic deriv.)
Sevillian potter's tool used for fettling
alarife (Arabic deriv.)
Master builder, architect
Men of this group served as overseers of the
humbler albafiiles and were responsible for carry-
ing out the many construction projects under-
taken in Spain and the New World as wealth from
American mines and agriculture poured forth.
They dealt with architectural ceramics, tiles and
sculptures, on a day to day basis, having to ob-
serve many government regulations regarding
usage and placement. Partly because of the suc-
cess of the alsrifes in putting Sevillian tile on
display in such monumental structures as the
cathedral and the Alcazar, there was a 16th cen-
tury boom in tile manufacture which took local
products throughout Spain and overseas. Simi-
larly the Pueblan alarifes popularized poblano
tiles.
albahaquero (Arabic deriv.)
Jardiniere
Arab pleasure in leafy patios and gardens was
well cultivated in temperate Andalusia and led to
the production of many vessels for potted plants.
Some were meant to stand on floors or balcony
railings, and others were fastened to walls.
albarial 13 alcazar
Spaniards, and then Mexicans, continued the
tradition.
Synonym, in part: alfabreguer, florero, maceta
albanal (Arabic deriv.)
Vessel used to contain water to be used by potters
doing hand modeling; sewer pipe
albanil (Arabic deriv.)
Mason
These were among the first craftsmen to come
to the New World, being included in the 1500
persons brought to Hispaniola by Columbus on
his Second Voyage of 1493-4. They were of a
lower social and economic class than potters,
even though part of their skills included the mak-
ing of fired brick and roof tile, and were excluded
from potters' guilds. Utilitarian construction
items such as water pipes and drain spouts, how-
ever, were fashioned by potters because generally
the use of the wheel or large molds was required.
The style of architecture evolved in Andalusia,
incorporating the use of quantities of maiolica
tile, reflected the Muslim background of many of
the masons.
albarelo (Arabic deriv.)
Drug jar
The Arabs absorbed the phar-
macological lore of the Orient, and
they soon created a vessel form to
accomodate their drugs which in
time diffused to all of western
Europe, including Spain. The shape
is believed to have been copied from
bamboo sections utilized by the
Chinese for the same purpose and
had the advantage of being slightly
wasp-waisted to permit easy with-
drawal from cabinets.
In Spain drug jars of the albarelo
shape, which first became common
in the Manises wares of the r yth
century, tended to becylinders with-
out a ceramic lid. Taller ones were
for powders and balsams, shorter
ones for unguents. One series
from the Escorial and another from La Granja
palace, probably made at Talavera de la Reina,
have domed lids topped with a small knob. Han-
dled or spouted jar; were not as typical in Spain as
in contemporary Italy. The name of the intended
contents or the insignia ofthe monastery to which
a particular pharmacy pertained frequently com-
prised the surface decoration.
The drug jar in Middle Ages Europe, and used
in Christian Spain, was a long necked, tapered
base jar of inelegant contours when compared to
the Muslim form. Such jars were mounted up-
right in supporting wooden racks.
Lidless Muslim-type drug jars, in large and
small sizes, became part of the repertoire ofcolo-
nial maiolists, but in Mexico they often were used
as spice containers in grocery stores or as vases.
Synonym, in part: bote, pate, tarro de botica
albornia, albtirnia (Arabic deriv.)
Variously described as glazed cup-shaped vessel
or large ovoid jar
The albornia is said to have been a common
type of vessel in pharmacies where it was used to
store grains or flour, as well as liquids. In Mexican
guild documents the word is written as burnia.
Synonym, in part: bernegal, bote, taza
alcabile (Arabic deriv.)
Sevillian term for a patty of clay on which vessels
were placed to be sun dried
alcaiceria de la loza (Arabic deriv.)
Market area or bazaar in 16th century Salvador
sector of Triana (Sevilla) where many stores sold
local pottery
alcalde (Arabic deriv.)
Mexican potters' guild official, elected from
among the master potters of the group
alcarraza (Arabic deriv.)
Water cooler
Specifically vessels of this category were made
of a white porous clay, and they were a specialty
of the Andalusian village of Andujar. In use to-
day, it is uncertain just how many centuries they
have been in production.
Synonym, in part: cdntaro, carraco (Aragonese
vernacular), olla, tinaja
alcatifa (Arabic deriv.)
Sevillian connotations of the word are: under-
ground storeroom for fuel used in kilns; the space
between walls of house construction and the back
wall of a kiln; the bedding of cinders or earth
upon which tile were laid
alcazar (Arabic deriv.)
Ruler's palace; citadel
Such structures were identified originally with
the taifa period in Spain (10IO-I266) when the
caliphate centralized at Cordoba disintegrated
into a number of lesser principalities, each pro-
tected by a dominant castle-fortification. Such
alcdzares extend from Segovia to Sevilla, the
alcobe
14 Alhambra vases
former of elegant Gothic European design and
the latter mudejar with expansive tile dados of
several styles. The remaining Sevillian archives
indicate that Granadine tilers were first commis-
sioned to execute elaborated alicatados there and
that Sevillian potters into the 16th century
supplied cuerd seca, cuenca, and pisano tiles for
floors and wainscoting.
alcobe (Arabic deriv.)
Interior arch of roof of upper chamber of Valen-
cian kiln
alcohol (Arabic deriv.)
Galena
Powdered galena, sulfide of lead, sprinkled
over green ware and then fired produces a crude
lead glaze. In the lower Middle Ages Spanish
utility vessels often were treated in this way, and
the practice may have continued even after more
formally made lead solutions were being em-
ployed for better quality work. A 1541 notation
by a Spaniard in Oaxaca, Mexico, of his search in
the mountains for "alcohol" indicates that
rudimentary practice to have been carried into
the Western Hemisphere.
There are two additional connotations in Spain
for the word alcohol. One means a fine powder, or
kohl, applied as a cosmetic to the eyelids; the
other is rectified spirits. The Arabic meaning was
galena.
Synonym: alcofoll (Valencian vernacular), alcohol
de alfarero
Alcora (Arabic deriv.)
A ceramic factory established about 1727 near
Valencia at the town of Alcora at first produced
maiolica. The Count of Aranda, under whose
patronage the factory operated, promoted the
production of porcelain in the second half of the
century. When the factory ceased to function
about 1800, the output had become mainly
creamware. Throughout its activity, at peak pro-
duction about 300,000 pieces annually, Alcora
forms and decorations were French because na-
tional interest in those styles was stimulated by
the Bourbons then on the Spanish throne. Master
craftsmen imported from Moustiers and Marseil-
les produced such fine, popular wares and
sculptures that the demise of Talaveran maiolica
was hastened. Delicately colored overglaze deco-
ration on moldmade Rococo forms was charac-
teristic of Alcora at its best.
Alcora interpretations of French design in-
fluenced Mexican maiolica made at Puebla dur-
ing the last half of the r Sth century.
alcuza (Arabic deriv.)
Small jar for olive oil; unglazed earthenware jar
used on a water wheel or in a well, as alctsza para
nona
Synonym, in part: aceitera, arcaduz,cetrill(Valen-
cian vernacular)
alfabia (Arabic deriv.)
Ovoid jar without a handle
alfabreguer (Arabic deriv.)
Planter
This was a Moorish decora-
tive vessel form, probably used
for plants, which was either a
very large hemispherical bowl
on a pedestal base or a tall flared
cylinder which was characteris-
ticallyadorned at the rim with a vertical border of
alternating modeled heads, circles, or merlons. It
was either lead or tin glazed, the latter occasion-
ally with luster overglaze decoration. It is said in
the Valencian area to have been filled in summer
with sweet basil. Not common, it is a form known
in collections from Spain and Morocco.
Synonym, in part: albahaquero, florero, maceta
alfar, alfahar (Arabic deriv.)
Potter; pottery workshop; can also mean clay
alfahareria: pottery
alfareria: pottery workshop
alfarero, alfaharero: potter
alfard6n (Arabic deriv.)
Long hexagonal glazed tile
Four of these tiles were arranged around one
square central tile in a manner typical of the Val-
encia area of the r yth and 14th centuries.
Alhambra vases
Three very large (4 feet 6 inch height) elabo-
rately impressed and painted lusterware winged
amphorae were recovered during the 16th cen-
tury in the ruins of the Alhambra palace and are
believed to have been made in Malaga between
1380 and 1400. They are masterpieces of the
potter's art, both in terms of size and designs in
arabesque foliage, interlacements, and inscrip-
tions, and exemplify the rich Nasrid court life.
Legend said that one of the jars found in a vault in
the Comares Tower was filled with gold coins
when discovered. By the early rorh century two
15 alhami
of the amphorae had disappeared, and the third
was partly damaged. At least nine similar Nasrid
vessels now are known, indicating that this might
have been a relatively common, though special,
product. Known examples date from the end of
the r yrh century to about A.D. 1400.
alhami (Arabic deriv.)
Tile-covered stone seat or bench, usually placed
against a wall which provided a back
alicatado (Arabic deriv.)
Panel of tile fragments
Blue, green, black, purple, or yellow mono-
chrome tile fragments were cut from larger pieces
and placed together with others into mosaic com-
positions which were mounted on walls. This
kind of tiling was introduced into Spain by its last
Muslim kingdom, the best remaining examples
being at the Alhambra in Granada and the con-
temporary Alcazar of Sevilla dating in the rath
and r yth centuries. The laborious process, based
upon Persian stellar or interlaced patterns, was
modified into molded imitations and sub-
sequently discontinued in Spain before the colo-
nization of the New World, but it is still the
typical tile work of modern Morocco. Molds to
create uniform pieces for the mosaics have been
tried unsuccessfully.
alicatar: to tile
slicer: a wainscoting of tile; the individual tile
fragment which also was used to border plaques
alizar (Arabic deriv.)
Rectangular tile used in corner angles of walls
aljama (Arabic deriv.)
Moorish quarters
The aljama grande of Sevilla dates from the
Almohade period of the t zrh century and in-
cluded old Roman walls, new aqueducts, new
water channels through the city, docks and
warehouses by the river side, a pontoon bridge
to Triana, and the minaret known now as the
Giralda.
aljebana (Arabic deriv.)
Wash basin
Synonym: aljofaina, jofaina, lavamanos
allule (Arabic deriv.)
Opening in Valencian kiln roof
almagra, almagre, almazarron (Arabic deriv.)
Red ochre
This mineral was mixed with silver and copper
alpetije
oxides to produce the metallic sheen of luster-
wares. The ochre was impermanent and rubbed
off after firing; the metallic oxides remained per-
manently fixed to the vessel surface.
almdjena (Arabic deriv.)
Earthenware vat used in preparingglaze solutions
almajo (Arabic deriv.)
Salrwort
This was a marsh grass which grew extensively
in the Coto Doriana through which the Guadal-
quivir winds between Sevilla and its mouth at San
Lucar de Barrameda. it was gathered and burned
to obtain salts or soda ash (sodium carbonate)
which were added to maiolica glaze mixtures, the
residue product also being called almajo. The
availability of this material also led to the estab-
lishment of one of Sevilla's major industries, a
soap factory, located in Triana near the potteries.
Synonym, in part: atincar, barrilla, borax, borica
almalluque (Arabic deriv.)
Damaged pottery; wasters
almalluquera: one who buys damaged pottery for
resale to the poor
almdrtaga(Arabic deriv.)
Litharge
almela (Arabic deriv.)
Sevillian term for small kiln used specifically for
the calcination of metal oxides used in decorative
pigments and glaze ingredients
almenilla (Arabic deriv.)
Merlon-shaped decorative ceramic object
almijarra (Arabic deriv.)
Sevillian term for long handled iron ladle in which
oxides were placed during calcination
almojarifazgo (Arabic deriv.)
Ancient import-export duty assessed by Spanish
Muslim rulers against all artisans engaged in trade
This tax survived all conquests and flourished
with new vigor under the Spanish kings.
almojarife: royal tax collector
alpaiiata (Arabic deriv.)
Piece of chamois or leather used to smooth and
compact rims of freshly thrown vessels
alpeti] (Arabic deriv.)
Small piece ofwood used to trim excess clay away
from the base of a thrown vessel before removing
it from the potter's wheel
Synonym, in part: cucbillo
16 altabaque
a/tabaque (Arabic deriv.)
Horizontal, heavy kick wheel at foot level which
isattached to the vertical rod of the potter's wheel
mechanism and whose rotation provides the cen-
trifugal force necessary to throw clay placed on
the upper wheel, or head
a/ trazo
Drawn in outline
alumina (Arabic deriv.)
Alumina
This is an important ingredient in all clays used
for potting because it provides added body
strength. Its addition to glazes increases viscosity.
amarillo
Yellow
Antimony calcined with lead produces a lemon
yellow color after firing. Popularized by Italian
maiolists, it was used to tint background glazes
found on some Niculoso tile panels in early 16th
century Sevilla and was prepared also for a dec-
orative pigment. Yellow became a prominent
color on Talavera and Puente del Arzobispo
polychromes of the 17th and rSth centuries and
was adopted by all pottery made in imitation of
those types.
Likewise yellow was used in Mexican poly-
chromes from the late 16th century. Not until the
late rSth century, however, were yellow glaze
grounds created there. These generally were re-
stricted to sculptures or tile. In the 19th century
yellow ground maiolicas became more common
for fine wares of Puebla and coarser types pro-
duced elsewhere, such as in Oaxaca.
The Guatemalan maiolicas, which closely fol-
lowed Sevillian styles which in turn copied
Talaveran styles, relied heavily upon yellow as a
design filler.
amasado
Wedged or prepared clay
After along process ofbreaking up rawchunks,
mixing them with other ingredients necessary to
make agood pottery clay, soaking, deflocculating,
and ripening the mixture, the clay was formed
into balls of a size convenient to handle. These
balls then were kneaded to remove air bubbles
and increase plasticity, aprocess called wedging in
English.
amasador: a person who wedges clay, in Spanish
andarnio
workshops usually an apprentice or slave to the
owner
amasar: to knead
Synonym: macerar
amauraore
Heavy stick used in Valencian workshops to
strike leather-hard tile blanks to release any
trapped air bubbles
amo/dar
To create in a mold
Moldmade pottery in Spain dates from late
Islamic times when molds were employed exten-
sively to form vessels with non-circular contours
or with relief decoration. Baptismal fonts with
elaborate raised patterning (a specialty of Sevilla
and Toledo) and lusterware plates which copied
the bosses and diagonal fluting of metal vessels (a
specialty of Malaga and Manises) are notable
examples. A further elaboration was the use of a
mold attached to a wheel head over which clay
was compressed to form a plate interior, the ex-
terior being shaped by the potter's fingers or a
metal template. Such a technique was followed in
making Sevillian and Toledan plates of the rath
and r yth centuries which were to be decorated in
the cuerda seca method. Apparently the same pro-
cess continued in the production of the first tin
glazed plates shipped to the Americas and their
subsequent imitations made in Mexico.
ampolla (Latin deriv.)
Flask
Spanish form copied Graeco-Roman form in
this instance with a globular body, a single
handle, and a well defined foot. These vessels
generally were small and were used as containers
for wine and water in religious ceremonialism.
Diminutive: ampolleta
Synonym, in part: bote/la, vinajera
andamio
Scaffold
Every pottery needed various kinds ofwooden
scaffoldingor armatures in order to harness mules
to grinding wheels. Such equipment appears in
property inventories.
andar: to walk
Synonym, in part: armazon de la dispense
17 anfora
an/ora (Latin deriv.)
Amphora
This form is a large, high
shouldered jar, with or without
handles, usually with a base ta-
pered to fit into a rack or soft
dirt. It often was made in sizes
over 3 feet in height. The an/ora
has the longest known history
ofcontinuous production ofany
ceramic vessel, dating from
Graeco-Roman periods to the
present and has been the uni-
versal shipping cask of the
Mediterranean world. In Muslim Spain the form
served both functional and nonfunctional pur-
poses, the lustered winged amphorae of the Nas-
rids representing the ultimate development of
the latter. In Christian Spain the amphora merges
into modifications variously called botijas, can-
taros, jarras, or tinajas.
antilla
Sevillian term for clay dug from meadow land
near Triana which was used primarily in the mak-
ing of tiles
antimonic
Antimony
Mines near Savona perhaps supplied both Ital-
ian and Spanish maiolists with this mineral used in
making yellow pigment. Antimony occurs in
most parts of the Mexican republic. It was not
worked commercially until this century but prob-
ably was available in the small amounts needed by
colonial potters,
antochera
Torch holder; sconce
Frequently these forms were
made of clay, often in a combination
of thrown and molded parts. They
were used in castles and other build-
ings with large rooms having high
ceilings.
Such a form has not been iden-
tified in Mexican ceramics.
antorcha: torch
anverso
Principal surface of a vessel, generally the area to
bear decoration when used
Synonym: anterior
aprendiz
aperlado
Pearl colored
In the last third of the r Srh and into the early
roth centuries Mexican maiolists at Puebla made
frequent use ofa light blue ground, created by the
addition of a small percentage of cobalt to the
base tin glaze, which they called aperlado. Either
darker blue or polychromed delicate Rococo pat-
terns were typical on these wares. Probably the
use of such a background color was inspired at
this time by similarly tinted r Sth century Chinese
porcelain.
The color locally also is called puncbe, after a
favorite Puebla sweet.
Synonym: aperlado azulina, azul aperlado; color de
perla, perlado
aperos
Tools found around a pottery workshop, gener-
ally other than those used in actual pottery-
making
aprendiz
Apprentice
The apprentice system was an integral part of
the Spanish guild corporation which permitted a
master potter to train a limited number of male
apprentices in various aspects ofthe pottery mak-
ing process. The usual number of such learners of
anyone master seems to have been limited by
economic factors to one or two persons, but one
master decorator at Puebla is on record as having
had sixteen apprentices during a twelve year
period. A formal contract was agreed to in which
the master was required to provide lodging,
board, clothes, medical aid, religious guidance,
and craft training in return for the apprentice's
efforts. Most apprentices were from thirteen to
eighteen years of age, many were sons of potters
who traditionally continued in their fathers' oc-
cupation, some were orphans. The apprentice-
ship averaged three to seven years, during which
time the young men lived as members of the
master's family and divided their work time be-
tween throwing and decorating unless one or the
other aspect was specifically indicated in the con-
tract. Although abuses appear to have occurred, it
was a viable method for perpetuating the craft.
There were complaints as the guild system slowly
disintegrated that there was no remaining means
for training new craftsmen.
aprendizaje: apprenticeship
arabizar 18 armado
arabizar
To adopt Arabian customs
Much of the pottery from the south of Spain
can be said to be arabizado in technology, forms,
and decoration. The same Arabic technology dif-
fused to the Spanish overseas empire; the forms
and decoration, however, were more European.
Aranjuez
In accord with contemporary western Euro-
pean fashion, a porcelain room was incorporated
into this late Bourbon r Sth century residence in
Castile. Soft paste porcelain objects in over-
loaded Rococo style decorated all walls and ceil-
ings. They were made in Spain by workmen
brought from the Bourbon Naples factory ofCa-
podimonte.
arbot
Vertical axle of the potter's wheel which con-
nected the kick wheel to the head wheel
Synonym: eje
Literal meaning: tree
arcaduz (Arabic deriv.)
Jar on water wheel; conduit
Spanish Muslims became known
as successful agriculturalists, intro-
ducing into southern Spainanenor-
mous variety of grains and fruits,
many of which still are economi-
callyimportant. Comingout of arid
lands to the East, the Arabs had an
intimate knowledge of irrigation methods which
they applied in Spain, its Mediterranean climate
making summer irrigation necessary. Among
them was the use of the vertical water wheel, or
azud, perhaps of original Persian origin, which
had large ceramic jars mounted around its cir-
cumference and held secure by a ceramic knob at
the base. Other vertical wheels had scoops at-
tached to the outer perimeters to lift water from a
current to a higher field.
Until modern times the water holding or carry-
ing devices necessary to irrigation were made
from fired clay and hence were the responsibility
of potters. At one time the same craftsmen who
made these objects also made the full range of
hollow wares typical of the group. As shop opera-
tions became more structured and divisions of
labor sharper, pipe or water jar makers assumed a
lower status. Under Spanishguild situations, they
normally could not aspire to also being producers
of fancier tableware unless they first passed strict
examinations which allowed them an advance-
ment in grade.
The water wheel with ceramic jars attached is
not known to have been used in Mexico. How-
ever, the word arcaduz or its synonym, alcuza,
might have been applied to water containers used
at wells.
arcilla
Raw clay
arcilla figulina: potter's clay
Synonym: barro
arena
Sand
Quartz sand is added to most potting clay to
open it up and allowsteam to escape during firing,
thereby preventing cracks. Sand also gives added
strength to body walls. However, the larger the
amount of sand added, the less plastic the claywill
be. In Mexico very fine sand, arenilla, was added
to glaze mixtures to aid in fluxing. A sprinkling of
such fine sand on the kiln floor prevented vessels
from adhering to it if glazes ran. A similar sprink-
ling of fine sand also prevented tiles from stick-
ing to forms or work tables.
Arenilla also was the word for a pounce mate-
rial which was sprinkled on unsized paper or
parchment to prevent ink from spreading.
arista
Arris, or the salient angle where two edges meet
In Spanish ceramics this word refers to the
pronounced angle in some bowl or plate profiles
between concave interior wells and flared hori-
zontal rims. It likewise means the sharp ridges
created when a mold was impressed on soft clay
slabs to make cuenca, or intaglio, tile, as cuenca de
arista.
armado
Gimp lines in a lace motif
In lace the gimp is a coarser thread than any of
the others used in the same textile and serves as a
skeleton upon which the other threads are
worked. Lace patterns, which were popular in
Talavera, Sevilla, and Portugal during the late
16th and r rth centuries and diffused during the
latter to Mexico, made use of these two kinds of
threads. However, in Mexico the gimp lines were
emphasized far more than they had been in the
Old World and usually dominated the total pat-
tern because they were drawn in wide widths and
arrnazon de la dispensa 19 ataurique
were of a different color than the filament lines.
Literal meaning: armed
armazon de la dispense
Framework or scaffolding used in dispensing cer-
tain raw materials needed in the pottery-making
process
Synonym, in part: andamio
armela
Reverberatory kiln used to oxidize lead
arquetd (Arabic deriv.)
Long handled iron fork used to put fuel into the
firing chamber of a kiln; in Mexico, a molded
round top ceramic box (written without an ac-
cent)
arquitectura
Architecture
The use of architectural themes was one of the
Christian contributions to Spanish ceramic de-
sign. About the r yth or rath centuries Paterna
and Teruel decorators displayed a fondness for
castles, towers, parapets, fountains, and city walls
in pottery decoration. Although castle silhouettes
appear on ceramic heraldic crests, the vogue fell
into general disuse until, under the stimulation of
Italianate styling, r rrh century Talaverans incor-
porated constructions of several varieties, includ-
ing Alrnohade towers, into their work. Often
detailing of such features was quite exact,
though sometimes the buildings sat in distant ha-
ziness.
In Mexico, with churches bulking on almost all
horizons, it was expectable that such buildings
would appear on pottery in imitation of Spanish
models. On many 17th century multicolored tiles
a frontal viewof a domed and towered chapel can
be seen in backgrounds. Particularly during the
r Sth century on blue on white types another
hastily executed figure composed of two bold
vertical lines, topped by an inverted V and a
sweeping pinnate, seems to suggest a very
stylized rendition of a church tower, though this
identification is open to question. Another ver-
sion shows a church in side-view with front bell
tower and dome over the crossing. None of these
buildings appears to be capped with a cross. In
Chinese themes pagodas or pyramidal erections
are seen on Mexican rSth century blue on whites.
Mexican treatment of all these variations is
suggestive rather than exact.
arroba
Spanish unit of measurement. Dry: 25 pounds;
liquid: 2.6 to 3.6 gallons
The term also came to be used as a rough
indication of vessel size, as in dos arroba basin or
mediaarroba lebrillo.
artifice
Artisan or craftsman
asa
Handle
Synonym: mango
asador de castanas
Roaster for nuts
In northern Spain, where oak trees are com-
mon and chestnuts a favorite treat, potters made
unglazed earthenware jars with wide mouths and
bodies perforated with large holes. The nuts were
put in the jar which was then placed in an oven,
the baking steam escaping through the holes.
Similar jars are known in modern Mexico,
where they usually are described as colanders.
asolear
To sun dry prior to bisque firing
This was a very necessary step to avoid cracking
during firing. It required from a few days up to
several weeks, depending on the climate.
sol: sun
aspa
Motif of x-shaped figures
Crossed lines or St. Andrew's cross figures
were used as a border filler alternating with
S-scrolls on a late 16th century Talavera poly-
chrome of dark blue, orange, and purple-brown.
atai/or
Deep dish
Synonym, in pan: plato
atanor
Ceramic water duct
Such pipes were made from unglazed earthen-
ware, thrown or moldmade in sections luted to-
gether. In Spain atanores date from the Roman
period and assumed great importance during the
Islamic occupation because ofthe fondness ofthe
Muslims for running water in gardens, fountains,
and baths.
ataurique
Decorative device characteristic ofNasrid ceram-
ics and plaster work consisting of a heavy scroll
artifle 20 azul delgado
with lobed borders, sometimes regarded as a con-
ventionalized flower.
It was a motif adopted by later designers in
Spain and possibly in Mexico.
atifte
Cockspur
Cockspurs, made of a tripod shaped piece of
fired clay, were used to separate glazed vessels
during glost firing. Three scars were left on the
surfaces by these stilts.
atincar
Borax
This was a substance used to toughen glazes. It
also helped the glaze to melt and become smooth,
and it promoted the formation of certain colors
such as oranges and yellows. Too much borax in a
glaze solution causes pinholing, a common defect
of both Spanish and Mexican maiolicas.
Synonym: borax, bOrica
atmosfera de coaisn
Firing atmosphere within a kiln
The atmosphere created during firing may be
either oxidizing, when fuels are freely burning, or
reducing, when they are smoking.
Oxidizing atmospheres were desirable for most
Spanish earthenwares because carbon clouds re-
sulting from incomplete combustion of fuels are
absorbed quickly by hot clay bodies, causing dis-
colorations. It was difficult to maintain clean
flames throughout all cycles of the firing opera-
tion when, as in parts of Spain and Morocco, oil
rich olive residues were utilized as fuel. Appar-
ently potters were especially careful to end the
firing without excessive smoldering, because sag-
gars, which would have protected glazed vessels
from reduction accidents, were not universally
used.
Spanish potters did desire a reduction atmo-
sphere for a third firing of lusterware which
chemically reduced metallic oxides to metals that
were left as a film upon vessel surfaces. This rep-
resented a specialized process developed by Mus-
lim artisans which deviated from their normal
practice.
Because oxidizing atmospheres are essential
for proper firing of tin glazes, many modern in-
dustries in Spain and Mexico producing these
wares nowoperate electric kilns. Firingclouds are
totally eliminated and therefore saggars are not
needed to protect vessels from them. However,
the persistence of custom is shown by the con-
tinued use of saggars in many seemingly unneces-
sary instances.
atobon
Thick brick used to disperse heat entering upper
chamber of kiln used for luster firing
Ave Maria
Rim design composed of Gothic script repeating
part of the Latin Ave Maria prayer which appears
on r yth century Manises lusterware
avenerada
Scallop edged
Under the influence of Aleoran maiolica and
porcelain, Talaveran potters in the r Sth century
turned to Rococo shell-like forms. The scallop
edge of these shells was popular for such vessel
shapes as bacias. They were moldmade. The same
scallop treatment was duplicated in Mexico,
though was not as elaborate as in Spain.
venera: scallop shell
azarcon (Arabic deriv.)
Red colored oxide of lead
This mineral was used in combination with
other oxides to help produce orange, yellow, and
light blue colors for decorative pigments. The
same word was applied to a bright orange color.
Synonym, in part: minio
azul (Arabic deriv.)
Blue
Derived from cobalt oxide obtained from
cobaltite, blues in one or several tones, came into
use in the r yth century in Nasrid Spain. By the
16th century, from Italian and Chinese influence,
blue decorations dominated Spanish maiolicas
and continued to be important, though in lesser
degree, through the r Sth century.
In Mexico blue decorations appeared on the
first known maiolicas made there. During the
r Sth century the popularity of blues continued
unabashed and became thoroughly identified
with Puebla pottery. By the roth century the
vogue seems to have worn itself out, giving rise to
new interest in other colors or combinations.
Blue was never important in Guatemalan maio-
licas, perhaps because of lack of resources, or
perhaps because of the domination of Sevillian
styling on local types.
azul delgado
Light blue
This tone at Puebla was made from a combina-
21 azul fuerte
tion of fine sand, common salt, red lead, and
cobalt oxide. It was used for minor decorative
detailing, such as lines and small background
areas, overlaid with darker blue elements on a
white ground.
azul fuerte
Dark blue
Dark blue was used, often with light blue, in
the most characteristic ceramic work at Puebla. It
wassaid to have been formulated from acombina-
tion of massicot and cobalt oxide.
Synonym: azul obscuro
azul musulmdn
Mohammedan blue
Cobalt oxide, which was traded over the great
caravan routes of central Asia from Persia to
China, was called by this name. It led to the
concentration upon blue decorations on white
grounds which typified Ming (r368-r643) work
and was continued into Ch'ing patterns where it
was often combined with other colors. The ab-
sence of manganese impurities in Persian cobalt
in use in China during the 14th century has
enabled scholars to distinguish pottery of this
period from later works painted with less pure
Chinese cobalt, which usually contained man-
ganese.
The Ming blue on white palette influenced
Western maiolica decorations, including those of
the Spanish tradition, for some three centuries.
azulejo (Arabic deriv.)
Most commonly the term refers to smooth
surfaced 4 by 4 inch or slightly larger tiles deco-
rated with maiolica glaze and polychrome colors,
generally meant to be mounted on walls, which
gained great popularity in Spain after r sao. Large
smooth surfaced glazed tiles designed for place-
ment between ceiling beams were known instead
as ladrillo por tabla. Azulejo does not include the
varied types of tile characteristic of Muslim
periods with surface manipulations or slip or lead
glazed patterns. One exception is the phrase
azulejo de cetreria which refers specifically to
cuerda seca and cuenca tiles with falconry motifs
made in r6th century Toledo.
The technique for producing smooth poly-
chrome decorated tile was brought to Sevilla at
the end of the r 5rh century by a coterie of Italian
craftsmen working with artistic conventions
promulgated by the Renaissance. Their great
skillsgenerated the immense interest in tin glazed
azulejo
polychrome ceramics which quickly led to the
rise of maiolica hollow ware in Sevilla and then in
Talavera.
During the r 6th century Sevilla remained the
leading Spanish azulejo center, the Casa de Pilatos
and many other structures still retaining numer-
ous examples of that period. Talavera superceded
Sevilla as the outstanding tile producer in Spain
during the r 7th century, and Barcelona tiles be-
came the most popular of the r8th century.
Because Sevilla maintained the strictest mo-
nopoly on trade with the colonies throughout her
period of greatest tile production, she shipped
huge quantities of her product to the Canaries,
the Caribbean, and both mainland viceroyalties
for use in public buildings, churches, and fine
homes. This tile export trade continued through-
out the colonial period, even while export of
Sevillian hollow ware was declining or eventually
ceasing altogether, with little evidence that either
Talavera or Barcelona tile industries ever were
able to participate in that commerce to any ex-
tent.
Perhaps more important for Spanish ceramic
development in the New World was the diffusion
via Sevilla of the Andalusian appreciation for tile
which promoted colonial tile factories. Tile mak-
ing was begun at Puebla by the end of the r6th
century and during the nth and r8th centuries
assumed great commercial importance. Tiles in-
terspersed with brick or laid contiguously in great
bands to cover wainscotings, stair risers, facades,
fountains, and church domes made the Puebla
area ablaze with color and, in terms of quantity,
unique in the New World. Some tiles using
Puebla design repertoire, which in turn was
drawn from both Spanish and Chinese sources,
appear to have been made in Mexico City dur-
ing the r 8th century. The vigorous tradition con-
tinues today at Puebla and Dolores Hidalgo,
where in some workshops tiles are cut and painted
by hand in exactly the same way as in colonial
times.
Colonial period tiles also were made in
Guatemala and Peru, in both areas utilizing well
known Sevillian Renaissance patterns. At the
present time tiles are made commercially in most
countries of Latin America still using many of
these same patterns. There is little sign that this
aspect of architectural ceramics-inherited from
Spanish Muslims, revamped by Renaissance Ital-
ians, and diffused by Andalusian Spaniards-is in
any way expiring.
azumbre 22 bandeja
azulejo liso: smooth surfaced polychromed tile
Diminutive: azulejito
azumbre (Arabic deriv.)
Vinegar
This liquid was used as a medium in painting
metallic oxide mixtures upon warm vessels prior
to a reduction firing to produce luster overglaze
designs.
Synonym: vinagre
..
- . - .
mJ]
baeta ~
B
Shaving or bleeding bowl
A specialized flattened bowl
form with a semicircular section
removed from one side to permit
the vessel to be placed directly under the chin was
used by barbers and surgeons in Medieval Spain.
This is not odd because these occupations were
classed together in the socio-economic hierarchy
of the times. Blood letting, or phlebotomy, was
the most common medical treatment for many
different illnesses.
In Mexico bacias were most common in the
rSth century when they were moldmade, often
with foliated rims or fluted walls.
bacin, basin
Straight-sided, large, cylindri-
cal chamber pot with wide
horizontal brim
Known in Spain from the
14th century, the chamber pot,
usually with four prominent
strap handles from just below the rim to lower
body, appeared with elaborate luster or maiolica
patterns on exteriors. Flattened rims generally
were decorated. However, unglazed conically
shaped chamber pots represent economy ver-
sions. There are none of the caricatures on these
forms such as occurred on contemporary English
chamber pots.
In Mexico bacines tended to be taller than
Spanish models and had only two small handles
directly beneath the rim. In the rSth century
squat round bodied forms in plain white maiolica
were copied from English examples.
Diminutive: bacinejo, bacinica, bacinilla
Synonym: beque, borcelana, vasa de nocbe
bacini (Italian)
Plates set as decorative adjuncts onto facades of
important buildings or interior screens of
churches in Italy
Early examples of such decoration are known
in Pavia, Ravello, Pisa, and Rome, where they are
thought to represent trophies brought back by
Crusaders. Later pieces, which were either plates
or shallow bowls, were made for this architectural
purpose in Italy and in Spain. Spanish examples
generally are the prized lusterware.
balanza
Scale
In order to make the glaze and pigment solu-
tions properly, it was necessary to weigh out
the ingredients, though considerable variations
within any sequence of vessels suggests the mea-
surements often were casual. Probably the scales
were ofthe balance type with two pans suspended
from a horizontal bar.
baldosa
Monochrome glaze tile pieces from which aliceres
were cut; floor tile
The fragments for mosaics were common in
Andalusia in the rath and r sth centuries and
continue in use in modern Morocco. Usual colors
were blue, white, green, and black.
Diminutive: baldosin
Augmentative: baldos6n
baldosador: one who lays baldosas
balsa
Pit where clay was worked or allowed to ripen
balsot
Sieve used in Valencian shops for clay prepara-
tion
bandeja ~
Tray ~
In Spanish-tradition ceramics this form usually
is a molded ovoid, rectangular, or square vessel,
flat bottomed, on occasion with a number of at-
tached galleries or clay rings on the obverse with
which to steady small cups or jars. It appears
derived from metal prototypes which were
prompted by the arrival into r rrh century Europe
bariera 23 barrilejo
of exotic Oriental condiments or the contempor-
ary adoption of foreign beverages such as tea,
coffee, and chocolate.
Diminutive: bandejita
Augmentative: bandej6n
Synonym, in part: mancerina, platel
baiiera
Bathtub
A few maiolica tubs
survive in Puebla,
either plain white or
decorated with cobalt
blue. They are moldmade in ovoid shape and are
approximately 2 feet deep. Some bear modeled
animal heads as side handles.
baiiar: to bathe
baiio: bath
Synonym, in part: barreiio, pila
barbotina
Slip used for applying appendages to leather-hard
body walls
Barcelona
Located on the Mediterranean at the eastern
extremity of Spain, Barcelona historically has
been tied to Franco-Italian culture and to a
maritime commerce. Since the Middle Ages the
Barcelona citizenry has expressed a vigorous
mercantile orientation, and predictably there was
an early development of craft guilds.
In pottery an archaic green and purple-brown
was supplanted in the r yth century by the
ubiquitous cobalt blue on white tin glaze, with
ships in full sail being a favorite decorative fancy,
as well as morisco patterns introduced by potters
who moved there from Valencia. A civil war in
mid century destroyed many of the extramural
potteries, and recovery from this disaster was
slow.
Barcelona was prohibited from sharing in the
American enterprises, even though the Catholic
Kings greeted Columbus there after his return
from the First Voyage, until late in the rSrh cen-
tury. Hence maiolicas or other ceramics made
there quite likely never got to the colonies until
the end of the century.
barilla
Crushed or concentrated ore, such as tin or lead,
used in glaze formulation
barniz
Glaze
barnizar: to glaze
Synonym: alarea,brillo (usually refers to transpar-
ent lead glaze only), esmalte
barralet
Valencian name for a pedestal based, round
bodied pitcher with a very tall flared neck, a single
handle, and a curved tubular pouring spout
barreal, barrera, barrero
Pit where clay was either extracted or where it
was placed to cure after processing
In Christian Spain clay sources were controlled
by municipal authorities who granted a guild ex-
clusiverights to their use. Those persons who took
from a restricted source were liable to prosecu-
tion. In some places these sources for raw clay,
rather than being shallow pits near ground sur-
faces, actually were caves with extensive side gal-
leries or deep wells whose collapse is known to
have caused changes in production.
barreiio
Large earthenware tub or crucible
This functional form was used for washing
clothes, washing dishes, in making sausages, or in
the calcination of glaze materials.
Synonym, in part: baiiera, jofaina
barril
Barrel
A typically Chinese form
adopted by Mexican potters
was a large cylinder with walls
pushed outward to achieve a
centrally rounded profile. It
was a vessel meant to stand
erect, in contrast to the bar-
rilejo which was meant to lie
horizontally.
Synonym: tonel
bsrrilejo
Costral
This was a small barrel form
introduced to the Mediterra-
nean community by the Ro-
mans. It was made from two
matching cylinders luted together and laid hori-
zontally, then topped with a pouring spout and
fillingspout and loop or strap handles. Often the
spouts took animal head forms. Presumably in
Spain it was used as a water or wine container and
may be the refredador (cooler) of the documents.
In Morocco it has been described as a butter
barrilla 24 barro
churn. There it was suspended by the handles and
gently rocked back and forth.
Synonym, in part: tonelete
barrill
Salrwort
This marsh grass was burned to obtain soda ash
to be used in glaze preparation.
barrillar: place where salrwort grows; pit where it
was burned to extract soda ash
Synonym: a/majo
barre
Clay; clay body
Clayis decomposed granite rock oftwo general
types. Residual, or primary, clay is that formed at
the site of the original rock formation. Sedimen-
tary, or secondary, clay is that transported by
water or wind from the original location. It isfiner
grained and more plastic than residual clay.
In ceramic terms, clay body is often a mixture
of several clays, usually but not always plus grog.
Red-burning clay bodies, which mature at about
1000
0
c., usually have more strength and hence
are easier to throw in large vessel forms. Also
since red clays are more commonly found, they
are used for tiles required in great numbers and
utility objects which need frequent replacement.
Buff-burning clays mature at slightly higher
temperatures, tend to be finer textured and there-
fore less abrasive, and are considered more suit-
able for thin small vessels either thrown or
molded. Light colored marly clays containing
lime are desired for maiolica because their high
rate of shrinkage reduces the crazing of covering
glaze. Length of firing times and temperatures
achieved affect the colors of clay bodies. How-
ever, a clay with high iron content will always
remain red in oxidizing atmospheres and in fact
will melt at about 1200 C.
In Spain red-burning clays typically were used
for utility vessels and tiles. Tile makers of Sevilla
and those who fashioned ducts, downspouts, and
other humble construction objects are thought to
have obtained their red-burning clay from pits in
the meadow land near Triana.
Andalusia also has considerable deposits of
lighter clays which were used formerly, as today,
for much utility hollow ware. Many light colored
Sevillian jars of various types dating from the
16th and 17th centuries are known. The same
clay appears to have been used for tin glazed
wares which usually do not have the red cores
noted in contemporary utility vessels. This
suggests that the maiolicas were fired to a some-
what higher temperature for more complete oxi-
dation. Light colored clay deposits near the
village of Cuesta de Castilleja supplied Sevillian
factories for a long period of time, clods of raw
clay being hauled to the city by mule trains.
Some time about the mid 16th century the
fired pastes of Sevillian maiolica became notice-
ably pinker and harder, suggesting either a new
clay source or a mixture of clay types to allow
artisans to take advantage of the individual prop-
erties of each. Such mixing is known to have
become standard practice in the Paterna, Ma-
nises, and Talavera industries as they evolved,
and it is likely to have been the case also in Se-
villa.
In the earliest Mexican rnaiolicas, the first
styles made in imitation of early 16th century
Sevillian types exhibit a comparable buff-firing
paste. Such clay was not used by the aboriginal
potters ofcentral Mexico, and so it is obvious that
the Spaniards initiated an immediate search for
materials which would give them results at least
similar to those with which they had familiarity in
Spain. The common unglazed or lead glazed ves-
sels were fashioned with red-burning clays,
perhaps from the same deposits utilized by the
Indians.
As the 16th century wore on, there occurred
the same change in clay body used for maiolica as
in Spain, that is, a shift to a harder redder paste.
There either was a tapping of new beds, as would
have resulted in the establishment of an industry
at Puebla as opposed to one in Mexico City, or
local potters began to adopt the practice ofmixing
clays, in which case even small percentages ofiron
would alter the fired color of the body. At the
turn of the r rth century very light colored bodies
became universal in Mexican tin glazed types and
continued typical for fine wares into the r orh
century. This development appears first to have
been a response to white bodied Chinese porce-
lain which was much admired, and also may have
been an attempt to reduce unsightly crazing and
provide a paste easier to conceal beneath a glaze
covering. Later, in the second half of the rSth
century, there was a growing demand for thin
walled molded forms in the European manner for
which buff-burning clays were most suitable.
Red-burning clay continued to be standard for
utility and lead glazed types but was only used in
bebedero 25 boceto
classic Puebla work for large vessels which
needed great body strength. Lesser grades of
maiolica at Puebla and Mexico City also made use
of a higher percentage of red-burning claysin any
given mixture. Modern Mexican maiolica is
known to be composed of two types of clays, yet
the end result is a very red paste. Neither the
buff-burning nor red-burning clays traditionally
used in Mexico have high enough shrinkage rates
to eliminate crazing of glazes.
Only red-burning clayswere utilized in making
maiolica in Guatemala and Panama Viejo,
perhaps as much a clue to the absence there of
easily available lighter clays as any grade distinc-
tion in the pottery itself. In both areas the same
clays were used for utility as for finer vessels.
barro blanco: potter's clay
barro colada: prepared or washed clay
barro vidriado: glazed clay or glazed ceramics
barroso: terra cotta colored
Synonym: arcilla
bebedero
Water trough
A vessel serving this function was made in
Sevilla, according to ceramic inventories. It prob-
ably was unglazed earthenware, but its exact
shape is unknown.
beber: to drink
benditera
Holy water stoup
Synonym: pila de agua bendita
beque
Chamber pot
Synonym: bacin, dompedro ; orinal, vasa de nocbe
berettino (Italian)
Light blue to blue grey tin glaze adopted in parts
of Italy about the middle of the r Srh cenrury
Decorations on this glaze, which was created by
adding a small percentage ofcobalt or smalt to the
usual tin opacified lead bath, usually were in
white. However, blue ground glazed vessels with
a darker blue decoration of tiny arabesques were
typical of 16th cenrury potteries of Genoa on the
Ligurian coast of Italy and were copied by other
industries in nearby Albisola and Savona during
the 17th century. They were shipped to Genoese
merchants in Sevilla, who in rurn exported some
of them to the West Indies and Mexico. Similar
styles may have been made in Sevilla by Genoese
potters resident there, and may in turn have in-
spired Spanish derivations.
After the 16th century similar blue glaze was
used only rarely in Spain and did not recur in
Mexico until the late rSrh or early r oth century.
Synonym, in part: smaltino (Italian)
Berain, Jean
r Srh century French court designer
Berain's work, which emphasized balance,
lightness, and movement, marked the transition
between Baroque and Rococo in France. His
influence was considerable on French decorative
art and was felt in neighboring Spain after 1727,
when the French-operated factory of Alcora was
founded.
bernegal
Cup with scalloped rim; in the Canary Islands and
Venezuela a large earthenware jar used to collect
filtered water
Synonym, in part: cantaril!o, taza
biberon
Spouted drinking vessel, the forerunner of the
cdntaro; in modern vernacular, refers to a baby
bottle
bisel
Bevelled or chamfered edge typical of most
Spanish tile of the IS th through r Sth cenruries to
permit a smoother more secure fit when laid
bizcocho, bizcochada
Bisqued pottery
This is pottery fired once but not glazed and
therefore still porous.
bizcochar: to fire biscuit pottery
Synonym: cocida, escalda, juaguete, socarrat
blanco
White
White was a background color in Spanish
ceramics achieved either through application of a
slip of pipeclay or kaolin or of a lead fluxed glaze
with tin oxide added. The degrees ofwhiteness in
the latter instance depended upon the amount of
tin used. White was not employed as a decorative
pigment in the manner of Italian bianco soprab-
bianco.
blancuzco: whitish
boceto
Sketch; outline
The word appears in ceramic literarure to de-
hal
26 brasero
scribe a pattern used in the execution ofelaborate
designs painted on pottery.
bol
Bowl; punch bowl
bollo de relieve
Boss
An embossment of the central zones of r srh
century display lusterware plates derived from
metal prototypes. Less pronounced protuber-
ances are noted on some simple plain maiolica
vessels exported to the Indies at the end of the
r yth century. Both likely were created through
the use of molds to form vessel interiors.
Augmentative: boll6n
bombona
Demijohn
In Spain this form usually was a small, necked
jar with a single handle and no pouring spout.
Synonym, in part: botella, garraJa
borcelana
Mexican term for chamber pot; wash basin
Synonym: bacin, beque, orinal
borde
Rim or finished edge of vessel
adelgazado: tapered
entrante: inverted
festoneado: scalloped
ondulado: foliated
pellizcado: pinched
recto: direct
saliente: everted
borujo
Residue left from process of extraction of oil
from olives
This material was used in old Sevilla for firing
kilns. It continues to be the principal fuel for
country potteries of Andalusia and for those at
Fez, Morocco. The fire produced is very hot but,
because of the oil content, is also smoky.
bote
Drug jar
Diminutive: botecito
Synonym: albarelo, pote, tarro de botica
botella
Bottle
The usual shape was a tall, thrown
bulbous cylinder with a short neck.
Smaller versions also occur. Some
square moldmade bottles came from
Talavera, apparently in imitation of
Chinese forms.
Augmentative: botellon
Synonym, in part: ampoll, damajuana,frasco,gar-
raJa, redoma
botija
Short necked jug; ewer
Synonym: perulero
botijo
Spouted earthenware jar with
handle; pilgrim bottle; spouted
horizontal barrel bottle
The term is variously used
but generally seems to refer to a
form designed to hold and pour
liquids. It, or the diminutive
botijuela, has been used to de-
scribe the usual Spanish jars reaching colonial
America, the form in English with the misnomer
"olive jar." However, botijuela now has no conno-
tation in ceramics. Tinaja appears a more correct
name for that form because, at least in modern
parlance, botijos are small to medium sized, flat
bottomed, closed jars, characterized by small
pointed pouring spouts located high on the jar
shoulder and looped, stirrup, or strap handles at
the closed top of the jar.
botijeria: place where botijos are made
botijero: maker or seller of botijos
Synonym, in part: biber6n, cdntaro; porron
boton
Knob
Knobs on vessel lids received little attention in
Spanish-tradition ceramics. Generally they were
low, round topped, and not well designed for easy
grasping.
brasero ~
Flat bottomed bowl; brazier _
In Spain this form was a flat bottomed, straight
sided, large bowl with a horizontal rim similar to a
lebrillo in general profile. They were tin glazed,
often at Manises overlaid with luster pigments,
and may be considered representative of finer
brinquiiio 27
cacerola
grade ceramics. They are said to have been used
for washing hands prior to dining.
In Mexico the flat bottomed bowl form was
made, but brasero also means a brazier which usu-
allywas a large unglazed earthenware bowl with a
perforated base, attached to a hollow pedestal
stand. The pedestal was opened on one side to
accornodate a few pieces of charcoal. Serving as
small stoves, these were strictly functional ves-
sels.
brinquiiio
Generalized term for a ware made of red clay
Small scented objects of clay were made in
Talavera from the 16th century in imitation of
bucaro ware from Mexico. They were either worn,
used as rosaries, or were eaten.
brocal de pozo
Mouth of well or fountain
With the great Moorish plea-
sure in running water and foun-
tains came the development of
this form which was especially
typical of mudejar shops in
Sevilla and Toledo. It was a large
ornamental circular or hexa-
gonal moldmade tube with a heavy-lipped
ceramic collar designed to regulate and enhance a
water source. Usually covered with lead glaze,
decoration consisted of elaborately worked relief
patterns. Their strong stylistic resemblance to
contemporary baptismal fonts of Sevilla and To-
ledo suggests their having been made in the same
workshops. Dating is considered to be the 14th
through 16th centuries.
bucaro
Fragrant, red slipped, and polished earthenware
Bucaro ware was made in the Guadalajara re-
gion of Mexico and was exported to Spain, where
as early as the late 16th century it was copied at
Talavera. It was notable for reputedly having
been eaten by ladies as a complexion aid.
Buen Reriro
Soft paste porcelain factory, founded by Charles
IV in 1759, located in a royal garden at Buen
Retire, near Madrid
Until 1788 the production of this factory,
based entirely upon Capodimonte styles at
Naples, was limited to court use only. The same
chief modeller who was responsible for the con-
temporary porcelain room at Aranjuez was in
charge at Buen Retiro. The factory was destroyed
by war early in the r orh century and was not
rebuilt.
burlador
Trick cup which wet the user
These were forms common among English
ceramics but did not appear to enjoy much popu-
larity in the Spanish tradition.
burlar: to deceive
II cII cabaliitoi caballo
Mexican term for cockspur
C
Literal meaning: little horse
cabezuela
, Head ofpotter's wheel upon which
clay was placed for working
cabeza: head
Synonym: cabecera, planellet (Valencian vernacu-
lar), rodal
caceria
Hunt or act of hunting
The term in Spanish literature on ceramics re-
fers to a hunting motif which included hunters,
horses, and occasionally other animals. It was
very popular with customers of r rth and rSth
century Talaveran maiolica because hunting itself
was considered a princely pastime. The Haps-
burgs, for example, maintained royal hunting
preserves and a stock ofexotic animals. The hunt-
ing motif was adopted on occasion by Mexican
maiolists, though much simplified, for both tile
and vessel decoration.
cacerola ~
Casserole or stew pot
These were utilitarian
earthenware vessels of large round bottomed
bowl shape, occasionally with small side handles,
cacharreria
28 cajuela
and were sometimes casually decorated in iron
oxide covered with a simple transparent lead
glaze. Many pots ofthis type still are made in most
of Latin America, often without the benefit of a
wheel. Their form and style has changed little in
the 400 years since the Spaniards first introduced
glazes to the New World.
cacharreria
Cheap crockery; shop selling cheap crockery
cacharrero: one who sells crocks
cacharro: an ordinary pot or crock
cadenete
Chain stitch motif
A decorative mode of the late r Sth and r orh
centuries consisting of a simple chain pattern en-
circling either exteriors of cups or interiors of
open forms just below the rims. The usual rendi-
tions were a series of connected small lozenges,
two interlaced lines, or an undulating line with
alternating dots within loops.
cadena: chain
cafetera
Coffee server
Coffee was introduced to Europe from Turkey
during the 17th century and was widely adopted
as a social drink. However, coffee houses did not
have the popularity in Spain which they enjoyed
in England.
In Spain coffee was served in spouted pitchers
and small cups, with and without handles, set on
deep bowl-like saucers. In Mexico, where coffee
was raised, pitchers seem to have been surpris-
ingly uncommon, although they were made.
Most decorated maiolica cups remained handle-
less, probably because of the considerable
influence of Oriental forms on Mexican produc-
tion during the 17th and rSth centuries, and
saucers were not typical. But after English
creamwares began flooding Mexican markets in
the late r Sth and into the r orh centuries, local
production included more plain white maiolica
cups which copied the angled or curved handles
characteristic of English coffee cups.
cajon, caxon
Rough wooden box used for shipment of pottery
cajuela
Mexican term for a complete saggar
Saggars are round, ovoid, or rectangular fired
clay boxes used to protect vessels during glaze
firing from smoke clouds, bits of floating ash or
soot, and fumes of molten materials, all of which
can cause color damage or change. They also
enable the stacking of a kiln without the use of
shelves, though they have the obvious drawback
of taking up valuable space within the kiln.
Saggars are not known to have been used in
Spain by Muslim potters, although some large
earthenware jars have been suggested as having
served that purpose. Saggars appear to have been
introduced to Spain from Italy in the mid 16th
century, along with a complex of maiolica traits.
At the same period their use also spread north
from Italy to Flanders and southern France, as
Italian artists moved away from their home
peninsula. Although present research is ham-
pered by lack of scientific excavation of Spanish
kiln sites of this period, it appears likely that the
saggar form used in Spain until the end of the
16th century had perforated side walls, as did the
Italian prototypes. Some may have had additional
perforations in their bases. Furthermore, al-
though no excavation has been made of a proven
Mexican ceramic kiln, it is quite possible the per-
forated saggar was diffused to workshops there.
An interesting sequence of development in
saggar use can be deduced from Mexican ar-
chaeological materials. The first Mexican maio-
licas, faithfully made after Sevillianmodels of the
first half of the 16th century, seem to have been
fired in stacks, each vessel being separated by
cockspurs which left unsightly triads of scars on
plate obverses. Saggars might not have been in
use at all in that initial development. It is possible
to proceed without them though the results are
less predictable. Modern Moroccan maiolists, for
example, make no use of saggars. They do use
spurs, but most of the large flat pieces are fired
vertically on edge, just as they were in the morisco
Manises lusterware shops of the r yth century.
With pottery types which are believed to
reflect strong 16th century Italian stylistic in-
fluence as diffused to Nueva Espana via Sevilla,
a significant change is noticeable. Vessel obverses
lack spur scars but do have lateral scars on re-
verses beneath rims, indicating that stacks of
plates were supported horizontally in a saggar by
prisms of fired clay projected through perforated
saggar walls. This was the known 16th century
Italian method, well illustrated in the New World
by Italian trade wares with under-rim scars recov-
ered in the Caribbean and Mexico and believed to
date from the last half of the r Sth century.
29 calado
Present evidence suggests that the perforated
saggar and pin support system was abandoned
early in the r zrh century as both the Mexican and
Spanish crafts reached a stage of maturity. The
use of individual saggars for special pieces
avoided all marring. The return ofthe cockspur is
signaled by stacks of lesser vessels having been
separated in communal saggars solely by this
means without the additional rim pinning. Sur-
face scars were nearly obliterated by reducing the
tips of the spurs to their minimum and by post-
firing retouching; there are no identifiable
under-rim pin scars. A back-sliding of technique
then occurred as the Puebla industry moved into
rSrh century mass production. Finest vessels con-
tinued to be loaded into individual saggars in
accord with guild standards. But more common
tableware, which was turned out in tremendous
volume as population and wealth increased and
now comprises the greatest percentage of ar-
chaeological tin glazed ceramics recovered in
colonial Mexico and along all former frontiers,
continued to be separated during firing, but the
scars visible on both obverse and reverse surfaces
were large and seldom retouched. No under-rim
pin scars are seen. The guild ordinances were
amended in 1721 so that saggars, which the pot-
ters protested were costly and time consuming,
were no longer required. They well might have
continued in use for finer vessels, however.
In summary, the Mexican sequence, and
perhaps the Spanish sequence as well, would ap-
pear to be as follows: first half of 16th century,
cockspurs and possibly no saggars; second half of
16th century, support pins and perforated sag-
gars, no cockspurs; 17th century, individual un-
perforated saggars for fine wares, communal
unperforated saggars and cockspurs for lesser
wares, no pins; r Sth century, abandonment of un-
perforated saggars, cockspurs used, no pins.
To substantiate the hypothesis of the diffusion
to the New World of the Italian perforated saggar
some time in the second half of the r Srh century,
the one colonial kiln yet excavated in the Western
Hemisphere, that in Panama Viejo, produced
such furniture. The Panama industry is thought to
date in the late 16th or early r zrh centuries. To
the north, all known later saggars have unperfo-
rated walls.
A complete saggar consists of a deep bottom
section and a shallower lid which is not flanged
but merely sits on top the rim of the bottom
Calatrava
container. The lid is superfluous except for the
top saggar in a stack or for one placed separately.
Nowadays saggars are made from refractory
materials, but that precaution is unnecessary for
earthenware ranges of temperature.
caja: bottom portion of saggar; literal meaning:
box
pedaiio: upper section of saggar
caja de bencbir: phrase used in Mexican archives
which is translated either as a saggar or packing
box used for the shipment of finished ware.
calado
Fretwork
Such openwork appears on 17th century
Talavera inkwells. Most often when exterior walls
encasing the ink container were cut while in the
leather hard stage into lattice patterns, the fired
ground was left plain white or was overlaid with a
delicate colored floral pattern. Such calado also
appears on late rSth century Mexican tinteros,
often with white grounds enhanced only by a dark
blue band at the upper edge of the vessel.
Calado may be regarded as a Baroque orienrali-
zation.
calador: maker of calado
Calatayud
A Moorish center in Aragon, Calatayud be-
came well known for mudejar pottery which
found its greatest market in the Zaragoza region.
The technique for producing lusterware appar-
ently had been known there during Islamic
control but became important in the mid 16th
century in the wake ofManises's decline. It was of
lower quality than the Valencian examples and
was sold to a less affluent clientele.
Calatrava
One of three Spanish Christian military-religious
orders
Established by Sancho III and confirmed by the
Pope in I 164, the Order was founded on the
borderlands where fighting between Christians
and Moors was a way of life. As the Christians
gradually pushed their Muslim adversaries
southward, the Calatrava Order became so
wealthy that by the r yth century it owned a large
part of the grazing land of La Mancha.
The emblem of Calatrava appears on some
Spanish ceramics as a potent cross, or one with
arms ending in crutch-like figures. The traditional
color of the cross was red but, because that color
calda
30 candil, candelero
was impossible to achieve by the known maiolica
methods, ochre was substituted.
Insignia of this Spanish Order do not appear on
New World maiolicas.
calda
Act of stoking a kiln; the unit of fuel used at one
time
Caidadealabaradios, the phrase applied to the
last unit of fuel placed within a kiln during firing,
results from the customarily uttered words, "Ben-
dito y alabado sea ..... or Blessed and praised be
caldera
Front section of fuel chamber in Valencian kiln
Literal meaning: caldron
caldereta
Holy water bowl
Diminutive: calderetita
Synonym: pita de agua bendita
calientamanos
Handwarmer
A rare form of the rSrh cen-
tury, the handwarmer consisted
of a small plate topped by a
domed cover with holes encir-
cling it at various heights. Pre-
sumably charcoal would have
rested on the saucer.
caliente: hot
manos: hands
camaie (French)
Painting in a monochrome
During the' last half of the r Sth century there
was a development at Sevilla of a blue ground
maiolica pottery decorated in darker blue de-
signs, apparently in copy of similarly decorated
Genoese pottery being received in the markets
there. The type did not persist for long, nor was
such monochrome treatment ever very popular in
Spain. Sixteenth century maiolists of Talavera at-
tempted a similar treatment on some pharmacy
jars, sponging blue over a white ground and then
applying decoration in the form of drug labels in
darker blue lettering on a reserved white panel.
In the late r Sth century Puebla potters washed
some vessel interiors with blue and then laid
darker blue designs over that background, the
exterior of the pots remaining white. Another
variation which was practiced in the early r oth
century at Puebla was a true blue glaze decorated
with darker blue designs, but these were more
often than not converted into a polychrome
palette with the addition of orange, yellow, and
green.
camara de coccion
Baking chamber of typical Spanish two cham-
bered kiln
cdmara de combuscion
Fuel chamber of typical Spanish two chambered
kiln
camera
Chamber pot
Synonym: dompedro ; orinal, seroicio
camtsa
Layer of relatively porous adobe bricks covering
inner surface of upper kiln chamber at Valencia
Bricks were formed with straw incorporated
which burned out in the first use, leaving air
spaces.
Literal meaning: shirt, cover
campo de color
Field or Zone of color in a design
canal
Earthenware tube, pipe, or downspout
In middle class homes and public buildings
these construction adjuncts were of unglazed
earthenware, formed in sections luted together
as necessary. In Guatemala there was a regional
development of such downspouts being coated
with brilliant green lead glaze.
In more humble homes and on frontiers the
canales were of wood; in finer homes, churches,
and government buildings they were of worked
stone.
Diminutive: canaleja
Synonym, in part: desague
candil, candelero
Candleholder
When tallow candles came into
general use the old Roman-style oil
lamp, which had been made in Spain
as elsewhere in the Mediterranean
area, was replaced in homes by a sim-
ple ceramic holder consisting of a
tubular shaft above a flared base for
stability and a collar to catch wax drippings. The
old lamp continued in use in church buildings, a
combination of olive oil and beeswax being the
preferred fuel. Common candleholders remained
31 cangilon
unglazed or lead glazed, fancier ones being of
maiolica. Baluster-shaped tall holders were pro-
duced in lusterware.
The candil was ubiquitous in Spanish America
and made its way to all frontiers. In New Mexico
some Pueblo Indians ofthe 17th century missions
copied the form using hand modeling methods.
Diminutive: candilejo
Augmentative: candilon
Synonym, in part: ldmpara
cangil6n
Large pitcher or jar such as those used in wells, as
cangilon de noria
Synonym, in part: alcuza
canilia
Mexican term for drug jar
Literal meaning: long bone
cdntara
Large pitcher of about 32 pint capacity
cantarada: pitcherful
cantarera: shelf for pitchers
cantaro
Variously defined as spouted
drinking vessels, pitchers, large-
mouthed jars, or wine measur-
ers of varied sizes
The most typical variant ap-
pears to have been a flat bot-
tomed, wide mouthed jar of
approximately 3 gallon capacity,
with opposing strap handles. It
was functionally and stylistically
akin to the tinaja. This variant and one with a
closed top, sharply angled spouts for filling and
pouring, and a loop handle over the top usually
are unglazed and served, as they do today, as
water coolers. Glazed spouted versions are said to
have been containers for medicinal syrups in
Muslim Spain.
In modern Spanish towns lacking household
water systems the cantaro continues to have great
use, as it no doubt had in the past. Its spouted,
looped, handled form is seen only rarely in Latin
America.
cantarero: maker or seller of cantaros
Diminutive: cantarillo
Synonym: alcarraza; cdntara, tinaja
canter
Valencian term for two handled jar with tall, wide
mouthed neck
capuchino
Diminutive: canterelle; specialized use for confec-
tions: canterell
Synonym, in part: [arra
cantera
Quarry or pit where raw clay was secured
Synonym: barrero, terrero
cantimplora (Latin)
Canteen or pilgrim's bottle; jar in
which to cool water
The canteen was a typical Eastern
Mediterranean form which found
great use for transporting water dur-
ing various religious pilgrimages or Crusades
characteristic of the Middle Ages. In Spain it was
a form most typical of Christian groups. It was
fashioned from two thrown bowls luted together,
topped with a neck which could be easily stop-
pered, and two small loop handles to permit sus-
pension from a pack or saddle. One side was flat
for better hanging position.
Synonym, in part: barrilete, botijo, garra/a
cana
Potter's wooden tool
Literal meaning: reed, cane
Canada de los Alfares
Potters' quater in r zth and r Srh century Talavera
de la Reina, Castile
cano
Tube, conduit, or ceramic drain pipe
Dating from Roman times, these construction
ceramics were either thrown or molded in sec-
tions, luted together. Pedro de la Vega, apotter of
Triana, is credited in 1554 with having supplied
734canosfor thecaneria, main pipe line, that went
to the Sevilla Alcazar.
Caiio may also be a tubular pouring spout on a
pitcher.
capela
Motif of a cardinal's hat around which was sus-
pended two sets of graduated tassels
This was used as a frame for the escutcheon of
the Escorial monastery and appears on numerous
Talaveran vessels made for the edifice. The hat
was placed above the crest, the tassels passing
down on either side.
capucbino
Mexican name for an rSth century style of
Chinese porcelain which had white designs on a
brown background
32 carchata
A few examples of a similar brown ground on
exteriors of cups are known for late rSth or early
r oth century Puebla maiolica, probably made in
imitation of capucbino pieces.
carchata
Very thick walls of upper chamber of Valencian
kiln
carga
Load
The old documents of Sevilla commonly use
this term as a measure of various materials bought
or sold. Its exact quantity is unknown because it
might refer to a wagonload (carretada) or to a
carga menor, the load suitable for a donkey.
The term also appears in ceramic literature in
the sense of loading or stacking a kiln, carga del
horno, or the number of pots a kiln held; discarga
del horno refers to unloading or drawing a kiln.
cargador: one who carries a load
carrell
Valencian term for a lot of 1800 tiles; also a stack
of 12 vessels within a kiln
carrera de Indias
Shipping lanes to the Indies
On his First Voyage Columbus sailed south
from Palos on the Spanish south Atlantic coast to
the Canary Islands, then continued southwest to
be caught up in the equatorial current which
swept his ships westward to their eventual landfall
in the Bahamas. Going southerly from the
Canaries on the Second Voyage the current
flowed more rapidly and brought him to the
Lesser Antilles from where he entered the Carib-
bean. This became the outbound route to be used
by the Spaniards for the next 300 years.
The return passage to Spain from America was
more difficult until, in 1 52 1 the commanding
pilot of the ships carrying Aztec loot back to
Spain charted the course through the Florida
Straits between Cuba and the mainland and hit
the rush of the Gulf Stream which carried ships
northeasterly to the latitude of North Carolina
and out across the Atlantic. Returning ships
thereafter either made for the Portuguese
Madeiras or preferably for the Spanish Canaries
and then back to Cadiz. In times when a naval
escort was provided for protection, the Azores
were the rendezvous point.
This circular route out and back was the carrera
de Indies, a name which was applied also to the
castizo
trade between Andalusia and the colonies carried
on by ships plying the route.
Most of the sailors participating in the carrera de
Indias lived in the barrio of Triana, also the lead-
ing potters' quarter in the Sevilla area.
carretada
Cartful; wagonload
In Mexico this was a measure used in colonial
times for the buying and selling of lime or clay,
estimated at approximately 3,042 pounds.
cartela
Label; card
On Spanish albarelos frequently a framed area
known as a cartela was placed either diagonally or
horizontally across a central zone which con-
tained the pharmaceutical name for the intended
contents. The same word, cartela, also was used
for an area reserved on a vessel for an inscription.
cartela enblanco: a framed blank space meant to be
filled in by the user of the vessel
cascajo, casco
Potsherd
Synonym: cacbarra, fragmento, tepalcate (Mex.),
tiesto
caspa de cobre
Scales or scurf of copper
To produce green colors for lead glaze or deco-
rative pigments to be applied over tin glaze, the
pottery makers of the Iberian world made use of
scraps of wire or wastes from copper pot shops.
These bits of metal were heated in a small kiln
until scales formed on their surfaces. These were
then scraped off. Some dissolved coins also were
utilized.
casp de lata
Scales of tin plate
In modern Puebla workshops scales obtained
from heating the waste materials from the manu-
facture of tin fixtures, hojalata, are used, in com-
bination with pulverized dry glaze, to make a
black decorative pigment. Formerly black was
obtained from iron oxide, manganese, or a mix-
ture of these with copper.
cassolete
Valencian name for shallow bowl or casserole
castizo
Pure or typical style
catavino 33 cobalto
catavino
Small cup or plate used in wine cellars
Such vessels were made in r Sth century Man-
ises and were decorated in luster pigments.
cavetto (Italian)
Area between the well of a plate or bowl and the
rIm
The cauetto did not assume any visual impor-
tance in Spanish ceramic design until the influ-
ence of Chinese porcelain was felt. Then it often
was left undecorated to provide a contrast be-
tween central pattern and rim band. The sharply
angled brim common on Sevillian types reaching
the New World helped to define the cavetto.
cazuela
Casserole or stewing pot
One notation in Sevillian archives of cazuelas
para iluminaciones ordered for the cathedral indi-
cates this bowl form also may have served as an oil
lamp.
Diminutive: cazoleja, cazoleta, cazuelita
Synonym: cacerola, pucbero
celemin
Castilian measure
In glaze solutions for tin glaze made at Manises
I arroba of lead (25 pounds) to 6 pounds 12
ounces of tin and Y2 ecelemin of salt were custom-
ary proportions. This formula would imply that a
celemin was a very small unit. However, the term
also is defined as a measurement for land and the
grain produced on it.
cenefa
Rim or border
Synonym, in part: cerco
cerdmica
Ceramics
ceramista: maker of ceramics
ceramtfilo
Student or devotee of ceramics
cerco
Rim, border, or marly
Synonym: cenefa
cerradero
Maker of closed vessel forms
Such objects as jars, bottles, flowerpots, vases,
and pitchers are in this category, all evolved in
throwing from a basic cylinder form. In the ex-
treme specialization of Spanish guild structure,
certain men made only vessels of this type. One
advantage of such concentration of effort would
be increased speed of production.
cesta
Basket or hamper in which pottery was shipped
cetrill
Valencian term for spouted phar-
macy pitcher
Probably an Iranian shape which
came to Spain via Italy, this form is
typified by a tubular spout from the
vessel shoulder held to the neck by
an encircling strip of clay. A single handle facili-
tated pouring. The form was used for medicinal
oils and syrups.
Claperos, Anton
Apotter in r yth century Barcelona who, with two
sons, is known to have made twelve large bisqued
figures ofthe Apostles which were to be mounted
in the Gothic entrance to the cathedral of Gerona
claroscuro
Monochromatic design
Synonym: monocromo
cobalto
Cobalt
Cobalt, which in firing produces a blue color, is
of particular value to ceramists because it is able
to mature at a wide range of temperatures from
those suitable for earthenware to those for porce-
lain. It is a strong stable colorant, therefore re-
quired only in very small amounts. However,
contamination of glaze color is a threat because in
volatilization cobalt easily causes an undesirable
blue speckling, or salpicadura.
Beginning about the r yth or rarh centuries,
cobalt was introduced to Spanish Muslim ceram-
ics by the Nasrids who may have obtained the
oxides from Morocco, where it occurs in com-
mercial quantities, or from Islamic western Asia.
Because it was a rare and expensive commodity,
cobalt blue at first was restricted to use with luster
pigments, the cobalt being drawn upon bisqued
surfaces which were subsequently dipped in tin
glaze. The cobalt was strong enough to penetrate
the molten glaze from below. However, in time
cobalt became common enough to supercede in
part the use of copper green and manganese
purple-brown which had been characteristic of
the first Spanish maiolicas. Christian potters also
adopted the use of blue and found a sizeable
cobija 34 coccion
deposit in Castellon which supplied the Manises
shops, where lusterware was combined with blue
decorations as at Malaga. By this period the blue
was applied over a dry unfired tin glaze in the
typical maiolica method. Venetian merchants
brought cobalt to Sevilla and Barcelona from a
source in the Near Eastern Levante.
By the beginning of the 16th century all maio-
lists in Europe were falling under the spell of
Ming blue on white porcelain. This caused a seri-
ous search for deposits of cobalt, one of which
was encountered in Saxony. There a process for
its purification was worked out, allowing for
clearer, stronger tones than had been possible
previously. Genoese and other traders carried
this material to England, Spain, and Italy. Other
Spanish deposits were worked to obtain lower
grades of cobalt. One such source was in the
Quistan valley of the Pyrenees, which supplied
the workshops of Puente del Arzobispo.
Mexican maiolica copied Sevillian maiolica in
the use of blue decorations. The quality and tones
of the blues obtained changed through time,
suggesting different sources. A special focus on
cobalt design occurred in Mexico which endured
almost unchallenged for a century and a half, and
to a degree continues today. The great volume of
Chinese porcelain imported by Manila galleons
sustained this vogue.
Cobalt blue was used also by the potters at
Panama, where it was combined with copper
green and manganese purple-brown. Inasmuch as
tilers in Lima likewise drew blue decorations, it
may be assumed that similar sources for raw
material were utilized by both industries. Blue is
found only rarely on colonial Guatemalan
maiolica, however. Apparently potters there
were cut off from a supply of the oxide, and so
contented themselves with colorants provided by
copper, antimony, manganese, and iron.
cobija
Spanish term for saggar
cobijador: one who makes saggars
Literal meaning: a cover
cobre
Copper
In the Mediterranean copper oxides used to
provide transparent lead glazes with agreen color
had a history going back to the Romans. Such
green glazes were common in the Cordoban
period pottery shops. Also at that period copper
oxide began to be used as a decorative pigment to
fill design elements defined by a darker line pro-
duced by manganese, both at first placed on
bisqued surfaces, then coated with a tin glaze
which they penetrated from below. The use of
copper continued throughout the long history of
Spanish tradition ceramics, after the mid t yth
century being applied on top of unfired glaze.
Copper deposits are known in both Spain and
Mexico, in the latter region being one of the first
minerals mined by the Spaniards.
cocci6n
Firing process
At approximately 600
0
C dehydration of clay
causes chemical change from earth to pottery.
Higher temperatures are necessary, however, to
make vessels more durable and less porous. A
temperature of 900-950
0
C is sufficient for
earthenware clays. Lead glazes will mature in the
same range, but the addition of tin requires a
temperature up to 1060
0
C for maturation. Lus-
ter painting must be fired only to 860-895
0
C,
just sufficient to flux the metal oxides but not the
previously fired tin glaze. Firing times naturally
vary, depending on size of kiln, fuel utilized, and
kind of pottery being produced. A single firing in
a wood burning primitive kiln can last anywhere
from one to five or six days. In tax ridden Spain,
each firing of a kiln was cause for an assessment of
fees by municipal authorities.
Firing a kiln load of pots, which represents days
oflabor for a number of people, is a risky, uncer-
tain affair because many mishaps can ruin part or
all the load. Hence in the Spanish realm it always
has been an event surrounded by a mixture of
religion and superstition. Colonial accounts say
the sign of the cross was made before the sealed
door of the kiln by the first ignited torch, the
prayer, "Alabado sea por siempre el Santisimo Sac-
ramento" (Praise be forever the Holy Sacrament)
was said, breasts were crossed. Acandle burned at
a nearby home shrine. If a shower occurred dur-
ing firing, that was considered a good omen. The
same prayer ritual and making the sign of the
cross was followed before the kiln was opened
after firing. And in spite of all these precautions,
the number ofwasters from any firingis known to
have been considerable. Vessels bloated from air
bubbles, warped out of shape, or cracked. Glazes
ran unduly, crawled, or became excessively
pinholed.
Synonym: cocbura, cocimiento
Literal meaning: cooking
cocida 35 contorno
cocida
Bisqued pottery
If a vessel were not to have a glaze, one firing
was sufficient for completion. In finer wares the
bisque firing was necessary to drive all remaining
moisture from the clay and make vessels more
durable for further processing.
cocer: to cook
Synonym: bizcocho, [uaguete, loza cruda
COCtO
Valencian term for a large bisqued wide-mouthed
jar, frequently used as a packing case for more
fragile pottery nested within in beds of rice straw,
a horse drinking trough, a chamber pot, a wash
tub for laundry
These jars also have been reported to have
served as saggars prior to the r orh century.
cocos amarillos
Mexican expression for small hemispherical
bowls made in lead glazed mode
Literal meaning: yellow coconuts
cogedero
Handle
cojita
Small molded box
These were rwo-piece, a base with
lid. The rwo main varieties of boxes were a small
round top trunk shape and a rectangular base with
flat lid. Both were typical of the 18th century.
Synonym, in part: arqueta, caja
coladero
Colander; filter
In pottery workrooms large utilitarian earth-
enware vessels were used as colanders to aid in
extraction of foreign materials from the clay dur-
ing the initial processing.
Another filtering vessel was a small jar with a
perforated clay disk at the throat. These were
used as an aid in clearing drinking water. Typical
of Spanish Muslim pottery, this form is still com-
monly made in Moroccan country wares.
Synonym: filtro, pasador, pila de colar
colorista
Ceramic decorator
In the Spanish guild organization this group of
persons filled in larger details ofdesign drafted by
more skilled artisans or drew small elements such
as letters, insignia, or flowers. In modern Spain
and Mexico women now often do this work. In
times past, however, only men were so employed,
as they still are in Muslim Morocco.
colarar, colorear: to color
compendiaro (I talian)
A decorative style using short brush strokes on
a restricted amount of decoration in dark blue,
orange-yellow, and occasionally manganese
purple-brown laid on a heavy white ground
It was developed by decorators at 16th century
Faenza, who spread it widely as a result of their
migrations to other countries.
The influence of the style appears possibly to
have reached Mexican rnaiolists by the late 16th
century, bringing about a radical change in form
and decoration from the copies of Sevillian wares
made in Mexico earlier in the century. Such
influence may have been transmitted via Sevillian
ceramics which were also reflecting similar
change, or it may have come in combination with
trade goods from Italy.
conejera
Earthenware rabbit hutch
This vessel, of uncertain shape, is known to
have been made as early as the 16th century and
illustrates the great variety of uses to which pot-
tery was put. Today there continues an important
production of similar vessels such as chicken
feeders, pigeon houses, and so on. However, in-
expensive plastic containers are taking the place
of these wares.
conejo: rabbit
conservera
Dish to contain preserves or candied fruit
Such sweets always have been a part of Spanish
diet, particularly in temperate Andalusia where
fruit trees abound. Candied fruits and conserves
were among the foodstuffs sent out to the early
colonies, and fruit trees of all kinds were quickly
introduced from Spain and the Canary Islands.
In Spain it was not until the elaboration of r zrh
century maiolica, caused in part by royal restric-
tions against the use of vessels of precious metals,
that special forms in pottery were identified with
these particular items. Generally conserueras were
merely small shallow bowls elaborated with un-
dulating rims and colorful decoration.
contorno
Area berween the interior bottom of a bowl form
and the rim; contour
Synonym, in part: cavetto (Italian)
contrahecho 36
cuenca
contrabecbo
Imitation, counterfeit
This term was used in old documents concern-
ing pottery to describe imitations ofstyles, such as
Sevilliancopies ofTalaveran or Chinese types. In
Mexico the word also was used for cobalt re-
garded as of lower quality than that reserved for
fine grade wares, or styles theoretically restricted
for use on finegrades being drawn on lower grade
wares.
Contrafet was the Valencian term for copied
styles.
contrahecho azul
In this context in some Mexican records it prob-
ably refers to a secondary meaning: humpbacked
or deformed
At certain periods of Mexican production
cobalt designs clearly stand in relief, or impasto,
above the glaze, hence are humpbacked.
Contrahecho azul also might indicate a weak
blue possible to achieve by copper oxide, plus
native zinc contaminants, on a glaze with sodium
additives such as the massicot used by Mexican
maiolists which put alkali compounds into the
mixture. But this is by no means certain as such
blues are tinges of color rather than stable color-
ants. Generally speaking, copper oxides produce
shades of green on a lead glaze fired in oxidizing
atmospheres. Most likely the reference is either
to cobalts with more impurities than those pre-
ferred for finer wares or to reduced (contraido)
amounts of the mineral in the pigment base.
d:blet Y
A few cups made in Spain
have short stems, but this was
not a common vogue. Nor was it in Mexico,
where the limited number ofexamples known are
thought to have been copies of Chinese models.
The typical Mexican cup was a small handleless
cylinder without a stemmed base, also believed
derived from Chinese sources.
Diminutive: copilla, copita
Augmentative: copaza, copon
coperta (Italian)
Colorless lead glaze
In Italy, prior to the glost firing, a transparent
lead glaze was applied over maiolica surfaces.
This added coating gave a depth and gloss to the
surface finish which is lacking in Spanish
ceramics.
crespina
Molded, fluted walled bowl
Literal meaning: hair cap
crisol
Crucible
Mortar forms of heavy earthenware or metal
were employed in grinding small amounts of
fritted materials to be used in glaze prepara-
tions.
cuadalero
Master potter
Synonym: maestro
cuadro
Picture
Pictorial scenes executed on contiguous tiles
became popular in r Sth century Sevilla and have
remained so in Spain and Latin America. Often of
a religious nature, they also were figural or were
landscapes.
cuarteado
Crazed surface
Synonym: agrietado accidental
cuartelera
Large jug described as having a 9 cantarocapacity
cubierto
Covered; lidded
cubrir: to cover
cubo
Vat; tank; pail
All these variations of the cubo were found
around pottery work yards.
cuello
Neck of vessel
From the beginning of pottery making it has
been customary to describe vessel parts in terms
of human anatomy. Hence such forms as bottles,
flasks, or tinajas have a restricted zone above the
main body called a neck. On exaggerated or ex-
otic forms these frequently were fashioned sepa-
rately and luted to the body.
Synonym, in part: gollete
cuenca
Specialized type of mudejar tile
In Sevilla intaglio tile replaced the older cuerda
seca tile in popularity during the r yth century. A
pattern was impressed on soft clay blanks whose
ridges kept glazes separated during firing. Usually
colors of glaze were amber, green, and brown.
cuenco 37 chinita
A few cuenca tile got to the Indies where they
generally are found in pre-1540 contexts. The
cuenca was a style in process of being replaced at
Sevilla during the period of the American con-
quests.
Synonym: azulejo de arista; azulejo de labor (as
contrasted to azulejo de pintar)
cuenca
Large conical bowl
The cuenca bowl is one with a
widely flaring mouth edged with a keeled rim
and walls tapering to a heavy, narrow ring base.
Perhaps originally copied after Chinese forms,
it became a Spanish Muslim shape associated
with special ceramics such as lusterware. The
considerable expanse of obverse, often 2 feet in
diameter, provided a good field for elaborate
decoration. A notable example of such a cuenco is
the famous lusterware bowl in the Victoria and
Albert Museum, displaying a decoration of a Por-
tuguese carrack and said to have been made in
rath century Malaga.
After the reconquest of Spain from the Mus-
lims, cuencas appear to have remained a part of the
form repertoire of the Granada area, where moris-
cos continued to ply the potter's trade until their
final expulsion in 1609, but it was not a shape to
find general favor elsewhere in Spain or in the
NewWorld. It was a form, however, to be used in
virtuosity pieces of extraordinary size and rich
design in Morocco. There it typically is described
as a vessel for the serving of couscous.
cuerda seca
Specialized Moorish ceramic decoration
Introduced during the Cordoban Caliphate but
more identified with rarh and r yth century
Sevilla and Puente del Arzobispo, this technique
involved the light engraving of a pattern on moist
clay, the furrows then being filled with greasy
material which burned out during firing but kept
glaze motifs separate. The process was employed
principally for decorating tile, but a few vessels
bearing such patterning are known. These are
mostly small ornamental plates and albarelos. By
the late r yrh century cuerda seca was outmoded
and was being replaced by cuenca tile and smooth
surfaced polychrome hollow ware. Cuerda seca
formerly was known as lozadePuente delArzobispo
through an incorrect attribution of the last cen-
tury.
Literal meaning: dry cord
cuerpo
Vessel body
cilindrico: cylindrical
globular: globular
ovoide: ovoid
Cuesta de Castillejo
(also Castilleje de la Cuesta)
Village in the province of Sevilla which supplied
light colored pottery clay; also known as the town
where Hernan Cortes died
I'(HII ~ ; : : ~ ' : o o d used for kiln fuel
The kilns of Sevilla and other
areas in southern Spain were fired
with the residue from the olive oil
extraction process and with pine, as well as brush,
but all were called chamiza. Other fuels used in
Spain were pine needles, furze, oak, cork,
Spanish broom, thyme, almond shells, and grape
vine shoots. Dried rosemary is said to have been
used in Manises kilns in firing lusterware. In
Mexico usual fuels were ocote, zacate, or brush of
various kinds. Some of these materials burn
rapidly and therefore would have to be re-
plenished constantly in order to maintain and
increase kiln temperatures.
chamicero: one who sells chamiza
charola
Mexican term for tray
Synonym, in part: bandeja, platon
cbinero
Cupboard or "china" cabinet used in Spain to
display imported porcelain objects or other spe-
cial pottery
chinita
Mexican term for ground or shaped disks made
from potsherds
chuiquiguite 38 desecho
In some regions of colonial Mexico such disks,
shaped from porcelain or maiolica fragments,
were used as coins. They also may have served as
gaming pieces in a society which was fond of
gambling. The name is assumed to have stemmed
from the use of porcelain sherds.
chuiquigiiite
Mexican term for large willow basket used In
shipping pottery and other goods
II DII ~ ~ ? ; a s a luge earthenware
bottle, generally with a narrow
neck and a wicker covering.
Synonym, in part: botella, frasco; redoma
damascado
Damask-like
Arabesque design motifs, of the sort used on
damasks, appear in Spanish decorative art, includ-
ing ceramics, as a result of the diffusion of
Moorish concepts. Blue on blue Genoese pot-
tery which was sold in Sevilla and exported to
the colonies also was notable for its use of ara-
besques, or damascado.
damascene, damasqutno
Pertaining to Damascus, taken from Italian
damaschino
In the literature of Spanish ceramics, this word
usually refers to zaire blue.
de canto
Said of a vessel fired on edge, or vertically
Such a firing position induces warping, but was
nevertheless common for bisque firing. Vertical
firing was the usual custom for Manises luster-
ware plates and continues typical in Moroccan
workshops.
decoraci6n
Decoration
Spanish Muslim artists of all media were in-
reresred in surface modification or enrichment to
the point where underlying materials were almost
totally disguised. This convention extended to
ceramics and was expressed through elaborate
stamping or relief ornamentation. It also was
shown in intricate painted patterns and, of course,
in the use of metal oxides which made ceramics
appear like precious metals. Christian craftsmen,
in contrast, preferred graphic over plastic decora-
tion, as was shown by r yth through r yrh century
ceramics at Teruel, Paterna, and Manises. Under
Italian influence this inclination toward painted
decoration led to the rise of the various maiolica
industries which characterized the 16th through
rBth centuries of the Spanish-tradition. They too
became guilty of over decorating or using design
which was not suited to clay vessels.
Ceramic decoration has provided a basis for
distinguishing regional modes. However, such
modes diffused rapidly under proper conditions.
During the three centuries when European
maiolicas were at their zenith, the widespread
sharing of styles has made decoration a question-
able attribute, when used alone, for identification
of ceramics.
decorador
Decorator; designer
Persons of this guild category were master
painters who were responsible for decorating the
finest ceramics. It was largely their efforts that
made identification of regional styles possible.
Sometimes they were also capable potters but
often this was not the case.
desecbo
Waster
Around colonial workshops or kilns broken or
defective pottery accumulated rapidly because an
estimated fifty percent of all pieces did not sur-
vive the entire production cycle due to lack of
necessary controls on all processes. It was sold for
road construction as at Talavera, carted off to a
convenient river such as the Guadalquivir at
Sevilla, placed over grave mounds as at Fez, or
perhaps used as roofing for kilns, topping for
walls, or as drinking vessels for animals in the
compound corrals. Some wasters or seconds also
were sold cut-rate for general use by the poor, as
shown by property inventories which invariably
put a price on vessels described as malo,quebrado,
inferior, or desecbo.
deshidratacion
39 drago
During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, a
few churches in various parts of Spain regrettably
were destroyed or severely damaged, thus reveal-
ing another use for great masses of wasters. They
had served as construction fill in the spaces left
berween the stone arch of a boveda, or vault, and
the flat roof or floor above. In some instances
these reused sherds, as well as complete tinajas or
jarros placed in the same fills, have provided the
only evidence for ceramic types formerly made at
particular localities. The practice probably was
very widespread.
The year 1467 must have seen the construction
of the enormous cathedral of Sevilla nearing the
point of closing the main vaults because records
for that year indicate the frequent gift or sale by
local potters oflozaquebrada, broken pottery, and
tinajas or jarros for that purpose. Other docu-
ments record such gifts of many eargas, or wagon-
loads, being made about 1498 and 1513-15 for
side chapels. Since this building is one of the
world's largest churches, ranking near St. Peters,
the amount of wasters required must have been
staggering and perhaps partially explains why so
little pre-r yyo hollow ware is known from the
city. Much of it probably rests in the cathedral
superstructure.
In the New World no such utilization for
sherds has been noted, in part because of lack of
opportunity to examine inner construction of
church vaulting. The builders ofearly churches in
the Western Hemisphere also would not have
had these resources provided by such lengthy
periods of waster accumulation such as had pre-
vailed at Sevilla and other pottery producing
Spanish towns. However, similar secondary use
of tinajas has been noted, such vessels having
come to the New World by the thousands as wine
and olive oil containers.
Archaeologists generally deal with loza que-
brada which often forms the bulk of recovered
materials at a site. Such artifacts have the obvious
advantage of being in greater volume than com-
plete vessels, easier to analyze by visual and
physio-chemical means, and representative of
utensils in common use. If they can be further
identified as desecbos at a kiln or workshop loca-
tion, their importance is enhanced by affording
more positive associations berween types and
locales of manufacture.
deseehar: to discard
Synonym, in part: desperdicio, loza quebrada
desbidratacion
Dehydration
At about 3000 C. the water which is part of the
molecular structure of the clay begins to be
driven off in the form of steam, a process known
as water smoking. When 500
0
C. is reached, a
state of dehydration is achieved, after which the
clay will no longer dissolve in water.
desperdicio
Mass of wasters
Synonym, in part: desecbo, loza quebrada
dibujante
Draftsman
The draftsman in the ceramic craft was a deco-
rator.
dibujo: sketch or design
diezmo
Tax; tithe
Taxation almost strangled Spanish commercial
enterprise during the Middle Ages and later
periods. One such tax was the diezmo, which was
an assessment by the Crown of 10% on the sale of
all crops and manufactured goods, including pot-
tery. This revenue went to support ecclesiastical
bodies. In Manises for three centuries a similar
tithe, or one tenth ofall pottery made, went to the
Buyl family, overlords of the area, who ne-
gotiated sales for themselves.
dtputado
Guild deputy
In Mexico the deputy and inspector were
elected by the master potters of the guild organi-
zation for terms of one year.
Synonym: alcalde
dompedr
Chamber pot
Synonym: bacin, beque, orinal, vasa de noehe
dorado
Golden
This term refers to lusterware, a specialty ofthe
Moorish potters of Malaga and the hybrid
craftsmen of Manises. Its best periods were the
rarh and r yth centuries, though it continued to
be made into the rSth century.
Synonym: reflejo metalico
drago
Ladle used in Valencian area to remove molten
minerals from calcination kiln
40 encogimiento
I[F: I) tnbl shaft of me potter', wheel
which connected the throwing
head with the kicking wheel
Synonym: arbot
El Secano
This was an area near the Alhambra in Granada
where 16th century morisco potters worked, their
products in imitation of the old Moorish
alicatados and contemporaneous Sevillian wares.
The name came from the fact that the area was
very dry because of the destruction of Islamic
irrigation works during the Napoleonic battles of
the early r oth century.
seco: dry
embarrado
This is taken to refer to a frequent Mexican
decoration utilized in the last half of the rSth
century for some entrefino vessels which consisted
of a random sprinkling of fine cobalt blue pig-
ment, probably in dry state, on the interior bot-
toms of cups and small bowls
embarrar: to splash or stain
emborronada
Dotted decorative style
A method of decoration which characterized
much late r rth century blue on white Puebla
maiolica was composed of thickly applied dots
filling most of the background. Typically in-
terspersed in this dotting were rapidly executed
rabbits or birds. The total effect was a dense
patterning which has suggestions of some Ligu-
rian work, in turn derived from Chinese sources.
Some call this style mudejar. The heavy dotting,
however, was characteristically Mexican.
emborronar: to cover with blots
embudo
Funnel
Such a form is listed in a 17th century inventory
of ceramics at Sevilla. No examples are known,
but they probably were earthenware, either
glazed or unglazed, and considered expendible.
emplanilld
Valencian term for layer of vessels within a kiln
encaje de bolillos
Bobbin lace
Lace was a luxury item for which Sevilla and
Talavera both were famous during Medieval
times. Expectedly lace provided a source of inspi-
ration there for decorators ofother media, includ-
ing pottery. A number ofmaiolica vessels made in
Portugal and Talavera during the 17th century
exhibit such patterns; examples definitely iden-
tified with Sevilla are not known as yet. Usually
these designs formed a scalloped border to frame
another design or were used as parallel bands
encircling a pot. Most often lace was drawn in
black or dark blue over white or more rarely
yellow grounds.
The lace patterns were adopted by contempo-
rary Mexican maiolists who preferred to indicate
gimp lines in bright blue, or occasionallyin green
or yellow, with lesser webbing in black and inter-
secting knots emphasized by black dots. White
grounds were traditional, but a few examples of
yellow grounds are known which may be prod-
ucts of some later maverick artisan. Lace patterns
were utilized as borders as in Spain, or they com-
prised all-over patterns covering the entire ob-
verse. They were reserved for fine and middling
fine grades of ware.
encogimiento
Shrinkage
The volume of vessels decreases in drying and
in both firings as moisture escapes from the clay.
Generally speaking, the more plastic the clay, the
more the degree of shrinkage. From 15 to 20%
shrinkage is expected in most clay bodies. A clay
with a high rate of shrinkage, such as marly clay,
was desired by Renaissance maiolists so that
stress between cooling clay and cooling glaze
would be reduced and crazingdefects minimized.
The amount of shrinkage was one aspect of
production learned by the potter only through
experience, but it was an important bit of knowl-
edge for him to gain so that his judgment ofsizeof
tiles needed to fit a prescribed space or lids to
secure a jar, for example, would be correct.
meoger: to shrink, contract
enfriamiento 41 escudilla
enfriamiento
Post-firing cooling period prior to unloading a
kiln
This period was a necessary precaution in order
to prevent cracking of vessels as a result of ther-
mal shock, particularly important after glaze
firings. Most kilns fired to temperatures suitable
for maturing earthenware and lead glazes re-
quired at least a day to cool down.
enfriar: to cool, chill
Synonym: caldas pasadas
en funda
To fire vessels within a saggar
engalba
Engobe
This is a potter's term for a solution, or slip, of
fine clay, silica, flux, and occasionally colorants,
which was brushed over leather hard vessels as
decoration or in order to create a smooth surface
or one of contrasting color.
Engobe decoration in adark color over a lighter
body, sometimes incised to reveal the body color,
was typical of Cordoban Caliphate and taifa
wares, such styling also being typical of pottery
made contemporaneously in Morocco.
As glazes became more common in Spain dur-
ing later Muslim dynasties, the use of engobe
ceased. Slipping under maiolica glaze, though
such a method would have allowed use of a solu-
tion containing less tin, was not practiced com-
monly either in Spain or the Americas.
ensaladera
Salad bowl
This is a modern descriptive word referring to
small bowls of diverse contours. Salads were not
customary foods during the ages in question.
ensalada: salad
en suelto
To fire in the open, or without use of saggars
entrefino
Middling fine
A grade of Mexican maiolica ranked between
the fine grade and the common grade was called
entrefino. It was made by the same potters who
produced fine wares, was decorated with the same
glazes and pigments, but was not painted in as
elaborate patterns as those on fine pieces. En-
trefino grades appear to have been the tableware,
and as such were made in large lots without the
use of saggars.
Entrefino maiolica is the usual variety found in
archaeological situations, particularly in frontier
locations.
entrelazado
The entrelazado custom was one of interspers-
ing glazed tiles among unglazed brick or tile
Begun on a few Almohade towers of the r arh
century, in Spain the technique carried through
the centuries as a method of enrichment for
floors.
The mode achieved new emphasis in the envi-
rons ofPuebla with interspersion of brick facades
by brilliant tiles. The use of scattered tiles in floor
surfaces with terra cotta tiles also continued in
the New World.
entrelazar: to interweave
en vasa
Group of vessels sold as a unit
Fancy decorated vessels were priced individu-
ally, but common pieces or sometimes those of
small size were sold in a group. In Sevilla, for
example, inventories list botijos in sets of six or
eight, tazas in sets of eight, alcuzas in sets of six,
and so on.
escaldd
Bisqued pottery at Manises
Synonym: bizcocho, juaguete, socarrat
escobeta
Small brush
Bisqued vessels often lay in stacks of jumbled
piles around a workshop waiting until some later
time to be finished. Before being submerged into
the vats of liquid glaze, it was necessary to clean
them with an escobeta dipped in water so that any
dust particles, chicken droppings, grime, and the
like would not cause the glaze to crawl.
escotadura
Opening on side of a barber's bowl
escotar: to cut or shape
escudilla
Variously defined as wide bowl,
large coffee cup, or small bowl with
fluted or straight rims and lug handles
The latter version was among the first forms to
have been sent to the Indies where it appears to
have been low grade individual serving bowls or
porringers. However, a number of small lug
handled escudillas made at Manises and Barcelona
and decorated in luster pigments shows that the
escudilla doble 42 esmalte
form likewise was produced in finer grade
ceramics.
Synonym, in part: escudelle (Valencian vernacular),
taza
escudilla doble
Large lidded bowI
A typical Muslim form was composed of two
bowls, one a conical base and the other a conical
lid. The lid had a round projecting knob. The
same form continued into Christian work. It has
been described as a baptismal font or a soup
tureen.
Synonym, in part: pi/a bautismal, sopero
escudo
Escutcheon
Large maiolica, lead glazed, or cuerda seca tiles
in shield shape bearing family crests, which be-
came common in Spain in the late Middle Ages,
adorned the exteriors of private and public
palaces. Inasmuch as no underglaze red pigment
was known, areas requiring heraldic gules were
left unglazed and were painted after firing with
vermillion. This substance weathered off in time,
leaving bisqued areas exposed. Often also an iron
produced ochre color was substituted for red, this
pigment withstanding firing.
Escudos were used as a painted design on
ceramics dating from the Nasrid period, where
they frequently appeared on lusterware. The use
of escudos carried into Manises Iusterware from
Paterna polychrome, the insignias being those of
purchasers and thus indirectly providing histo-
rians with a means of dating specimens and trac-
ing commercial routes. Heraldic shields and
cartouches were important decorative elements
on r rrh and r Sth century Spanishalbarelos, where
they usually were those of the, religious order
which operated the hospital or pharmacy where
the jars were in use. The cardinal's hat with sus-
pended tassels was a favorite device, a popularity
possibly now exaggerated by the preservation ofa
large number of vessels which had been the prop-
erty of ecclesiastical groups.
Mexican maiolica evolved in a somewhat more
democratic environment where escudos were not
as common as in Spain and where there were
proportionately fewer religious establishments.
Insignia do appear but with less frequency. It was
considered more suitable for wealthy persons to
order their crests on Chinese porcelain. After
independence, cartouches often contained na-
tional heroes within a bannered frame.
escupidera
Spittoon; urinal
These were round bodied, wide mouthed jars
of plain white maiolica, perhaps copied from En-
glish vessels used for the same purpose. Nowa-
days in Spain they sometimes are called "waters."
esfumar
To tone down colors
Shading of decorative colors was practiced by
Spanish ceramic designers, principally at Tala-
vera, in imitation of Italian methods. Effects of
distance and perspective for their pictorial rendi-
tions were achieved by this means. Combinations
of green and yellow produced softer tones for
backgrounds, with other blends affording a wider
chromatic spectrum.
Shading was not practiced widely by Mexican
maiolists, although there were two gradations of
blue used throughout the rSth century.
esgrafiada
Incised
A very typical Muslim style of ceramic decora-
tion consisted of cutting lines through a dark slip
to reveal the lighter body color, the entire surface
often being covered with a transparent lead glaze.
Occasionally blotches of amber and green color-
ants were dabbed over the incised pattern before
glazing. Common throughout Moorish periods,
incising ceased to be a usual technique of Chris-
tian Spain.
However, incising did evolve as a major style in
parts ofItaly. Perhaps as a result ofinfluence from
that source, one incised type developed in colo-
nial Mexico. It was made from a red-firing paste
covered in part with white slip through which
were executed simple floral or geometric patterns
later irregularly splotched with yellow and green
and covered on decorated surfaces with a clear
lead glaze. In early 19th century types made at
Guanajuato incising was combined with poly-
chromes on mezza-maiolica.
esmalte
Glaze
Glaze is a thin glassy coat, or silicate mixture,
fired on surfaces of vessels. It provides an attrac-
tive, usually lustrous, surface, and makes vessel
walls impermeable.
Lead glaze, invented several thousand years
ago in the Near East, composed oflead oxides or
galena crushed with pulverized quartz sand and
some clay, was typical of Islamic ceramics in Spain
beginning about the loth century. At first used
especiero 43 estario
only to create designs on an otherwise untreated
background, glaze gradually began to cover entire
vessels. Beside the advantage of maturing at low
temperatures, lead mixtures offered a shiny
transparent coating which appears colored due to
the hue of the clay body. The addition of copper
oxide to the solution caused a green colored
glaze, iron oxide or manganese an amber colored
one, both being strong fluxes. Lead likewise is an
active fluxwhich melts between 32SO C. and S10
c., and so lead glazes were a coating more suitable
for impressed or relief decoration, both of which
were practiced by Moorish artisans in Spain.
At some point it was realized that lead was
poisonous, especially if used to cover vessels
which might contain fruit juices. The acid of the
juices were apt to attack the glaze and slightly
soften it, allowing lead to penetrate the liquid. To
reduce the danger of such lead poisoning, a pro-
cess of fritting was developed whereby prelimi-
nary calcination and melting of lead with other
oxides, rapid cooling and repeated pulverizations
of the residue made it nontoxic.
Lead glaze continued to be applied to utility
vessels needing to be impervious to liquids, but
after the r zrh century finer vessels were treated
differently. The addition of tin oxide to the glaze
solutions made for an opaque, white, and more
stable background appropriate for painted decora-
tion. This was the maiolica method begun in
Spain by the 12th century and continued as the
dominant decorated pottery style through the
rSth century.
Lead and tin glazes came to America with
Spanish-tradition ceramics. The former was
adopted shortly after Cortes's triumph by Aztecs
in the immediate vicinity of their fallen capital
who covered some of their usual tripod forms
with the new glaze.
The word enamel appears incorrectly in En-
glish descriptive ceramic literature as a synonym
for glaze. However, enamels are overglaze colors
formed from combinations of glaze and mineral
oxides. Because they are compositions which will
not withstand a high temperature, most red pig-
ments for example, they are painted over a fired
glaze ground. The vessel is then returned to a
muffle kiln for a third firing at a lower tempera-
ture. It should be noted that the Spanish language
does not make this distinction between glaze and
enamel, the word for both being esmalte.
esmaltar: to glaze
Synonym, in part: alarca, barniz, brillo
especiero
Spice box or tray
The East Indies trade of Spain's neighbors or
sister empire members, mainly Italy, Portugal,
and the Low Countries, brought the addition of
many exotic condiments to the diets of the
Spanish elite. In the rSrh century spice trays for
service of these delicacies were made in maiolica.
In both Spain and r Sth century Mexico mold-
made flatware outfitted with attached ceramic
rings, or galleries, to steady small bowls or jars
comprised a spice service.
esponjado
Sponged
This was a kind of decoration achieved by dip-
ping a sponge into pigment and then dabbing it
over a glazed, but unfired, vessel surface to pro-
duce manchas , or splotches. In firing, the pigment
fused into the glaze. Another way to produce
similar results was to randomly flip or splatter
pigment from a heavily charged brush on to the
vessel surface. These methods were employed at
Talavera in the last of the 16th century, perhaps at
the suggestion of Jeronimo Montero from Se-
villa, as a means ofobtaining a blue ground such as
was then popular in Ligurian and ocher Italian
potteries. Most of the known vessels with this
type of surface treatment seem to have been
made for the royal pharmacy at the Escorial.
esponja: sponge
estampado
Stamped
Stamped designs were common in late Islamic
periods in Spain, particularly on large mouths of
fountains and baptismal fonts. Surface manipula-
tion of this sort was not typical of Spanish Chris-
tian workmanship, nor did it become common
in the Spanish colonies.
Synonym: impronta
estaiio
Tin
Ten to 20% tin oxide to lead is usually consi-
dered necessary for opacity, although as little as
S% may be satisfactory under certain conditions.
Delft maiolists used equal amounts oflead and tin
in their better products. The amounts used in
Spanish-tradition maiolica production varies
according to the place of manufacture and the
quality of pottery being made, the finest often
having up to 2S% tin to lead.
The Phoenicians and Romans placered tin
estario
44 estario
from gravels in Galicia and Portugal. However,
foreign tin was needed by Spanish potters by the
Middle Ages. It became a valuable item of trade
for Italian merchants who sailed out of the
Mediterranean up to England and Flanders on
long expeditions, using Sevilla as a main way sta-
tion. The stanneries of Cornwall made South-
hampton their shipping outlet, where the Tin
House traded the mineral necessary for bronze,
stanniferous glazes, and other uses to these Ital-
ians, who sold it in Sevilla, Barcelona, or Italian
ports on their return voyages. It was called "Flan-
ders tin" in Italy, but it actually came from En-
gland though often overland via Flanders. On
occasion the blocks of English tin, each weighing
about 180 pounds, were taken to Majorca, where
they were made into rods, bound together with a
tie rod, and then were sold in that form.
Tin was one of the first minerals sought in
Mexico by Cortes's men as a principal ingredient
for the manufacture of bronze cannons. Accord-
ing to the Fourth Letter from Cortes to Charles V,
by 1524 tin, in the form of cassiterite or tin
bioxide, was being mined at diggings called Soca-
von del Rio in Guerrero not far from Taxco. The
Spaniards were drawn to that place by the fact that
the local Indians had sent tin from there as tribute
to the Aztecs, had sold it in the great market at
Tlalteloco, and themselves had made use of thin
sheets of the metal as a form of currency. By the
end of the 16th century placer operations in the
regions up the dry central corridor to the north of
Mexico City and small veins found north of Chil-
pancingo and at Ixmiquilpan yielded tin. At the
initiation of the r orh century Humboldt noted
that tin was being exported from Mexico to Spain
and to other parts of the Americas. It is also
known that the making of bronze had become
important in colonial Mexico, fine cannons, bells,
grilles, railings, and works of art such as the
equestrian statue of Charles IV by Tolsa attesting
to this. At the same time, however, tin plate, hojas
delata, was being imported from Spain. Interest-
ing also, for the story of Mexican maiolica, is that
tin is nowfound in the state ofPuebla near Tetela.
Whether it might have been known from there in
the colonial period is an intriguing, but as yet
unanswered, question.
The Viceroyalty of Peru sat over one of the
world's largest tin reserves, with some deposits at
the surface and others hundreds of feet beneath
the ground. Prehispanic occupants of the
Carabusco region had placered tin, which led the
Spaniards to do likewise to gain raw material for
bronze cannons. Bernabe Cobo, a priest living in
Peru during the first half of the r rrh century,
wrote there was only one tin mine there at that
time which was located in the province of
Caracollo. Later writers speak of r rrh century tin
mining at Chayanta in the province of Charcas, at
Collquiri, and at San Bernardo. Peruvian tin usu-
allywas found as a fine sand mixed with silver, but
it also occurred in more solid form associated
with silver ore deposits, such as those of Potosi.
Tin was not regarded by colonial Spaniards as
valuable, at least in comparison with gold and
silver, and often it was used in Peru as fill for
crevices in the soil. Only at the end of the last
century did Bolivian tin deposits assume great
commercial significance.
Cobo also noted that native tin was unknown in
Nueva Espana and was imported there from
Peru. He was wrong on the first point and may
have been wrong on the second, though another
author at the end of the 17th century mentioned
tin from Peru passing through Nueva Espana en-
route to Spain. This seems unlikely, the more
direct and authorized route across Panama having
been the usual path from the southern viceroyalty
to Iberia. In view of the recurrent bans upon
legitimate trade between the viceroyalties, as well
as extremely difficult sailing conditions when
moving north from Peru to Mexico along the
American west coasts due to calms, winds, and
currents which drove ships on to land, it would be
more reasonable to assume sufficient quantities
of tin having been found locally in Mexico.
Nevertheless, there is one known document,
dated in the mid r rrh century, which tells of
boxes of Puebla pottery being sold to a military
officer in Peru in return for cash and 900 pounds
of tin. After 1774, when maiolica production at
Puebla was rapidly drifting toward a state of de-
cline, shipments oftin and other products of Peru
were permitted. Even so, the quantities of Boli-
vian tin reaching Mexico are unknown.
The maiolica made at Panama Viejo generally
has aglaze which appears to have a satisfactory tin
content in keeping with Sevillian standards. This
probably reflects Panama's position on the com-
mercial route from Peru back to Spain. On the
other hand, the maiolica made at Santiago de los
Caballeros in Guatemala generally has a glaze
with a very low tin content. This probably re-
45
estany
sulted from Guatemala's isolated geographical 10-
cation far from the source of supply in central
Mexico, with connecting roads frequently im-
passable.
bamiz estaiiifero: tin glaze
estany
Valencian term for plastered walls on which balls
of moist clay were slapped and left overnight to
firm
estarcido
Stencil
Stencils were used to form outlines of motifs to
be repeated often, as in making tile. A heavily
charged brush drawn over a stencil opening
would leave a colored pattern against a back-
ground which might or might not have been
glazed. Large or complicated designs most often
were drawn with the aid of pounced patterns
rather than with stencils.
estilo
Style
In ceramics a style is considered a characteristic
mode of expression using a combination of ele-
ments or shapes repeated so often as to become
identifiable as a unit.
estilizada: stylized
estiraora
In Valencia a wooden cylinder used to pound air
bubbles from clay during wedging
estribo
Place on the frame of a potter's wheel where the
artisan's left foot rested during throwing
Synonym: estrel (Valencian vernacular)
Literal meaning: stirrup
[lJ][[]
fdbrica
Factory; workshop
In the Hispanic world such
workshops were within house
compounds. The living quarters of
the artisan, his family, and his apprentices were
ferroneries
located at the street entrance; work rooms lay
behind. If it were a pottery, there would have
been space for potters at work on several wheels,
as well as several decorators. And there would
have been drying sheds, clay pits, calcination and
vessel kilns, and assorted piles of paraphernalia,
fuel, wasters, and packing materials sharing space
with corrals for animals, a well, trash, and a toilet.
Most of the fdbrica houses in Sevilla-Triana
were Church owned and rented to potters, al-
though buying and selling of such homes by the
potters themselves did occur. In Puebla the
known archives do not indicate ownership of pot-
tery buildings by the Church. Most potteries
there appear to have been clustered near the
Santo Domingo parish church but were privately
owned.
faja
Banded decoration
A simple encircling straight or pinnate band of
color, usually blue, green, or yellow, used at rim
line of entrefino wares made in the last third of the
rSth century at Puebla and Mexico City is indi-
cated in inventories by this term.
Banded designs of more elaborate combina-
tions of motifs also are calledfaja. Such a layout
became common as a result of interest in Chinese
design. Rim areas in such bands usually were
decorated with a series of repeated encircling
elements unlike those used in central patterns.
Fajalauza
This barrio of Granada became the potters'
quarter. Nearby an ancient gate known in Muslim
times as the Bab-al-fajjarim, in Christian periods
was known as the Puerta de los Alfareros. The
albaicin, a hilly sector outside the gate, also
housed r yth and 16th century potters, the de-
scendants of whom still carry on the old craft
using many inherited methods including the pit
wheel. They are especially known for maiolica
with blue, green, and purple-brown motifs of
fronds, flowers, birds, and pomegranates, both
the colors and styles dating back to the 16th
century.
falda
Fly wheel at base of potter's wheel
Literal meaning: skirt
ferroneries (French)
A ceramic design introduced to Castile in the last
Fez 46 figuras
third of the 16th century from Flanders by potters
who moved into Talavera and set up shops
Specifically, it was a broad lined strapwork pat-
tern surrounding a crest, similar to Flemish metal
work. At Talaveraftrroneries usually ornamented
bulbous pharmacy jars. It is a style not known to
have been copied at Sevilla.
ferreo: iron
ftrron: ironworker
Fez
Fez has always been the artistic and cultural
capital of Morocco. Inasmuch as beginning in the
orh century Spanish Muslims continually moved
in and out of this area, a close similarity of some
art styles emerged, which was especially evident
during the r yth through r srh centuries when
Marinid rulers, who made Fez their capital, had
political and religious contact with the kingdom
ofGranada. After the fall of the Nasrids and again
after the final expulsion of the Spanish moriscos in
1609-12, Fez absorbed Andalusian refugees.
No archaeology has been conducted at Fez, but
from surviving museum collections, it appears
that for a number of centuries the ceramics of
Morocco and the ceramics of Spain ran parallel
routes of development. Only at Fez was there a
substantial Moroccan maiolica industry, although
lead and unglazed types presumably were made
elsewhere, and an offshoot maiolica activity was
short-lived at Meknes. There is no evidence at
present that lusterware was made at Fez, but
forms and other modes of decoration of hollow
ware and alicatados were nearly identical to con-
temporary Spanish examples. One minor point of
interest at Fez is the continued use, until the last
century, of a balanced radial pattern known as a
pomegranate motif, granada being the name of
that fruit and post r yrh century Granadine ware
bearing modifications of the same element.
Another is the close similarity of a small collec-
tion of sherds from Medina Sidonia in Andalusia
to another collection from Sijilmassa, a vast sub-
Saharan ruin in Morocco which was once the
caravanserai for sultans residing at Meknes, just
30 miles from Fez.
After the r yrh century, Morocco became in-
creasingly isolated from the impact of Mediterra-
nean culture despite waging largescale piracy
along her northern shores. Her modes ofceramic
decoration froze into repetitious geometric styli-
zations, in contrast to the constant changes taking
place in Spanish ceramics under the impetus of
the Italian Renaissance.
figuras
Figural representations
Even though representational art was forbid-
den to Islamic craftsmen at various times, animal
and human figures were used frequently on ivory,
wooden, textile, and ceramic objects made by
Spanish Muslims. Some of these motifs seem to
have been borrowed by Nasrid ceramic deco-
rators from their Christian neighbors, but others
derived from the Near East. These were incorpo-
rated with more usual geometric and calligraphic
elements to embellish lusterware vessels.
The use of animal and human forms was more
obviously enjoyed by Old Christian and morisco
potters of r j th through 15th century Teruel and
Paterna and was continued in the later lusterware
enterprises at Manises. The animals were both
real and fancied, purely ornamental or with sym-
bolic implications. Long eared rabbits, rampant
lions, wide eyed fish, sharp beaked crows,
chimeric beasts, and griffins bounded across or
dominated decorative fields. Human figures
drawn in stiff frontal views likewise graced vessel
surfaces, their costumes of high crowned veiled
headdresses or full puffed trousers identifying
them as from a Medieval horizon.
As the Middle Ages waned and Italianate
Renaissance influenced maiolicas became the
principal decorated types, a noticeable change
occurred in kinds of animals depicted and in at-
titudes and dress of human figures portrayed.
Rampant lions were relegated to escutcheons,
griffins were abandoned, and most animals were
less exotic. Crows, rabbits, fish, and gazelles re-
mained part of the artists' grammar, but more
frequent were the horses, bulls, and dogs as-
sociated with hunting and bullfighting. People
were drawn in bust profiles a fa romano but often
appeared as full figures actively engaged in some
sport, or on Caraluiia rajoles , performing workday
tasks. Details of costumes and hair arrangements
were accurately indicated.
The use of figural decoration was introduced
on Mexican maiolica of the last half of the r orh
century with boldly brushed rabbits and birds
very reminiscent of contemporary Spanish ex-
amples. In the r rth century further use ofanimals
emerged with dogs, eagles, and ponies typically
defined in black or brown and filled with multi-
colored dots. Under Chinese influence in the late
47 flamenquilla
r 7th and first half of the r8th centuries, Ming-
type spotted deer with mouths full of fungus
branches, swooping long tailed birds, and long
legged cranes joined the complex of animal
motifs. Particularly on tiles the racial heteroge-
neity of Mexico was reproduced with a delightful
parade of human figures which, because of a
common Mongoloid background of some strains,
could only be distinguished by an identifiable set
of props, such as hair in queues and umbrellas for
Chinese figures or nude upper torsos and flat
baskets carried on the head for Indians. Long
haired priests in brown robes; ladies wearing bus-
tled skirts and ruffled sleeves; officials sporting
curled wigs, large plumed hats, and stuffed knee
breeches; or Negro servants in waistcoats, long
hose, and buckled shoes permit an intimate view
of Mexican colonial life. The actual detailing of
costumes was suggestive rather than exact.
Figures of animals executed in the Sevillian-
Talaveran colors and style of animation appeared
on Guatemalan maiolica of the r7th and r8th
centuries. No animals drawn from the Chinese
vocabulary and no human figures from any source
seem to have been used. Sun faces did enjoy a
special popularity.
Panamanian maiolists seem not to have used
either animal or human figures. Their designs
were restricted to floral and geometrical styliza-
tions, another clue to possible Granadine connec-
tions.
flamenquilla
Small platter
Synonym, in part: bandeja, platon
flor de patata
Design motif
The potato flower motif, which became very
popular at Talavera in the last part of the r 7th
century and the first of the r8th century, exhib-
ited a curved stem line off which were alternat-
ing petals and an occasional roundish flower.
Most frequently it was drawn in polychrome col-
ors and was used incorporated into or around
landscape or figural scenes.
A very similar flor de patata vogue began to
appear on Mexican maiolicas of the same period
but usually in blue on a white background, and
with dense application which dominated, or
framed, other motifs used on the same vessel.
At times the motif deteriorated into heavy
lozenge-shaped dotting.
forn de cremar
florero
Flowerpot
The Arab love of flowers was at least matched
by Aztec love of flowers. So expectedly a large
number of vessel shapes, derived from a basic
cylinder, were identified in Spain and in Nueva
Espana as having been made especially for flow-
ers, which were abundant in temperate sectors of
both lands. Quite possibly other ceramic forms
were put to similar use.
Synonym, in part: maceta, ramilletero, vaso
Flores, Juan
This man, as a master tiler for Philip II, was a
Flemish artisan who is credited with the introduc-
tion of Italian Renaissance styling to Talaveran
potteries in the middle of the r6th century. Pos-
sibly vessels with Flemish strapwork executed in
blue and bright yellow, the ferroneries, known
from Talavera during the last third of the century
were either his work or made under his guidance.
flota
Fleets of trading ships sailing between Sevilla or
Cadiz and Spanish America
Convoy sailings across the Atlantic were or-
dered early in the colonial period because of pi-
racy by other Europeans. Two fleets a year were
authorized, under ideal conditions the one bound
for Nueva Espana departed Cadiz in May and the
one for Tierra Firme left in August. These two
flotas joined late in the fall for departure from
Cuba on the return voyage. Because ofCaribbean
hurricanes, treacherous reefs, piracy, and un-
trained seamen, fewflotas made both legs of the
voyage without loss of ships and lives. However,
these disasters have provided underwater ar-
chaeologists working off American shores with
many interesting artifacts, including pottery.
fonda
Underside or interior bottom of a vessel;
background color of glaze or field to be decorated
loguer
In Valencia, a small cylinder, usually glazed in
white, in which to burn incense or to use as a
warmer for a beverage pot
lorn de cremar
Catalonian term for a calcination oven
Such an oven was used for the preparation of
metals used in glaze formulation. In Barcelona it
is reported that after the initial heating in the
oven, the metals were taken to a public mill for
Fortuny tile 48 ga1linero
grinding rather than being hand ground in a cru-
cible.
Fortuny tile
This is a large r jth century Nasrid architectural
panel, used as a door jamb or plaque, found in a
house in Granada. It represents one of the finest
examples of Spanish Islamic expert craftsmanship
in ceramics. Its polychromed design contains
Nasrid crests, alabanzas to Yusuf III (ruler of
Granada 1408- I 7), and elaborate floral imbrica-
tions.
frasco
Flask; vial
A bottle in form, the flask generally is of small
size and may have been either thrown or mold-
made.
Synonym, in part: botella, damajuana, redoma
friso
Frieze; wainscoting
frita
Frit
A frit is a ceramic composition fused and granu-
lated which renders any soluble or toxic compo-
nents insoluble and nontoxic by causing them to
combine with silica or oxides. Frits are necessary
in the preparation oflead fluxed glazes in order to
make them safe for use.
front
Back wall of fuel chamber in Valencian kiln
frutero
Fruit dish or plate
No specific shape is consistently identified with
this term, though some writers use the word to
describe a hemispherical handled bowl on a tall
pedestal supporting base. Fruit baskets filled with
artificial fruits were popular table centerpieces in
rich r Srh century dining rooms. It is likely some
sort of fancy container in pottery intended for a
similar purpose is meant.
fuente
Variously defined as
baptismal font, platter,
fountain, serving bowl
Many types of foun-
tains grace all areas
where ceramics of the Spanish-tradition were
made, the enjoyment and sensual use of water
having been an enduring legacy from the Arabic
past. Moorish interpretations were usually a small
jet ofwater spilling into a ground level tiled catch
basin. Spanish artisans raised the outlets through
tubular pedestal shafts to empty into large
ceramic bowls which overflowed and dripped into
tiled or ceramic basins. Another fountain varia-
tion, which may have been borrowed from the
Italians, was a large flattened mask or human face
meant to be affixed to a wall through whose round
open mouth water was emitted to fall into a lower
chamber. The same mask, or mascaron, appears in
low relief surrounding the opening in agua-
maniles.
In the New World the mask type fountain en-
joyed a special popularity with colonial Guate-
malan maiolists. More common is the pedestal
fountain flowing into tiled pools.
fundente
Flux
A flux is a substance added to aglaze solution to
lower the temperature at which melting occurs.
Lead oxides, such as litharge or red lead, or al-
kaline compounds, such as borax or soda ash,
usually serve as fluxes for pottery fired to low
temperatures. All these materials were employed
in the maiolica industries of Mexico and probably
those of Spain as well.
~
g a b e l a
Mold used in forming bricks
The same term is used in parts of
G Larin America for the form utilized
to make adobes (unfired bricks).
Synonym: ladrilleria
gallinero
Earthenware chicken house
gallina: hen
49 gallipot
gallipot
English drug jar
This word is saidto have originated about 1465
in England to describe ceramic drug jars brought
there on Spanish galleons. The jar in question
appears to be a round bodied version called an
orza in Spain.
Galleyware was the first English term for
maiolica.
garbell
Valencian term for perforated floor between
upper and lower chambers of pottery kiln
garrafa
Carafe
Synonym: botella,frasco, redoma
gerrer
Catalan term for makers of tinajas
Giralda
Almohade tower, now serving as the Sevilla
cathedral tower
A landmark of Sevilla constructed in the r zrh
century (1176-96) by one of the Berber dynas-
ties from Morocco who also built a similar
minaret at their southern capital of Marrakesh, its
outline was said to have been used as a mark on
pottery made in Sevilla during the r yth century.
Probably because of lack of excavated materials
of this period, no such ceramic marks are known
at present. However, the potters' patron saints,
Justa and Rufina, have been illustrated by Zurba-
ran and others standing with their pots before the
Giralda. Such a stamped Giralda mark might have
been inspired by Genoese use of their harbor
lighthouse silhouette for the same purpose.
gpllete
Vessel neck
grabadura
Engraving
Engravings of human figures set against land-
scapes which circulated in Europe in the wake of
the Renaissance provided many themes for
Talaveran decorators. They were used for princi-
pal interest on a number of decorative modes-
the punteada, the blue-orange-purple poly-
chromes, and the polychromes of the r rth and
r Sth centuries dominated by yellows and greens.
In the first two earlier styles only isolated figures
from the engravings were copied. As decorators
became more accomplished, complete scenes
gremio
were rendered on later polychrome vessels. The
works of Jan van der Straert, Tempesta, Cort,
Claesz, and other European engravers served as
models.
gradal, great, grealiet
Valencian term for goblet
The etymologic similarity to the Holy Grail is
obvious. According to Medieval legends, the
Holy Grail was the wine cup from which Christ
drank at the Last Supper. It was an object for
which many knights diligently searched during
the Middle Ages, particularly in England.
gremio
Guild
Because Barcelona looked to France during the
Middle Ages and early developed a mercantile
attitude, over two hundred craft guilds similar to
others in central Europe came to play an impor-
tant role in local government. A potter from the
ceramics guild at one time held a seat on the
ayuntamiento council. Guilds had not evolved in
Castile, however, and in fact the Crown opposed
them. This position was reversed once Ferdinand
the Catholic assumed the throne because of his
determination to develop the industrial economy
of Castile. In 1470 Sevilla, along with the mer-
chant cities to the north, was authorized to grant
guild ordinances. The interest in such brother-
hoods increased further after the Inquisition
began to drive Jewish and converso artisans from
the country, causing severe disruptions in trade.
Although a date for the organization in Sevilla
of a potters' guild is not known, it likely occurred
some time in the decade of the 1480s. A similar
guild probably was operating in Talavera by the
mid 16th century, after pottery making there be-
came commercially important.
Guild corporations were established for the
lowliest workers in Castile from tanners and ma-
sons to the most gifted painters who worked for
the Court. Carpenters had special consideration
in this religiously oriented culture inasmuch as
Christ had participated in that trade. After metals
poured in from the Americas, silver and gold-
smiths comprised another powerful group. Even
though pottery came to be appreciated by no-
bility and commoners alike, there is no indication
that potters' guilds had much status nor that any
member had a voice in local government.
Undoubtedly potters were organized along
hierarchial lines established for all crafts. There
greta so hachurado
were special rules setting not only the allowable
progression through the levels within the guild,
standards of workmanship, and particular kinds
of ceramics which could be made and by whom,
but they regulated such seemingly irrelevant as-
pects of life as dress and social behavior, all of this
occurring in Spain at the very time when the rest
of Europe was beginning to break away from the
restrictions imposed by the guild system. No pot-
ter, for example, could wear silks or ride in a
carriage through the city streets. Potters, like all
manual laborers, had to wear brown coarse short
tunics, soft soled shoes or laced sandals, and a
brimless hat. No attempt on the part of the work-
ing classes to emulate the hidalguia would be
tolerated, and there was an inspector who would
see to that. Nor was the guild to be open to
anyone but Old Christians-no conoersos, no
moriscos. As a group, the guild had to meet certain
religious, military, and social requirements. A
number of Sevillian potters saw service in the
battles against Granada, but it is not known
whether this was a natural result of Andalusian
involvement in the Crusade or because of guild
obligations. It is known that a co/radia in the name
of Santas Justa and Rufina was established which
committed the potter members to make tithe
payments to the Santa Ana parish church of
Triana, to provide for orphans, widows, or needy
members of the fraternity, and on Corpus Christi
day parade with costumes and banners through
the streets.
When the Spanish pottery making tradition
was transferred to America, the guild organiza-
tion also went overseas though probably not until
a sufficiently large number of potters were ac-
tivelyat work. Potters' guilds were in operation in
Lima by the end of the 16th century. The earliest
known records for a Mexican potters' guild, for
loceros at Parzcuaro, are dated 1583. In neither
case was the making of maiolica involved, not-
withstanding that references to lozavidriada are
noted. Organizations to protect and promote tin
glazed as well as ordinary wares were in effect in
Puebla and Mexico City in the second half of the
r rth century. Men of the Puebla guild served in
the local militia, and Puebla and Mexico City
members belonged to theco/radia ofSantasJusta
and Rufina. In theory guilds excluded non-
Spaniards, but circumstances of life in the colony
forced amendments of such ordinances to permit
the participation of mixed bloods.
The guild as an institution was a valuable means
of establishing and maintaining standards of op-
eration, controlling abuses of trade and prices,
assessing taxes, and giving members an oppor-
tunity to be a part of the civic life of the com-
munity, as well as offering them the security of
noncompetitive status. But it also stifled indi-
vidual enterprise and probably was an important
factor in short circuiting the industrialization of
Spain. When a regulated way of life disappeared
under stresses of the r Sth century, so did the
guild. Even though virtually defunct, Mexican
guilds were formally outlawed by the Juarez re-
gime in the middle roth century.
greta
Mexican term for an oxide of impure lead, or
litharge
This mineral oxide was included in the formu-
lation of orange and yellow decorative pigments
used on maiolica. It was obtained from near the
village of Ixmiquilpan, 75 miles east of Quere-
taro.
grieta
Crack or flaw
In ceramics such defects can occur at anyone of
the various stages of production as a result of too
rapid irregular drying, firing while still too wet,
exposing to drafts while hot, among other things.
gruesa
Gross unit of measurement
In colonial period documents, pottery was
often inventoried by the gross, or lots of 12
dozen.
en grueso: wholesale
guacal
Mexican term for a portable crate made of lashed
willow branches used in the shipment of pottery
and other goods
[El
hachurado
Harchure
This is a means of decoration
H consistingoflines placed in parallel
position, either vertical, horizon-
tal, or diagonal. Hatchure appears on some Man-
hechura 51 hombro
ises lusterware in units of lines in opposing
directions. Hatchure was used on common grade
maiolica made in the rSrh century in Mexico City
where it formed rim patterns.
Synonym, in part: rasgueo; sombrear con lineas
becbura
Workmanship; a form or shape
hecho: done, finished
belecbo
Fern motif
A motif composed of short straight or curved
lines off a stem line has been called a fern pattern.
It was a common design utilized on r yth century
lusterware at Manises and green and brown wares
at Teruel. During the r rth century a modification
in blue was used by Talaveran designers in a style
imitating certain Chinese wares.
herramienta de henchir
Mexican phrase for saggar
Literal meaning: cool of packing
hierro
Iron
Most earthenware clays contain some form of
iron. Hematite is present in red clays, limonite in
yellow clays, and ferrous irons in grey, green, or
black clays. But all will produce warm reddish to
tan pastes under oxidizing firing conditions. In
order for a clay to be suitable for higher than
earthenware temperatures, it must have less than
a 2 % iron content.
Iron oxides are among the most important
ceramic colorants. They will impart a range of
colors from amber to mahogany to an oxidized
lead glaze. It is likely they were first added to
Muslim lead glaze solutions in the form of red
iron-bearing clay. If they had been added to tin
maiolica glaze, a mottled cream rather than white
coating would have been produced.
Reduction firings, which were not practiced by
Hispanic maiolists other than for the third firing
for lusterware, cause iron oxides to produce the
celadon grey-green and blue-green admired by
the Chinese.
The iron deposits ofVizcaya have been worked
since an early period, but it is not known at pres-
ent if this was the source ofiron used by potters of
southern Spain.
hierro para perfilar
Template
Such tools were used In shaping vessel ex-
reriors being formed upside down on a revolving
mold attached co a wheel head, or a jigger. They
were not used in routine production throwing ofa
single form, the potters apparently being dexter-
ous enough to duplicate shape and size visually.
Literal meaning: iron for profiling
hilo
Strip of string or wire used by a potter to cut a
freshly thrown vessel from the wheel head
bispalense
Sevillian, either the province or the city
Synonym: bispalio
Hispalis: Roman name for town on site ofmodern
Sevilla
Hispania: ancient name for Iberian Peninsula
Hispano-Moresque
Spanish Moorish
In ceramics, this is a term which refers co the
blend of the rwo decorative strains present in
southern Spain, the Spanish and the Moorish.
Most often it is used specifically for the luxurious
pottery decorated in metallic oxides over a tin
glaze created by the Muslim artisans ofthe Nasrid
dynasty and diffused to Christian-Moorish pot-
ters of Manises. In the former instance, designs
were mostly standard Islamic themes, although a
few figural elements are seen; in the latter they
were a unique synthesis of Islamic and Christian
Gothic conventions. However, the term His-
pano-Moresque also is used in connection with
Islamic non-luster wares such as the cuerda secas of
Sevilla and the green and purple-brown types of
Paterna and Teruel.
hogar
Fuel chamber of kiln used in Valencian area
Literal meaning: hearth, bonfire
boja
Leaf motif
Leaves of many different kinds were used on
Manises lusterware as repeated elements.
cardo: thistle
parra: grape or fig
perejil: parsley
bojafior: an open flower
hom
Tree of Life motif, extremely common on r yth
and rath century Paterna wares
hombro
Shoulder ofa vessel, berween maximum diameter
and the neck or mouth
horma 52 importar
horma
Mold; form
horno
Kiln
The earliest known kilns for firing pottery are
in the Near East, and their use, with improve-
ments in structure, passed down through all the
cultures occupying that area at various periods.
By the time of the rise of Arabic potters,
were fairly standard in size and shape. In Muslim
Spain such kilns must have been part of each or
every several workshops. However, kilns previ-
ously had been introduced there by the Romans.
The Mediterranean type kiln, in Spain called
horno arabe or horno moruno, which is also the style
passed on to Spain's overseas empire, was a two-
chambered, updraft type, built of fired bricks or
occasionally of stone, probably roofed by inter-
secting arches or a b6veda, and had roof openings
but no chimney. Generally it was rectangular in
shape and large enough to accomodate several
hundred or more vessels. Cylindrical kilns, hornos
redondos, which had a long history in the Middle
East, were used in the Spanish Levante. Larger
kilns may have been used cooperatively as they
are today. The lower chamber, with a wide open-
ing on one side and sometimes partially subterra-
nean was for fuel. It was vented to the upper unit
which contained the vessels to be fired. This top
chamber also had a large opening (boca, mouth)
directly above the lower chamber door to facili-
tate loading. It had to be bricked and mudded, or
in some cases sealed with large fragments of bro-
ken pots, before each use. In modern Moroccan
practice occasionally green ware to be bisqued is
put directly into the fuel box, and it is suggested
that at Manises a raised tier at the rear of the
chamber was for the bisque firing of vessels.
Each vessel underwent two firings, one called
the pequenofuego for bisque, and a second, or gran
fuego, for glaze. The latter usually was of longer
duration in order to reach higher temperatures.
Often a separate kiln of the same style was used
for this firing. Lusterware required a third firing in
a muffle kiln. This was of smaller construction, in
the Manises-Paterna area often was circular or
beehive in shape, and was outfitted with some
kind of a baffle which caused a reduction, or
smoky, atmosphere within the kiln. No saggars
were used.
Some Sevillian records indicate that a tax was
imposed by the authorities on each kiln firing. A
similar tax also was imposed on Valencian potters.
Oxidation atmospheres resulting from freely
burning fires were essential for maiolica glazed
ware. Even so, the clouds of black smoke caused
by oils still in the olive residue and incomplete
combustion, as well as unavoidable clutter of pot-
teries, were objectionable in finer residential or
church areas. Therefore, kilns and potters' quar-
ters usually were located on the fringes of a set-
tlement or outside the walls, where raw materials
could be delivered more easily.
Kilns had not been used in prehispanic
America but were quickly adopted after Spanish
occupation, even by persons who did not also
take over the use of the potter's wheel. Neverthe-
less, firing in the open under a mound of brush
continues today for much Latin American coun-
try pottery.
Presently in both Latin America and Morocco
kilns used for firing bricks or common utility
earthenwares often are constructed of unfired
bricks or adobes which, quite obviously, become
fired through use. Possibly the same practice was
followed in arid parts of Spain.
It should be noted that the phrase horno castel-
lanorefers to smelting furnaces for the processing
of ores.
hornador: a kiln stoker
bueco
Peep hole in wall of kiln through which stage or
degree of firing could be judged; also the depres-
sions in certain molded forms for containing salt,
ink, or spices
III through
glazing
importer
To be valued at; to import
Because of variations in meaning, this is a term
frequent in pottery inventories and price lists
which must be read in context.
53 irnpronta
impronta
Impressed or stamped design
Such decorative modes were common in Is-
lamic periods on hollow ware and bricks. The
cuenca tiles of the r yth century are examples of
the use of impronta. After polychrome painting
on tin glazed pottery became common, there was
less interest in stamped patterns under lead glaze.
lmpronta ceased to be practiced.
. .
tncensarto
Censer
Incense had an ancient use in religious cere-
monials of the Middle East. Frankincense and
myrrh were among the gifts brought to the Christ
Child, and such materials became part of Chris-
tian ritualism after the 4th century. Through both
Catholicism and Mohammedanism the custom of
burning incense diffused to Spain. In Mexico,
too, incense in the form of copal had been an
integral part of aborginal religion.
Spanish-tradition vessels in which to burn in-
cense exhibited another point of interest during
the 18th century when potters took to modeling
them after large Chinese sculptures in the form of
dogs and lions, white Foukien figures having been
imported by the thousands into Mexico.
incensar: to perfume with incense
Synonym: !oguer (Valencian vernacular), sabu-
mador
jarra
Islas Canarias
The Canary Islands, situated just 65 miles off
the Atlantic coast of Morocco, were conquered
by Castile between 1479 and 1496. Their occupa-
tion and continued ties to the mainland were
through Andalusia. For 300 years beginning with
the First Voyage of Columbus, the Canaries were
a vital victualing station for Spaniards enroute to
America. It is known that tiles and baptismal fonts
were exported from Sevilla to the Canaries, and it
seems certain that whenever archaeological exca-
vations are conducted along this life line, exactly
the same kinds of hollow ware will be found there
as are known from the two terminals-Andalusia
and the Caribbean islands.
istoriato (Italian)
Mode of decoration
This was a narrative style ofdecoration used on
Italian ceramics, developed in Renaissance
Faenza in the late r yth century and passed to
other Italian centers, including Urbina. From
there it is thought to have diffused to Talavera de
la Reina, Castile, in the r yrh century, where it
became the most well known style of that indus-
try. The usual Spanish interpretations included
landscapes, human figures, animals, and architec-
tural features drawn with considerable realism,
movement, and perspective. The mode, how-
ever, was not well suited to ceramics.
Isabela
InJanuary, 1494, colonists coming to America
on the Second Voyage of Columbus established
themselves on the north shore of the island of
Hispaniola, now Santo Domingo, and dutifully
named their town after the queen. In the group at
this first Spanish settlement in the New World
were masons who must have constructed the first
kiln in the Western Hemisphere, made to fire
roof tile and possibly brick. Among household
goods were ceramics from Sevilla, which when
broken were reported to have been traded to the
Indians for gold and provisions. These were un-
glazed or lead glazed utility vessels and three or
four styles of maiolica which are identical to wares
found in Spanish sites about the Caribbean basin
settled during the subsequent half century. It was
these types of maiolica which were copied in the
first locerias put into operation in the Valley of
Mexico, probably within the first decade of the
colony.
[[J]
Jarra
J
Jug; p i t ~ h e r ; jar
The jarra usu-
ally refers to a
specialized Moor-
ish form of tall necked, round
bodied, footed jar with widely
flaring, slab, paired handles.
Such a form, more decorative
jarro 54 juguete
than functional, gave rise to a name
for an ancient order of chivalrypres-
ent in Aragon, a region once domi-
nated by Islamic rulers. It was called
Con Los Brazos de larras, or "With
the arms of jars."
Another small version, jarra de
pico, or jar with bird beak, is a
straight sided pitcher on a tall pedes-
tal base, a single handle, and a
sharply pointed pouring spout.
Both of these forms recall Near
Eastern models, and both frequently
appear with luster pigments as deco-
ration.
Synonym, in part: picbel, terraza
jarro
Jug; pitcher; jar
[arras were most typical of Chris-
tian potteries and presumably were
put to more functional use. The high
bird beak spout of the jarra was re-
tained on pitchers, but the tall
pedestal base was abandoned. Other
jarros had no spouts, but sometimes
had a single handle on the side indi-
cating their continued use for pour-
ing. Some had paired handles. They
often served in measuring grains
sold in the markets. Jars for the stor-
ing of gunpowder are men-
tioned in Sevillaceramic inven-
tories.
Diminutive: jarreta, jarrito
Augmentative:' jarrazo, jarr6n
jarrero: maker or seller of[arros
jarrear: to draw water or wine with a jug
Synonym, in part: piche/
jaspeado
Mottled
In the late 16th century Talaveran potters occa-
sionally created a mottled background for drug
jars by dipping a sponge into blue pigment and
applying this color over a dry, but unfired, white
tin ground. Perhaps this style was in imitation of
the blue ground maiolicas then being made in the
Ligurian area of Italy, which at that time had
cultural and political ties to Spain.
The same sponged technique was used in roth
century Puebla, but it was not common.
jaspe: jasper; mottled marble
jaspear: to mottle
Synonym: esponjado
jicara
Cup
In Mexico and Central Americajicara was the
name of a calabash gourd which served many
purposes, including the drinking of chocolate.
The same word also came to be applied on both
sides of the Atlantic to small handleless cups used
for the same purpose. This provides a fascinating
example of diffusion back to the motherland of a
New World product and the name of its as-
sociated ceramic form, the name itself taken from
a plant and the form copied from Chinese models.
Augmentative: jicaron
jicarazco: cupful
jicaro: tree which produces jicaras
Synonym, in part: pocillo
jofaina (also aljofaina, a/mofia-Arabic deriv.)
Basin; washbowl
Synonym: a/jebana, /avamanos, zafa
jornalero
Day laborer
Beside the master, the journeymen, and the
apprentices, most workshops must have had a few
laborers to do the unskilled manual tasks of haul-
ing and working the clay and other rawmaterials,
firing the kilns, or packing finished products for
sale. Some masters owned mora, Negro, Indian,
Chinese, or gypsy slaves who would have sup-
plied such a labor force, but most probably de-
pended upon the free market.
jornada: day's work
juaguete, juagueteada
In Mexico and Andalusia, the term for bisqued
pottery; kiln reserved for bisque firing
juagar: to rinse, in reference to the cleaning pro-
cess required of most bisqued pieces prior to
glazing
juguete
Toy; plaything
Mexican colonial inventories include many
references to ceramic toys whose forms remain
uncertain. Perhaps miniatures of animals or ves-
sels, which have been recovered occasionally
from archaeological deposits, would come in this
category.
There is no confusion with the word juaguete
because toys are mentioned in lists of painted
wares.
juntar 55 lampara
[ugar: to play
jugaeteri: the production of toys
juntar
To join or lute together
Many exotic or exceptionally large vessels
made by Moorish and Christian potters alike had
to be created from several thrown or molded
pieces joined together while in the leather hard
stage. Examples are the huge, flat winged, molded
handles added to large amphorae, themselves
made up of several thrown sections, or the botijos
made of large bowl forms put together rim to rim
and topped with a neck and handles.
~ ~ J ) ~ : ~ [ e d glazed vessels
Such vessels with defects were
said to have been broken up,
ground to powder, and reused in
the preparation of yellow decorative pigment.
Probably the glaze or clay body contained iron
oxide which would have aided in securing yellow
to orange tones.
labio
Lip or rim edge of vessel
aftlado: pointed
festoneado: piecrust or pinched
plano: flat
redondeado: rounded
labor
Collection of 1000 bricks or tile
laboratorio
Upper chamber of typical Valencian kiln
ladrillo
Brick; tile
Terra cotta rectangular fired bricks were famil-
iar construction materials of the Mediterranean
basin. Almohade builders of the Sevilla Giralda
tower used such brick ornamented with in-
terspersed glazed tile, and equally famous are the
brick horseshoe arches of the mosque at Cor-
doba. Another type of ladrillo in Muslim Spain
was a large flat unglazed slab decorated all over or
in a border band with relief motifs, usually calli-
graphic in nature. These were mounted into walls
or used between ceiling beams. Large smooth
surfaced glazed tiles for ceilings, more properly
known asazulejos, also are calledlsdrillos portabla.
Two of these tiles were needed to complete a
pattern.
The making of ordinary brick was the task of
masons, not potters. Such artisans went to His-
paniola with Columbus's Second Voyage, estab-
lished work yards in an arroyo near the first
Spanish colony of Isabela, and made brick and
roof tile to be utilized in the first permanent
buildings.
Notwithstanding this beginning of brick mak-
ing in America, thousands of ladrillos are re-
corded as having been sent from Sevilla to the
Indies during the first thirty years of occupation.
They probably served as ballast for the galleons.
To date, however, the only bricks known to have
been salvaged by underwater archaeologists
working on Spanish shipwrecks off American
shores seem to have been parts of ovens built on
ship deck for use by the sailors.
Unfired adobes, common in parts of Spain,
Morocco, and Latin America do not fit into this
category.
ladrillado: brick yard
ladrillador: bricklayer
ladrillero: brick maker
ladrilleria: brick mold
lampara
Lamp
Metal vessels provided light fixtures for castles
and churches, but there also were specialized
ceramic vessels used for the same purpose. Usu-
ally these consisted of a basic bowl shape, or a
group of attached bowls, to hold oils to be
burned. A loop handle for suspension was pro-
vided. These were augmented by more portable
ceramic candleholders and metal wall and floor
sconces.
Diminutive: lamparilla
Augmentative: lamparon
lampareria: place where lamparas are made
lamparero: maker or seller of ldmparas
Synonym: lucerna
lavadero
56
losa
lavadero
Wash basin; lavatory
lavar: to wash
Synonym: lavamanos, lavatorio
lebrillo _
Basin
The most typical shape of this
category is a steep sided, flat
bottomed large bowl which may have served on
occasion as a vessel in which to wash hands at the
table. In fact, one known Mexican example bears
an inscription on the rim reading, "I am to wash
the purifiers and no more." In Spain earliest
examples were ofPaterna polychrome or Manises
lusterware and have been called librells or braseros.
Later Talavera polychrome versions used greens
and yellows extensively, with pinched rims bear-
ing parallel hatching in blue. In Mexico lebrillos
are especially typical of the 17th century in sev-
eral polychromed styles of fine grade wares. The
expanse of the flat surfaces of interior bottoms
provided an excellent area for a figural scene, the
abrupt sides serving as a frame treated with dif-
ferent but comparable elements.
The term appears as librell in some documents
and is confused with cuenca, bacin, and brasero.
lebrillero: one who makes or sells lebrillos
lechada
Slurry
This term was applied to the lubricant, a com-
bination of clay and water, used to keep the pot-
ter's hands moist while throwing a vessel. Less
liquid slurry was used to lute attached portions,
such as handles, appliques, or knobs to body
walls.
Literal meaning: milky
lecberon
Milk vessel
The exact form intended is undetermined. Pre-
sumably it could have been a large jar or pitcher.
leche: milk
lecho
Layer of vessels in a bisque firing
Inasmuch as no glaze was involved, it was not
important to keep vessels from touching each
other during the first firing. Similar shapes nested
together or supporting each other were more apt
to withstand the firing stresses without becoming
misshapen.
legumbrer
Bowl or casserole for vegetables
legumbre: vegetable
levigaci6n
Levigation
This is the process of cleaning and preparing
clay for use in pottery-making.
lezda
Tax assessed on merchandise, including pottery;
known to have been levied in various parts of
Spain as early as the r yrh century
libra
Pound weight
Tin, for example, was a mineral purchased by
the libra. The metric system, which was origi-
nated in France about 1790, was not adopted in
Spain until the r oth century.
librell
Valencian term for straight sided, flat bottomed
basin
Synonym: lebrillo
liso
Smooth; unpatterned
The word with these two distinct meanings is
used in Spanish-tradition ceramics to refer to
azulejo tile or those with a monochrome glaze.
litargirio
Litharge or white lead
Litharge is a mineral oxide derived as a by-
product from the separation of silver from lead
ore. It remains in suspension better than some
other materials and so is used in compounding
certain pigment solutions, particularly those to
create oranges or yellows. One disadvantage to its
use is that gases from its decomposition during
firing sometimes lead to excessive pinholing of
the finished product.
loncba
Slabs of clay, or blanks, used for making tiles
losa
Tile
Large rectangular tiles with one
scalloped or eared edge and one
straight edge on the narrower pro-
portions suggests they were meant
to be placed in an upright position.
They were grave markers, whose
use dated from the Visigothic period of the yth
loseta 57 lumbrera
through 7th centuries. During Islamic horizons in
Spain, they generally bore relief decorations;
thereafter they were treated with maiolica glaze
and designs.
One example is known from the maiolica in-
dustry in Guatemala, bearing a date in the r Sth
century.
loseta
Small tiles
Apparently there were two distinct applica-
tions of this word. One kind of losetas were small,
square tiles, four of which set contiguously were
needed to complete a pattern. Another use refers
to a small square tile designed to be the central
piece of a pattern requiring four hexagonal tiles
placed around it to form a pattern. Both versions
were typical of the Valencia area.
Diminutive: losetilla
Synonym: losilla
loza
Generic term for pottery
Within this category may be earthenware,
glazed or unglazed, and even porcelain. Earthen-
ware was more typical of the Spanish world.
Stoneware, another major grouping of pottery,
was not made.
In the Mexicanguild ordinances, for example, a
number of grades of locally made loza are indi-
cated. Fino was the top quality whose fashioning
was solely in the hands of craftsmen who had
qualified as masters. These were virtuoso vessels
and are the ones now comprising most museum
and private collections. At the time oftheir manu-
facture, they were special items and have been
well cared for ever since. A further refinement of
this category were refino ceramics, especially
those made in imitation of Chinese ceramics. En-
trefino was the service grade, the tableware of the
general Hispanicised public. It was decorated less
elaborately, and its forms were those functional in
most upper to middle class homes. However,
even though mass produced often in simplified or
discontinued styles used earlier oti fino wares, it
was glazed with the same solutions and painted
with the same pigments as higher quality vessels,
and in fact, probably was produced by the same
artisans. The distinction between this grade and
the comlin, corriente, or ordinaria grade is not
sharp, the latter usually including types bearing
green-yellow-brown decorations over a glazed
ground having less opacity due to lower tin con-
tent. Comtin also referred to tin glazed vessels
without any additional decoration, such as uten-
sils to be used in hospitals and convents. Persons
who made such common wares were not per-
mitted under guild regulations to make fino pot-
tery. Entrefino and comtin are the two kinds of
maiolica now most frequently recovered archaeo-
logically.
Lozaamarilla, loza roja, and lozaprieta were the
simple lead glazed or unglazed utilitarian vessels,
made by potters lowest on the guild rosters. The
colors were either those of the body paste or a
transparent glaze coating which might or might
not have colorants added.
loza basta, loza tosca: coarse pottery
loza blanca: maiolica
lozapoblana, lozasevillana,loza talaverana: pottery
of Puebla, Sevilla, or Talavera
loceria: pottery workshop
locero: potter
loza de Jalapa
Jalapa ceramics
Although common utility types probably were
made at Jalapa, Mexico, there is no evidence for
colonial maiolica having been made there. The
phrase, which occurs in connection with colonial
commerce, probably results not only from sale of
locally produced utility types but maiolicas from
Puebla which were brought there during the trad-
ing fairs which took place at the arrival of the
Spanishjlotas to Vera Cruz. Merchants from Gua-
temala, Venezuela, and Caribbean ports bought
the goods of Mexico as well as that of Spain
during these activities.
lumbrera
Opening in kiln roof
Such openings may have numbered from three
to five, depending on the size of the kiln, and
were necessary to assure a proper draw and essen-
tial oxidizing atmosphere.
lumbre: light
maceta
58 Manises
[[BJNI; ~ = : < p 0 1
Forms in-
cluded in this
group varied
from urns reminiscent of
Greek vessels to round bar-
rel shapes derived from
Chinese sources. Pinched or piecrusr rims were
typical of Mexican macetas.
Diminutive: macetita
Augmentative: maceton
madurado
Matured
When clay body develops its maximum hard-
ness or glaze, ingredients are completely fused
and have proper surface texture, they are said to
have matured. Earthenware clays mature at
approximately 950-990
0
C. and tin glazes at
1060
0
C.
maestro indiero
Master potter
This person usually operated his own work-
shop and was required byguild regulations to pass
a competency examination in order to obtain this
rank. He was the maker of fine grades of wares
and had to demonstrate proficiency in throwing
all sorts of vessel forms. He might also be called
maestro locero or merely maestro, the latter often
being used as a title. In some Mexican archives
the word is abbreviated to mxos or mtros.
Majorca
The largest of the Balearic group of islands in
the Mediterranean, part of the Kingdom of Ara-
gon, Majorca was a shipping point for the Valen-
cian lusterware to Italy and came to be associated
with tin glazed ware, i.e. maiolica.
mancerina ~
Plateau; server ~
This rather ingenious form, said to have been
named in the 17th century for the Marques de
Mancera, consisted of a flat plate with a gallery
around the central obverse zone and occasionally
also around the outer perimeter. The obvious
assumption is that the attached rings steadied
another vessel carried upon it, probably a pitcher
or cup of some sort. The use of mancerinas may
have stemmed originally from Italian influences.
They appear in Manises lusterware, Talaveran
maiolica, and Alcora porcelain, and probably also
were duplicated in silver.
The form diffused to the New World where it
was associated with the serving of chocolate. It
was especially popular in Guatemala, the Pacific
coast of that part of the Viceroyalty of Nueva
Espana having been a principal area of cacao
exploitation during the colonial era. There the
usual drinking vessel served on a mancerina was a
jicara.
The Spanish or Italian plateau may have in-
spired an 18th century English form called a
mazarine, described as a small bowl or cup set on a
large plate and used for serving ragouts or soups.
manganese
Manganese
Bioxide of manganese was one of the first min-
erals used to produce decorative pigments for
painting designs on maiolica. It was combined
with soda ash and pulverized dry glaze, dissolved
in water, and fired. Over a lead glaze manganese
produced a purple-brown color. Outlines of ele-
ments were defined with this color, green being
used as a filler, in archaic types of the 13th
through r yth centuries at Paterna, aswell as in the
Cordoban-Sevilla and Teruel regions. Later it was
used with blue fillers, when that color became
available.
morada: the fired color of manganese; also used as
a term for royal purple, a richer hue obtained
from a mollusk
negruzco: the fired color of manganese
maniobra
All processes or handling necessary to produce
pottery
Manises
Located next to Valencia, in the late Middle
Ages Manises was under the control of the pow-
erful Buyl family which encouraged its develop-
ment as a ceramics center. One family member is
said to have made a trip to Islamic Malaga, where
he noted new use of cobalt blue in ceramic deco-
ration. This was a vogue which he quickly intro-
duced upon his return to Valencia. However,
from the i yth through rSth centuries Manises
became known for its manufacture oflusterware,
which only rarely made use of blue motifs. This
specialized technique was inspired by Muslim
work at Granada and Malaga and was furthered
by the migration to Manises of Muslim artisans
from there. An interesting blend of motifs on
mano de Fatima
59 Martinez Guijarro, Fernan
lusrerware resulted from a combination of Islamic
design mannerisms native to most of the deco-
rators and Christian elements, such as family
crests, ordered by clients in all parts of Europe.
In 1780 Manises was described as a village of
four streets occupied almost entirely by potters.
Nevertheless, this was the period of almost total
decline of the industry due to artistic retrogres-
sion, boredom with a worn our style, and the
rising importance of porcelain.
mano de Fatima
Islamic design motif
Fatima was a favorite daughter of Mohammed.
In art, this term is applied to a stylized hand-like
element of Islamic design considered to repre-
sent a talisman rather than any religious sym-
bolism. It is often associated with a pattern of the
two keys to Paradise. The motif appears on much
Spanish Muslim pottery, including types of
Paterna and Manises, where Christian potters
also were at work. In 1525 the use of the motif
was prohibited by Charles V, Holy Roman Em-
peror.
Literal meaning: hand of Fatima
Manresa
Located near Barcelona, Manresa produced
lusterware as well as typical blue on white
maiolicas during the r yth and roth centuries.
Earlier pottery was found when a church, con-
structed in the first half of the 14th century, was
destroyed in the 1936 Spanish Civil War, reveal-
ing tinajas used in the fill of bOveda vaulting.
marca
Maker's mark
Marks identifying places of manufacture or in-
dividual potters were not used typically on
Spanish ceramics. However, Barcelona and
Paterna potters of the late Middle Ages im-
pressed soft vessels with clay stamps assigned to
specific potters, and producers of Manises lus-
terware drew what appear to be initials on re-
verses of many pieces. A symbol of the Giralda is
said to have identified some Sevillian ceramics.
There also 16th century tile panels and altar fron-
tals were signed in the same way as contemporary
paintings.
The Mexican guild ordinances published in the
second half of the r rrh century specifically re-
quired the marking ofall products ofpotters, with
the exception of ceramic toys. The symbols were
to be entered into a ledger to prevent frauds. It is
to be noted that the greatest percentage ofknown
Mexican marks appear on the two fine ware styles
assigned to this century. In fact, the same mark
appears on both styles, making it probable that
they came from the same potter or same loceria.
Usually an iron oxide initial was painted before
firing on reverses of fine wares, bur occasionally a
cobalt blue letter was incorporated into an ob-
verse design. Such marking of vessels continued
into the rSrh century, but at no period was the
ordinance observed conscientiously. Not only
are there relatively few known examples of
marks, but those that do appear cannot be as-
signed to specific artisans.
The term hallmark is more correctly reserved
for the marking of metal objects.
In Spanish Levantine ceramicsmarcaalso refers
to the coating of unfired glaze on a bisqued vessel
being prepared for glosr firing.
Synonym: seiial
marga
Marl
Marl is impure calcareous clay which has on
occasion been used for utility ceramics. It cannot
be fired to a high temperature because the cal-
cium easily decomposes under heat.
mariposa:
Design motif
This motif consisted of a "body" with spread
wings ending in numerous filament curved lines,
and was alwaysexecuted in dark blue on flattened
rims of plates whose centers contained figures of
birds, rabbits, and other animals. The motif was
used on some of the earliest vessels identified
with the new mid 16th century industry at Tala-
vera, but it is not known to have been copied at
Sevilla or in Mexico.
In the 17th and rSrh centuries a derivative
pattern, called aranboes , typified Portuguese
maiolica. It drew from Dutch sources.
Literal meaning: butterflies
Martinez Guijarro, Fernan (1424-1508)
Martinez Guijarro was one of the leading pot-
ters of Sevilla at the very period of the discovery
of the West Indies. He is known to have filled
orders coming to him from many parts of Spain
and Portugal and was so esteemed a craftsman
that Ferdinand and Isabela, in appreciation of his
work, granted him an exemption (jranquesa)
from taxes. In archival records he is called an
ollero, but that was merely a general name applied
rnasa 60
rnedallon
to potters of all kinds. Actually he was famous for
tile, and he also may have made some lusterware,
In addition to fame, Martinez Guijarro acquired
considerable wealth for one of the artesanado
group. Documents preserved include his real es-
tate dealings, the endowment of a benefice and
perpetual masses, and refer to slaves for whose
children he served as godfather. During part of
his life, he lived on Santo Domingo Street in
Triana. His potter son, Pedro de Herrera, was a
contemporary of Niculoso and copied some of
the Pisano's Italianate innovations.
masa
Clay body prepared for use
masicote, mazacote
Massicot
This was a silicate of potash made by fusing fine
sand with salt and calcined wine lees (Italy, Spain),
sea salt or sea weed (France), calcined salrwort
(Spain), or raw sodium carbonate (Mexico). This
step made the soda insoluble. These materials
were ground before being combined with fritted
lead and tin to form the stanniferous glaze solu-
tions. Soda ash was an important addition because
it imparted a high coefficient of expansion to the
glaze.
At present it is unknown if massicot was a Mus-
lim contribution to ceramic technology which
spread to both Italy and Spain, or whether its use
might have been diffused to Spain from Italy,
together with formulas for ratios of tin to lead,
perforated saggars, yellow pigments, design
styles, and so on. Italy seems a likely source for
these refinements because non-lustered maiolica
was more advanced there at an earlier date than in
Spain.
mate
Matte
A lusterless or dull glaze surface was not typical
of maioliea because lead fluxed glazes tend to be
glossy unless improperly prepared or fired, or are
subjected to destructive weathering conditions.
However, there was an obvious latitude in degree
of flatness of Spanish maiolica glazes, those oflate
r yth century Sevilla being duller than either later
local types or Mexican copies. It is possible that
an excess of tin was used at this period which
would account in part for such dulled surfaces. In
Spain there was no use of two distinct kinds oftin
glaze, one semi-matte and one glossy, as at Delft,
nor the lustrous lead overcoat as in Italy and the
Netherlands.
In regard to unglazed ceramics, in Spain matte
surfaces were typical. Hand polishing was not
practiced, except for occasional decorative pat-
terns.
materialre/ractario
Grog
Known to archaeologists as temper, such re-
fractory additives were incorporated by many
peoples into clays used for pottery. They served
to separate the clay particles, thus allowing steam
to escape during firing. This was important in
keeping vessels from cracking through stress.
The addition of grog was not necessary for most
Spanish-tradition ceramics because available clays
appear to have contained sufficient amounts of
native sand to serve this purpose.
matriz
Mold; die
The term was used in Spain to indicate the
stamp employed to impress patterns on cuenca
tiles. During earlier times the mold was made
from wood or iron; later it was of bronze.
It also refers to clay stamps used to mark green
vessels.
mazo
Wooden mallet used in the manufacture ofcuerda
seca and cuenca tiles
In order to obtain a sharp, deep pattern, it was
necessary to firmly impress the matriz into the
soft clay, while at the same time making sure that
the clay slab was not pushed out of shape. A
mallet, gently but precisely tapped, was used for
this purpose.
meadero
Urinal
Synonym: orinal, tasa meadero
medal/on
Medallion
Lobed medallions, in direct or reserve treat-
ment, were taken by Mexican decorators from
Chinese examples and were extensively used on
large fine grade jars of the t Sth century. It is
possible these medallions might have diffused to
Mexico as part of a complex of mudejar conven-
tions, Islamic artists also having utilized Chinese-
style medallions or cloud collar points in their
works in other media. A direct transference from
Chinese porcelain coming to Mexico on the Ma-
media anata
61 minio
nila galleons seems more probable, inasmuch as
contemporary Spanish maiolica did not make use
of this motif.
media anata
Semiannual tax imposed in 1625 on all guilds and
artisans in Mexico to provide a stipend for tem-
poral and secular officials, paid in part by a fee
assessed for competency examinations
media naranja
Design motif
Taking its name, orange half, from a similarity
to that fruit, this motif was used commonly on a
series of lusterware vessels made in r yrh century
Manises. It consisted of a segmented circle.
In Mexican art the phrase usually denotes
church domes set without pediments upon the
crossing.
medida
Vessel size
Lists of colonial period ceramics most often
indicate size of vessels by general terms such as
grande or mayor (large), mediano or medianita
(medium), or pequeiio; chico, or cbiquito (small).
Somewhat more specific references used mea-
surements based upon the arroba, such as cuar-
tilla, for one-fourth, or tercero; for one-third. In
other cases, form names were applied to vessels
of certain capacities, i.e. cdntara.
Synonym: tamaiio
Medina az-Zahra
In the roth century Medina az-Zahra was
erected in the Guadalquivir River valley near
Cordoba as a dazzling home for a favorite wife of
the caliph. Now in ruins which were excavated in
1912, the site is important in the history of
Spanish ceramics because most of the pottery
types later to be produced in quantity-reliefand
painted styles, lusterware, cuerda seca-have been
found there as testimony to the many early
achievements of Spanish Muslim potters.
Restoration of the structure continues at this
time.
melado
Amber colored transparent lead glazed ware;
treacle
Islamic craftsmen, or those continuing to work
under that influence, commonly added iron or
manganese to lead glazes to create a honey col-
ored coating on both smooth surfaced domestic
vessels and those with relief or impressed pat-
terns meant for more special purposes.
Melado types are relatively common in 16th
century archaeological contexts in the Caribbean,
perhaps locally made as well as imported from
Spain.
In its usual non-ceramic connotation, melado
was either a thick molasses from sugar refining
molds or it was treacle. The latter was a cordial
made from cooking plant roots, flower roots and
juices, and wines, then distilling the liquid, and it
was an important drug during the Middle Ages. It
is interesting to speculate upon several possible
connections between both these products-
molasses and treacle-the Sevillian Genoese, and
certain blue ground albarelos which have been
recovered from 16th century archaeological de-
posits in the Caribbean. On one hand, Genoese
entrepreneurs first introduced sugar cane to His-
paniola from the Canary Islands, where they had
only a quarter of a century earlier first planted it,
and they were the first to establish sugar refineries
in the Indies. Secondly, they also had a traditional
monopoly in the Mediterranean on the manufac-
ture and sale of treacle. It is quite possible that
plain blue drug jars, known thus far in greatest
number from Puerto Rico, were used specifically
to contain these Genoese me/ado substances.
Mexico City
The capital of what became the Viceroyalty of
Nueva Espana probably was the locale of the first
Spanish-tradition pottery kilns on the American
mainland, at first for the production of utility
unglazed and lead glazed wares and later for
maiolicas. Sherd collections resulting from sub-
way excavations beneath the city reveal a local
copying of Sevillian types characteristic of the
first half of the 16th century, followed later in the
century by types distinctive from, yet comparable
to, contemporary Spanish modes.
Although Puebla became the better known
Mexican center for ceramics, wares and tiles of
lower qualities for use in the Valley of Mexico
appear to have been made concurrently in or near
the capital. A potters' guild was on the records by
the latter decades of the r rth century with stan-
dards for three grades of ceramics. Some time late
in the next century production of tin glazed pot-
tery appears to have ceased.
minto
Minium
This is red lead which has a high oxygen con-
modelar en un torno 62 monocromo
tent and therefore tends to restrict the likelihood
of reduction of the desired yellow and orange
tones achieved through oxidation. Spanish de-
posits of minium have been known since the time
of the Romans.
Synonym: azarcon
modeler en un torno
To throw vessels by means of a potter's wheel
The use of this mechanism requires dexterity,
coordination, control, judgment, and consider-
able physical strength which can be learned only
through concentrated practice. Thus it was a tool
for commercial, rather than home use, and so
became identified with male artisans.
Once mastered, the throwing process becomes
almost mechanical. It is not unusual to see a His-
panic potter turn out several hundred vessels a
day all ofsuch uniform size and shape as to appear
nearly factory made. In fact, a 16th Sevil-
lian apprentice contract called for this beginner to
produce 255 vessels per day! ..
In addition to the more advanced jigger-and-
jolly techniques, there are several.
in such production throwing. One IS to begin
a ball of clay suitable for a single vessel placed 10
the middle of the wheel head exactly positioned
by being pressed down with the right and
pushed in toward the axis with the left, while the
wheel is revolved by kicking the lower flywheel
with a forward movement of the right foot. (Ori-
ental motor habits cause those potters to revolve
the wheel in the opposite direction.) The potter's
thumbs deliberately push a hole into the center of
the clayand then pull the clayoutward toward the
perimeter of the wheel. With a steadying left
hand inside the open form and the fingers of the
right pressing against the exterior surface, the
potter slowly pulls the revolving clay up while
the same time maintaining a steady momentum 10
the wheel with his foot. Once a basic cylinder is
achieved, it can be modified through pressure
into most contours. It is essential to have walls of
even thickness, a condition obtained automati-
callyif the clay has been properly centered at the
beginning and a matter mentioned in 17th cen-
tury Puebla guild ordinances.
Another method, which is suitable for the
throwing of a number of identical small vessels,
calls for the centering of a large ball of clay,
pulling the top into a conical shape,
fashioning the desired form only on the tip. This
object is cut by a wire from the unworked lower
mass which is again pulled into a cone ready for a
second object. Such a technique in English is
called "throwing off the hump" and, although a
precise Spanish term is not used, the method
been observed among all Hispanic potters and IS
presumed to be old.
molde
Mold
Molds made of fired clay or plaster came into
frequent use during the r yrh through. t yth cen-
turies in Nasrid workshops, as well as 10 those of
Moorish craftsmen in Sevilla and Toledo. They
were used primarily for large objects or for exotic
appendages. Also many Hispano-Moresque re-
pousse decorations probably
molds as did angled shapes obviously trmtanng
metal prototypes. To judge from interior ridges
and convexities, a mold attached upside down to a
wheel head is believed to have been utilized at the
end of the r yth century for forming plate in-
teriors to be decorated in cuerda seca patterns or at
a somewhat later date merely coated with plain
white stanniferous glaze. Exteriors were formed
either by throwing against the mold or by a
template which trimmed off excess clay. Angular
faceting on exteriors suggests the latter. In the
16th century molds continued important in pro-
ducing utility vessels which were either too large
to be thrown or were non-circular. Beginning in
the late r zth century and through the 18th cen-
tury, molds were commonplace for flatware, su.ch
as platters and serving trays, and for pieces With
foliated rims or fluted walls.
In Mexico during the first half of the 16th
century, similar interior ridging and
of white maiolica plates point to the adoption of
the mold-on-the-wheel, or jiggering method, a
technique which was short lived because of the
introduction soon ofdifferent European styles. In
the late r Srh century there was a marked shift to
moldmade forms as a result of Rococo fashions
being diffused to Mexico via Spain.
monocromo
Monochrome
The use of a single decorative color typifies
both Spanish and colonial maiolica work at vari-
ous periods. Usually it was blue, but green, yel-
low black or brown are seen used alone. There
was' a more wholehearted concentration on blue
monochrome in Mexico than in Spain, undoubt-
rnonteria 63 mortero
edly the result of continued strong contact with
Oriental porcelains.
Synonym: claroscuro
monteria
Coarsening of designs into the realm of folk art
Mass production achieved in Spain by the
middle of the rSrh century caused a decline in
techniques of painting. In Talavera, Puente del
Arzobispo, and Sevilla there was a rapidly
applied, highly repetitious set of patterns painted
on vessels meant for a cheaper market. Usually
such designs were hunting scenes, with people on
horseback drawn in a much larger scale than the
background of architectural features or trees.
Literal meaning: hunting
Montero, Jeronimo
Montero was a 16th century Sevillian potter
who, under commission from Philip II, went to
Talavera in order to help potters there improve
their glazes, decorative pigments, and modes of
production and design. His efforts, added to
known Talaveran styles copied at Sevilla, under-
score the stylistic unity of these two centers of
production, both under the Crown of Castile and
both able to export their products to the Ameri-
can colonies.
morber
Valencian wedging or work table
mortsco
The term originally meant Muslims who be-
came Christian converts, but it came to signify all
persons of Arabic-Berber descent, regardless of
avowed religious affiliation, who lived under
Christian rulers. It also became a synonym for
"Moorish."
People of this mixed racial and religious
background made up much of the artesanado of
southern Spain. Even after the r yth century Re-
conquest of Valencia and Sevilla and finallyin the
r yth century of Granada, some moriscos con-
tinued to work side by side with Christian fellow
potters, especially in the Levante and Aragon.
The pressure for their conversion steadily in-
creased. There are frequent records of Sevillian
Old Christian potters having served as godpa-
rents for baptised morisco potters who assumed
new Christianized names. The same situation
must have prevailed elsewhere. After the fall of
Granada, there were forced mass baptisms.
Morisco skill in crafts demanding manual dex-
terity and arnsnc judgment was so great that
when they finallywere expelled from Spain early
in the r rth century, regardless of nominal con-
version, the loss was tremendous, even though by
then most external artistic influence was filtering
directly or indirectly from Renaissance Italy. In
Sevilla in 1609 there were some 2000 moriscos,
certainly a fair number of them being potters. A
fewmoriscos remained in small pockets of Spain as
social outcasts, ignoring official edicts and endur-
ing scorn and harsh treatment. Other morisco pot-
ters fled to Narbonne, France, where they were
accepted into the local ceramic industries. Most,
however, drifted off to North Africa, perhaps
even to other occupations.
mora
Moor; Spanish Muslim
Generally speaking, Moors are taken to be
synonymous with Berbers who comprised most
of the invading forces coming into Spain in the
8th century and who returned with ruling dynas-
ties at least three different times. But in use the
word moro also denotes all Spanish Muslims,
whether of Arab, Egyptian, Syrian, Persian, or
Berber background, who dwelt for eight cen-
turies in Spain.
morrell
Valencian name for solid cylinders of fired clay
about 8 cm. in diameter by 40 cm. in length used
in the spacing of vessels within a kiln
These objects appear to be a Muslim develop-
ment at Manises and Granada. They have been
found there reused for paving or as potter's
stamps.
mortero
Mortar
A deep, thick walled, heavy footed
bowl form was extensively used as a
receptacle in which to grind mate-
rials to be used in kitchen and phar-
macy. It often had a pouring spout
called a rostro, or bird bill, and lug handles with a
small loop at the top and basal attachments car-
ried as ribs down the body wall. The most fre-
quent examples are those made in r yrh through
rSrh centuries in Teruel, Aragon, which bear a
white glaze over only the upper two thirds of the
exteriors and decoration in green and purple-
brown heavy brushwork.
The Mexican counterpart was taken from In-
motivo 64
naranjado
dian rather than Spanish ceramics. It was essen-
tially a small bowl with grid work cut into interior
bottoms while the clay was still soft. This is called
a molcajete.
Almirez was the Arabic word for mortar, usu-
ally defined as a metal vessel, though occasionally
the word appears to apply to pottery.
Synonym: mamelot (Aragonese vernacular)
motivo
Motif
The motif is an individual unit, or salient ele-
ment, of a composition. Several motifs form a
pattern.
mudejar
Spanish Mohammedan living under a Chris-
tian king
In art, the term refers to Islamic conventions
making themselves apparent in the products of
Christians, who generally assimilated their cul-
tural background from the classical world. Such
influence can be detected in woodworking,
stucco, architecture, and ceramics in areas once
under Islamic domination, such as Toledo, Zara-
goza, and Sevilla.
Mudejar decorations appear on some of the
earliest ceramics reaching the New World, as il-
lustrated by a few cuenca tile, cuerd seca plates,
and pseudocalligraphic designs on maiolica. They
were on the wane in Sevilla by the end of the r sth
century, however, and therefore never became
important in colonial ceramics.
Mudejares also refers to the various tile styles
produced during Muslim periods by Muslim
craftsmen, i.e, cuenca, cuerda seca, and alicatados, in
the same way that pisanos refers to flat surfaced
polychrome azulejos because of that styling hav-
ing been introduced to Spain by an Italian.
mudejarg6tico: combination ofmudejarand Gothic
ideas, as is seen in the products of Valencia
mudejarromanico: combination of mudejar and
Roman concepts, as is seen in products ofTeruel
in Aragon
Muel
The small Aragonese town of Muel, located
south of Zaragoza, was a pottery center active
from the end of the r yth century through the
rSth century. Most of the potters were moriscos.
Luster and maiolica were made in imitation of
types better executed at Manises and Barcelona.
A waster dump was excavated there in the
1930S providing a rare cross section of the de-
velopment of pottery types in a Spanish village.
Unfortunately the results are unpublished.
muestra
Test piece, decorated in same glaze and colors as
the kiln load, withdrawn from time to time to
determine stage of firing
muiiequilla
Pounce bag
Loosely woven cloth bags filled with carbon
materials were dabbed over hole pricked patterns
to leave a faint dotted outline to guide ceramic
decorators. The carbon burned out during firing.
[S]
naode la china
Manila galleon
N
In 1565 the first galleon crossed
the Pacific from Manila to Aca-
pulco, thereby establishing a trade
route to be followed for two and a half centuries
by an annual sailing, the only navigational line in
the history of the world to provide such lengthy
uninterrupted service. The impact of the flood of
Oriental goods which came to the Spanish col-
onies was tremendous-culturally, economically,
and artistically.
In regard to ceramics, not only was the Chinese
and Japanese porcelain brought on the nao avail-
able through legal and illegal means on all levels
of Spanish or mestizo society and on all frontiers,
but it importantly contributed to Mexican
maiolica grammar of form and decorative style.
naranjado
Orange
Iron rust combined with antimony was the
principal source of orange pigment for maiolicas.
Its use seems to have come to Spain from Italy.
negro 65 oliera
Orange was prominent in a late 16th and early
rzrh century Talaveran and Puente del Arzobispo
style, where it was drawn in hatchured fashion as
an element filler or to alternate in bands of classic
S-curves drawn in agrey blue. In Mexico a limited
orange splash accented a grey blue palmette typi-
cal of a type perhaps produced somewhat con-
temporaneously to the above Castilian mode. In
both Spain and Mexico orange continued to be
employed through the next two centuries but was
always of minor importance.
Synonym, in part: ocre
negro
Black
Manganese, iron oxide, or combinations of
those two ingredients plus a little copper oxide
were used to create a pigment which fired black to
dark brown or purple-brown. These dark tones
were used to outline elements, add detailing,
form lesser motifs, or delineate insignia.
Niculoso, Francisco
In the last decade of the r yth century Niculoso
moved to Sevilla from Italy, bringing with him
Renaissance methods and decorative themes
which were new to Spanish ceramics. He worked
there until his death in 1529, during which period
he almost singlehandedly set Spanish ceramics on
a new course.
Essentially an artist schooled in humanistic pat-
terns and a Faventine way of painting, Niculoso
covered large panels of smooth surfaced, con-
tiguous, tin glazed tiles with vibrant oranges, yel-
lows, blues, greens, violets, roses, and black to
create lustrous pictures which had the added ad-
vantage of permanency. His style was referred to
by the Spaniards aspolocromado a faromano. Most
of his works were commissioned by religious
groups and were used to cover fronts of altars,
doors, and tomb facades, the best examples of
which are at the Alcazar in Sevillaand the monas-
tery of Santa Maria de Tentudia in Badajoz.
The real effect of Niculoso's work was not
realized until fifty years later in the century when
other Italian potters moved into Andalusia and
Castile. Under their influence, Spanish artisans
making both tile and hollow ware eagerly turned
to maioliea painting such as he first demonstrated
to them in Sevilla.
nucleo
Core of a vessel between outer and inner surfaces
[I 0 II t ' : : : ~ : e or unfired pottery
obra de MaNcha
Malaga ceramic work
Most commonly the phrase
conveyed the idea of lusterware, the so-called
golden pottery of Malaga. During the r yrh
through r yth centuries actual individual exam-
ples might have been produced at Malaga or
some other town in the kingdomofGranada, but
after the rath century they might also have been
made at Christian Manises.
obrador
Workshop; workman
obra: work
obrar: to work
Synonym, in part: fdbric, loceria, taller
oficialde abierto
One who had been examined and found compe-
tent to make open forms, such as plates, basins,
bowls
oficialde becbur
One who had been examined and found compe-
tent to make vessels, exact kinds unspecified
oficia! de pintura
One who had been examined and found compe-
tent to paint decorations on pottery
olambrilla
Tile
Specifically, these were small square maiolica
tiles interspersed in areas paved with bricks or
unglazed tiles. They were known for a lively
variety of designs including escutcheons, geo-
metries, flowers, humans, and animals.
oliera
Jar with single handle and spout used for oils;
usually flat based, broad conical body sloping up
to small neck
Synonym: aceitera
olla
66 orza
olla
Wide mouthed jar, with or
without handles
Mexican inventories refer to
ollas de almendrad, which
could have been used for con-
tainers of either an almond
flavored milk or tequila.
olleria: pottery workshop or store
ollero: maker or seller of ollas
ollers: Catalan term for makers of ollas
ollete
Valencian term for small jar with a lid and one
handle
opacidad
Opacity
The quality ofopaqueness is achieved in a lead
glaze through the addition of a small percentage
of tin oxide, also known as stannic oxide. This
mineral remains relatively insoluble during
firing. Because it is thus suspended in the glaze,
it prevents light from penetrating through the
coating to the bod yclay. It has the further advan-
tage of being white, which offers a suitable
background for painted decorations of one or
more contrasting colors.
ordenanzas
Guild ordinances
Regulations concerning all aspects of pot-
tery-making were laid down by government au-
thorities. In order to modify them, formal written
requests by the potters had to besubmitted, usu-
ally prepared. by a public scribe. Penalties for
infractions of the ordinances included prison,
fines, and sometimes confiscation of pottery
which was then given to convents and hospitals.
ordinariero
One who made common pottery
This was a category of artisan specifically de-
scribed in the guild ordinances ofTalavera which
was the equivalent to those potters restricted to
the making of common grade wares in Mexico.
Such a person could not make finer grade pot-
tery without passing an examination to demon-
strate advanced proficiency and the payment
of certain fees.
oreja
Lug
Horizontal solid handles, or lugs, were typical
of Spanish srnall lustered or plain porringers of
the r yth and 16th centuries. Such lugs usually
were scalloped or lobed in the Medieval manner.
On rare occasions similar lugs were used on plain
Mexican maiolica.
Literal meaning: ear
orientalizar
To orientalize
Spanish maiolica designs became orientalized
during the 17th century in response to a great
amount of porcelains brought to Europe by the
Portuguese after IS I 5 and by the Dutch during
the next century, both countries during portions
of these centuries being under Spanish political
control. Color scheme, divisions of field of de-
sign, and some forms and motifs reflect this
influence which, in ceramics, was transmuted
mainly via Delft. In Spain such Chinese design
grammar frequently was combined with typi-
cally local themes evidenced by religious and
secular insignia.
The impact of Chinese porcelains was not mir-
rored on Mexican maiolica until the mid r zrh
century. Then Chinese-style decorations, forms,
and colors dominated the output of fine wares
during the next half century and continued in
diluted manner into the roth century. Imitations
of patterns and forms from the Orient were
more direct than they had been in Spain, with
coolie figures and personages of higher rank
holding umbrellas and riding in elegant carriages
through backgrounds filled with rock, foliage,
and gliding bird motifs identified with Wan-li
repertoire.
orientalismo: orientalism
orinal
urinal
Synonym: bacin, beque, dompedro
oropimente
Compound of arsenic and zaire used with silver
to produce a golden luster
orza
Drug jar
In Spanish ceramics these
jars generally have short wide
necks and a well defined foot
profile. They may be handled
and lidded. Some orzas of the
Muslim periods were outfitted with a perforated
disk set down into the neck area which filtered
67 ovalado
water. Without the filter, the orzas served as
containers for various medicines.
Diminutive: orcita
Synonym, in part: olla, orseta
ovalado
Vessel surface with egg-shaped or oval depres-
sions
Such a surface treatment was characteristic of
much of the baroque work at Talavera, spe-
cifically for plate or other flat forms.
Synonym, in part: acanalado, gallonado
I[pII ~ ~ 7 k i l n for calcination of glaze
ingredients
padron
Census list
Spanish and Mexican documents, while woe-
fully spotty, do contain such lists which indicate
occupations of various citizens, including
pottery-making.
pajarote
Large ugly bird
A pattern used in late r zth and r Sth century
times in Manises to decorate lusterware was an
eccentric bird. It usually appeared on large
plates which were employed to cover storage
jars of oil.
pardalot : debasement of pajarote
palangana
Variously defined as wash bowl, platter, or dish
Synonym, in part: jofaina, lavabo, lavamanos,
zafa
paleta
Palette
The colors used on Spanish-tradition maiolica
were restricted predominately to one or more
tones of blue, green, yellow, orange, and brown.
Panama Viejo
Each was variable due to impurities in the native
minerals and to crude processing methods. The
brown, for example, varied into a purplish hue
depending on the presence or absence of man-
ganese in the pigment solutions. Blue ranged
from clouded greys to rich tones, probably indi-
cating various sources of the cobalt mineral. As a
result of Italian influence, some blending of
primary colors was practiced to achieve either
gradations of hue or new colors such as violet or
rose, but this was more customary with deco-
rators of tile than those of hollow ware. Reds
were difficult to achieve because they tended to
fade out during firing. When such a color was
needed for faithful rendition of a pattern, some
sort of red pigment usually was applied after
firing.
palmatorio
Small candlestick
Synonym: candil
palo
Shovel
A tool such as this was essential for many
purposes around a work yard from shoveling
clay to feeding a kiln. They are usual tools men-
tioned in inventories of potteries.
palomera
Unit of a dove or pigeon house
One archival record in Sevilla notes the order
of 1000 earthenware palomeras, or individual
units, for a pigeon house, palomar, by a mayor-
domo for the Duque de Medina Sidonia.
paloma: dove, pigeon
Panama Viejo
Panama Viejo, established in 15I 9 on the
Pacific coast of the isthmus, prospered as the
most important juncture on the communication
channel from Peru to Sevilla. Apparently toward
the latter part of the 16th century a local pottery
industry developed there whose products found
a wide market down the west coast of South
America. Utility wares and tin glazed service
vessels appear to have come from the same kiln.
A maiolica design style evolved which differed
from either of the other two known New World
centers in Guatemala or Mexico. It was typified
by use of blue, green, and brown decorations in
various combinations of stylized geometrical or
floral elements, and resembles most the work
identified in Spain with Granadine sources.
68
panza
The town was sacked by Morgan in 1671 and
was then abandoned. The kilns, however, might
have been used after that date by a few stragglers.
panza
Belly or area of greatest vessel circumference
panzada: pot-bellied
Synonym, in part: cuerpo
pafiuelo
Design motif
Tiles which bear a design known aspafiuelo are
divided diagonally across their centers, with two
zones of color thus formed. Generally the colors
are a triangle of white glaze and an opposed
triangle of one of the primary colors.
Literal meaning: kerchief
papel carboncillo
Pounce pattern
In practice this was a piece of stiff paper
through which small holes were punched to indi-
cate outlines of a design. A cloth impregnated
with carbon was rubbed over the pattern, leaving
a faint dotted outline for decorators to follow.
The carbon was impermanent.
Literal meaning: carbon paper
para la cal
Rear walls of fuel chamber in Valencian kiln, so
named because chunks of limestone were placed
there to calcine during firing for later use in
mortar
parrilla
Jug with broad base and narrow neck; gridiron
The parrilladeSan Lorenzo was an insignia with
parallel vertical lines surrounded by a rectangular
frame line extended with corner prongs and an
upper central hook usually placed in the center of
a shield outline topped by a crown. This was the
escutcheon of the Escorial monastery, signifying
the dedication of the controlling Hieronyrnite
Order to the banner of St. Lawrence, a Christian
priest who in A.D. 258 had been martyred by the
Roman Emperor Valerian by being roasted on a
grill, or parrilla.
Synonym, in part: simbolo laurentino
pasador
Strainer or colander
Synonym: coladero
pasta
Paste or body clay
Synonym: barro
peana
patera
Small earthenware saucer or dish
Synonym, in part: plato, platillo
Paterna
This pottery center, located near Valencia, is
now abandoned, but excavations made early in
this century and several private collections have
revealed a tremendous assortment of some 24
tons of ceramics dating from the r yth through
r yth centuries. One reason for the impressive
volume of recovered sherds and restorable ves-
sels was the obligation for local potters to dump
their wasters into huge pits. One entire salaof the
Gonzalez Marti ceramics museum housed in the
Palacio del Marques de Dos Aguas in Valencia is
devoted to the display of some of the most repre-
sentative pieces. Another fine collection is at the
Museo de Bellas Artes in Barcelona. Obviously
Paterna was a thriving production center for a
very long time.
Forms are restricted mainly to jars and plates.
The emphasis was upon appealing designs in
green and purple-brown at first, applied beneath a
glaze coat which they penetrated from below and
later brushed over a creamy white glazed back-
ground which offered a fascinating medley of
Medieval Gothic and Islamic patterns. The pot-
tery was mass produced without the focus upon
conspicuous consumption characteristic of later
ceramics made in the same immediate locality by
descendants of the Paterna potters.
Either Paterna ceramics influenced those of
central Italy through extensive Aragonese trade
connections or both areas shared a similar
ceramic background inherited from Muslim
sources. Forms and color schemes of tin glazed
wares from the two regions were comparable.
Design motifs differed.
patito
Mexican term for cockspur
Synonym: caballito, oicole
patron
Pattern used for decorating ceramics
peana
Vessel base
The base, or foot, of a vessel has structural and
aesthetic importance. It must provide stability
regardless of vessel size and contour, unless the
object is meant to be suspended in some way or
supported in a rack, and it should add a visually
pedaceria 69 Pesaro, Tomas de
pleasing line to the total effect. The engineering
aspect was the only important consideration for
utility types.
Spanish-tradition potters approached the ves-
sel foot in many ways. Common utility forms-
dnforas, ollas, tinajas-remained tapered or
round bottomed through the continuumfrom the
r jth through rSth centuries. They had to be
secured by being pushed into dirt floors or nested
into racks of some sort. Morteros were left with
very heavy bases so that grinding motions would
not tip the vessel. Picbeles, jarros; bandejas,
braseros, bacines usually were flat bottomed. For
vessels meant for special use or display, such as
jarras, candeleros, tazas, or fruteros ; tall pedestal
feet often were thrown which imparted a suitable
elegance of profile. A/bare/os, orzas, and other
forms derived from the cylinder usually rested on
a low trimmed ring foot. The broad heavy ring
foot was typical of the cuenca bowl because its
widely flaring walls required a heavy base for
stability. Frequently the ring on this and the Mus-
limmade platowere pierced with a hole so that, in
homes typically without cupboards, the vessels
might be hung on room walls for display and
protection. Platos derived from Gothic predeces-
sors, such as the earliest examples seen in the
Caribbean, had no defined foot but rested on a
flattened base usually exhibiting a central con-
vexity. This imparted a heavy cumbersome ap-
pearance to the form which was eliminated as
Italian styling calling for trimmed ring feet was
adopted. In order to remain faithful to the mod-
els, vessel shapes taken from metal examples-
tinteros, sa/eros-sometimes had small claw or
ball feet.
Synonym, in part: repie
pedaceria
Batch of potsherds
pedazo: fragment
Synonym: tiestos
pedaiio
Mexican term for lid of saggar
Such a covering was unflanged and merely sat
on top of the walls of the bottom part of the
saggar. Not all saggars had lids. The bottom part
of one saggar provided a covering for a saggar
placed beneath it.
pella
Pellet
This term must be read in context because it
may refer to a mass ofcrude ore or to balls of clay,
shaped and ready to throw.
Synonym, in part: bala, tallo
perfil
Profile
In ceramic literature the word perfil may mean
either the contour of a vessel or the outline of a
design.
perinola
Pear or top-shaped ornament; finial
Ceramic finials for entrance gates
or roof tops, decorated bycuerda seca
methods, are known from the 14th
and r yth centuries in Sevilla. Such
objects were replaced at a later date
by metal ornamentation.
The same form is occasionally de-
scribed as a table ornament, or sabre-
mesa.
Synonym: perilla; remate
perlado
Pearl colored
This description was used for a light blue glazed
type made at Puebla late in the r Bth century and
into the r oth century.
Synonym: aperlado; cotor de perla
perulero
Wide bellied, narrow mouthed pitcher or jar
One documentary reference from Sevilla men-
tions a I 575 sale of botijas peru/eras for the flota
bound for Tierra Firrne.
Synonym, in part: botija, piche/
Pesaro, Tomas de
Tomas de Pesaro (Tommaso de Pesaro) was
one of a number of Ligurian potters who moved
into the Sevilla area about the middle of the rorh
century, where they were responsible for a new
surge of activity in the production of hollow ware
based upon Renaissance colors and decorative
modes. Tomas and two brothers had been trained
in the workshops oftheir father, Francesco, set up
in 1528 in Genoa. This/abrica concentrated upon
patterns and colors, also being used contem-
poraneously at Venice, which owed much to
Near Eastern and Oriental models. They espe-
cially liked fine lined, dark blue arabesques on
blue to blue grey grounds. In Sevilla Tomas and
an Italian partner purchased the old palace of
Fernando Colon, the scholarly illegitimate son of
the Admiral, for a pottery. Although their pro-
pestaria
70 pila bautismal
picbeleria: place where picbeles are
made
picbelero: maker of picbeles
Synonym, in part: jarro de pica
piedrade Guanajuato
Mexican term for hematite
In firing, this iron oxide produced
a red-brown color which was em-
ployed instead of manganese to out-
line design elements. The source is
assumed to have been Guanajuato,
piedra de moler
Grinding stone, such as that used in mills to pul-
verize minerals
piedra Mexicana
Mexican name for millstone used in grinding
mineral pigments for maiolica decoration
pila bautismal
Baptismal font
Vessels used in Spanish
Catholic churches of the r sth
and 16th centuries as con-
tainers for water needed in
baptismal ceremonies typi-
cally were monumental, lead
glazed, heavy bowls exhib-
iting bas-relief or appliqued
bands near the rim area or
spread over the entire body.
They rested on tall supporting
pedestal bases similarly deco-
rated. Interestingly, such relief
ornamentation had its origin in
mudejardesign grammar. Aside
from numerous known exam-
ples in Toledo, Granada, and Sevilla, a compa-
rable pila bataismal has been found in the en-
virons of Mexico City and at least four are known
in the Canary Islands. The Mexican example bears
a date of 1599. The Canary Island specimens are
thought to have reached there from Sevilla some
time between 1499 and 1539. Documents show
others were ordered for 16th century churches in
the Caribbean and Tierra Firme. A Sevillian ollero
is listed as having sent two piles verdes to Santo
Domingo in 1509. By the middle of the 17th
century such ceramic pilas were prohibited by
ecclesiastical leaders who preferred them to be
made of marble or other stone such as tecale or
onyx.
ducts have not yet been identified, a transference
from Genoa to Sevilla of their known methods
and styles was probable. The documents concern-
ing the establishment of this industry list among
the interesting properties two slaves, Juan negro
and Manuel yndio. Pesaro pottery may have
reached the New World in return for a native
American.
pestaiia
Flange of a vessel
This is usually a strip of clay extending below a
lid surface which fits the inside diameter of a jar
and thus holds the lid in place
Piccolpasso, Cipriano
Piccolpasso was a 16th century Italian military
engineer who wrote a treatise on contemporary
maiolica making. His three books and drawings,
whose texts were translated into English by
members of the Victoria and Albert Museum
staff, provide a valuable reference for methods
and materials in use in 16th century Italian work-
shops. Because of similarity in end products, it is
assumed that many Spanish procedures were
comparable, if not identical.
pica
Spout; cutting tool
The most typical spout appearing on Spanish
ceramics of the Islamic period through the r Srh
century is a small, triangular piece of clay loosely
folded and attached horizontally at or near rim
line. Visually it resembles a bird's bill or beak,
hence the name. Probably this form of spout was
inspired by Near Eastern ceramic or metal pro-
totypes.
Long curved tubular spouts attached on lower
body walls occur but are not common. Pulled or
compressed spouts without a sloping pouring
edge are seen on later examples of Spanish
maiolica. It was this variation which was most
often used by Mexican potters.
Pica also was the name for the tool used in
cutting pieces of tile to make alicatados.
Synonym, in part: rostra
picbel
Pitcher; mug
The usual Spanish pitcher is
round bodied and tall necked. It
mayor may not have a pulled or
lobed pouring spout.
pila de agua bendita 71 pipa
An enormous beautiful carved wooden retable
in the Granada cathedral, dated about r 520, de-
picts such a pita bautisma/ being used during the
enforced baptism of the Moors defeated there
twenty eight years earlier.
Another form ofpita bautisma/, also sometimes
described as an escudi/la doble or sopero, is more
often associated with 17th and r8th century
maiolica. It was a bowl base of much smaller
diameter than that of the earlier period, topped
with a high conical lid bearing acentral knob. This
particular version of baptismal font is not found in
Mexico, probably having been replaced there by
more elaborate stone or metal vessels.
The same shape of vessel is also noted among
ceramics of the Spanish Muslim periods, when it
must have served other needs. Perhaps a clue to
this is seen in r oth century Moroccan utilization
of the same form for the ceremonial serving of
butter and honey or clabbered milk. It would
appear that this was a special vessel form to both
Christian and Islamic users.
pita de agua bendita
Benitier, or holy water stoup
In all Catholic churches such a
vessel is located near the entrance
where the faithful may dip their
fingers prior to prayer. Such vessels
also are found in private homes near
small shrines.
Typical Spanish pi/as are composed of flat slabs
of clay, designed to be fastened to a wall, with a
small half-bowl for the water attached near its
base. During the r8th century in Spain and
Mexico these vessels became baroque, with re-
ligious imagery such as modeled figures of Christ
on the Cross, angels, or saints framed byarchirec-
tural features adorning the slab above the water
bowl. Bright polychrome colors added to the
gaudy appearance of these pi/as.
In modern Morocco vessels ofthis type are said
to hold soap used in Muslim ablutions.
Diminutive: pi/eta
pi/a: sink, basin, trough, fountain
Synonym: acetre, benditera
pilOn
Pounding mortar
As a first step in preparing clay to be used by
potters, chunks of the raw material were placed in
very large deep mortars or stone lined pits where
they were broken up and pulverized with heavy
wooden poles.
pi/on secadero
Drying tank where washed clay was decanted
secar: to dry
pimporro
Term used in Estremadura for spouted Jar or
botijo
pincel
Paint brush
Maiolists of Spain and Mexico derived the
materials for such brushes from various animal
hairs such as those of dogs, horses, even rats.
These hairs were then shaped and fastened to a
handle of some sort. Decorators had their favor-
ites and passed them on to heirs.
pinta a/ crudo
Process of painting decorations in mineral oxides
on to unfired glaze base
Because of the rapid absorbency of unfired tin
glaze, the decorators had to be very sure handed.
It was impossible to remove errors short of re-
moving the glaze with water and allowing the
vessel to dry prior to proceeding. On occasion
honey or gum arabic was mixed with pigment
solutions to enable brushes to move more
smoothly over vessel surfaces. Small designs were
painted freehand after a standard pattern had
been worked out by the maestro. Larger elements
were outlined with a pounched pattern and then
filled in.
/oza pintada: painted pottery
pintura de borr6n
Sketched design
This refers to the process of roughing out the
total design prior to fillingit in with colors. It can
also mean an outlined style.
Synonym, in part: aborronado
pipa
Pipe or wooden cask for storing wine or oils
Enormous amounts of wine, essential to
Spanish diets, were shipped across the Atlantic
during the colonial period in two kinds of con-
tainers. The small one was the earthenware tina-
ja, which unless glazed on at least one surface,
allowed its contents to seep out. The other was
the pipe, which unless stoutly bound, also seeped.
Suppliers of pipes for Columbus's Second Voy-
age, for example, included inferior kegs which
piquera
72 plato del cordoncillo
oozed or sprang leaks, causing their contents to
sour before they could be consumed. Although
the word pipa also was used as a liquid measure-
ment, the actual capacity of casks varied. In En-
gland a pipe was standardized at two hogsheads,
or 105 imperial gallons.
piquera
Wick opening in clay or metal oil lamps
pisa
Block of wedged clay
pisador: wedger of clay
pisar: to tread on
Synonym: pella, masa
pisano
Of Pisa
This term is seen in several contexts. Because
the Italian tiler, Francisco Niculoso, signed some
of his panels with the name EI Pisano, all
smoothed maiolica tiles produced after his time
came to be called pisanos, to distinguish them
from the earlier relief surfaced cuenca tiles. In
addition, pisano (or de pisa) served as a sort of
generic term for Italian pottery in general,
whether it was actually made at Pisa or not.
Perhaps this resulted from the importance of
Pisan ships, which for centuries had called at
Spanish ports with the goods of the
Mediterranean, or Pisan merchants who resided
in Spanish cities such as Sevilla. The same situa-
tion prevails with the commonly used phrase loza
de venencia which identified Italian pottery as
Venetian on basis of style, though it actually may
have originated at a center like Genoa where
comparable motifs and colors were used.
placa
Plaque
Wall plaques of polychromed pictorial scenes
composed of a dozen or more tiles set contigu-
ously were popular in rSth century Spain and
Mexico. Occasionally they were framed with
borders of monochrome shaped tile.
Synonym: tablero
planellet
Valencian term for potter's wheel head
Synonym: cabeza
plantilla
Pattern; mold
A stamp of fired clay or wood called a plantilla
was used to impress designs on leather hard or
slightly softer vessels, such as the large
amphorae characteristic of r sth century Sevilla,
Granada, and Toledo.
plastictdad
Plasticity
Plasticity is the property of clay which it
to be manipulated without losing its cohesion,
Generally the buff-burning clays with fairly fine
texture are the most plastic. However, kaolin
clays are low in plasticity, making the throwing of
porcelain more difficult than the throwing of
earthenware.
plato
Plate
Plates, which in Spain are
known only among glazed
wares, may be defined as open,
shallow, usually circular vessels
of variable diameter. In early
16th century Sevilla and Mexico the plate usually
had a concave center, sometimes accented by
a low raised boss, widely flaring rims, and no
trimmed ring base. It probably represents the
growing custom ofindividual rather than c?mmu-
nal dishes and served as an all-purpose eating ves-
sel for liquids as well as solid foods. Gr.adually
centers flattened, rims became more horizontal,
and ring bases were customary. By the r Sth cen-
tury the sharp angle between interior center and
rim disappeared. Late in that same century many
plates were flat bottomed, moldmade, and were
without a ring base.
Plates are defined frequently in terms of antici-
pated functions, i.e, bread and butter plate, salad
plate, dessert plate.
Diminutive: platillo
Augmentative: plat6n
Valencian vernacular: plats
Synonym, in part: alai/or, flamenqailla, patera
plato del cbaparro . .
Talaveran plate of r rth and rSth cenrunes typi-
callydecorated in polychrome colors with a scene
of a bridge over a river and trees in the
background
platodel cordoncillo .
Manises lusterware plate of r yth century bearing
raised rib pattern radiating out spoke fashion
from a central raised circle
Often scattered small bosses were placed
within the wheel. The plates themselves were
plato del pino 73 policromo
molded by a jigger and jolly method but the ribs
were applied as not-tao-liquid slip.
cordoncillo: rib
platodel pino
Talaveran plate of 17th and r Sth centuries typi-
cally decorated in polychrome colors with pine
tree motif
plomo
Lead
Lead has many qualities which make it impor-
tant to potters creating glazed wares. It is widely
distributed in quantity around the world. It melts
at a low temperature, is suitable for use on many
types of clay, and is easily stained with mineral
oxides such as copper and iron. For at least two
millenia it provided the dominant flux for most
glaze solutions known in the Western world. It
was needed in considerable quantity by an active
potter, one Italian potter, for example, being re-
corded as having purchased 13,415 pounds of
lead in the single year of 1518.
Southern Spain lacked workable deposits of
lead, which necessitated importation from else-
where, possibly the Near Eastern Levante. Vene-
tian ships appear to have been the main transport-
ers of this are, promoting the Valencian phrase
plom de uenecia.
Mexico is rich in lead deposits, Nuevo Leon
providing most of the mineral during the r zth
century. Humboldt stated that at the end of the
colonial period lead was being exported from
Mexico to Spain.
esmalte plomifero: plumbiferous glaze
plomo blanco
Ancient Spanish term for tin
plumear
To hatch or shade in painting
Filling elements with hatch lines was common
practice in Talaveran work of the last half of
the 16th century. After Talaveran decorators
adopted Italianate design, shading of elements
and background by broad lightly applied brush
strokes was usual.
Mexican rnaiolists adopted neither the hatched
element nor shading methods but did in the rSth
century use two shades of blue. This might be
considered estilo plumeado. That was a style often
combined with estilo aborranado, whereby indi-
vidual elements were outlined in manganese or
iron solutions.
poblano
OfPuebla
The town of Puebla de los Angeles, unlike
Mexico City, was not founded over the ruins ofan
Indian capital, although it was located in a valley
having a large aboriginal population. It was a new
settlement laid out in a geometric Spanish plan
with Spanish settlers, and it remained one of the
most Castilian cities of Mexico. A characteristic
regional art evolved nevertheless, which is
termed poblano, notable for extensive use of ar-
chitectural ceramics, brick, worked stone, and
plaster. The chinapoblana costume is a clue to the
fusion of cultural elements which was reflected in
the locally made maiolica.
pocillo
Cup used for drinking chocolate;
demitasse
The pocillo form, especially char-
acteristic of Mexican maiolicas but
likewise made in Spain, was a short
cylinder about 2 !Iz to 3 inches in height, with
straight or slightly everted lip and a tiny ring foot.
Its walls often were eggshell thin. Although han-
dled examples are known, it most often was with-
out such an appendage. Pocillos have not been
identified in the Mexican ceramic sequence prior
to the r rth century, but during the next century,
when mass production of tableware was prac-
ticed, they were made by the thousands. This fact,
plus their fragility, makes them among the most
common colonial ceramics now found.
The pocillo form obviously was inspired by
Chinese tea cups, which also came to Mexico in
tremendous volume, nested together in heavy
chests which were placed as ballast in the holds of
the Manila galleons. Tea did not become a popu-
lar drink in Mexico. The cup was used for a native
beverage, the old Nahuatl chocolatl.
Synonym: pozeelo
policromo
Polychrome
The use of more than one decorative color was
typical of Spanish ceramics from the time of the
Cordoban Caliphate in the roth century when
copper green and manganese purple-brown first
appeared on local ceramics. Polychromy con-
tinued through the Nasrid period, often being
cobalt blue and silver and copper oxides. On
hollow ware the use of monochrome blue typical
oflate r yth century and much ofthe 16th century
polvo azul
74 porcelana
gave way to polychromes of blue, green, brown,
yellow, and orange in various combinations, the
latter two colors having been introduced from
Italy. As time passed, greens and yellows defined
by brown came to be identified with Puente del
Arzobispo, but they also were important in all
other areas.
Polychromes appear among the first wares
thought to have been made at Puebla, usually
blue with touches of yellow and orange. In the
r rth century an Italianate palette of blue, yellow,
orange, green, and black became typical for one
type and blue and black for another. During the
next century a multicolored type was continued,
but the century was notable for blues on white,
which in many cases was also a polychrome be-
cause two shades of blue were accented with
black-brown. At the end of the rSth century
there was a revival of interest in the green-
yellow-brown group of colors, paralleling that in
Spain, and in the next century bright poly-
chromes became usual.
polvo azul
Mexican term for dry cobalt
poloo: powder
poloerista
One who prepared pigments
pomo
Vial; flagon
This form was a small bottle with stopper, usu-
ally of a slightly exotic shape. It was designed to
be used for perfume, oils, and other special
liquids. Such vessels were most typical of the rSth
century when Bourbon French court life encour-
aged use of luxuries.
Synonym:frasco
poncbera
Punch bowl
Very large hemispherical
bowls, which mayor may not have been used for
punch, were typical of r rrh and rSth century
work at Talavera and rSth century work at
Puebla.
poncbe: punch
porcelana
Porcelain
Porcelain is a translucent, vitrious, high fired
ware created from kaolin clay and feldspathic
stone. It was being made in China by the 9th or
loth centuries, or in terms of Spanish history, the
period of the Cordoban Caliphate. The main in-
gredient necessary for its manufacture, the
white-firing clay, was not identified in Europe
until the beginning of the r Sth century, although
some kaolin had been in use there as a powder
with which to dust wigs. At first a closely guarded
secret of Saxony, whose ruler had once impris-
oned its discoverer to force him to attempt to
artificially make gold, the process for producing
porcelain spread throughout Europe. In addition
to the kaolin, it was realized then that a new style
of kiln was essential in order to achieve the high
temperatures needed to mature porcelain pastes.
The effect on local ceramics of the forms and
designs associated with Ming porcelains brought
to Europe in volume after the r yth century was
dramatic in all western countries. But Spanish
mudejar design had already assimilated many
Oriental concepts as they had filtered through the
Near East, which long previously had been in
direct touch with China. Therefore, change in
ceramic design during the European craze for
chinoiserie was not as marked in Spain as in many
other places. Much of this latter-day Chinese
influence came to Spain second hand through
Delft, Portuguese, French, and Italian interpreta-
tions of vessel forms, some specificelements, and
prevailing ideas ofdivisions offield. Naturally the
results were diluted. Furthermore, although ac-
tual importation of Ming and Ch'ing vessels into
Spain and orders for Chinese products by Spanish
nobility are known, there is surprisingly little
Chinese porcelain still to be seen there. It would
appear that the amount of Oriental porcelain in
Spain did not equal that bought and sold in
neighboring countries. Porcelain was not made in
Spain itself until the second half of the r Srh cen-
tury.
Ming porcelains had a more obvious effect
upon Mexican maiolica because of the Manila
galleon operating through Acapulco after 1573.
By the middle of the 17th century Puebla potters
making fine grade wares were involved in emulat-
ing Eastern styles, probably because their own
market was in jeopardy due to the amount of
imported porcelain and also because of steadily
declining trade and inspirational contact with the
mother country. Not only was there wholesale
copying of patterns and forms, but the blue on
white theme identified with Chinese work of the
time dominated Mexican maiolicas for over 100
years. Indigenous tastes and aptitudes, as well as
75 porosidad
raw materials available and kiln type in use,
caused local Chinese-like ceramics to retain their
own uniqueness. No true porcelain was made in
colonial Mexico, although some kaolin now is
known there.
No local maiolica copies of Chinese porcelain
styles ever were created in Guatemala, Panama,
or Peru, even though all received much porcelain
throughout the Spanish period.
Ming and Ch'ing porcelains were a major kind
of ceramics traded to all frontiers of the Spanish
colonial empire. Much of it went as contraband.
The Viceroyalty of Peru theoretically was ex-
cluded from the Oriental trade, but ships out of
Callao laid off Acapulco harbor to transfer Manila
goods for southern markets. Chinese porcelains
of the 17th and r Sth centuries still are rather
plentiful in both Mexico and Peru in spite of the
reported smashing at the time ofindependence of
many pieces in the mistaken belief that the lion
figures in some designs were part of the royal
crest of Spain. Also in existence in Mexico are
some fifteen to twenty crested dinner services of
porcelain made on order in the r Sth century.
porosidad
Porosity
Porosity is the quality of being permeable by
liquids. In ceramics, it is related to hardness and
degree of vitrification. There is a 4 to 10% po-
rosity in most unglazed earthenwares, a charac-
teristic which makes it useful for the cooling of
liquids through evaporation.
porron
Earthenware jug, usually with spout
Synonym, in part: botijo
port
Valencian term for kiln mouth
Synonym: boca
pot, pote
Drug jar
Diminutive: potecillo
Synonym: albarela, bote, tarro de botica
pozale
Jar attached to rope to draw water from a well
Synonym: poal (Valencian vernacular)
pozuelo
In colonial Mexico pozuelo was a variant of the
wordpocillo, or small cup. It was made in various
sizes, with and without handles, although the size
prensada
without handles suitable for clasping easily in one
hand was most typical. It was a form copied in the
early 17th century from Oriental models, and
appears to have superceded in part the angular
taza of Medieval origins. These cups probably
were the vessel form most commonly made in all
grades of Mexican ware. For example, an inven-
tory compiled in the late r Sth century ofproperty
left by one deceased potter at Puebla lists 722
dozenpozuelos ofvarious styles; for another potter
a total of 3476 dozen pozuelos at two locerias and an
additional I 10 dozen pozuelo wasters.
Such cups were thin walled, delicate vessels
which probably were numerous in all middle and
upper class homes. Furthermore, they were in
continual use. Thus pozuelos, or fragments of
them, are very common in archaeological de-
posits of the Mexican colonial period. They also
appear among Guatemalan forms made during
the r zth and r Srh centuries and likely were
adopted directly from Puebla styling.
Similar vessels are known among Spanish
maiolicas of the same centuries but just how
common they were cannot be determined until
archaeology of house sites of those eras is under-
taken. Although believed of original Chinese
derivation, it may have been a vessel shape dif-
fused to Spain via Mexico with a complex of cul-
tural traits associated with the use of chocolate,
rather than coming via Portugal or Holland with
the use of tea.
The wordpozuelo also means a small fountain or
a ceramic vessel sunk into the ground to collect
water, as in a sump, or to collect wine at wine
presses. However, these forms would not have
been made and sold in the quantity noted in the
inventories above.
preg6n
Public proclamation
The guild ordinances were announced by a
crier, pregonero publico, so that everyone would
know them and thereby be bound to observe
them.
prender el homo
To fire the kiln
prensada
Pressed
Forms which were molded, usually with fluted
sides, are described as prensad.
prensar: to press
procendencia
76 querubin
procendencia
Origin; provenience
pucbera
Earthenware jar
Although the exact shape is not certain, the
capacity of the form is said to have varied from
large (about 5 gallons) to small. A number of
regional names apparently indicate its various
sizes or manifestations: crecio, cuatreiio, deespanta,
jarriero, mestizo.
pucbero
Cooking pot
Synonym, in part: cacerola, cazuela, olla
Diminutive: pucberito
Puebla de los Angeles
This city in central Mexico, founded in 153I ,
was famous throughout the colonial eras for in-
dustrial goods, including ceramics. Although
common utility and lead glazed wares are known
to have been made at an early period at Puebla, it
was the maiolica which was to make the town
ceramically important. Apparently well before
the end of the 16th century Puebla wasproducing
several styles of maiolica hollowware in sufficient
quantities for limited colonial trade. During the
next century this activity was accompanied by a
thriving industry dedicated to manufacture of
maiolicatiles. Throughout the 17th and rSth cen-
turies Puebla maiolica was traded to all parts of
the Spanish empire in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1793 there were 46 locerias in production.
Even so, the industry was in a state of decline
which continued throughout the roth century.
Puente del Arzobispo
Located in Castile near Talavera, Puente del
Arzobispo had been a pottery center for a long
time prior to the 16th century. At that time pot-
ters there came under the influence of those at
Talavera and made types so similar that they can-
not be distinguished. In 1645 Puente del Ar-
zobispo is reported to have had 8 kilns in use. A
century later the number had increased to 13.
During the rSth century Puente del Arzobispo
maiolica was known for its monterlas in a green-
yellow-brown palette.
puncbe
Mexican term for the blue ground types of the
late rSth century and early 19th century, other-
wise known as azul aperlado
punteado
Decorative style employing use of many dots
Dotted designs were common at Talavera and
Sevillain the late 16th century, probably inspired
by Italian models. This mode spread to Mexico at
the end of the century and sawits fullest expres-
sion during the r rrh century on a multicolored
type. The use of dots to fill outlines of animals
also might have been suggested by Ming spotted
deer, a very common motif of the Wan-Ii period.
pinta: dot
puntear: to dot
puntitos oscuros
Pinholes
Pinholing was a frequent defect in Spanish-
tradition maiolica glaze due in part to too high a
percentage of borax or litharge.
punz6n
Awl used to etch designs, such as veins of leaves,
through a background color
[m
qUerOI
Valencian term for plank on which
[aI freshly thrown vessels were placed
for preliminary drying
querubin
Cherub
A motif of winged angel heads was one of the
most characteristic elements of Renaissance art,
itself derived from Early Christian art, which dif-
fused to Sevilla. There it frequently appears on
azulejos. For example, such a frieze surmounts the
elaborate entrance to the Santa Paula church
decorated by Francisco Niculoso and probably
was the first example of querubines to appear in
Spanish ceramics. The same design was intro-
duced to Talavera by Italian influenced Flemish
craftsmen when it was incorporated with fer-
roneries on fat bodied orzas. Also at Talavera ani-
mated wingless angels cavort through pictorial
quintal 77 realzado
landscapes, paisajes, or support crests, or as mod-
eled figures, adorn some pitas. Occasionally the
cherub figures wear a headdress and hence are
called indios coronados.
With the exportation of Sevillian tile to many
parts of the colonial empire, the querbintraveled.
It was a motif especially prominent on Sevillian
tile dados in churches and the Torre Tagli palace
in Lima, where it has been duplicated by local
artisans in making restorations following earth-
quake damage.
Even though they were more removed from
the full brunt of Renaissance conventions and by
the r zth century had become a culturally and
racially mixed group, Mexican maiolists adopted
with very little perceptible modification an as-
sortment of Italianate motifs, particularly ex-
pressed in tile panels. Thus the winged querbin
appears on r rrh and r8th century tiles, both as
painted and relief figures. Its Mexican rendition is
indistinguishable from its Spanish counterparts.
The nude full view angel seldom was copied.
quintal
Unit of measurement of approximately roo
pounds
Such units were used to gauge shipments of
ores for the manufacture of glazes and pigments.
mJ]
rajoles
Tile
This was a Valencian term for
R rile, CU, into squares, triangles,
stars, crosses, or other geometrical
shapes and combined into mosaics in pavements.
Later in Catalufiarajoles became a term for glazed
tiles with genre drawings of craftsmen at work or
life as it was then being lived, many of which
enliven the floors of guild halls. This source
therefore reveals something about the ceramic
tools in use, the way work proceeded, and the
potters themselves.
Rajoles enjoyed great popularity throughout
Spain in the r8th century. They represent the
only Cataluiian ceramic style which had any
influence in Mexico, perhaps passed there via
Sevilla. But it should be noted also that at mid
century Cataluria was at last permitted to engage
in the carrera delndias. In Spain and in Mexico a
complete design of this Cataluiia category was
represented on a single tile or required groups of
many tiles. One fine Mexico City home of the
r8th century had a series of such tile panels de-
picting the duena, the butler, the gardener; and
the washer woman. Because of a background pat-
tern known to have been used by maiolists work-
ing in Mexico City, it is believed these panels
were the work of some shop located there. How-
ever, another well known group of large animated
human figures on tile panels is mounted on the
second and third story facades of a colonial home
in Puebla. They are said to have been placed there
to mock forever the municipal officials who pro-
tested the building of this palace. Also of interest
are individual tiles with short legged figures hav-
ing unusually large heads drawn in caricature, or
grotescos. These are taken directly from Barcelo-
nian models.
ramilletero
Vase or plate used as a centerpiece
ramillete: bouquet, common motifin r 8th century
Spain and Mexico
rasgueo
Pattern formed by fine lines
The filling of elements with fine lined parallel
hatchure was a common device in late r6th cen-
tury Talaveran work. Orange was the usual color
so used, outlines of elements being dark grey blue
or manganese purple-brown.
Synonym: bacburado; sombrear con lineas
realzado
Raised or embossed; highlighted
On Puebla maiolica of the r 8th century much
of the dark blue decoration was applied so thickly
that it appears in some relief on the vessel surface.
A lighter tone of blue was used to enhance or
highlight the main darker blue theme. These two
approaches to design, which may be called real-
recipiente
78 reverso
zado, were referred to in guild ordinances con-
cerning copies of Chinese porcelain patterns.
realzar: to highlight, to emboss
recipiente
Generic term for vessel or container; vessel body
redonda
Round bodied large jug, usually lacking handles
rejlejo metdlico
Lusterware
Lusterware was a specialized version of maio-
lica whereby, after the white tin glaze and occa-
sionallycobalt blue designs were fired, an overlay
in silver and copper oxides, plus sulphur and red
or yellow ochre suspended in vinegar, was
painted on the vessel. A third firing at low temp-
erature ensued in a mufflekiln producing a reduc-
tion atmosphere. The ochre was rubbed off after
firing, leaving a metallic sheen.
Apparently introduced from Egypt, the luster
technique reached an apogee in Spain among
Nasrid craftsmen working at Malaga during the
rarh century and was the highest accomplishment
in Hispano-Moresque ceramics.
Manises assumed leadership in lusterware pro-
duction during the r yth century, a trend fur-
thered by the absorption of Muslim potters and
decorators after the fall of Granada in 1492. The
names of more than 100 potters making luster-
ware there during the 14th and r yth centuries are
known. Just as the racial composition of the pot-
ting force was mixed, so did design patterns be-
come a hybridization of Islamic and Gothic ideas.
By the 17th and r Sth centuries workmanship was
perfunctory as' demand for the ware declined in
the face of the rise of porcelain.
The development of lusterware demonstrates
the heights to which lowly earthen materials
could be taken by skilled craftsmen, who appar-
ently initiated such work under a religious pro-
hibition against the use of vessels of precious
metals. It also reflects a materialistically oriented
society willing to support a craft destined to pro-
duce items for a very limited clientele.
Synonym: Hispano-Moresque, loza dorada, obra
de MaNcha
Renacimiento
Renaissance
Not until the Italian Renaissance movement
was nearly a century old did it begin to make itself
felt along Spain's southern shores. About 1500
architecture, pamting, sculpture, and ceramics
were slowly beginning to move out of the Gothic
past under the influence of Italian artists and
craftsmen who were encouraged to settle there by
a royal exemption from taxes. In Sevillaone ital-
ian tiler early in the 16th century and a group of
Italian potters in the last half of the century
brought about a dramatic change in maiolica
styles, while at the same time the Italian Renais-
sance was being introduced to Castilian potters
via Flemish artisans. Similar undercurrents were
felt in the Levante and Caralufia, New more ele-
gant vessel forms, new refined techniques for
making and firing glazes, new variations of color,
and above all new humanistic drawing in pictorial
sequences, composiciones pictoricas, brought not
only the Renaissance to Spanish ceramics but a
renewed vigor to an old industry and a national
appreciation for pottery. All of these factors
rapidly diffused overseas.
renacentista: pertaining to the Renaissance
repisar
To work clay with the feet, as in original prepara-
tion of the clay body
pisar: to tread on
reticulada
Reticulated
Such a mode of decoration based on intricate
network oflines is found in much Muslim ceramic
work. It recurs on some Puebla maiolica.
Reus
Lusterware and later maiolica were made at
Reus, a small town in Cataluiia, apparently by
moriscos remaining there after the 1610 expulsion
order for that area. Styles had some similarities to
Italian motifs, but workmanship was inferior.
Forms were not those of the molded lusterware
examples typical of Valencia.
reuerso
Underside of a vessel
At some periods reverse sides of flat forms
received much attention from Spanish ceramic
decorators. It was a morisco custom, for example,
to draw large animated animals surrounded by
fronds or arabesques on reverses of lusterware
plates. Other contemporary devices were encir-
cling lines or sets of graduated arched lines or
circles.
Apparently as a reflection of the use ofexterior
lotus panels on Ming porcelain plates or shallow
risco
79 San Lorenzo del Escorial
sabumador
Vessel in which incense was burned
These were of variable shape and size, usually
elaborate, as befitting the ceremonial use of in-
cense. Often animal forms were modeled for this
purpose. One late Mexican form was a cup on a
saucer, the cup having slotted sides.
Synonym: incensario; perfumador
sal
Salt
Common salt, a royal monopoly, was added to
some massicots in place of other sodiums.

In the r yth through r yth century
green and purple-brown wares of
Paterna such vessels were small bowls with wavy
rims (abolladura). In r rth and r Sth centuries they
typically became a small lidless jar or a tiny bowl
set down into a short cylinder, occasionally with
four ball feet. Such a form was described as two
pieces encaja, or inserted. Groups of three or four
attached bowls with a loop handle rising from
their point of junction occasionally served as salt
cellars.
salsera
Variously defined as a sauce boat or apothecary
jar
salsa: sauce, gravy
salvadera
Sand box
During the colonial period it was customary to
dry ink by sprinkling fine sand, arenilla, on it. A
container for the sand, or other pounce material,
most often was a small bowl. On occasion a
molded square receptacle was used.
San Lorenzo del Escorial
This was a Hieronymite monastery within the
Escorial which was a main client of Talaveran
maiolica factories and is known to have placed
orders for tiles and vessels from 1570 until the
extinction ofthe Order. Among the hollow wares
produced to fulfill these contracts were many
vessels for the pharmacy located there. All were
bowls, Ligurian draftsmen drew casually overlap-
ping arcades on their blue ground type, which in
turn were copied by Spanish and Mexican makers
of blue wares in the late 16th century. Such a
custom of exterior blue arched lines on shallow
bowls was revived on a blue on white variety
made at Puebla in the late rSth century.
risco
Mexican baroque monument characteristically
decorated with porcelain sherds
A well known risco in the San Angel district of
Mexico City, located in the patio of an rSth cen-
tury residence, contains an extravagant display of
porcelain fragments mortared next to a wide
range of rSth century Puebla maiolica sherds and
complete vessels.
rocalla
Rocaille
A style of ornamentation based on shape of
water worn rocks and shells was typical of rSth
century art, inspiring the term Rococo. De-
veloped by French masters, this style was widely
adopted by r Sth century Alcoran and Talaveran
potters and ceramic decorators. Expressive of the
vogue were moldmade forms with foliated rims,
painted in airy, small scaled floral sprays. Late in
the rSth century Puebla potters copied these
shapes and designs, which had their original
source in Chinese porcelains.
rodeta
Banding wheel on which vessels could be turned
while being decorated.
rostro
Pouring spout
Synonym: pico
rueda
Wheel
Synonym: torno, the preferred term for potter's
wheel
rulo
Millstone, used for grinding raw clay, which was
turned by mules or oxen
sachen
Raised area at rear of fuel chamber
in Valencian kiln on which were
placed minerals to be calcined and
vessels to be bisqued
Santa Cruz Oyangueren
y Espinola, Diego 80
servicio
decorated in what has been called an estilo es-
curialense, which amounted to an elegant in-
terpretation of vogues current at various periods
but which were rhrought suitable for royal pa-
trons. The tall wasp waisted albarelos with domed
lids are particularly handsome with their usual
crowned insignia of the grid of St. Lawrence (San
Lorenzo) characteristic of the Escorial. later
works also displayed the names of leading priors.
The monastery building itself provided an ar-
chitectural motif which was drawn in perspective
on fine vessels of the r rrh and rSth centuries.
Santa Cruz Oyangueren y Espinola, Diego
An rSrh century master potter at Puebla, this
artisan was such an outstanding decorator that he
claimed to have been the inventor of Chinese
design on Mexican ware, a statement which does
not appear accurate inasmuch as the earliest
Chinese-style patterns seem to date in the last
several decades of the r rth century and in fact
were referred to in the guild ordinances of that
period. Nevertheless, he said in a petition to the
authorities that his work was so fine it could not
be distinguished from that ofChina andJapan and
it had brought him fame throughout the entire
Viceroyalty of Nueva Espana. This success did
not prevent him from getting into trouble over
guild infractions.
Santa Cruz Oyangueren served as guild alcalde
five different years. Upon his death, he owned
three houses, another under construction, and
two pottery workshops. This would seem to
confirm his claim to fame.
Santas Justa and Rufina
Patron saints of Spanish and Spanish colonial
potters, also called Santas Alfareras, Justa and
Rufina were two Christian potters who lived in
Roman Sevilla in the 3rd century. They were
crucified by being racked and strangled for refus-
ing to sell their vessels for the benefit of some
pagan rites.
Some time after the Reconquest of 1248, pot-
ters of Sevilla were organized into a cofradia
under the banner of SaintsJusta and Rufina. The
same name was given to the Sevillian hospital
where potters were treated. Thus there is an in-
teresting passage of culture from the Roman
period of a millenium earlier to Christian work-
shops, where many of the craftsmen were still
Muslims. A similar cofradia later was established
in Talavera in the Convento de la Santisima
Trinidad. The saints' day was July 19.
By the r rth century potters ofMexico City and
Puebla also are known to have been organized
into a cofradia taking its name from those two
ladies and celebratingJuly 19 with special obser-
vances. The San Marcos church, built between
1643 and 1675, was the headquarters of the
Puebla group. The Mexico City cofradia was
at the Santa Veracruz church.
Santiago de los Caballeros
The seat of the Audiencia of Guatemala (mod-
ern Antigua) was the home of a prosperous soci-
ety which for several centuries supported a small
pottery industry. Some tiles were imported from
Sevilla, and some hollow wares made their way
south over the long camino real from Puebla. But
most local needs for ceramics appear to have been
satisfied by Guatemalan artisans. The variety of
vessel forms made was considerable, but concern
was for functional rather than display objects.
After developing a limited stock of simple 17th
century patterns for use on tin glazed pieces,
borrowed with few modifications from Sevilla,
these potters contented themselves for a very
long time with tiresome repetitions, a situation
which, added to lack of Chinese influence and
lack of the use of cobalt blue, must have been the
result of the geographical isolation of the high-
land city. Santiago de los Caballeros was virtually
destroyed by earthquakes late in the colonial era,
but a few potters remained there to carry on the
maiolica tradition.
sazon
Process of ripening clay necessary to increase
plasticity
secadero
Drying room
Green ware had to be thoroughly dry before
firing, a matter of several days to several weeks,
depending on thickness, size, and atmospheric
temperatures. It was best to dry vessels slowlyin a
somewhat humid atmosphere to prevent warp-
ing. In Paterna the kiln chambers were put to this
use when a load of vessels was not being fired.
Synonym: sequir (Valencian vernacular)
seiial
Maker's mark
Synonym: marca
seruicio
Set of tableware; chamber pot
servidor 81 tablazon
seruidor
Chamber pot
servidora
Serving bowl, usually for sweets
silice
Silica 0 r flint
The native silica content of the fine grained
quartz sand incorporated in lead and tin glaze
solutions was essential in helping create a glassy
finish. Its presence in glaze also helped decrease
destructive thermal expansions.
smaltino (Italian)
Greyish blue glaze produced by addition of smalt
to tin glaze
Glazes of this color were typical of Ligurian
potteries in the last half of the 16th century. They
covered plates and jars which were sold to mer-
chants in Sevilla, who then exported some of
them to the Indies.
Synonym, in part: berettino (Italian)
sobado
The state at which clay was ready to be formed
into balls for later use
sobar: to knead
socarrat
Tile
Typical of the end of r yth and beginning of
16th centuries at Paterna, these tiles were large (c.
14 inches square), thick, and meant to be used on
ceilings or other protected places. They were
bisqued, covered with lime which was painted in
strong tones of vermillion, blue, black, and occa-
sionally yellow, and refired. Matte designs are
interesting depictions of current dress and cos-
tumes.
In Valencia the word also means bisqued pot-
tery in general.
soleta
Wooden potter's tool used during throwing pro-
cess
sombrear con lineas
To shade with lines
Synonym, in part: hachurado, plumeado
sopera
Soup plate
The shallow plate with widely flaring sides
often has been called a sopera, though that func-
tion is merely inferential. However, stews were
the common wayof cooking meat and vegetables,
and this form would have served well for those
foods.
Incolonial Nuevo Mexico this particular form
was one copied through hand building methods
by the Indian potters.
sopero
Tureen
Synonym, in part: escudilla do-
ble, pila bautismal
sumersion
Submersion
Vessels were glazed by dip-
ping them into vats of liquid
glaze. The outline of workers'
fingers frequently remain where the liquid bath
did not reach the bisqued walls. Glaze was poured
into larger forms, swirled around quickly by tip-
ping the pot, and then poured back into the vat.
Rapid but even application of glaze was essential
for a smooth fired coat.
superficie
Vessel surface
superficie gallonada: surface with channeled deco-
rations
superficie movida: surface with manipulated con-
tours
superficie pintada: surface with painted decora-
tions
Whether the first two design conventions arose
from the development of molds for pottery mak-
ing or whether molds were devised in order to
permit such decorative treatments remains an un-
answered question. Both altered vessel surfaces.
Molds came into the mainstream of Spanish ce-
ramics during Islamic periods and, with numer-
ous stylistic modifications, have continued to the
present day.
m
tablaz6n
Planking
After vessels were thrown or
T trimmed, they were removed to
long boards which could be carried
to drying areas. Racks to support such boards had
82 tablero
a place in every pottery. Such planking is included
in property inventories.
Synonym: querol (Valencian vernacular), tabla,
tablaje
tab/ero
Plaque
A scene composed of a dozen or more tiles to
be mounted contiguously on to wallswas atablero.
The same term also was used occasionally for
large maiolica tiles placed between ceiling beams.
These did not have a unified single pattern.
Synonym: placa
tagli (Italian)
Italian term for clay prisms projected through
saggar walls to support rims of stacked vessels
during glaze firing
Such triangular shaped pins or prisms of clay
apparently were not used customarily in Muslim
Spain, though their use is suggested on Manises
lusterware plates as a means for holding them
vertically rather than horizontally but without use
of saggars. They are known from Talavera. Prisms
have been recovered with other kiln furniture,
including perforated saggars, from a late 16th or
early r rth century kiln at Panama Viejo. Under-
rim scars resulting from use of supporting pins are
noted on Mexican maiolica types of the second
half of the 16th century.
tahona
Mill for grinding frit
Talavera de la Reina
This town, famous in Spain for her maiolica
pottery and tiles, is known to have been produc-
ing such ceramics by 152I. Especially during the
r rth century her styles spread to all other produc-
tion centers in the country, including Sevilla,
making positive identifications difficult. Without
the strong Moorish influence present at nearby
Toledo or at Sevilla, Talavera artisans were more
receptive to the influences ofItaly, which came to
her directly from Italy and indirectly from Flan-
ders. Most typical Talaveran oeuvre were picto-
rial designs taken from engravings and executed
in a polychrome palette which made particular
use of greens and yellows. Very large baroque
forms characterized her peak development.
So identified with maiolicas was Talavera that
the name has been applied to maiolica made in
Mexico. However, there is no evidence that
either Talaveran craftsmen or anygreat amount of
talla
pottery from that source actually arrived in
Puebla or Mexico City.
talla
Sculpture
Maiolica sculptures, brought to a high level of
excellence by the Italian Della Robbias of the
r yth and 16th centuries, remained generally alien
to the main Spanish ceramic tradition, though
from time to time both bultos (free standing
figures) and bajorelieoes (bas reliefs) were at-
tempted. Approximately contemporaneous with
the Della Robbia movement, a series of twelve
Apostles modeled in claywere made in Barcelona
for the Gerona cathedral. A similar group was
modeled for the Sevilla cathedral in 1457, by
Lorenzo Mercadante, probably of Flemish ances-
try. Polychromed or green lead glazedsantoswere
fashioned for other churches. A ship's manifest
for 159 for a cargo going to Santo Domingo in
the convoy taking Diego Colon to his new post as
governor contains a notation of 55 glazed images.
In a style referred to as al romano were medallion
bas reliefs of saints' heads in three-quarter profile
glazed in white backed by a circular disk of cobalt
blue sky.
In Mexico similar low relief friezes, as well as
figures in the round, were attempted. The Santo
Domingo church in Puebla, next to what may
have been the potters' barrio, was adorned with 3
feet tall angels placed around the exterior of the
cupola. These were nudes, glazed in white, with a
bright blue sash draped diagonally across their
bodies. Pottery inventories include references to
such figures as San Miguel and a pedestal base
upon which to place him, San Josef, and San
Cayetano. All these works lack the refinement
achieved by sculptors using other media, plaster
for example, though they exhibit considerable
mastery of pottery-making techniques.
In the r Sth century Mexican rnaiolists
fashioned sculptures imitating Chinese, rather
than Italianate models. Fo Dogs and tiny mono-
chrome figurines copying Fukien examples are
known.
Decorative manipulation of clay appears more
commonly in Spanish-tradition ceramics as
Solomonic handles on ornamental jars, modeled
heads of animals or angels at points of handle
attachment, or the maze of columns and figures
on pilas de agua bendita.
Synonym: escultur, estatua, imagen, talladura
83 tallador
tallador
Platter
In the Middle Ages large round plates were
used for carving and for communal serving, indi-
vidual diners dipping into the contents with their
fingers and using a slice of bread as a plate. Indi-
vidual plates were called talladorsiellos in Teruel.
These platters appear in variable shapes, some
with deep wells, most with flat bottoms and hori-
zontal rims.
In Valencian workshops the word referred to
blocks of plastic clay awaiting final wedging.
Literal meaning: a carver
taller
Workshop
tallo
Block of wedged clay to be used for throwing
Synonym: bala, pella
tamiz
Sieve through which clay was pushed in order to
remove foreign materials
tamizar: to sieve
tanda
Pit or deep mortar where raw claywas moistened
in order to clean it of foreign matter
tanque de decantacion
Tank for decanting water off clay during original
preparation
tapa, tapador, tapadera
Lid, cover
Lidded vessels, while not common in Spanish
form repertoire do occur, these usually being
drug jars, or large ornamental jars used for other
purposes. The most frequent type lid is a domed
cover, sometimes with an attached flat bottom,
and a tiny knob.
tapar: to cover
tapon: stopper, usually a cork or wad of cloth or
leather
tarea
Amount of work accomplished in a given period
of time, usually a day
This term is found in Mexican colonial assess-
ments of goods on hand in potteries when owners
died, always used in connection with green or
bisqued wares. It is a gross measurement of pro-
duction vessels-cups, jars, plates, etc.-such as
those turned out by apprentices or journeymen
to meet a daily standard.
taza
tarracet
Valencian vessel meant for the drinking of bever-
ages
This was a small cylinder on a pedestal base.
Usually two handles were added.
Synonym, in part: copa, taza
tarro
Jar; drug jar
The tarrois a straight sided cylinder, sometimes
with a constricted neck and sometimes wide
mouthed. In the middle of the r yth century, the
form appears in lusterware with a sharp high
spout, or pico.
Synonym, in part: albarelo , bote, taza
tasa
Regulation; assessment
In regulated Spanish society price control was
customary on all trade goods. Such official docu-
ments were called tasas. One such tasa issued by
the Conde de la Puebla of Sevilla at the beginning
of the 17th century lists the various kinds of
ceramics for sale there and the set prices for them.
This particular document reveals that Por-
tuguese, English, Dutch, and Italian ceramics
competed with Talaveran, Puente del Arzobispo,
and Sevillian products. It also confirms the local
imitation of Talaveran and Chinese styles, with
the latter costing twice as much as the former. Of
note additionally is the fact that no wares from
Aragon or Caralufia are mentioned as having been
for sale in Sevilla at that time.
tasacion: an appraisal or inventory
tasador: guild appraiser, appointed by city officials
tauromaquia
Art of bullfighting
Bullfighting scenes were frequent designs on
fine Talavera vessels of the r rth and rSth cen-
turies and reappear as monterias in Sevilla. Sim-
plified verions also occur on a few Puebla ex-
amples.
taza
Cup; small bowl
In early periods this word
usually seems to mean a pedes-
tal footed cup or small bowl.
The basal angle of the cup
proper was sharp, and the
mouth was straight and wide.
Such forms were made in Man-
ises lusterware and later maio-
licas, including those first
teja 84
tetera
brought to the Indies. In later times the typical
taza had no pedestal base but was set on a lowring
foot. It was typically without handles. However,
by the r Srh century, when coffee was widely
used, tazas tended to be taller, straight sided with
a handle, and occasionallywere used with a saucer
or shallow bowl. They retained more of a bowl
appearance than contemporary pocillos, which in
Spain sometimes had two handles and a saucer
with trembleuse, or socket. A Chinese form, the
so-called rice bowl, which often was lidded, prob-
ably contributed to changes in taza styling. An
inventory of Sevillian pottery for sale in the early
17th century mentions tazas de frailes, perhaps in
reference to decorative or ownership insignia of
religious groups.
Mexicans seem to have preferred the handle-
less Oriental taza without saucer. Its close rela-
tionship with the poci/lo (pozuelo) form is indicated
in the lumping together of these two types of
vessels in property inventories.
Diminutive: tacita
Augmentative: tazon
Synonym, in part: albornia, bernegal,jicara,poci/lo
teja
Curved earthenware roof tile
These tiles, typical of much Mediterranean ar-
chitecture, were formed over molds and tapered
so that lower ends would fit over a tile laid farther
below on the roof. The makers of tiles were con-
sidered in a classwith masons, that is, not potters.
They were among the first artisans to come to the
New World in a group of colonists in 1493. In
spite of this beginning, as late as 1509 one ship
carried 3000 roof tiles from Sevilla to Santo
Domingo and other vessels are recorded as hav-
ing had similar cargos.
tejado: tile roof
tejar: tile or brick works
templar
To hit each bisqued tile with a river cobble so as to
judge by the sound created whether any trapped
air bubbles would make the finished tile unser-
viceable
tepalcate
Mexican term for potsherd
tequezquite
Mexican term for sodium deposits
Such materials were formed through evapo-
ration of saline lakes or waters trapped in de-
pressions. Lakes Texcoco, Zumpango, and San
Cristobal in the Valley of Mexico had extensive
sodium deposits about their shores, which were
used in colonial times, as today, for the manufac-
ture of soap. There were similar beds in the
Puebla valley, as well as to the north of the capital
where numerous bolsons trapped waters. There-
fore, the two principal centers of maiolica pro-
duction had easy access to carbonate of soda
which was used in the formulation of blue and
dark brown pigments, as well as comprising part
of the massicot of the glaze. The tartar of lees
created in the extensive wine industry of An-
dalusia or the salts from burned marsh grasses
from the wastelands along the lower Guadal-
quivir provided similar materials in Spain, the
latter also contributing to a thriving soap factory
in Sevilla.
tequezquitera: refinery of sodium
terraza
Glazed two handled jar
Synonym, in part: jarra
terrero
Place where raw clay was obtained; also a basket
for the carrying of the clay
Synonym, in part: cantera, barrero
Teruel
Teruel, located in Aragon, was an active pot-
tery center during Medieval times, notable for
very large heavy forms. Contemporaneous to the
activities at Paterna, Teruel potters similarly
turned to green and purple-brown decorations, a
palette they retained much longer than southern
potters. At Teruel there was a period of dark blue
decorated pottery in the r yth century followed
by a limited production of lusterware. Early work
strongly reflected a mudejar background, with
more refined throwing, glazing, and decorating
being evident. During the r rrh and rSth cen-
turies a decline in all these aspects of the craft
occurred.
tester
Place where wasters and rubbish from kiln opera-
tions were dumped
tetera
Teapot
This was a Chinese form which found little
place in Spanish-tradition ceramics, probably be-
cause tea never became the popular beverage that
it did in English or Arabic countries. Interesting,
tibor 8S tinaja
however, is the fact that the Oriental tea cup was
uniformly adopted for the serving of chocolate.
tibor
Very large jar with high shoul-
ders tapering down to a rela-
tively narrow base
The tibor is considered a
Chinese form which was copied
in fine wares made at Puebla.
It also appears made in some
Talaveramaiolicaof the 17th and
rSth centuries. In the Orient it
frequently was used to store ginger. In Mexico, in
addition to being a show piece, the tibor was used
as a container for cacao beans and occasionally
was outfitted with a metal lid and lock.
In Cuba the word means a chamber pot; a
secondary meaning in Mexico is a gourd cup.
tiesto
Potsherd; flowerpot; in Chile, a bowl or basin
Synonym, in part: cacharro, casco,jardinera, maceta
tinaj
Large earthenware jar; a liquid
measurement of about 12 ~ gal-
lons
Obviously derived from the
Graeco-Roman amphora, large
tinajas were used extensively in
the Spanish world for storing or
transporting liquids such as wa-
ter, wine, or olive oil, or for solid
foods such as garbanzos, olives,
wheat, almonds, raisins, and so forth. Because of
this function, they have been given the mis-
nomer, "olive jar." Utility versions were massive,
thick walled, strong ribbed, necked with a heavy
orifice, thrown in sections luted together, and
appear unglazed or lead glazed on one or both
surfaces. Most appear to have been stoppered
with a wad of cloth, leather, or grass, although a
more formal lid is indicated in a 1570 dowry
inventory as tapadera de tinaja. They were made
without handles, with one strap handle on the
upper shoulder, or with a pair of such appen-
dages. Three categories with temporal sig-
nificancehave been suggested for Spanish tinajas
reaching the New World, one dating from 1493
to 1575, a second from 1575 to 1700, and a third
from 1700 to 1830. By the end of the colonial
period the word botella is used to describe usual
shipping containers for wine, though these may
have been glass rather than ceramic. The bota was
the characteristic leather wine bottle of Spain.
During the Islamic period some tinajas, which
had heraldic impressions on shoulders and were a
specialty of Sevilla and Toledo, are reported as
being large enough to hold 500 to 700 gallons,
but generally in later periods they were meant to
contain about 12 gallons. This then became a unit
of liquid measurement. However, modern
examples, such as those made at Colmenar de
Oreja, Castile, suggest that huge wine storage jars
may have continued. These now hold up to 2000
gallons, are 18 feet high, and require some 4000
pounds of clay to make. They are formed in sec-
tions carried to huge kilns on the backs of many
men. These tinajas presently are being replaced
by cement tanks.
Smaller tinajas were used in pottery work-
shops for the storage of paint solutions, and must
have seen similar function in all sorts of domestic
and commercial activities. So ubiquitous was the
tinaja that it was included in a variety of humble
settings by r rrh century Sevillianpainters, such as
Rebecca and Eliezar by Murillo or Apollo at the
Forge of Vulcan by Velasquez. One typical use was
for the securing ofwater from a vendor (aguatero) ,
carrying his supply in a stoppered tinaja strapped
by the handle over his shoulder, who walked
through the streets of most Spanish towns. This
theme was exploited by Velasquez in his The
Water Carrier of Seville, painted in 1618. Such
water salesmen still are a common part ofMoroc-
can market scenes.
The most distinctive secondary use of tinajas
was in building construction, their durability,
round contours, and relatively light weight as
compared to other possible materials, making
them useful in closing the space above the arches
of roof vaulting in churches or providing sub-
floor drainage. Potters in Triana periodically sold
or donated such vessels, usually as wasters or
broken pots, for the building of vaults at the
world's largest Gothic cathedral still under con-
struction in Sevilla at the time of the discovery of
America. Potters in Barcelona supplied tinajas to
masons at churches there. Comparable usage has
been encountered in the New World at Santo
Domingo and Oaxaca and undoubtedly occurred
elsewhere. The number of tinajas coming to the
Americas, 3,000-4,000 on single ships in the
flot, means, in the days before returnable bottles,
tinta azul 86 tonel
a huge backlog of pots which must have been
reused in many ways, construction among them.
Very functional objects, Spanish tinajas have
been encountered, whole or shattered, not only
in Spain itself but from every area visited by
Spaniards during their global explorations, from
the South Pacific, throughout the New World
empire, to Atlantic islands. Their fragments are
expectable artifacts in the hundreds of ship-
wrecks which occurred during three centuries of
Spanish naval history.
Diminutive: tinajuela
Augmentative: tinajon
tinajero: maker or seller of tinajas
Synonym, in part: an/ora, olla,tenalla(Aragonese
vernacular), tinaco
tinta azul
Cobalt; zaire
tintero
Inkwell
Vessels used to contain ink were
ofa variety of shapes, some ofwhich
were thrown and some moldmade, all small. Cir-
cular, hexagonal, rectangular, or square, they ap-
pear generally to copy metal shapes with tiny ball
or claw feet. The actual well for ink was a small
bowl or jar set down inside a larger outer ceramic
frame or was merely a molded depression, rebun-
dido, in the upper surface. The side walls,laterales,
were latticed, incised, or decorated with painted
motifs. In addition to the opening for the ink
container, the upper surface of the well had two
or more holes surrounding the central opening in
which to fit quills (canon) used in writing. In
Mexico known examples generally are white
edged with blue and appear to date in the r Sth
century.
In cultures with high percentages of illiteracy
such as Spain and her colonies, the knowledge of
writing was identified with aristocracy, official-
dom, or clergy. Hence most paintings of promi-
nent persons typically included a table on which
was placed atinteroand quill asmarks ofstatus. As
some Mexican paintings with such iconography
are of persons who lived there as early as the first
half of the 17th century, ceramic inkwells already
may have been part of the local repertoire.
tinta: ink
Tolson de Oro
Order of the Golden Fleece
This chivalric Order was founded by Philip the
Good of Burgundy in 1430, later approved by
Pope Eugene V. The badge was a lamb suspended
from an enameled ring of flint stones emitting
flames. The mastership was in the hands of the
sovereign. Therefore, in 1477 the Order came
under the leadership of Maximilian of Austria,
later Holy Roman Emperor. His grandson,
Charles V, also Holy Roman Emperor as well as
King of Spain, in 1516 enlarged the original
group of 22 nobles to include 10 Spaniards. The
Order, conceived as a tribute to the Flemish wool
trade to which Spain contributed much, was dedi-
cated to defending King and Church. Philip II
called the last general meeting in 1559, but the
Order remained a Spanish institution until the
Hapsburgs died out at the end of the 17th cen-
tury. The Austrian branch continued into this
century.
A few of Talavera's finest r rrh century
maiolicas carry the Toison de Oro insignia. These
were special vessels commissioned by one of the
elite members. The insignia is drawn as a chain
encircling a personal escutcheon. At intervals on
the chain are ovoid elements representing flint
stones from which curved plumes radiate out-
ward. From the bottom of the chain occasionally
is suspended a tiny lamb figure.
Toledo
Once the center of a large Moorish population
and noted for its mudejarart, Toledo did not make
noteworthy pottery except for cuerda seca and
cuenca tiles, the largepiles bautismales, and brocales
of the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 17th and
rSrh centuries Talaveran patterns were copied at
I I local potteries.
Tonala
Fine pottery clays present in the Tonala area of
Jalisco, Mexico, not far from Guadalajara, have
made this an important pottery making center
from aboriginal times. During the colonial period
many red wares were produced in the vicinity in
sufficient volume to be exported back to Spain.
The most well known types, which seem to have
evolved late, showed a regional fusion of some
aspects of Spanish technology and pseudo-Indian
designs. A grey unglazed body carried designs in
dark grey, brick red, and occasionally white. Tin
glazed wares were not made.
tonel
Barrel
Diminutive: tonelete
Synonym: barril
tornadizo 87 Trinitario
tomadizo
Sevillian name for a person who was culturally a
Muslim but converted to Catholicism
Its meaning was comparable to the term con-
verso applied to Jews who became New Chris-
tians.
Synonym, in part: morisco
Literal meaning: turncoat
tomo
Potter's wheel
A very important advancement in the making
of pottery, this is a mechanized devise consisting
of a horizontal wheel head connected by means of
a vertical shaft to a larger, heavy horizontal wheel
near floor level which when propelled (usuallyby
foot action) provides centrifugal force to rotate
the upper wheel head. The potter's hands thus are
freed to mold the clay utilizing the thrust pro-
vided. To judge from modern kick wheels in use
in Spain, Mexico, and Morocco, the potter sat
slightly to one side of the head rather than di-
rectly in front of it.
Potter's wheels have been in use in Spain from
the Visigothic period. With the Islamic invasions
of the 8th century and the establishment of pot-
tery making as a commercial craft, the wheel,
called a tomo morisca, was universally adopted.
Spanish technology introduced potter's wheels to
the New World as part of a complex of traits
associated with pottery making. In the Americas
it was standard in all Spanish workshops, but
Indians who created vessels for home or village
consumption continued hand and mold methods
in use for several thousand years before the ad-
vent of the Europeans.
Pictures of Spanish potters at work in the 16th
and later centuries show a wheel with its head at
table height, the mechanism in fact being set into
a table or surrounded by planking on which to
rest tools. However, in modern Morocco all
wheels, even those used for the throwing of
pieces later to receive tin glaze and polychrome
decoration, traditionally are set in subterranean
trenches, with the head at ground level. The sur-
rounding ground serves as a work table, even to
having bowls of lubricating water or slurry re-
cessed into the soil. Probably this was the typical
placement of wheels in Moorish parts of Spain
prior to the Christian Reconquest. Several
confirmations of this suggestion are a 1786
traveler's comment about a floor level potter's
wheel in operation at Muel, Aragon, and pit
wheels still being used in the Fajalauza sector of
Granada and in the cave town of Guadix, both in
the area of the last Moorish kingdom in Spain and
both still retaining a strong Moorish flavor.
tomeado: wheel turned, thrown
tornero: operator of potter's wheel
Synonym: rueda
Torre del Oro
A faceted tower constructed in Sevilla by Al-
mohade builders in the years 1220-21 was lo-
cated on the banks of the Rio Guadalquivir near
the crossing to Triana. It is indirectly important in
the story of local ceramics because it is said for-
merly to have been covered in part by golden
tiles, now disappeared. Like the nearby Giralda,
the Torre del Oro is a Sevillian landmark.
tramuji
Utensil used in Spain in which to combine tin,
lead, and sand to form frit
tribede
Valencian name for cockspur
Synonym: cabal/ito, tricole
Triana
The industrial quarter of Sevilla, with a large
soap factory and many potteries, also was the part
of town where most of the men involved in the
American trade lived. It was located across the
Rio Guadalquivir from Sevilla proper and was
connected to it by a pontoon bridge. Out beyond
the houses were open meadow lands where many
of the potters owned small garden plots or vine-
yards. In the same meadows was a large deposit of
red-burning clay which was reserved for the use
of pottery guild members.
tricole
Mexican term for cockspur
Synonym: caballito, patito
trincbero
Trencher
In ceramics this is a platter on which meat is
carved or served, Platters in Spanish ceramics are
usually from r Sth century contexts and are
moldmade, flat bottomed, often with foliated
rims.
trincbar: to slice, carve meat
Synonym: tal/ador
Trinitario
Order of the Holy Trinity
The Trinitarian Order, founded in Rome in the
tupi 88 verde
12th century, was especially popular in Spain be-
cause it was dedicated to the redemption of cap-
tives from religious wars. It claimed to have freed
over 900,000 Christian captives from Moham-
medans, largely as a result of the Crusades. Its
symbol, which appears on numerous examples of
Talaveran maiolica, was the formee cross, or one
having the ends cut off square.
tup!
Catalonian name for small jar with lid and one
handle
Synonym: ollete
WJ
ullat compasat
IuI Most expensive wore, made rn
~ ~ : n c i a n potteries
Urn
The urn generally is considered to be a vase
with a foot and occasionally ornamental paired
handles. Such forms appeared late in the con-
tinuum of Spanish-tradition ceramics as a result of
Neoclassical vogues.
Synonym, in part: vasa
m
vajilla, vasija
j VI Generic term foc hollow wore
Valladares, Fernando
Working in Sevilla in the late
16th and first half of the 17th cen-
turies, Fernando and his son, Juan, gained fame
by making many of the finest tile panels known
for the period. They were distinguished in archi-
val references with the phrase "maestros de hacer
loza:" Their specialtywas flat surfaced polychrome
tiles with typical Renaissance patterns of winged
cherubs, grotesques, cornucopias, and foliage.
One panel attributed to Fernando, presently in
the Museo de Bellas Artes in Sevilla, has a central
portrayal of the Sevillian potter-saints, Justa and
Rufina, standing before the Giralda. It is dated
about 1598.
Valladares tiles were exported to Peru and
Mexico.
vaqueta
Chamois used to smooth and compress rims of
wet pots
Synonym: pelleja
vasa
Generalized term for vase or cup, which might be
of any number of contours
The word is used also as a unit of size, as in vasa
de agua.
vasa de comulgatorio: communion vase
veedor
Inspector in guild system
The position of inspector was limited to those
with maestro rating. Veedores were elected officials
with duties including the making of periodic
inspection tours to the potteries to insure that
various ordinances were being observed. After
Mexican guild regulations were modified in the
late r rth century to admit non-Spaniards, the
veedor remained a restricted position.
veeduria: inspectorship
uer: to see, examine
verde
Green
The use of green for design motifs, together
with purple-brown from manganese, had the
longest continuous use in Spanish-tradition
ceramics of any decorative color, dating from the
Cordoban Caliphate. It found its greatest
employment at Paterna in the Spanish Levante
and at Teruelin Aragon during the r yth and rath
centuries. Contemporary Italian maiolica also
made use of the same colors. In the rage for blue
decoration, green decoration was ignored for a
time, but in r rrh century Talaveran polychrome
work and copies of it made at Sevilla, green, or
pintada de primaoera, made a comeback. In the
verduguillo 89 vitrificacion
late rSrh and rorh centuries, green was identified
with work at Puente del Arzobispo.
Green appears on the earliest maiolica made in
Mexico when some tin glazed vessels were
dipped a second time before firing into a green
lead glaze solution. This was in imitation of occa-
sional Sevillianpractice, but Mexican results were
shiny and apple green, rather than matte and
coppery, due to differences in the base tin glazeor
the secondary lead bath. The first Mexican use of
green as a decorative pigment, rather than an
all-over coating, seems to be early r rrh century.
However, except for a multicolored style where it
wasused as an occasional element filler, green was
considered suitable only for wares of lowquality.
In 172I a petition was made by some Puebla
potters to officially allow green to be used on
common wares, stating that the practice already
was widespread. After the colonial period ended
and the Puebla industry was slumping, green
again became respectable and appeared in both
designs and glazes.
In Panama, green was used in conjunction with
blue, a typical 16th century Granadine scheme
which also had some popularity earlier in Teruel.
The green pigment often contaminated the tin
glaze to produce a faint greenish tint to otherwise
undecorated types.
In Guatemala, green was one of the principal
colors utilized for vessel decoration, as a filler and
main element. Usually it was combined with yel-
low and brown designs in a typical Sevillian
treatment.
Copper deposits for the production of green
pigments are known in Spain and Mexico, copper
being one of the first minerals mined in the latter
place.
verde clara: transparent green lead glaze, whose
use was widespread throughout the Spanish
community
verduguillo
Tile
These were long narrow tiles used primarily for
borders, or orlas.
Synonym, in part: slicer
oertedor
Spout
Vertedor applies specifically to pouring spouts
other than the pico, or beak form.
vidrio
Glass
The word vidrio often is used to mean glaze, a
glassy product. However, at present, it also
means ground glassobtained from broken bottles
which are used in the formulation of certain pig-
ments, the glass, of course, being a frit. For ex-
ample, tin plate pieces mixed with such glass
produces black, and scales of copper mixed with
glass produces green. It is not clear whether glass
formerly was used in this way or not; most likely
frits were made as needed. Smalt results from the
use of glass melted with impure cobalt oxide.
vidriar: to glaze
vidriado: glazed ceramics
vidriador: one who glazes
vidrio de color, oidrio de esmalte
Smalt
Smalt is essentially a further refinement of
zaire. From 2 to 10% zaire was added to glass,
melted, and poured into water which caused it to
harden immediately. This material was then pul-
verized. The entire heating and crushing process
was repeated many times to achieve flour fine-
ness, at which stage the substance was stored in
small leather bags. The finest smalt was a
monopoly ofthe Royal Saxony Porcelain Factory,
but lesser grades were sold throughout Europe
and commanded high prices.
It is uncertain whether Spanish maiolists made
use of smalt to obtain blue pigment. Most known
archives refer only to zaire, much of which came
from the same source. Smalt may have been
purchased by the porcelain factories of Alcora
and Buen Retiro.
oidrio: glass
vinagrera, uinajera
Cruet
A small bottle, usually with one
handle and a short restricted neck
served as a cruet for serving oils or
vinegar. The vinajerawas used espe-
cially to hold wine or water for the
Eucharist.
Synonym: aceitera, botella,jarrapara
aceite.frasco
oitrificacion
Vitrification
During firing fusible minerals in clays melt and
bind particles together, making for a hard, tight
body. If heat is high enough, complete glassifica-
tion takes place. This is vitrification.
It is not possible to achieve vitrification with
earthenware clays because these bodies, high in
90 vuelo
iron, generally melt at far lower temperatures
than those necessary to form glass. Accidental
examples of vitrification may be seen in some
wares made ofclays with lower amounts ofiron as
a result ofover firing, in which case accompanying
warping, cracking, or the density of vitrification
itself would have caused the vessel to be consi-
dered a waster.
Near complete vitrification is achieved in
porcelain, made in Spain in the late r Srh century.
uuelo
Flywheel on the base of the potter's wheel unit
It was this wheel, mounted at the base of the
machine, which the potter kicked with a forward
movement of the right foot to spin the wheel
head. In order to maintain good steady rhythm,
the wheel had to be fashioned from heavy mate-
rials which would insure proper rotation once
sufficient momentum had been attained.
Synonym: /alda
m
zabalete (Arabic deriv.)
I Z, .Srnall arches between main arches
of a kiln roof
za/a (Arabic deriv.)
Small basin or washbowl
Synonym, in part: jo/aina, lavamanos
zaire (Arabic deriv.)
Impure cobalt oxide
Zaire was dark earthy material made from
roasting a mixture ofcobalt oxide and quartz sand
at high temperatures, a method discovered about
1500 in Saxony at a location where a large deposit
of the mineral was encountered. Undoubtedly,
zafre, which gave better blue colors than most of
the raw cobalt used earlier, contributed to the
increasing popularity of blue decorated maiolicas
during the ensuing century, at which time Saxony
was the chief source for Delft, English, Spanish,
and Italian potteries.
zurrapa
At first, impurities in the mix produced blues
which were dark and greyed, but improvements
in processing steadily progressed. For instance,
the oxides ultimately were cleaned by being dis-
solved in hydrochloric acid so that the insoluble
materials might be removed. The smoother blues
apparent on European pottery of the r zth cen-
tury probably are the result of this refinement.
A similar change from almost slate blue of the
16th century to a bright blue of the 17th century
on Mexican maiolicas suggests use of the purified
zaire.
It should be noted that the word zaire appears
to have been used for all blue pigment, whether
or not it was processed cobalt.
zancuda (Arabic deriv.)
Motif of wading bird or crane
Such an element was common on Spanish
maiolica after the 16th century and probably was
borrowed from the Chinese who considered it a
symbol for good fortune.
In the last half of the r Sth century Mexican
decorators painted this element extensively on
middling fine grade tableware, much ofwhich was
sent to the northern frontiers.
zinguizarra (Arabic deriv.)
Small mill for grinding colorants
zurrapa (Arabic deriv.)
Lees
The sediment from inside wine casks was used
in Italy and in Spain for making massicot for
glazes. It was scraped from the container and left
in the open to harden into loaves. Later a pile of
such loaves was surrounded by a ring of stones
and burned. The calcined materials then were
stored in airtight jars until needed. This material
was important in increasing the coefficient of ex-
pansion in glaze bases.
In Mexico the production of wine was pro-
hibited to prevent undue competition with Span-
ish industries. Soda ash was substituted for lees.
Selected References
Selected References
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1908 The maiolica of Mexico. Pennsylvania
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91
COPPLESTONE, TREWIN AND BERNARD S. MYERS
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1969b Merodi di produzione della ceramica in
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1903 Historia delos barros vidriadosSevillanosdesde
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1975C Non-Indian ceramics from the Mexico City
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41st International Congress of Ameri-
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Selected References
the northern borderlands. Papers of the
Archaeological Society of New Mexico, No.
3
LIVERANI, GIUSEPPE
1960 Five centuries of Italian majolica. McGraw
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1967 Cerdmica medieval Espanola. Editorial Labor,
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1964 Excavations at Panama Vieja, Flortda An-
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Selected References
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English Cross-Reference Index
abbot's cap motif ... capela
alumina alumina
amphora an/ora, tinaja
Andalusia al Andalus
antimony antimonic
appraiser tasador
apprentice aprendiz
arabize (to) arabizar
architect alarife
architecture ... arquitectura
arris ... arista
arsenic-zafre compound ... oropimente
artisan ... artifice
artisan group artesanado
assessment tasa
atmosphere atmosfera
awl ... punzon
axle, potter's wheel ... drbol, eje
background ... fondo
banded decoration ... faja
banding wheel rodeta
baptismal font escudill doble, pil bautismal
barrel ... barril, tonel
bas relief ... bajorelieve
basin brasero, lebrillo, librell, pila
basket cesta, chuiquigiiite, terrero
batch of 1800 tiles ... cerrell
batch of 1000 bricks or tiles ... labor
batch of potsherds ... pedaceria, tiestos
batch of vessels sold as unit ... en vasa
bedding for tile ... alcatifa
bell-like cempando
bench alhami
benitier acetre, benditera, pil de agua bendita
bevel bisel
bird motif pajarote, pardalot
bisque kiln juaguete
bisque pottery bizcocbo, cocida, escaldd,juaguete,loza
cruda, socarrat
bisque firing ... pequeno fuego
black ... negro
bleeding bowl ... bacia
blue ... azul, azul delgado, azulfuerte, azul musulman
blue glaze ... aperlado, berettino, puncbe, smaltino
borax ... atincar, bOrax, bOTica
border, tile .. . orla
boss ... bollo de relieve
bottle ... ampolla, botella, biberon , damajuana, frasco,
garrafa; redoma
bowl ... bol, cocos amarillos , cuenca, ensaladera, escudelle,
escudilla, legumbrera, poncbera, seruidora, taza
box, earthenware ... arqueta, cojita
box, wooden ... caja, cajon, caxon
brazier ... brasero, foquer
brick, fired ... ladrillo; layer .. . ladrillador; maker ...
ladrillero; mold ... ladrilleria; yard ... ladrillado
brick, unfired adobe
brick in kiln atobon , camisa
brim ala, borde
brush escobeta
bullfighting motif tauromaquia
butterfly motif mariposa
buyer of damaged pottery ... almalluquero
calcination kiln almela,/orn de cremar, padilla
candleholder candelero, candil, ldmpara, palmatorio
canteen cantimplora, barrilejo, botijo, garra/a
carafe botella,/rasco, garra/a, redoma
cask pip
casserole '" cacerola, cassolete, cazuela, legumbrera,
pecbero
census list padron
ceramics cerdmica
chain motif cadenete
chamber pot bacin, basin, beque, borcelana, camero,
cocio, dompedro; orinal, seroicio, seruidor, vasa de nocbe
chamfer bisel
chamois alpaiiat, pellej, vaqueta
channeled vessel surface ... acanalado , gallonado,
ovalado
cherub motif querubin
chicken house gallinero
Chinese-like decorative style ... acbinada
chocolate colored ... achocolatado
chocolate jar ... tibor
citadel ... alcazar
clay, body masa, pasta
clay, pit balsa, barreal, barrera, barrero, cantera, tan-
da, terrero
clay, potter's ... arcillafigulina
clay, raw ... antill, arcilla, barro
clay, wedged ... amasado, balsa, masa.pella,sobado, tallo
cobalt ... cobalto, polvo azul, tinta azul, zafre
cockspur '" atifle, cabal/ito, caballo, patito, tribede,
tricole, oicole
coffee server
95 funnel
coffee server ... cafetera
colander coladero,filtro, pasador, pile de tolar
color (to) colarar, colorear
common, grade ... comun, corriente, ordinaria
conduit ... albanal, arcaduz, atanor, tubo
confraternity ... cofradia
container recipiente
cooking pot cacerola, cazuela, olla, pucbero
cool (to) enfriar
copper cobre
costly Valencian wares ... ullet compasat
costral ... barrilejo, tonelete
cover (to) ... cubrir, tapar
crack ... grieta
crackling ... agrietado intentional, estriado
craftsman .. ~ artesano ; artifice
craftsmen ... artesanado
crate guaca!
crazing agrietado accidental, cuarteado
crockery cacharreria
crier ... pregonero publico
crucible crisol
cruet aceitera, alcuza, botella, frasco, vinagrera
cup albornia, bernegal, bote, burlador, catavino,jicara,
pocillo, pozuelo ; taza
cupboard ... cbinero
cupful ... jicarazco
cutting tool pico
cutting wire bilo
cylindrical cilindrico
damask-like damascado
decoration adorno, decoracion
decorative process of separating zones of glaze by
greased lines ... cuerda seca, loza de Puente del Ar-
zobispo
decorator adornista, colorista, decorador, dibujante
dehydration desbidratacion
demijohn bombona, botella, damajuana, garrafa
design ... dibujo
design motif motivo
design style castizo ; estilo
die ... matriz
direct rim recto
discard (to) desecbar
district ... barrio
donkey load .' .. carga menor
dot ... pinta
dot (to) ... puntear
dotted decorative mode ... punteado
downspout canal, desagiie
draftsman dibujante
drawn in outline ... al trazo
drug jar ... albarelo, bote, canilla, cetrill, gallipot, orza,
pote, pot, tarro de botica
drying room secadero, sequer
dump ground testar
embossed realzado
engobe barbotina, engalba
engraving grabadura
escutcheon escudo
everted rim saliente
extrafine, grade ... refino
factory ... fdbrica
fern motif helecho
fettling tool alaria
field of design or color campo
figural representation figura
fine, grade ... fino
fine lined motif ... hachurado, rasgueo; sombrear con
lineas
finial ... perilla, perinola, remate
finish coat of lead glaze coperta
fire (to) bisque pottery bizcochar
fire (to) the kiln ... prender el horno
fire vertically de canto
fire with sagger en[unda
fire without sagger ... en suelto
firing process ... coccion , cocbura, cocimiento
flange pestana
flask ampolla, botella, damajuana ,frasco,redoma, vin-
agrera
flat rim . . . plano
fleet of trading ships ... j/ota
flint ... silice
flowerpot ... florero, maceta, ramilletero, vasa
fluted ... acanalado, gallonado, ovalado
fluted wall bowl ... cresptna
flux ... fundente
fly wheel, potter's wheel ... altabaque,falda, vuelo
foliated rim ... ondulado
folk art in Spanish ceramics ... monteria
foot rest, potter's wheel ... estrep; estribo
fountain ... fuente, pila
fountain mouth ... brocal
free standing sculptured figure ... bulto
fretwork ... calado
frieze friso
frit frita
fruit dish ... frutero
fuel storeroom ... alcatifa
funnel ... embudo
galena 96 levigation
galena alcofoll, alcohol, alcohol de alfarero
gallery abrazadera
gimp line motif ... armado
ginger jar ... tibor
glass vidrio
glaze alarca, bamiz; brillo, esmalte, vidrio
glaze (to) ... vidriar
glaze coat, unfired ... marca
glaze firing ... gran fuego
glazed tile interspaced with unglazed brick or tile ...
entrelazado
glazer vidriador
globular globular
goblet copa, gradal, greal, greallet , tarracet
golden dorado
grape leaf motif ... parra
green ... pintada de primavera, verde
green ware ... obra crud
gridiron ... parrilla
grinding stone ... piedrademoler.piedra Mexicana, rulo
grog material refractario
guild gremio
guild official ... alcalde, diputado, veedor
half orange motif ... media naranja
hand of Fatima motif ... mano de Fatima
handle ... asa, cogedera, mango
handwarmer ... calientemanos
Hapsburg Eagle motif ... aguila bidfala
hatch (to) plumear, sombrear con lineas
hatchure hachurado
head, potter's wheel ... cabecera, cabezuela, planellet,
rodal
hematite ... hematite, piedra de Guanajuato
highlight (to) realzar
hollow ware cacbarros, cerdmica.loza, vajilla, vasija
holy figure santo
holy water stoup ... benditera, caldereta, pil de agua
bendita
humpbacked blue pigment ... contrabecbo azul
hunting motif caceria
hutch, rabbit conejera
imitation ... contrabecbo
impasto blue pigment ... contrahecbo azul
import (to) ... importar
impressed design ... impronta
impressed tile ... cuenca
incense burner ... foquer, incensaria, perfumador,
sahumador
incised esgrafiado
inkwell tintero
inscription, Arabic ... alabanza, alafia
insignia of St. Lawrence ... simbolo laurentino
inspector ... veedor
inspectorship veeduria
interweave (to) entrelazar
inventory ... tasacion
inverted rim ... entrante
iron ... hierro
Iralianare pottery style ... a la romano, compendiaro,
istoriato, pisano
jar ... a/fabia, alcuza, arcaduz, biber6n, botijo,cangilon,
cantaro, canter,cocio, credo,cuatreiio, deespanto,jarra,
jarriero; jarro, mestizo, olla, ollete, porron, pucbera,
tibor, tinaja, tupi
jar, spouted botijo,jarra depico, pimporro
jardiniere albabaquero, a/fabreguer,/lorero, maceta
Jew converted to Christianity ... converso
join (to) ... [untar
jug ... botija, cuartelera, [arra, jarro, parrilla, perulero,
picbel, terraza
kerchief motif ... panuelo
kiln ... homo; bisque kiln .. .[uaguete; calcination kiln
... almela.forn decremar, padilla; firing chamber ...
cdmara de coccion , laboratorio , sacben; fuel chamber
... caldera, cdmara de combuscion; fuel chamber, back
wall .. .front, para la cal; load ... carga del homo;
Muslim style homo arabe, homo moruno, homo
redondo; mouth boca, port; peephold ... bueco;
perforated floor between chambers ... garbell; roof
arch ... alcobe, zabalete; roof opening ... allule,
lumbrera; smelting kiln ... homo castellaiio; upper
walls carcbata
knead (to) sobar
knob ... boton
label cartela
laborer jomalero, obrador
lace motif encaje de bolillos
ladle almijarra, drago
lamp lampara, lucema
landscape . . . paisaje
layer of vessels in kiln ... emplanilla, lecbo
lead ... plom, plomo
lead glaze ... bamiz plomifero; brillo, esmalte plomifero
lead glaze, green verde clara
lead glazed ware melado
lead oxide aceroi, azarcon, minio
leaf motif boj
lees ... zurrapa
levigation ... levigacion
lid
97
plate
lid ... tapa, tapadera, tapador
litharge ... almartaga, greta, litargirio
load ... carga, carretada
lobed scroll motif ... ataurique
lug ... agarradero; oreja
lusterware ... Hispano-Moresque, lozadorada, obra de
Malicha, reflejo metdlico
lute (to) ... juntar
maiolica ... loza blanca, maiolica
make impermeable (to) ... impermeabilizar
maker of amphorae ... gerrer, tinajero
maker of basins lebrillero
maker of bricks ladrillero
maker of closed vessel forms ... cerradero
maker of common pottery ... ordinariero
maker of fretwork ... calador
maker of jars botijero;jarrero; ollero, oilers
maker of lamps lamparero
maker of open vessel forms ... oficia! de abierto
maker of pigments poloerista
maker of pitchers picbelero
maker of saggars cobijador
maker's mark ... marca, seiial
mallet ... mazo
manganese ... manganeso
Manila galleon ... nao de la china
manipulated contours movida
manufacturing processes maniobra
marl marga
mason albani!
mason of floor tile ... baldosador
massicot ... masicote, mazacote
master builder alartle
master potter cuadalero, maestro, maestro indiero
matte mate
matured madurado
medallion medallon
middling fine, grade ... entrefino
milk vessel ... lecberon
mill ... tahona, zinguizarra
millstone piedra de moler, piedra Mexicana, rulo
miniwn azarcon , minio
mold horma, matrix, molde, plantilla
mold, bricks ... gabela, ladrilleria
mold (to) ... amoldar
monochrome ... camaieu, claroscuro, monocromo
monument decorated with potsherds ... risco
Moor ... moro
Moorish quarter ... a/jama
mortar almirez; mamelot , molcajete, mortero; pilon
motif motivo
mottle (to) ... jaspear
mottled ... esponjado, jaspeado
Muslim kiln ... homoarabe, homo moruno, homo redondo
Muslim converted to Christianity ... morisco, tornadizo
narrative decorative style ... istoriato
obverse anterior, anuerso
ochre, red almagra, almagre, almazarron
of Damascus damascene, damasquino
of Puebla ... poblano
olive residue ... borujo
opacity ... opacidad
opening on side of barber's bowl ... escotadura
operator of potter's wheel ... tornero
orange ... naranjado, ocre
Order of the Golden Fleece ... Toison de Oro
ordinance ... ordenanza
ore ... barilla
orientalize (to) ... orientalizar
origin ... procendencia
outline (to) ... borronear
outlining decorative technique ... aborrando
ovoid ... ovoide
paint (to) on unfired glaze ... pintar al crudo
paint brush ... pincel
painter of ceramic decorations ... o./icial de pintura
palette ... paleta
parsley leaf motif ... perejil
pattern ... patron, plantilla
patty of clay alcabile
pearl colored aperlado; aperlado azulino; azul aper-
lado, color de perle, per/ado, puncbe
pellet pella
picture cuadro
pigeon house palomera
pilgrim bottle barrilejo; botijo; cantimplora, garra/a
pin, clay ... tagli
pinched rim ... festoneado, pellizcado
pinholes ... puntitos oscuros
pipe, earthenware ... albatia], atanor, canal, catia, tubo
pipe, wooden ... pipa
pipe line caneria
pitcher barralet , cangiltm, cdntara, cdntara, cetrill,
picbel
pitcher shelf ... cantarera
planking querol, tabla, tablazon, tab/aje
plaque placa, tab/ero
plasticity plasticidad
plate ... ataifor, bacini, pdter, plato, ramilietero; back
... reverso; front. .. anverso; wall ... catetto, contorno
plate with bridge motif 98 Spanish Muslim
plate with bridge motif platodel cbaparro
plate with pine motif plato del pino
plate with ribs ... plato del cordoncillo
plateau mancerina
platter bandeja,flamenquilla, palangana,platon, tal-
lador
plumbiferous glaze ... esmalte plomifero
pointed rim aftlado
polychrome policromo
poppy motif adormidera
porcelain porcelana
porosity porosidad
POSt firing cooling period ... caldas pasadas, en-
friamiento
potato flower motif ... flor depatata
potsherd ... cacbarra, cascajo, casco,fragmento, tepalcate,
tiesto
potter ... alfahar, alfaharero, alfar, alfarero, locero, ollero
potter's wheel ... rued, torno; axle ... drbo], eje; fly
wheel ... altabaque,falda, vuelo; head ... cabecera,
cabezuel, planellet, rodal; foot rest ... estrep, estribo
pottery ... cerdmica, loza; coarse quality .. . lozabasta,
loza tosca; glazed ... loza vidriada; lead glazed .
lozaamarilla;tin glazed .. . lozablanca; unglazed .
loza roja, lozaprieta
pottery market ... alcaiceria dela loza
pottery workshop ... alfareria, fdbrica, loceria, olleria,
taller
pounce bag ... munequilla
pounce material arenilla
pounce pattern papel carboncillo
pound weight libra
pounding mortar ... pilon
preserves dish ... conservera
pressed ... prensada
prism, clay ... tagli
process of ripening clay ... sazon
proclamation ... pregon
profile ... perfil
provenience procendencia
punch bowl poncbera
purple ... morada
quill ... canon
raised realzado
redware brinquino, bucaro, loza roja
regulation tasa
renaissance renacimiento
reticulated reticulada
reverse ... fondo, reverso
rim ... borde, cenefa, cerco
rinse (to) juagar
roaster asador
rocaille motif ... rocalla
rods of fired clay ... morrell
rounded rim ... redondeado
saggar ... cajuela, cobija, berramiento debencbir; bottom
... caja; top ... pedano
salad bowl ... ensaladera
salt ... sal
salt cellar salero
salrwort almajo, atincar, barrilla, borax, borica
sand ... arena
sandbox salvadera
sauceboat salsera
saucer pdtera
scaffold andamio, armazon de la dispense
scale balanza
scales of copper caspa de cobre
scales of tin plate caspa de lata
scallop edged ... avenerado, festoneado
sconce antochera
sculpture estatua, escultura, imagen, talla, talladura
serving bowl ... seruidora
set of tableware ... servicio
Sevillian bispalense
sewer pipe albanal
shade (to) plumear, sombrear con lineas
shaped potsherd ... chinita
shaving bowl ... bacia
shipping route to Americas ... carrera de Indias
shovel ... palo
shrink (to) encoger
shrinkage encogimiento
side walls of molded forms ... laterales
sieve balsot, tamiz
sift (to) tamizar
silica silice
sink pil
sketch boceto, dibujo, pintura de borron
slip barbotina, engalba
slurry lechada
smalt vidrio de color, uidriode esmalte
smelting furnace ... homo castellaiio
smooth . . . liso
smooth (to) ... ablandar
sodium ... sodio, tequezquite
speckling of pigment ... salpicadura
soup plate ... sopera
Spanish Muslim ... moro
99 Spanish Muslim
Spanish Muslim living under Christian king ... mudejar
spice box especiero
spittoon escupidera
splotch mancha
sponged esponjado
spout caiio; pico, rostro, oertedor
spur motif acicate
stain (to) embarrar
stamped estampado, impronta
stencil estarcido
stick with which to test tile blanks ... amauraore
still ... alambique
stoked kiln calda
stoker of kiln hornador
stopper ... tapon
strapwork motif ... ferroneries
student of ceramics ... ceramofilo
style ... castizo, estilo
stylized ... estilizada
submersion sumersion
sun dry (to) asolear
surface ... superficie
tank ... pilsn, tanque
tapered rim ... adelgazado
tax ... almojarifazgo; diezmo; lezda, media anata
tax collector ... alamina, almojarife
teapot tetera
temper material refractario
template hierro para perfilar
test (to) fired tiles ... templar
test piece ... muestra
thistle leaf motif ... cardo
throwing wheel, potter's wheel ... cabecera, cabezuela,
planellet, rodal
thrown ... torneado
tile ... adefera, alargado, alfardon, alicer, alizar, azulejo,
azulejo de arista, azulejo de labor, baldosa, cuenca,
cuerda seca, ladrillo por tabla, losa, loseta, losilla,olam-
brilla, pisano, rajole ; verduguillo; blank loncha;
panel alicatado; roof ... teja; works tejar
tile (to) alicatar, azulejar
tin ... estaiio, plomo blanco
tin glaze ... barnizestanifero, esmalte estanifero, maiolica
tone down colors (to) ... esfumar
tool apero; herramienta
toy juguete; production ... jugueteria
trade to Americas ... carrera de Indias
tray ... bandeja,charola,jlamenquilla, mancerina,platel,
platon
treacle ... melado
well in vessel surface
Tree of Life motif ... hom
trencher ... trinchero
trimming tool ... alpetije, cana
trough ... bebedero, catio, cocio, pile
tub ... baiiera, barreiio, borcelana, cocio, pila
tureen ... escudilla doble, sopero
unfired ware . . . obra cruda
unparterned ... liso
urinal bacin, beque, meadero, orinal, tasa meadero
urn urna, vasa
use potter's wheel (to) en un torno, modelar
utensil for making frit tramuji
valued at (to be) ... importar
vase florero, maceta, ramilletero ; vaso
vat almdjena, cuba, pilOn
vegetable bowl legumbrera
vendor of crocks cacbarrero
vendor of fuel chamicero
vendor of water aguatero
vessel ... recipiente; body ... cuerpo; core nucleo;
equator panza; foot .. paena, repii;lip labio;
neck cuello; gollete; shoulder ... bombro; size ...
medida, tamano; surface ... superficie; wall ... catetto,
contorno
vial ... frasco ; pomo
vinegar ... azumbre, vinagre
vitrification ... uitrificacion
wading bird motif ... zancuda
wagon load carretada
wainscoting frisco
walls on which clay put to dry ... estany
warmer foquer
warped alabeado
wash basin ... aljebana, aljofaina, jofaina, lavadero,
lavamanos, lavatorio, palangana, zafa
waster ... almalluque, desecbo ; desperdicio, labaza, loza
quebrada, loza mala, loza inferior
water cooler ... alcarraza, cdntaro, carraco, olla, tinaja
water jar ... aguamanil, albaiial, botijo, jarro, jofaina,
pil, pozale, tinaja
water wheel jar ... arcaduz , cangilon
water duct atanor; canal, caiio
wavy rim abolladura
wedge (to) ablandar, amasar, macerar
wedger of clay amasador, pisador
wedging tool estiraora
weight measurement arroba,celemin , libra, quintal
well in vessel surface bueco, rebundido
well jar
well jar ... alcuz, arcaduz, tetrill
wheel turned ... torneado
white ... blanco; whitish ... blancuzco
white lead litargirio
wholesale en grueso
wick opening ... piquera
wine bottle, leather ... bota
100
work clay with feet (to) ... repisar
workmanship becbura
work table morber
work unit tarea
yellow ... amarillo
yellow