In different periods of time and in different countries, the term majolica has been used for two distinct types of pottery.
Firstly, from the mid-15th century onwards, maiolica was a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca[1] and beyond. This was made by a tin-glaze process[2] (dip, dry, paint, fire), resulting in an opaque white glazed surface decorated with brush-painting in metal oxide enamel colour(s). During the 17th century, the English added the letter j to their alphabet.[3] Maiolica thereafter was commonly anglicized to majolica.
Secondly, from mid- to late 19th century, majolica was made by a simpler process[4] (painting and then firing) whereby coloured lead silicate glazes were applied directly to an article, then fired. This resulted in brightly coloured, hard-wearing, inexpensive wares that were both useful and decorative, often with a naturalistic style. This type of majolica was introduced to the public at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, later widely copied and mass-produced. Minton & Co., who developed the coloured lead glazes product, also developed and exhibited at the 1851 Exhibition a tin-glazed product in imitation of Italian maiolica which also became known as majolica.
- ^ Arthur Beckwith, 1877, Majolica and Fayence, Italian, Sicilian, Majorcan, Hispano-Moresque and Persian, D. Appleton and Company, New York, Meaning of Majolica, p. 23: "The introduction of a stanniferious enamel [tin-glaze] to Italy occurred previous to its use by Luca della Robbia [...]. Previous to that we find it used in Spain and Majorca..."
- ^ W.B.Honey, Keeper of the Department of Ceramics, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Faber and Faber, 1944. "TIN-GLAZE (or 'tin-enamel'), once widely used on maiolica, faience, and delftware, is a potash-lead glaze made white and opaque with oxide (ashes) of tin."
- ^ Charles Butler, English Grammar, 1633, London: "The first English language book to make a clear distinction between i and j was published in 1633."
- ^ W.B.Honey, Keeper of the Department of Ceramics, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Faber and Faber, 1944. "LEAD-GLAZE... silica in the form of sand or powdered quartz fused with the aid of a flux such as lime and potash… and commonly including an oxide of lead... "