As the magician never betrays his tricks, so the potter guards his pottery secrets. The master whispers to his apprentice the necessary processing of raw materials. The ceramic alchemist keeps glaze recipes in secret writing.
More than once, pottery secrets have been lost in the grave . But mysteries have an unstoppable appeal. There are always researchers who unravel riddles and reveal secrets. This is also the case in ceramic art.
“Since I have set myself faithfully to show forth all the secrets of the art of the potter.” (Cipriano Piccolpasso “Li tre libri dell’arte del vasaio”1557)
In this way Cipriano Piccolpasso still captivates the readers of his handwritten manuscript from 1557. In it he revealed the Italian majolica technique of the 16th century.
And by doing so, wrote the first ceramics manual in the world.
Majolica, decoration on tin-glazed earthenware
Majolica is a ceramic technique that conquered the European continent from around 1300 from the Islamic world via Spain. Italian potters learned about this method from around 1400. Partly under the influence of the Renaissance, majolica took off enormously.
Specialized pottery painters applied this colorful decoration to the raw tin glaze. They provided earthenware tiles, crockery and pots with a figurative decor.
Later on, other ceramists in Europe also learned to use this technique. But traders/collectors gave it other names such as faience (France), Delft blue (The Netherlands) and delftware (England).
Piccolpasso extensively describes the majolica technique in his writings. The processing of raw materials, making of color pigments and composition of glazes.
In three parts he reveals the entire ceramics process. The mining of clay, processing, shaping and firing. But also the workshop, tools and decors are clearly articulated and illustrated.
Only one specimen has stood the test of time.
The secrets of the manuscript
That this 160-page (80-sheet) manuscript survived nearly five centuries is a small miracle.
Piccolpasso wrote and illustrated his work in brown ink on sheets measuring 28 by 21.5 cm. The only original manuscript has been kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London for over 150 years.
Although written in ca. 1557, it was not mentioned until 200 years later. Giambattista Passseri quoted the work in a study of majolica by in 1758. Another 100 years later, the then owner, Giuseppe Raffaelli , published it in 1857 for the first time. The “Li tre libri dell ‘arte del vasaio” was finally in print. And later reprinted in 1879 in the original Italian.
In 1860 the “Paris Librairie Internationale” published its first translation: “Les troys libvres de l’art du potier“. The Victoria and Albert Museum acquired the manuscript in 1861. But it was not until 1934 that they published an Englisch translation “The Three Books of the Potters’ Art” with scientific annotations.
This translation was reprinted In 1980 with a facsimile of the original text and drawings. In 2007 there is a new facsimile with a transcription in Italian and new translation in French and English.
And recently, the Victoria and Albert Museum has made it digitally accessible. More than 450 years after Piccolpasso put ink on paper, the pottery secrets have finally been revealed to everyone…
Pottery secrets of the 21st century
But the secrets of yesteryear are now less relevant than when they were recorded. The three books of the potter’s art offer a wealth of information. But only historical.
When the book appeared in the mid-19th century, the majolica process had been known throughout Europe for many centuries. The techniques of that time had already been replaced by modern transfer techniques. Small workshops had given way to large factories with many hundreds of workers.
Nevertheless, there were certainly artisanal ceramists who read the (translated) texts with interest. Some of them looked back with nostalgia to the time when pottery was still produced on a small scale by craftsmen. Perhaps this publication (co-) inspired the arts-and-crafts movement .
The three contemporary books of the potter’s art
Okay so the three books of the potter’s art of Piccolpasso are now outdated. No more the books to discover secrets of the modern ceramic craft. But then how are you supposed to find out?
Of the contemporary ceramics handbooks available, I recommend these three:
- Frank Hamer: “The Potter’s Dictionary of Materials and Techniques”
- Linda Bloomfield: “New Ceramics Special Effect Glazes”
- Stuart Carey: “From clay to kiln”
These books do not shed any light on the dark secrets of the 16th century. But these are books that every ceramist from the 21st century can still learn something from.
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