A 17th century Portuguese faience, wheel-thrown ovoid shaped pot, of two identical handles and accentuated neck, decorated in cobalt-blue pigment on a white background.
The decorative grammar, of clear Chinese influence, is nonetheless defined by a horror vacui characteristic of Islamic models. Floral and foliage scroll motifs – stylised chrysanthemums, daisies and camellias – fill the entire body surface, illustrating, in a borrowed oriental manner, the image of an idyllic garden.
Encircling the whole body, at mid-height, an unusual raised ring band obtained by finger pressing the soft paste, in an obvious imitation of the Chinese porcelain pieces that contrary to faience, are constructed in two segments and subsequently joined together for decorating and glazing. In this particular instance, on copying from an original model and possibly not grasping the meaning of such ring, the potter unknowingly converted that technical detail into a purely decorative element.
On the neck a wide band of small, equally finger pressed, lead-white glazed alveoli, ornamented with individual stars and framed by contrasting light and dark blue friezes, topped by a white, twisted rope motif rim border. The base is encircled by a cobalt blue ring while the semi-circular and diametrically opposed auricular shaped handles, positioned close to the shoulder, are ornamented by short blue parallel lines.
The monochromatic cobalt-blue on white decoration, instilled by Chinese porcelain decorative models brought to Lisbon by Portuguese traders in the early 1500s, is introduced into Portuguese faience production in the first-half of the 17th century. The symbiosis between the Chinese and Islamic decorative repertoires would trigger the creation of a group of pieces, such as this pot, obsessively ornamented by master potters inspired by Islamic decorative characteristics.
The virtuosity and rarity of this piece reside in the object’s unique appearance, which results from the potter’s creativity, from the paste quality and fineness and from the purity of the centuries-old, but well-preserved, cobalt-blue pigment.