Ceramic 40 - Spanish BoW cup

 

Plate, Spain,  1550's. La Fontana Foundations. Item FC.1994.03.66

My second and third ceramic experiments ever were blue on white plates for their majesties of Lochac, Gabriel and Constanzia. Ever since then I've had a soft spot for Spanish BoW items. I created this first cup before writing the research paper on the Spanish BoW items. Mostly I wanted to demonstrate the BoW style of Spain in the mid 16th century so I could compare it to the items produced in Iran and Turkey at similar times. Since glazing this cup, I've found almost 100 more BoW items from the 15th and 16th centuries in Spain. I plan on writing an in depth analysis of each of the Spanish centers of production, but for now I can safely state that the BoW items were somewhat cruder than the lustreware items produced at the same time. Even on lustreware items that featured cobalt decoration, the cobalt sections are larger and cruder. I believe this is due to the preparation/application of the glaze. Either the glaze itself is courser requiring thicker application, or more likely, it requires multiple applications to create a solid colour resulting in thicker features. I have this problem myself with the modern glazes I used for this cup. Three applications are required to create a solid blue line. As I was imitating the quick, single brushstroke application of the extant item I only made one pass. I have to say, I don't like the pressure of only one pass and no chance for touch-ups! Some of the lines came out a little two pale but given the style I couldn't go over them.

 

Ceramic 40 - Spanish style Blue on White cup!