It is worthy of remark that although many are of very early date no piece of a Mezza ware, confidently assignable to this establishment, is known to the writer; all that have come under his notice are enamelled with the white stanniferous glaze, no instance of the use of an engobe or slip having been observed. The woodcut p. [90] is from an early and probably Tuscan plateau.
The leading characteristics of the Caffaggiolo wares are a glaze of rich and even quality, and purely white; and the use of a very dark cobalt blue of great intensity but brilliant as that of lapis lazuli, frequently in masses as a grounding to the subject: and it would seem laid on purposely with a coarse brush, the strokes of which are very apparent. We give an engraving p. [91] of a curiously decorated tazza of early date. The colours are green, purple and blue. A bright yellow, an orange of brilliant but opaque quality, a peculiarly liquid and semi-transparent copper green are also found, and another characteristic pigment is an opaque bright Indian red. This pottery has a nearer affinity to that of Siena than to any other fabrique, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that they had a like origin or that the establishment at Siena emanated from Caffaggiolo. Both resemble in general style the pieces produced at Faenza and Forlì more than those of other fabriques of the northern duchies, or of the Umbrian centres of the art; and it becomes a question as to which can claim the earliest origin, as also the earliest use of the stanniferous enamel glaze. The dates inscribed upon pieces begin in 1507-9, but undated examples, assignable to this locality and of an earlier period, exist in collections.
The use of the metallic lustre seems to have been tried at Caffaggiolo, but from the extreme rarity of examples bearing the mark of or fairly ascribable to that establishment, we may
perhaps infer that only a few experimental pieces were made, and that this method of enrichment was but little used. A small
plateau at South Kensington, no. 7154, represented in the woodcut is an important example, having the mark. As might be expected, the arms, emblems, and mottoes of the Medici family frequently occur, and occasionally the letters S. P. Q. F. are introduced on labels for “Senatus populusque Florentinus.” M. Jacquemart considers that some of the early groups, &c. in relievo and in the round and early plaques with the sacred emblem, the majority of which are generally ascribed to Faenza, may be of this botega. We quite concur with him in this opinion.
The South Kensington museum is rich in fine specimens of this ware of various date and great variety, some of which are among the most admirable examples of the potter’s art. It is remarkable that we have no recorded names of the artists who painted these beautiful pieces, and it is only at the latter end of the sixteenth century that we find mention of Giacomo and Loys Ridolfi of Caffaggiolo, who emigrated with other potters from the then less encouraged manufactories of Italy to try their fortune in France. M. Jacquemart tells us that these potters or painters founded a “faïencerie” in 1590 at Marchecoul, in Bretagne.
Some confusion has arisen among connoisseurs in France and elsewhere as to the wares of Caffaggiolo and those of Faenza, and indeed it is frequently difficult to draw the line of distinction; but we can hardly follow M. Jacquemart in his historical classification, believing that some of the pieces assigned by him to this fabrique do not really support their claim. A similar remark may apply to many of those in the Louvre ascribed to this pottery by Mons. Darcel.