TERRA COTTAS.—AZULEJOS, OR WALL DECORATIONS OF TILES.—EARTHENWARE.—BUCAROS AND UNGLAZED POTTERY.
The earliest historical notice which I have met with of Terracottas is in a grant made in A.D. 1222, by King Don Fernando el Santo, in favour of the manufacturers of bricks or tiles at Talavera (M. S. Bibl. Nacional Madrid, Dd. 114, p. 17), and another document of a similar kind by his son, King Don Alonso el Sabio A.D. 1281, in favour of the Cathedral of Cordova, "that no pottery works should be allowed inside the town, unless they were established in the same manner as in the time of the Moors." (Mem. Hist. Español, t. ii. p. 45). Although this information is not of great importance, it enables us to infer that in the 13th century an industry existed in Spain which was closely connected with pottery. Baron Davillier mentions a privilege granted by King Dn. Jaime de Aragon to the inhabitants of Jativa, province of Valencia, in which he commands, "that any master potter who made jars, pots, pans, tiles, and bricks, should pay a tribute of one besant yearly for each oven, and be permitted to carry out his industry with no other obligation or service." (Col. Doc. Ineditos, vol. xviii. p. 67.)
The details concerning this industry in Cataluña are more interesting; especially on account of the references given to the marks of the objects proceeding from this manufacture. The potters, who were known by the generic name of olleros sent, in 1257, two individuals to form part of the town council. They formed at that time a guild; in 1314 they agree in their regulations as to the mark to be adopted for their pottery, and the actual spot is mentioned on which every potter was to stamp his wares. This stamp was ordered to be very visible, and instructions are given as to the quality of the clay, and its manipulation, in order to produce pottery of a first-class order. We find statutes in this sense up to 1355. But we cannot find in the "Libro de Ordenanzas" of the potter's guild that any laws existed touching the technical details of this manufacture; most of the regulations refer to the management of the guild from 1304, which was composed of potters, bricklayers, jar-makers, and manufacturers of pottery for domestic purposes of Barcelona. (Capmany, Memorias Historicas, 1779-92, vol. i. part 3, p. 69.)
These references are not, however, sufficient to identify the kind of pottery made at that time in Cataluña. It is highly probable that lustred ware was also made there to a great extent, not only because it was the most characteristic produce of the Peninsula, but also because this ware was exported to a great extent, and highly esteemed.
The most important examples of Spanish terra-cotta which have reached us are tinajas, large jars for holding wine and oil.
One of the best tinajas which I know is at the South Kensington Museum, No. 330-'66. (See woodcut.) It is a wine jar, amphora-shaped, and ornamented with incised pattern of vine leaves, and stamped diaper of a Gothic character. This and similar specimens have always been found in Andalusia and the province of Toledo, and hence we may infer that the chief centres of this industry existed at Toledo and Seville. They continue to be made there, and are used for the same purposes as in the Middle Ages, for keeping stores of wine, oil, meat, grain, etc.
Belonging to this section of objects of a large size, are some specimens of glazed earthenware made for brims of wells. I only know four or five examples in the local museums of Toledo and Cordova; the font of the church of San Salvador, Toledo, belongs also to the same pottery. The brim of a well, at the South Kensington Museum, No. 1763-'71, is of the same manufacture. It was bought at Toledo for three guineas at a shoemaker's shop. It is made of glazed white and green earthenware, with ornamental Cufic characters in high relief all round, which appear to be of the 14th century (see woodcut on next page). The inscription, which is repeated, is imperfect, and all that I can decipher are the words:
