S. Italy (Abruzzi?) Albarello 18th or 19th c.

Posted on May 17, 2012 by D&Y

S Italy 18th/19th Private Collection Greece

An 18th/19th century albarello, polychrome decorated with a stylised hare within a landscape (Southern Italy, Abruzzi ?). The hare has been a powerful symbol in mythology in major civilisations around the world for thousands of years and has always had divine associations. Hares were common decorative motif in Italian ceramics, as a symbol of fertility, rebirth, promise, fulfillment, and balance (h. 25,50 cm , private collection Athens Greece ). Albarello in ceramica con figura di lepre. Italia meridionale (Abruzzi ?), XVIII ­­-­­ XIX secolo, coll. privata Atene.

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Cyprus – Kouza 20th c.

Posted on May 17, 2012 by D&Y

Cyprus 20th - Private Collection Greece

Kouza, water jug from the mountain villages of Cyprus (Phini, Ayios Dimitrios and Kaminaria). In previous years the transportation of water from the fountain to the home was a daily task carried out with the aid of these large jugs, generally containing over 10 litres of water. Made of red clay with an archaic form, kouza (κούζα) is the most characteristic water jug in Cyprus (mid 20th century, private collection Athens Greece).

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Spain 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Ceramic cruet from Puente del Arzobispo (19th c.). El Puente del Arzobispo is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Spain. The Province of Toledo has been the centre of handmade ceramics for well over a thousand years. The artists of the neighbouring villages of Talavera de la Reina and El Puente del Arzobispo establish the standard against which all other Spanish hand painted ceramics are compared. Today the town is the centre of a thriving industry producing pottery and tiles decorated in green and yellow with animal and plant motifs.
Private collection, Athens Greece . Vinagrera , Puente del Arzobispo ( Toledo ) arcilla, siglo XIX

Posted on May 9, 2012 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Spanish (Manises near Valencia) Plate 19th

Posted on February 19, 2012 by D&Y

Manises Spain 19th Private Collection Greece

Popular dish from the workshops of Manises, near Valencia, in Spain’s eastern Mediterranean coastal region. The plate is painted in bright colors blue, green, yellow and purple. The central theme is a bird standing on large flowers, while blue dots filling the white background. The 18th and particularly the 19th centuries were another noteworthy era in the Manises ceramic production, characterised by the popular tone of the decorations. The motifs are mainly floral, but there are also birds, animals, human figures and architecture depicted. The plate is dated around the mid-19th century. Private collection Athens Greece.

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Hispano Moresque Ceramic Charger

Posted on February 19, 2012 by D&Y

Hispano Moresque 17th Private Collection Greece

A 17th century Hispano-Moresque copper lustre ceramic charger, with a banded rim decorated on the center with a stylized bird among carnations and scattered flowers (d 36 cm). Hispano-Moresque ware was a style of initially Islamic pottery created in Muslim Spain, which continued to be produced under Christian rule in styles blending Islamic and European elements. The Moors introduced tin-glazed pottery to Spain after the conquest of 711. Valencia, Barcelona and Malaga became important centers of Hispano-Moresque ware. The industry’s most successful period was the 14th and 15th centuries. Although the Moors were expelled from Spain in the early 17th century, the Hispano-Moresque style survived in the province of Valencia. Later wares usually have a coarse reddish-buff body, dark blue decoration and luster. Private collection Athens Greece.

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French Pottery – La Ceramique Francaise – Poterie Francais, is on Air

Posted on December 18, 2011 by D&Y

A NEW PAGE WITH ‘FRENCH CERAMICS’ FROM Mid 16th to 19th CENTURY IS ON AIR WITH 60 UNIQUE ITEMS – FOLLOW US & ENJOY THIS UNIQUE & RARE PART OF THE FRENCH POTTERY

And please do not forget that we LIKE you to LIKE us on Facebook

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Zarafa, a Giraffe which became France’s darling

Posted on December 1, 2011 by D&Y

Faience plates from Wally and Les issletes among other items painted with the famous giraffe Zarafa (c. 1827-9). Zarafa was a female giraffe given to Charles X King of France by Muhammad Ali of Egypt. She was one of the first three giraffes to be seen in Europe for over three centuries and her arrival in France caused great excitement to the crowds. She was presented to the King at the chateau of Saint-Cloud in Paris on 9 July 1827. Zarafa’s arrival in Paris caused a public delirium. Over 100,000 people came to see her, approximately an eighth of the population of Paris at the time. The enthusiasm of the crowd was the reason for displaying giraffe images to a large number of objects, including ceramics and porcelain, as we can see in these plates. Zarafa took up residence in the Jardin des Plantes and remained in Paris until her death in 1845.

Read more about the famous giraffe Zarafa which became France’s darling in our New page “Pottery Stories”.

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Yiasiranis (Rhodes) 20th - Private Collection Greece


Giant ceramic figure of a horseman, made ​​by Savas Yiasiranis from Archangelos Rhodes. Son of the famous craftsman Nicholas Yiasiranis, former master potter of the Icaros factory, Savas continues (as well as his brother Stephanos) the family tradition by making human and animal figures, dolls with traditional costumes of the Dodecanese and idols in a bell shape. Most of these ceramics are sold at fairs all over the island, especially in the feast which takes place on September 8th at the old monastery of Panagia Tsampika near the village of Archangelos. Despite his advanced age, Savas continues to make folk ceramics which reflect the popular taste and spontaneity of their creator. Private collection, Athens Greece

Posted on November 19, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

‘Kutahya Ceramics’ Page is on Air

Posted on October 29, 2011 by D&Y

A NEW PAGE WITH ‘KUTAHYA CERAMICS’ FROM 18th – 20th CENTURY IS ON AIR WITH MORE THAN 70 UNIQUE ITEMS – FOLLOW US & ENJOY THIS UNIQUE & RARE PART OF THE ISLAMIC HISTORY

Please check under the “Islamic-Ottoman” category

Posted in Islamic Ceramics, Kutahya | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Kutahya Ceramics’ Page is on Air

Posted on October 29, 2011 by D&Y

A NEW PAGE WITH ‘KUTAHYA CERAMICS’ FROM 18th – 20th CENTURY IS ON AIR WITH 70 UNIQUE ITEMS – FOLLOW US & ENJOY THIS UNIQUE & RARE PART OF THE ISLAMIC HISTORY

Please check under the “Islamic-Ottoman” category

Posted in Islamic Ceramics, Kutahya | Tagged | Leave a comment

Kutahya 18th - Pera Museum Constantinople


Armenian flask (Kutahya) dated from the second half of the 18th century. Representation of a mail figure in traditional clothing smoking a long stemmed pipe. The sides are decorated with needle-leafed branches while the perimeter of the flask is decorated with flowering branches. Such flasks and/or plates were mainly addressed for European buyers.
The oldest Kutahya ceramics, an example of tiles dated (1718/9) , were a special order for the restoration of the church of the Holy Sepulcher within the Old City of Jerusalem (also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians). These pictorial tiles depict a series of scenes from the Old and New Testament with an inscription in Armenian. (Last Supper and Holly Women at the empty Tomb – Etchmiadzin chapel, St. James Cathedral, Armenian Patriarchate, Jerusalem).

Posted on October 23, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale Plates with Ships & House Motifs

Posted on September 24, 2011 by D&Y


Canakkale plates dated from the 1st half of 19th century. Red earthenware (usual) with light – yellow glaze, with rare (ships, houses) motifs at the center. It was the early 17th century when Canakkale ceramics (souvenirs rather than objects of daily use) became an object of enough interest to caught the attention of foreign travelers. Beautiful and rare examples from the Tiled Kiosk Museum in Istanbul Turkey.

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France 19th - Metropolitan Museum NY

Joseph-Théodore Deck (1823–1891) was a 19th-century French potter. He was born in Guebwiller and began learning pottery in his early 20s. Deck was the first of the artist potters to explore historical styles in the name of progress in ceramics. In 1856 he established his own faience workshop with his brother Xavier and his nephew Richard. “Atelier Deck” became a design laboratory promoting ceramics as an art form, experimenting with the Islamic style of ceramic making, and in particular the Iznik style. Well known is also the “bleu de Deck,” his famous deep-turquoise blue glaze, using potash, carbonate of soda and chalk- Metropolitan Museum NY.

Posted on September 16, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Nevers Patronymique 19th - Private Collection France

Plate from Nevers (dated 1806 & inscribed Rene Lions) with the figure of Saint Maurille (Bishop of Angers) that regenerates a dead child by baptizing him. Saint Renee is the child that receives a re-born life. The theme of this plate is extremely popular due to Renee d’Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily that spread this legend in the 15th century – Private Collection France.

Posted on September 10, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

David Vases - British Museum Web Site Picture


The David Vases are the best-known porcelain vases in the world because of the rare inscriptions around their necks, dating them to precisely AD 1351. They are named after their most famous owner, Sir Percival David (1892-1964), who built-up one of the world’s greatest Chinese ceramic collections.

Read the article on our ‘ceramopolis.com’ Page on facebook

“The David Vases”

Best Regards

Posted on August 23, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Visit out ‘Ceramopolis.com Page on Facebook’ and follow ceramic news from all over the world.

Also check the ‘MuseumPolis Page on facebook’ and celebrate art through daily posts from more than 300 Museums & Art web sites.

“Like” us is the vitamin to continue this effort, creating a community for ceramic art, pottery and folk history of our own culture.

Sincerely Yours D&Y

Posted on August 15, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Tiled Kiosk Museum Istanbul Turkey

Canakkale plate dated from the 1st half of 19th century. Red earthenware (usual) with light – yellow glaze, and a fish design at the center.
It was the early 17th century when Canakkale ceramics (souvenirs rather than objects of daily use) became an object of enough interest to caught the attention of foreign travelers.
In Çanakkale the production was mainly plates, bowls, jugs, pitchers and vases (up to now, no wall tiles have been found). Broad 18th century plates with skilful and varied designs, including ships, buildings, ibrik, and simple geometric and plant motives, belong to the finest ceramics ever made in Çanakkale.

Posted on August 14, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

The French Revolution (Révolution Française; 1789–1799) was a period of radical social and political change in French and European history. French Revolution began in 1789 with the convocation of the Estates-General in May. First years of the revolution were dominated by important events as the assault of the Bastille and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.The Republic was proclaimed in Sept 1792 and King Louis XVI was executed in 1793. These difficult years during which thousands of people were killed, influence art including pottery. Ceramic plates with themes from the Revolution become part of the everyday life and are highly collectible nowadays.

Posted on August 7, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Tiled Kiosk Museum Istanbul Turkey

Canakkale plate dated from the 2nd half of 19th century. Red earthenware (usual) with light – yellow glaze, and the animal figure of a giraffe in the middle of trees.
It was the early 17th century when Canakkale ceramics (souvenirs rather than objects of daily use) became an object of enough interest to catch the attention of foreign travelers. Canakkale ceramists (mostly Armenians, Greeks and Turks) gained popularity in time and benefiting from the Canakkale’s geographical location (port near the Aegean sea) to heavily export jugs and plates as souvenirs in Greece (emphasis in islands as Skyros and Rhodes), France (Avignon) and Russia among other.
A rare and much desired object for any collector (Tiled Kiosk Museum – Istanbul, Turkey).

Posted on August 7, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Kutahya 18th - Pera Museum Istanbul


Beautiful Kutahya Pitcher (Turkey -2nd half of the 18th century). Plain rim with long neck and bulbous body in transparent glaze and decoration in yellow, cobalt blue, manganese purple and brownish red colors. A pair figures, one wearing a turban and the other with a priest’s hat, embracing each other.
Armenian pottery in Kutahya dates back to the early 16th century, when inscribed vessels in Armenian language indicate a production of ceramic ware similar to that of Iznik. Kutahya pottery reached its peak in the 18th century, when the Iznik workshops had closed down, and the orders for the tiling of the mosques and churches were directed to the Armenian ceramists.

Posted on August 6, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

‘Greek Commemorative’ Page is on Air

Posted on July 31, 2011 by D&Y

A NEW PAGE WITH ‘GREEK COMMEMORATIVE’ FAIENCES FROM 19th & 20th CENTURY IS ON AIR WITH 40 UNIQUE ITEMS – FOLLOW US & ENJOY A UNIQUE PIECE OF THE GREEK HISTORY

Please check under page “Greece”

Posted in Commemorative, Greek Ceramics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Greek Commemorative Ceramics 19th & 20th c.

Posted on July 30, 2011 by D&Y

THE NEW ‘GREEK COMMEMORATIVE’ CERAMICS FROM 19th & 20th CENTURY WILL BE ON AIR THIS WEEKEND WITH 40 UNIQUE ITEMS – FOLLOW US & ENJOY A PIECE OF THE GREEK HISTORY

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Greece 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Plate with the Greek warship Georgios Averof, from the faiences of Creil and Montereau (Picardie Region of Northern France, early 20th century). Georgios Averof (Greek: Θ/Κ Γεώργιος Αβέρωφ) is an armored cruiser which served as the flagship of the Royal Hellenic Navy during most of the first half of the 20th Century. The ship was built in 1910 at Orlando Shipyards (Livorno Italy) and most of the construction cost was paid by a wealthy Greek benefactor, George Averoff, whose name the warship received. In the Balkan Wars, Averof, served as the flagship of the fleet, and took part in victorious naval battles against the Ottoman Navy and in the liberation of the islands of the northern and eastern Aegean. For these reasons the warship Averof is an emblem of victory for the Greeks and thousands of dishes were ordered in French faience workshops for the Greek houses. From 1984 to this day, Averof is anchored in Faliron Bay in Athens functioning as a floating museum. On the plate is written “Battleship Averof – The glory of Greece”.

Posted on July 29, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

N Epirus (Greece) 19th - Private Collection Greece

Ceramic pitchers for wine or raki from Northern Epirus (Southern Albania, 19th century). Excellent traditional example from the region’s folk pottery. Both pitchers have the characteristic holed joint between the long neck and the spout, for greater protection from cracking. This joint which in Greek is called «λειρί» (liri), is found in many similar vessels in the Balkans. Typical decoration with brownish red and green lines all over the body.

Posted on July 24, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Greece 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Ceramic decorative figures in traditional Greek costumes from the factory of Kerameikos in Athens. The factory was founded in the early 20th century with the aim of industrial pottery production and manufacturing artistic ceramics. The products of Kerameikos SA, with the bull as a trade mark, sealed the Greek urban household in the first half of the 20th century. In parallel with the factory’s industrial production, many artists worked there making excellent artistic ceramics. These figures are dated from 1940.

Posted on July 23, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Romania 20th - Private Collection Greece

Pair of anthropomorphic pitchers from the village Oboga, in Olt County (southern Romania). Oboga is a well known ceramic center, which is unique through its sculptural character of the shapes. Among Oboga’s ceramics are vinegar cruets, barrels, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic pitchers decorated in the form of small snakes and tiny frogs. These pitchers are dated around the mid-20th century. Private collection Athens Greece

Posted on July 23, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Italian Water Bottle (Ariano or Cerreto) late 18th or early 19th c.

Posted on July 19, 2011 by D&Y

Italian water bottle in the shape of a book (from Ariano or Cerreto, late 18th early 19th century). A wild hare and a bird in natural surroundings, decorate both sides of the bottle. When the bottle was filled with hot water, then worked as a bed or footwarmer. Such stylishly objects were common in potteries of Ariano or Cerreto Sanita, giving evidence of the great pottery tradition in these regions. Private collection Athens Greece.

Borraccia (scaldino) a foggia di libro. Fabbriche di Ariano o Cerreto Sanita, sec. XVII-XIX. Coll.privata Atene.

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Posted on July 9, 2011 by D&Y

THE NEW ‘ITALY – POST 1600′ POTTERY PAGE IS ON AIR WITH 80 UNIQUE ITEMS – ENJOY THEIR FOLK ELEGANCE & BEAUTY

Posted in Italian Ceramics | Leave a comment

Faenza or Marche 18th - Private Collection Greece

Twin handled maiolica cup from Italy, painted with a central Virgin of Loreto and Child and the inscription “CON POL DI S CASA” (probably from Faenza or Marche region, second half of 18th c.). Loreto is a hill town of the Italian province of Ancona. It is mostly famous as the seat of the Basilica della Santa Casa, a popular Catholic pilgrimage site. But the true pilgrim’s attraction is the Holy House, the place where the Annunciation took place and where Jesus was born. According to the legend it was carried there by the angels, however it was done by crusaders. The cup is a pilgrim’s souvenir, painted with the famous statue of the Virgin of Loreto covered with a mantle known as “dalmatic” and the Holy House in the background. Today, the statue of Virgin stands above an altar inside the Holy House. Private collection Athens Greece.

Tazza da brodo decorata con la Madonna di Loreto. Faenza o Marche, seconda meta del XVIII sec. Coll. Privata, Atene.

Φλιτζάνι με απεικόνιση της Παναγίας του Λορέτο (Ιταλία, δεύτερο μισό του 18ου αι., πιθανόν από εργαστήριο της Φαένζα ή της περιοχής Μαρσέ). Το Λορέτο βρίσκεται στην επαρχία της Ανκόνα και αποτελεί σημαντικό προσκύνημα για τους καθολικούς λόγω της ύπαρξης του Ιερού Σπιτιού όπου γεννήθηκε και μεγάλωσε ο Ιησούς και το οποίο μεταφέρθηκε τμηματικά στην Ιταλία από τους Άγιους Τόπους κατά τη διάρκεια των Σταυροφοριών. Στο κέντρο του φλιτζανιού απεικονίζεται το άγαλμα της Παναγίας του Λορέτο με τον Ιησού μπροστά από το Ιερό Σπίτι. Ιδιωτική συλλογή, Αθήνα

Posted on July 7, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Pesaro Jug 19th - Benaki Museum Athens Greece

Wine ceramic jug from Pesaro, Marche area (early 19th c.). The jug is inscribed in Greek with a drinking verse and is decorated with bright colors. The verse in Greek is: “διερρηγμέν ! ενδύεται ο εραστής του ούνου, ου τόν τοιντον κοιταζαι και τετοιος μοί γίνου”. In free translation the verse says, one sees a wine lover, dressed in torn clothing and wishes not to become like him.

Posted on July 2, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Les Islettes 19th - Private Collection France

19th century faience plate produced by ‘Les Islettes’ a manufactory of exquisite French pottery. The woman with parasol is Madame Bernard, the wife of the factory’s founder. The ‘Les Islettes’ faience factory in Bois d’ Epense, was founded by François Bernard in 1764. The factory began with 30 workers and master painters from the other centers and by the beginning of the 19th century some 200 people were working in this. The images of Madame Bernard were one of the most famous and distinctive motifs of Islettes, together with revolutionary themes like the French coq.

Posted on June 25, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Faenza 17th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Plate from Faenza Italy painted with a running deer (early 17th century). Towards the end of the 16th century the craftsmen of Faenza developed a new decorative style with simpler and more immediate forms of expression, as a reaction to the over ornamented pictorial style. They took over the technique of producing white ware. The vessels were covered with fine, white, cold enamels, and much of the white area was left undecorated, except from central scenes painted spontaneously with only a few brush strokes. This production of objects is commonly called “Faenza white ware” (bianchi di Faenza) or “compendiario” style ware. The fame of Faenza white ware spread and grew to such a great degree that finally, from the second half of the 16th century on, the name “faïence” – a French term derived from Faenza – was used generically for all such tin-glazed products, just as it is today.

Posted on June 18, 2011 by D&Y | 1 Comment

Kutahya 18th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Rose water sprinkler from Kütahya Turkey (first half of 18th c.). White paste, white slip and transparent, colorless glaze. The sprinkler has a ring foot and is decorated underglaze in yellow, turquoise, cobalt blue and brownish red with black outlining. Around the body medallions with flowers exist. The upper section of the neck was covered with a silver or metal cap, now missing. Excellent sample from Kütahya’s great pottery tradition.

Posted on June 11, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Pottery in Greece – Παραδοσιακά Ελληνικά Κεραμικά 19ος & 20ος

Posted on June 4, 2011 by D&Y

Η κεραμική είναι μία από τις πιο αρχαίες ανθρώπινες δραστηριότητες. Χώμα, νερό και φωτιά. Με τα ίδια αυτά υλικά που κατασκευάστηκαν τα πρώτα αγγεία μερικές χιλιάδες χρόνια πριν, έπλασαν και συνεχίζουν να πλάθουν μέχρι σήμερα οι νεώτερες γενιές αγγειοπλαστών τα δικά τους δημιουργήματα. Τα σημαντικότερα αγγειοπλαστικά κέντρα που λειτουργούσαν μέχρι το πρόσφατο παρελθόν εντός των ελληνικών συνόρων, ήταν η Πάτρα, ο Μεσσηνιακός Κόλπος (περιοχή Κορώνης), η Ζάκυνθος και η Κέρκυρα στη Δυτική Ελλάδα, τα Γιάννινα και παλαιότερα η Άρτα στην Ήπειρο, η Φλώρινα, η Κοζάνη και η Θεσσαλονίκη στη Μακεδονία, οι Μεταξάδες, η Ξάνθη και το Σουφλί στη Θράκη, ο Βόλος, το Φανάρι, η Καρδίτσα, ο Τύρναβος και η Αγιά στη Θεσσαλία, η Σίφνος και η Κύθνος στις Κυκλάδες, η Σκύρος στις Σποράδες, η Σάμος, η Χίος και η Λέσβος στο Ανατολικό Αιγαίο, η Κως και η Ρόδος στα Δωδεκάνησα, η Χαλκίδα στην Εύβοια, η Κρήτη, η Αίγινα και φυσικά η περιοχή της Αττικής.

THE NEW GREEK POTTERY PAGE IS ON AIR WITH MORE THAN 70 UNIQUE ITEMS – ENJOY THEIR FOLK ELEGANCE & BEAUTY.

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Pottery in Greece – Greek Ceramics in 19th – 20th century

Posted on May 28, 2011 by D&Y

The most important pottery centers in Greece until the recent past, were the Messinian Gulf (Koroni’s area) and Patra in Peloponese, Zakynthos and Corfu in the Ionian Islands, Ioannina and Arta in Epirus, Florina, Kozani and Thessaloniki in Macedonia, Metaxades, Soufli and Xanthi in Thrace, Volos, Fanari, Karditsa, Tirnavos and Ayia in Thessaly, Sifnos and Kythnos in Cyclades, Skyros in Sporades, Samos, Chios and Lesvos in the eastern Aegean Sea, Kos and Rhodes in the Dodecanese, Chalkis in Euboea, the islands of Crete and Aegina and of course the region of Attica.

THE NEW GREEK POTTERY PAGE IS ON AIR WITH MORE THAN 70 UNIQUE ITEMS – ENJOY THEIR FOLK ELEGANCE & BEAUTY.

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Puglia (Italy) 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Jug from Grottaglie (province of Taranto, Puglia, southern Italy). The front is painted with a rooster between two trees (typical background for Grottaglie’s painted ceramics). The ceramic production has represented the wealth of the town for centuries. The numerous ceramic finds, tracing back to the Classical Age, reveal the antique roots of this handicrafts production which was privileged by the presence of considerable amounts of clay in the surrounding territory. This type of jug is called “srulu” in local dialect (h 32 cm, 19th century). Private collection Athens, Greece.

Brocca (srulu) di Grottaglie decorate a stelle e con il gallo, simbolo della maiolica grottagliese. La brocca e databile seconda meta’ dell’ 800. Altezza 32 cm. Coll. Privata, Atene.

Posted on May 25, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Caltagirone (Sicily) 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Pottery water jug from Caltagirone. The jug is dated 1888 and decorated with the rose pattern, a classical motif for this type of pots. Caltagirone (Sicilian : Caltaggiruni) is a town in the province of Catania, in central Sicily. The city’s name derives from the arabic “qal’at-al-ghiran” (“Hill of Vases”). It’s known in Italy as “The city of Sicilian ceramics” due to its thousand-year-old tradition.
Brocca in ceramica di Caltagirone, datata 1888, Coll. Privata, Atene.

Posted on May 20, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Pesaro Jar 18th - Private Collection Athens Greece

A maiolica apothecary jar from Pesaro, Italy. Late 18th century, pottery example from the workshop of Casali Callegari, decorated with stylized flowers in daisy pattern. The art of earth and fire in Pesaro dates back to the thirteenth century. From the second half of the Fourteenth century Pesaro became one of the centers of artistic ceramics with great influence and importance. Height 19,5 cm, Private collection Athens Greece.
Vaso da farmacia. Decorazione alla margherita, h. cm 19,5. Pesaro, fabbrica Casali Callegari, seconda meta del XVIII sec. Coll. Privata, Atene.

Posted on May 17, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Potters from the ICARO Rodi Manufactory – Nikolaos Yasiranis

Posted on May 15, 2011 by D&Y

One of the most well known Rhodian potters is Nikolaos Yasiranis that was born in Rhodes in 1901. Yasiranis received his first lessons in pottery from his father Savvas that used to be a potter in Asia Minor. As a child he worked as an apprentice in a pottery workshop in Rhodes and later set up his own in the village of Archangelos. At the age of 27 he was one of the first locals to be hired as a craftsman by the Italian manufactory of ICARO (see “Greece / ICARO-ΙΚΑΡΟ” page for more information).
In 1944 N. Yasiranis desided to left ICARO and returned to Archangelos in order to restart his old workshop. Although at the begining he imitated some of the ICARO production (see Madonna di Filerimos), being inspired and influenced by the local tradition, he worked freely on plates, pots with anthropomorphic shapes and clay dolls with the traditional costumes of the Dodecanese Islands. Nikolaos Yasiranis retired in 1957 (workshop continued by his son Stephanos) and died in 1973.

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Calvello (S. Italy) Plate 20th - Private Collection Greece

Maiolica plate from Calvello (South Italy). Calvello sits on a steep hillside in the middle of Basilicata, a mountainous region wedged between Puglia and Calabria. For centuries, apart from sheep farming and breeding, Calvello has produced fine tiles and ceramics. The Calvello potters developed their own unique style. The bird is a recurring theme on dishes, jugs, vases and other vessels of the local production. Mid-20th century, private collection Athens Greece.
Piatto in maiolica di Callvelo, Vasilicata. Uccello al centro (XX sec.). Coll. Privata, Atene.

Posted on May 14, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Romania Pitcher 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Zoomorphic ceramic pitcher from the village Poieniţa in Argeş, (southern central Romania). The mouth has been formatted in the shape of a mouflon’s head with horns in full curl. The European Mouflon (Ovis ammon musimon) is thought to be one of the two ancestors for all modern domestic sheep breeds. Acclimatized especially in the mountains of southern Romania, the mouflon is an important part of the country’s natural heritage. This pitcher is dated 1957.

Posted on May 14, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Greek (Lesvos) Pitcher 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Wedding pitcher from Agios Stefanos of Mantamados village (island of Lesbos, NE Aegean Sea). This is a characteristic earthenware vessel with many handles, decorated with beautiful floral motifs made by white slip. The two large handles symbolize the married couple and the smaller symbolize the children who would be born in the future. The pitcher in the local dialect is called Λαηνίδα του γάμου (lainida tou gamou). Late 20th century, private collection Athens Greece

Posted on May 14, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Greece (Chios) Jug 20th - Private Collection Greece

Four handled earthenware jug from the island of Chios (Aegean Sea, Greece). A typical example of ceramic production from the village of Armolia, decorated with white slip and green glaze which bond well with the semi-porous surface. Armolia is located about 20Km SW of the city of Chios. The Armolousians have a long tradition in making and decorating ceramics such as: pitchers, vases, jars, bowls and cups. This water jug was made in mid 20th century and in the local dialect is named Nebotis (Νεμπότης).

Posted on May 11, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Samos (Greece) 20th - Private Collection Greece

Wine jugs from the island of Samos (Aegean Sea, Greece). The muscat grape is the main decorative motif on these pots, which were made at the potteries of Karlovasi in the middle of 20th century. Samos Muscat wine is famous worldwide and is produced by a specific grape variety which is cultivated on the island’s mountain slopes. The ceramic tradition of Samos begins in ancient times when in the island were produced high quality ceramics.

Posted on May 7, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Napoli or Ariano 19th - Private collection Greece

Big ceramic plate from South Italy (19th century, d 48 cm). This plate belongs probably to the ceramic production of Naples (Napoli) or Ariano. A female figure holding a spear with a cross at its base, dominates the center. The confronted trees are a characteristic and common decorative motif of the region. Both the Naples area and the Ariano are well known for the exceptional quality and beauty of their ceramics, which are highly sought after by collectors.
Grande piatto con la figura di una donna. Fabbriche di Napoli o Ariano, sec. XIX, diam. cm 48. Coll. Privata, Atene.

Posted on May 6, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Romania 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Large ceramic pitcher from Vama village in Oaş region of Northern Transylvania (county of Satu Mare, Romania). The pitcher has a traditional shape and painted decoration inspired by the bright colors (white and red) of the local folk costumes. With a capacity of 5-10 liters these pοts were used for storing wine or brandy. Vama is four kilometers south of Negresti-Oas, traditionally a ceramics and pottery centre of which little evidence remains today.

Posted on May 4, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Aegina Greece – Water Jug with the Image of JFK (John F. Kennedy)

Posted on May 1, 2011 by D&Y

Water jug from the Greek island of Aegina (c. 1965). The vessel is made from local yellowish clay with characteristic floral decoration. The particularity however, is at the base of the neck, where is placed in relief form the image of U.S. president J. Kennedy. Perimetrically of the President’s image is written “JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY 1917- 1963”. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th and the first Catholic Irish American President of the United States, serving from 1961 until 1963. Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. His assassination affected many people, not only in the U.S. but around the world. Kennedy features prominently in popular culture and even today continues to rank highly in public opinion ratings of former U.S. presidents. The potter from Aegina created his mold probably copying a medal from the hundreds that have been released worldwide with Kennedy’s image. In this way he wanted to honor the memory of a great personality that had a tragic and unexpected end. This rare ceramic shows the influence of world events in pottery production, even if these occur thousands of miles away.

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Greek Revolution of 1821 in French Ceramics (Philhellenism and the Factories in Montereau, Choisy & Toulouse)

Posted on April 30, 2011 by D&Y

Philhellenism in France right after the Greek revolution of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire, was experienced as a cultural phenomenon. After the massacre of Chios in 1822, Greek heroes like Marcos Botsaris, Alexandros Mavrokordatos, Constantine Kanaris and Andreas Miaoulis gained equal importance with Achilles, Agamemnon and the other ancient Greeks. Eugene Delacroix’s painting “The Massacre of Chios” presenting some of the horror that resulted in the deaths of 20.000 Greeks and the slavery of almost all the surviving inhabitants of the island of Chios in 1822 and the death of Lord Byron in 1824, made the French people to want to know better the Greeks. In April 6 1825, the “Journal des Debats” urged the French “In favor of the Greeks” insisting for the financial aid of the Greek Cause.
It is in that period that three manufactories of faience (in Choisy-le-Roi, Montereau and Toulouse) will be inspired by the Greek revolution and will circulate faience (mostly plates) with the stories of Greek Heroes.

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Florence prob. (Giunta di Tugio) ca.1431 - Metropolitan Museum NY

Some of the earliest jugs and bowls of that period were made in Orvieto (Umbria), Perugia and Tuscany, especially Florence that as a great mercantile centre of Italy was open to influences imported from Spain, Low Countries and the Orient. Motifs of that age were simple and colours available were purple and turquoise green. One of the finest potters of that era and probably the earliest Italian potter we can attribute existing wares of maiolica with confidence is Giunta di Tugio di Giunta.
THE NEW ITALIAN PRE-1600 CERAMICS PAGE IS ON AIR WITH MORE THAN 55 UNIQUE ITEMS – ENJOY THEIR ELEGANCE & BEAUTY.

Posted on April 24, 2011 by D&Y | 1 Comment

Urbino (Italy) 16th - Lehman Collection Metropolitan Museum NY

Plate from Urbino dated and signed by Francesco Xanto Avelli da Rovigo, 1532. The scene represents Phaethon’s sisters (the Heliads) being changed into elms and his friend Cygnus into a swan. The shield of Pucci of Florence in the center of the plate. On the back inscribed in Latin –“into a swan and Clymene’s daughters changed into elms / Ovid’s Metamorphoses”, (bibliography: Italian Majolica in the Robert Lehman Collection – Jorg Rasmussen, 1989). This completely new style of decorating pottery with stories from classical myths of the Bible emerged in Italy at the end of the 15th century. Known as istoriato, the style flourished in the Duke of Urbino’s lands, where several pottery painters established workshops.

Posted on April 24, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Deruta (Italy) 16th - V&A London UK

Plate from Deruta in Umbria with distinctive painting of two riders dated around 1520. By the 1460s workshops in Deruta (Umbria) mastered the method of painting ceramics with metal luster. Deruta made large quantities of lustreware until the end of the 16th century, when the technique fell out of fashion.

Posted on April 24, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 18th or early 19th - Suna Inan Museum (photo from their Web Site)

Suna & Inan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum is located in two historic buildings in Kaleiçi of old Antalya. One of the two buildings of the museum is the former Greek Orthodox Church of ST. George (Άγιος Γεώργιος in Greek) that is the exhibition hall of the museum. The Canakkale collection of the Suna & Inan KIRAC museum is one of the most important due to both the number of items (catalogue comprises 232 Canakkale wares) but also the rich variety of forms (plates, jugs, jars, bowls, vases, gas lamps, mugs, animal figurines, ewers (ibrik) among others). A must visit museum for lovers of Canakkale caramics and Canakkale pottery.

Posted on April 22, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 18th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Exceptional example of an early Canakkale ceramic. Large jar with double handles dated from the mid 18th century. Bulbous body tapering down to a flat base, short neck, and a pair of small handles. Red earthenware with four large medallions on body decorated with brush strokes.

THE NEW CANAKKALE PAGE (YOU CAN FIND IT UNDER THE ISLAMIC CERAMICS PAGE) IS ON AIR WITH MORE THAN 70 UNIQUE ITEMS – ENJOY THEIR WILD BEAUTY.

Posted on April 21, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

The fearsome head of a Giant Dragon-Lion, made ​​in Çanakkale (late 19th century). The intense gaze, the powerful teeth, the twisting mustaches and the tongue that greedily springs from the open mouth, provides a wild beauty in this ceramic. Ceramic animals of this size (the height of this lion is over 40 cm) are extremely rare in Çanakkale pottery, because of their limited production. A much desired object for every collector. (Private collection, Athens Greece).

THE NEW CANAKKALE PAGE (YOU CAN FIND IT UNDER THE ISLAMIC CERAMICS PAGE) IS ON AIR WITH MORE THAN 70 UNIQUE ITEMS – ENJOY THEIR WILD BEAUTY.

Posted on April 16, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Cyprus (Kornos) 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Vatta (in Greek : Βάττα με τα ποτούδκια), decorative ceramic vessel from the village of Kornos Cyprus (20th century). Kornos is one of the famous pottery centers in Cyprus, where pottery has the form of cottage industry. The pots are made exclusively by women working at home, using a primitive potter’s wheel positioned at a short distance from the ground. This kind of products is often unique and distinctive given the fact that they are not mass-produced.

Posted on April 14, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

The Beauty of Canakkale Plates

Posted on April 13, 2011 by D&Y


Canakkale plates (tabak), all with red earthenware dated to the late 18th or beginning of the 19th century. Deep dishes with flat everted rim, narrowing to a ring base. At the centre of the dishes, we see composition of free brush strokes arranging forms as the wheel of fortune or stylized floral motives.

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Bulgaria (Balkans) - Private Collection Athens Greece

Pitcher with relief decoration dated from the 19th century. Excelent example from the folk ceramic tradition of Bulgaria (Balkans).
The Balkans (often referred as the Balkan Peninsula), is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe that takes its name from the mountains that run through the centre of Bulgaria into Eastern Serbia. The Balkans, (“Balkan” comes from a Turkish word meaning “a chain of wooded mountains”, also the ancient Greek name for the Balkan Peninsula was the “Peninsula of Haemus” – Χερσόνησος του Αίμου in Greek), is a major crossroad between mainland Europe and the Near East. Its unique identity owes much to its violent history of the last 1000 years but also its very mountainous geography. (Source: Wikipedia The free encyclopedia)

Posted on April 12, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Greece (Florina) 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

A pair of water pitchers from Florina (Northern Greece). The mouth of the pots has the shape of a horse head and in the body, rosettes and a central medallion with a human head can be found, all gilded over the glaze. On the handle there is the typical hole similar to the pitchers from Balkans. These pots were made by Greek potters who came as refugees in Florina from Canakkale, after 1922. The influence of Canakkale ceramics, as well as of the local traditional pottery is more than obvious.

Posted on April 10, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Pesaro 18th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Wine ceramic jug from Pesaro Italy (end of the 18th c.). The jug is inscribed in Greek with a drinking verse and is decorated with bouquets of brightly colored foliage. At the bottom there is the mark of Casali and Callegari (C.C.) manufactory (period Ippolito Casali & Filippo A. Callegari, 1787 – 1810). The verse in Greek is: Δεν πίνουν οι Τούρκοι το κρασί, το πίνουν οι Ρωμαίοι, το πίνουν η φτωχολογιά, ν’ αλησμονούν τα χρέη (that in free translation says, it is not the Turks that drink the wine, it is the Greeks, it is the poor people in order to forget the debts). Above the verse there are initials (Θ. ΓΡ.) probably from the person that made the order or the one who was going to receive the jug as a present.

Posted on April 10, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Canakkale plate dated from the first half of 19th century. Red earthenware with a clover-shaped medallion in the centre full with floral rosettes and leaves. Motif is completed by lacework edges. This kind of plates depicting centrally composed decorations were produced from the 2nd half of the 18th century till the 1st half of the 19th century.

Posted on April 9, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Although Canakkale ceramics come with many forms, especially loved and immediate recognizable are the Canakkale jugs with bulbous bodies, long necks and crowded colorful ornamentation. Characteristic example is the one in the photo in bright green glaze, eye like rosettes on both sides of the mouth, rosettes and flowers in relief decorating the front of the body and the neck.

Posted on April 7, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Example of Canakkale Pottery – two pairs of Canakkale plates dated from the first half of 19th century. Red earthenware with light – yellow glaze, and a stylized motif composed of discrete brush strokes, with additional brush strokes on the rim (first pair). Motif for the second pair is composed with free brush stokes laid out like a triangle with discretely laid brush strokes on the border.

Posted on April 6, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Horse-shaped ceramic cup from Canakkale Turkey (late 19th or early 20th century). Red earthenware and a brown body sporadically receiving splashes of green and white. The bridles are folded on the saddle and a large rosette rests on the chest. A hole on the tail is for filling and a small opening on the mouth for pouring out the contents. These beautiful clay objects in the form of horses, lions, camels and other animals belong to the most desirable items for many collectors of this kind of pottery.

Posted on April 5, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik 17th - Benaki Museum Athens Greece

Dish from Iznik with a female figure (first half of the 17th century). The woman wears a long green belted dress, a blouse with blue sleeves, white trousers, red shoes and a colourful tall hat. She holds a bouquet with three red tulips. Flowers on thin curved stems fill the area around her. The rim shows a standardised Chinese motif of waves and rocks. This human figure is more elegant than the brutish figures which began to appear in Iznik pottery from the mid 17th century.

Posted on April 3, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iran 13th - Metropolitan Museum NY

A new page is just uploaded with the story (in brief) of the ceramics from Islamic lands and 32 photos to give an example of the superb achievements of Islamic potters. Enjoy it…

Posted on April 2, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Posted on March 31, 2011 by D&Y

Wine ceramic jug from Pesaro Italy (end of the 18th c.). This jug is decorated with a beautiful peacock in the front and smaller ones all around the jug. With a double scroll handle and polychrome painting. G. M. mark at the bottom from Giovanni Mariotti (1772 – ?) pottery manufactory in Marche region.

Posted in Italian Ceramics, Pesaro | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Canakkale Jug dated from the late 19th century. Bulbous body with long neck and mouth shaped like the head of a horse bearing wings along its neck. Its tail is used as a handle for the jug. In the middle of the body, an eagle spreads its wings with its head turned at one side and at the edge two candlesticks. Dark brown glaze with colorful decorations along its body.

Posted on March 30, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik 17th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Dish from Iznik with a male figure (second half of the 17th century, c.1650-1675). The man is dressed in strange clothes, smokes a pipe and holds a double axe, while a dog is frolicking at his feet. Figurative depictions on Iznik ceramics at the end of the 16th and first half of the 17th century were inspired by the popular imagery of miniature costume albums. The appearance of these brutish figures (as in the plate) from the mid-17th century marks a period during which the Iznik potters followed their own imagining.

Posted on March 29, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik 17th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Polychrome painted dish with a male figure from the twilight period of the Ottoman ceramics industry in Iznik (second half of the 17th century, c.1650-1675). The area around the man is filled with flowers. The first evidence of figurative depictions on Iznik ceramics, is provided by fragments of a tankard from the 1530s and also by a dish with a man’s portrait a few years later. From then until the 1590s, human figures are absent in Iznik pottery.

Posted on March 29, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

The Story of ICARO RODI & IKAROS RHODES in Greece

Posted on March 27, 2011 by D&Y

Industrie Ceramiche Artistiche Rodio – Orientali (I.C.A.R.O) – 1929/50 & IKAΡΟΣ 1950/84 Story in Rhodes Greece (For all of you that you are interested, check our I.C.A.R.O. page with 48 additional photos). Good examples from ICARO pottery and ICARO ceramics (plates, jugs, vases).

As information about I.C.A.R.O. & IKAROS are extremely rare, it will be much appreciated if you could share with us photos, cards, articles from your private collections or even email us with anything to help us continue this story.

Posted in Greek Ceramics, Icaro - Ikaros | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Rhodes (Greece) 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

I.C.A.R.O. tile with the image of Grand Master’s palace in Rhodes. Inscription with the date “Rodi Il 1.1.1943”, and the wish “Buon Anno” (Happy New Year) on it. From 1310 to 1522 the Order of the Knights of Saint John was settled in the island. Rhodes appears to have gained by their presence, because piracy, widely spread on sea and land, diminished and commerce was rapidly increased.

Posted on March 26, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Rhodes (Greece) 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

I.C.A.R.O. tile with the image of Madonna from Filerimos. Austrian potter Egon Huber arrived in Rhodes in 1931, fall in love with the island and decided to stay. He worked at I.C.A.R.O. for many years and probably was still the technical director of the factory after 1950, where the factory continued its production under new ownership. The image of the Madonna of Filerimos (near Ialyssos) is believed to be his idea. Variations of the image can be found till today in churches and other buildings.

Posted on March 25, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Aigina (Greece) 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Terracotta head of a Greek Orthodox priest from the Greek island of Aegina (2Oth century). The head is hand made from a potter in the village Mesagros. Aegina was an important ceramic center, supplying (mainly with water jugs) Athens and surrounding areas up to 1960.

Posted on March 23, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik 16th - Victoria & Albert Museum London UK

Iznik Tile -Top Table about 1560. This kind of tables were used for resting trays full with food and drinks, for the guests in Ottoman palaces. This table is from the Islamic collection of the V&A museum. The Victoria and Albert museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) was founded in 1852, named after the Prince Albert and Queen Victoria and is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, with a permanent collection of more than 4.5mln objects. The collections of the V&A museum (fields of post-Medieval, Middle Eastern and East Asian ceramics) are the most extensive and comprehensive in the word. The refurbishment project of the museum has created the most important center for the enjoyment, study and understanding of the ceramics and a collection that cannot be found anywhere in the world.

Posted on March 22, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik 17th Mecca - Benaki Islamic Museum Greece

Iznik tiles panel with the depiction of the Kaaba, in the central courtyard of the vast Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca (Benaki Islamic Museum). Kaaba, the most sacred place on earth for Muslims, is a square shrine covered by a black silk and gold cloth known as the Kiswah. It is toward this place that Muslims turn five times a day in prayer and it is the goal of every devout Muslim to make a pilgrimage to the Kaaba at least once in his lifetime. Islamic tradition asserts that Abraham and Ishmael built the Kaaba as a copy of God’s house in heaven. It was around 1640 to 1675 when the Iznik potters began to produce Kaaba panels to meet the needs of the Muslim middle-classes.

Posted on March 21, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik Tile 18th - Benaki Islamic Museum Greece

Iznik tile dated from 1706 (early 18th c.) with the footprints of the prophet Muhammad. These are the footprints left by the Prophet before his miraculous night journey from Jerusalem to the heavens. Above the rock on which he stepped was erected in 691 the earliest Islamic monument, the Dome of the Rock.
Iznik Collections are found in both important private collections & museums of Islamic arts. The Benaki Museum of Islamic Art is one of the most important in the world. It includes examples from as far as India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Middle East and Egypt. With more than 8.000 works of art (including ceramics, gold, glass, metalwork and textiles among others) the Benaki Museum of Islamic Arts presents the evolution of Islamic civilization from the early appearance of Islam to the Ottoman Period.

Posted on March 20, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

France (Nevers) 18th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Faience plate from Nevers (second half of the 18th c.). Faience was introduced in France in the 16th Century by migrant Italian potters and Nevers was the leading French centre for ceramic production. The city of Nevers employed many Italian artists, who brought with them the narrative styles of Italian maiolica. These painters also combined elements from French, Chinese and Middle Eastern designs to create a distinctive style of decoration, where art played the first role. The production of ceramics in Nevers flourished in the 18th century, when ordinary items for common use were manufactured in large quantities in the eleven factories that were in active operation during the French Revolution period.

Posted on March 18, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Kutahya 18th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Hanging ornament, egg shaped with transparent glaze. The body is decorated with seraphims (in green and yellow colors) and cross motifs.
One of the most important Kütahya ceramics of the 16th century (can be found in the London British Museum) is a pitcher that was given as a gift to a monastery in Ankara in 1529 and has an inscription at the bottom in Armenian that says “Made in Kutahya”. The pitcher is further evidence that tiles and ceramics were being made in Kutahya at the same time as they were in Iznik.

Posted on March 17, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik 16th - Benaki Islamic Museum Athens Greece

Iznik fish-shaped ceramic, possibly candlestick, dated from c. 1525. Arthur Lane introduced the name “Abraham of Kutahya” for the first phase of the blue and white ceramics of Iznik, relying on two items, an ewer and a flask of AD 1510 and 1529, with Armenian inscriptions (from Goldman’s collection, now in the British Museum). Lane considered that these ceramics were the work of Armenian craftsmen at Iznik, but recent researches have shown that these objects came from Kütahya, another pottery producing town, in which the Armenian potters were playing a major role. During the evolution of Iznik pottery, there were various phases and styles and sometimes a combination of them. In this picture, we can notice the thin scrollwork on the back and belly of the fish, which is an introduction of the new “Golden Horn ware” or Tuğra style.

Posted on March 16, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik 16th - Benaki Islamic Museum Athens Greece

This beautiful ‘grape’ motif (three grapes that imitates the decoration of 15th c. Chinese plates) was adapted and used by the Iznik potters for more than a century from its first appearance in the early 16th c. The plate belongs to the Rhodian Style Iznik and is dated around 1560/65.
Arthur Lane was the first to categorize the main groups of Iznik pottery – Abraham of Kutahya (blue and white), Golden Horn (spirals), Damascus (soft colors including green and purple) and Rhodian (brilliant green and red color).

Posted on March 15, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Pesaro 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Wine ceramic jug from Pesaro Italy (second half of the 18th c.). Pesaro is a seaport wetting by the Adriatic Sea, at the Foglia River mouth (the ancient “Pisaurus”, from which the city was named). The ceramic tradition in Pesaro dates back to the thirteenth century. This jug is decorated with the double-headed eagle, common decorative motif on pottery workshops in the region of Marche of mid 18th until the mid 19th century. Symbol of supreme power, the double-headed eagle appears from ancient times in folk arts and traditions from Asia to Europe.

Posted on March 14, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

France Patronymique 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

St. Jerome with lion, painted on a French patronymique ceramic plate (Nevers?) from the beginning of the 19th century. St. Jerome (c. 347 – 30 September 420) was an Illyrian Catholic priest and apologist, first Latin translator of the Bible. In fine arts he is usually depicted with a Bible, accompanied by a lion (this picture emerged from a Christian legend). One evening St. Jerome was sitting in his monastery in Jerusalem, when a mighty lion came in limping on three paws, holding the fourth caught up. While the monks tripped over one another trying to get away, Jerome went out to meet him as one greets an incoming guest. The lion offered his wounded paw and Jerome noticed that the paw had been pierced by thorns. After he applied a salve, the wound quickly healed. So, St. Jerome tamed the lion, which now went in and out of the cloister as peaceably as any domestic animal.

Posted on March 13, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Rhodes 20th - ICARO Old City (Guardia)

I.C.A.R.O. tiles theme found in 2005 at an old Italian building, used to be the port customs in the old city of Rhodes (Rodi). ICARO workshop opening took place in 1926 in order to test various pottery techniques but the official inauguration was few years later in July 24, 1929. Initial set up of ICARO production was the result of the efforts and passion of a small team of young Italians that were invited to come to Rhodes from the Royal school of ceramics in Faenza (today the National Institute of Ceramics) bringing their love for ceramics and the needed knowhow in colors and techniques.

Posted on March 12, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Rhodes 20th - ICARO Old City (Via dei Cavalieri)

ICARO (I.C.A.R.O.) tiles theme (about 1931 -1932) from the old city of Rhodes (Rodi) in Greece. Industrie Ceramiche Artistiche Rodio-Orientali (I.C.A.R.O) was a manufactory producing pottery from 1929 to 1950, inspired by the decorative motifs of Iznik. ICARO was part of an ambitious Italian project aiming the economic growth of Rhodes island in Greece during the period of the Italian occupation (May 1912 till the end of the WW2).

Posted on March 12, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Iznik 16th - Benaki Islamic Museum Athens Greece

Stunning and well recognized motif from an Iznik plate, with brilliant combination of cobalt blue, olive-green and red colors.
From the late 15th century, the city of Iznik (Byzantine Nicaea) became the most important provider of luxurious ceramic vessels and impressive tile themes made for the court, mosques, palaces and the prosperous class of the Ottoman Empire.

Posted on March 11, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Levos (Greece) 20th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Pitcher with the portrait of Lord Byron from the Greek island of Lesvos (village of Agiasos). George Gordon Byron (1788 – 1824), commonly known as Lord Byron, was one of the greatest British poets and a leading figure in Romanticism. Greece was a source of inspiration for him. He was a passionate philhellene and travelled to fight against the Ottomans during the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revered him as a national hero. Lord Byron died of fever at the age of 36 years old in Messolonghi (Greece). The pitcher is from the first half of the 20th c.

Posted on March 10, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Grottaglie 19th - Private collection Athens Greece

Jug from Grottaglie (region of Puglia), with a distinctive painting of a Masseria. Masserie (Italian plural for Masseria) are surrounded by high walls designed to protect from outlaws and bandits. Most of them were build between 16th and 18th century and could host up to 300 persons although in general these buildings were designed to host two or three families on the ground floor (Apulian farmers of wheat, wine, milk, cheese and olive oil) and the landowner’s family on the first floor. This jug is from the second half of the 19th c.

Posted on March 9, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Grottaglie 19th - Private collection Athens Greece

Jug from Grottaglie (region of Puglia), with a distinctive painting of a Masseria, a traditional fortified farmhouse commonly found in southern Italy and particularly Puglia and Sicily. Masserias belonged to large estates and provided protection to farm workers and crops of the landowner. Examples of these properties can be found today in Sicily and Puglia, (particularly in the countryside around Taranto, Brindisi and Lecce) under a new role, that of a country hotel, museum or a private house. This jug is from the second half of the 19th c.

Posted on March 9, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Kutahya 18th - Benaki Islamic Museum Athens Greece

Armenian plate (Kutahya) dated from the second half of the 18th century. Representation of a mail figure – portrays a vendor of liver, providing an idea of those period bazaars. Such plates were mainly addressed for European buyers.
The oldest dated (1718/9) Kutahya tiles, are a special order for the restoration of the church of the Holy Sepulcher within the Old City of Jerusalem (also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians). These pictorial tiles depict a series of scenes from the Old and New Testament with an inscription in Armenian. (Last Supper and Holly Women at the empty Tomb – Etchmiadzin chapel, St. James Cathedral, Armenian Patriarchate, Jerusalem)

Posted on March 8, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Kutahya 18th - San Lazzaro Venice

Armenian plate (Kutahya) dated from 18th century. Soldier holding a charger with John the Baptist’s head in front of Salome, daughter of Herod the Great.
Armenian pottery flourished in Kutahya (a city in western Asia Minor) with the first dated pieces to go back to the early 16th century. However, Kutahya reached its peak as a pottery center in the 18th century due to the important orders from mosques and churches.

Posted on March 8, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Canakkale jug dated from the end of the 19th century with a duck’s head mouth. Bulbous body with a long narrow neck, and a twisted handle. Red earthenware with brown glaze, decorated with leaves and flowers in intense green and red paint.
With forms of great diversity Canakkale ceramics include different size of plates, deep dishes, fruit bowls, jars (large or smaller ones), jugs, bottles, decorated as the ceramists in Canakkale especially knew.

Posted on March 7, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Canakkale jug dated from the end of the 19th with a duck’s head mouth. Bulbous body with a long narrow neck, and a twisted handle. Red earthenware with colorless glaze, decorated with leaves and flowers in intense green and red paint.
Canakkale ceramists (mostly Armenians, Greeks and Turks) gained popularity in time and benefiting from the Canakkale’s geographical location (port near the Aegean sea) to heavily export jugs and plates as souvenirs in Greece (emphasis in islands as Skyros and Rhodes), France (Avignon) and Russia among other.

Posted on March 7, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Canakkale figure of a Greek traditional warrior called Evzone. Storage item dated from the end of 19th or early 20th century. Red earthenware with splashes of green and brown paint.
Canakkale is the third most important Turkish pottery center after Iznik and Kutahya with important activity between 1670 and 1922. Although Canakkale ceramics constitutes a recent field of investigation, they have become an object of comprehensive research and passionate “hunt” from ceramic collectors.

Posted on March 7, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 18th - Private Collection Athens Greece


Canakkale plate dated from the 2nd half of 18th century. Red earthenware (usual) with light – yellow glaze, and a round medallion at the center, surrounding a triangle.
It was the early 17th century when Canakkale ceramics (souvenirs rather than objects of daily use) became an object of enough interest to caught the attention of foreign travelers

Posted on March 6, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Canakkale jug dated from the end of the 19th century with its mouth shaped as the head of a horse with two wings along its neck. In the middle of the body, an eagle spreads its wings and at the edge two candlesticks. Brown glaze with colorful decorations along its bulbous body.
The name is Turkish, Canak Kale (two words) and means the castle of pots. People in the area, Turkish, Greek, Jew or Armenian used the name Canakkale, all but the educated Greeks that used the name Dardanelles.

Posted on March 6, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment

Canakkale 19th - Private Collection Athens Greece

Soil, water and fire. With the same materials that men produced the first pots few thousand years ago, potters continue to mould their ceramics in our days. The pottery is one of the most ancient human activities. Ceramics is our passion. We are impressed by their form and variety, fascinated by the beauty of their drawings and colors, charmed by their simplicity and also their complexity. After several years of collecting ceramics, we created this site to share with you our knowledge and love for pottery. Through the ceramics, we are seeking for forgotten and living traditions, techniques, influences and effects, signs and symbols, historical events, scenes of daily life and human stories, from Greece, the Balkans, Europe and Asia. We hear the “voices” of objects themselves and transmit them to all of you, who wish to experience this wonderful silent world of clay.

Posted on March 6, 2011 by D&Y | Leave a comment