SPANISH PORCELAINS 
 
 AND 
 
 TERRA COTTAS 
 
 IN THE COLLECTION OF 
 
 THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWIN ATLEE BARBER, PH.D. 
 
 Director of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA 
 156th STREET, WEST OF BROADWAY 
 NEW YORK, 1915 
 
 <£ G - 'S 
 /32.3Z. 
 
FRANKLIN INSTITUTE LIBRARY 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 
 Class Book- M2..3.Z Accession Z730.3 
 
 Given by 72J..C.. <Sh.ci ejfy.. . fp£..Qim.e.T/ca 
 
 
 
PUBLICATIONS OF 
 
 THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA 
 
 No. 93 
 


 Candelabrum 
 Buen Retiro Porcelain 
 /c « _ About 1780 
 
 (See Nos. ,3 and 14, pages a, and aa) 
 
SPANISH PORCELAINS 
 
 AND 
 
 TERRA COTTAS 
 
 IN THE COLLECTION OF 
 
 THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWIN ATLEE BARBER, PH.D. 
 
 Director of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA 
 156th STREET, WEST OF BROADWAY 
 NEW YORK, 1915 
 
Copyright, 1915, by 
 
 The Hispanic Society of America 
 
SPANISH PORCELAINS 
 
 AND 
 
 TERRA COTTAS 
 
 77303 
 
SPANISH PORCELAINS 
 AND TERRA COTTAS 
 
 INTRODUCTORY NOTES 
 
 W HEN Charles III. succeeded to the throne of 
 Spain, in 1759, many of the best artists and 
 workmen from the Capo di Monte factory were 
 taken from Naples for the purpose of establishing 
 a similar fabrique at Madrid. 
 
 Riano,* who had access to the documents pre- 
 served in the State archives, states that before the 
 king departed from Naples, “he ordered the follow- 
 ing letter to be written to the Secretary of State, 
 Richard Wall, on September 11, 1759: ‘Likewise the 
 workmen and utensils used at the royal manufactory 
 of porcelain of Capo di Monte must be embarked 
 from Naples to Alicant, in the vessels prepared for 
 that purpose, in order to continue from there the 
 
 The Industrial Arts in Spain. 
 
 [5] 
 
journey to Madrid. The necessary conveyances are 
 to be provided, and the expenses to be charged to 
 his Majesty’s account.’ ” 
 
 Riano gives a list of names of fifty-two model- 
 ers, painters and workmen, who arrived from Naples. 
 The spot selected for the porcelain manufactory was 
 inside the gardens of the royal palace at Buen Retiro, 
 in the vicinity of Madrid. 
 
 Quoting from Riaho : “Larruga, in his ‘Memo- 
 rias,’ says that as soon as the building was finished 
 (in 1760), china was made under the superintendence 
 of Don Cayetano Schepers; the works, during his 
 superintendence, proved very unsatisfactory, to his 
 great astonishment, as the same process and work- 
 men were employed as at Naples. Schepers attrib- 
 utes it to squabbles between the Spanish and Italian 
 workmen. Sebastian Schepers, from 1783, a son of 
 Cayetano’s, tried various experiments with different 
 clays of the country. 
 
 “The porcelain made at Buen Retiro was kept 
 for the first thirty years for the exclusive use of the 
 royal family, or to be sent as presents to foreign 
 courts. Nothing was offered for sale until January, 
 1789, after Charles Ill’s death, 1 788, when Charles 
 IV. determined that the china manufactured at Buen 
 Retiro might be sold. Even in Spain the specimens 
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
of this china are very scarce ; it is only at the palaces 
 of Madrid, Aranjuez, the Escorial and La Gran j a 
 that an idea can be formed of the perfection of this 
 manufacture. 
 
 “Every kind of porcelain was made at Buen 
 Retiro, hard and soft paste, white china, glazed or 
 unglazed, or painted and modelled in the style of Capo 
 di Monte. A great many existed imitating the blue 
 jasper of Wedgwood, and they also made flowers, 
 coloured and biscuit, groups, and single figures, and 
 painted porcelain of different kinds. . . . The 
 
 finest specimens which exist are in the Neapolitan 
 style, and are two rooms at the palaces of Madrid 
 and Aranjuez of which the walls are completely cov- 
 ered with china plaques and looking-glasses, modelled 
 in the most admirable manner with figures, fruits, 
 and flowers. The room at Aranjuez is covered with 
 a bold ornamentation of figures in the Japanese style, 
 in high relief, painted with colours and gold with the 
 most exquisite details. The figures unite the fine 
 Italian modelling with the Japanese decoration. The 
 chandelier is in the same style. Upon a vase on the 
 wainscot to the right of the entrance door is the fol- 
 lowing inscription : 
 
 [7] 
 
JOSEPH 
 
 GRICCI 
 
 DELINEAVit 
 
 ET 
 
 SCULit 
 
 1763- 
 
 This same date is repeated in the angles, and in some 
 shields near the roof we find, 
 
 ANO 
 
 1765; 
 
 probably the year the work was terminated. . . 
 
 ‘‘From the establishment of the manufactory in 
 1759 by Charles III. until 1803 the styles adopted at 
 Capo di Monte had been followed. At the beginning 
 of this century Dn. Bartolome Sureda went to Paris 
 to learn the manner in which Sevres porcelain was 
 made. On his return in 1803 he was appointed 
 director of the works at Buen Retiro and endeav- 
 oured to imitate the paste and brilliancy of decora- 
 tion of Sevres. Two workmen came over from 
 Paris — Victor Perche and Vivien. 
 
 “When the French made their entry into Madrid 
 in the spring of 1808 they took possession of the 
 position occupied by the royal manufactory. In July 
 
 [ 8 ] 
 
of the same year it continued in the hands of the 
 French, who forced open the doors of the labora- 
 tory. Porcelain continued, however, to be made 
 there during the reign of Joseph I. ; we find in 
 ‘Travels through Spain and part of Portugal/ Lon- 
 don, 1808, p. 23, that, the author says, ‘the gardens 
 of the Buen Retiro are open to the public. In the 
 neighbourhood of these the royal porcelain manufac- 
 ture is carried on in a large white building/ Lord 
 Blayney, in his ‘Narrative of a Journey through 
 Spain and France in 1810-1814/ London, 1814, says 
 that ‘the royal manufactures of tapestry and porce- 
 lain have declined since the death of Charles III. and 
 have now entirely ceased.' 
 
 “We find in ‘Paseos por Madrid/ Madrid, 1815- 
 8, p. 87, it stated that ‘The English, at the second 
 entry of our troops in Madrid, ruined this building 
 in order that it should not be used as a fortress by 
 the French troops/ 
 
 “Richard Ford, in his ‘Handbook for Travellers 
 in Spain/ London, 1845, says, ‘Everything was de- 
 stroyed by the invaders, who turned the manufactory 
 into a fortification, which surrendered with 200 can- 
 non, Aug. 14th, 1812, to the Duke of Wellington. 
 Ferdinand VII., on his restoration, re-created La 
 
 [9] 
 
China, removing the workshops and ware rooms to 
 the Moneloa.’ ”* 
 
 Writers on ceramic art have followed each other 
 in the assertion that the porcelain of Buen Retiro 
 presents many points of similarity in paste and glaze 
 to that of Capo di Monte, since the modelers, deco- 
 rators, and potters brought from that factory to 
 Spain by Charles III. would probably continue to 
 pursue the same methods there. This supposition, 
 however, is entirely at variance with the facts, since 
 both the pate tendre, or soft paste, and the later hard 
 paste of the two establishments are quite dissimilar 
 in appearance and color, the result of different con- 
 ditions and environment. The clays and other mate- 
 rials found available for the manufacture in Spain 
 were of an entirely different quality from those used 
 in Italy. 
 
 The early soft paste of Buen Retiro is more 
 diaphanous than that of Capo di Monte, which latter 
 is whiter and more chalky in appearance. The for- 
 mer possesses more of a waxy quality than is found 
 in other pate tendre porcelains, and is frequently of 
 a pronounced greenish tint. The decorations are 
 subdued in coloring, a rose or lake being particularly 
 
 *Moncloa, near Madrid. 
 
 [ 10 ] 
 
characteristic. Another marked peculiarity is the 
 gilded traceries around the edges. Later on, the soft 
 paste became whiter and coarser in texture. The 
 hard paste porcelain of Buen Retiro likewise bears 
 no resemblance to that of Naples, being of a much 
 whiter tint and of finer texture. Since some of the 
 modelers and painters worked at both factories, there 
 is more or less similarity in the treatment of groups 
 and figures produced at both establishments, and in 
 their decoration. It is necessary, therefore, to study 
 the pastes to distinguish the one product from the 
 other. 
 
 [Hi 
 
CATALOGUE 
 
 I 
 
 PORCELAIN OF THE BUEN RETIRO, 
 MADRID, SPAIN 
 
 1-8. PLATES (8) 
 
 Diameter, io inches. 
 
 Artificial soft paste (fritted), thick and 
 heavy. Waving, hexagonal outline. Decorated 
 with floral designs in colors, touched with gold. 
 A heavy line of gold bordering the guttered 
 edge. On back the fleur-de-lis mark in blue. 
 About 1770. Plate 1 
 
 9. SNUFF BOX 
 
 Diameter, 2^4 inches. 
 
 Artificial soft paste. Modeled in form of 
 shells overlapping each other in hemispherical 
 form, with flattened lid in the semblance of a 
 clam shell. Small shells in relief scattered over 
 the surface and covered with gold. Interior of 
 box solidly gilded. The inside of the gold- 
 
 [13] 
 
mounted and hinged lid is covered with a figure 
 scene painted in subdued coloring — a lady with 
 fan conversing with a gentleman ; trees in back- 
 ground. 
 
 Early period, 1760-1770. Plate II 
 
 SNUFF BOX 
 
 Diameter, 3 inches. 
 
 Artificial soft paste. Conventionalized shell 
 form, standing on narrow flattened base on which 
 is a miniature painting of Apollo riding a dolphin, 
 followed by other dolphins. The outside of the 
 gold hinged lid is covered with small sea-shells 
 in colored relief. Interior of the box solidly 
 gilded. The inside of lid is painted with a 
 marine figure scene — The Loves of the Sea 
 Gods — a sea monster with human body and 
 head bearing away a woman, while an amorino 
 is seated on the monster’s tail, and at the left a 
 satyr is blowing a conch shell. 
 
 Early period, 1760-1770. Plate II 
 
 FIGURE 
 
 Height, 7^4 inches. 
 
 Artificial soft paste. A crouching woman 
 seated on a rock, with upraised hand holding a 
 key. In front, a large tureen or vase with cover 
 raised in front, for holding comfits. Fleur-de-lis 
 mark in blue on base. 
 
 Late period, 1780-1790. 
 
 [14] 
 
 Plate III 
 
i-8. Porcelain Plate 
 Buen Retiro, about 1770 
 
Plate II 
 
 io. Snuff Box 
 Buen Retiro 
 
ii. Comfit Box 
 Buen Retiro 
 
. GROUP 
 
 Height, 6 x /2 inches. 
 
 Artificial soft paste. Figures of a man and 
 woman standing on either side of a rectangular 
 pedestal, representing Summer and Autumn. 
 The woman carries in her caught-up skirt a 
 bundle of wheat. The man holds in one hand, 
 supported by the pedestal, a vase, while in the 
 other he holds aloft a bunch of grapes. The 
 robes of the figures are touched with gold and 
 blue, while the flesh parts are delicately stippled. 
 The front of the pedestal is decorated with a 
 bird and foliage in heavy gilding on a dark blue 
 ground, surrounded by a frame in relief gilding. 
 Mark on base, a fleur-de-lis in blue. 
 
 Late period, 1780-1790. Plate IV 
 
 CANDELABRUM 
 
 Height, 22^2 inches. 
 
 Artificial soft paste. A cylindrical column, 
 standing on a plinth 6/4 inches square, support- 
 ing three arms surmounted by a slender three- 
 sided pyramid of porcelain decorated with con- 
 ventional arabesque designs in colors. The three 
 bobeches are of porcelain at the ends of the 
 ormolu arms. The column is painted in brown 
 with the figure of a man wearing a cape and 
 boots, and blowing a double pipe. On reverse 
 the head of a man in brown surrounded by a 
 gold frame, and scrolled ornamentation in col- 
 [21] 
 
ors. Ormolu mounts at base and top of column 
 and at point of pyramid. On base fleur-de-lis 
 mark in blue. 
 
 Louis XVI. period, about 1780. See Frontis- 
 piece. 
 
 14. CANDELABRUM 
 
 * Companion to preceding. Similarly deco- 
 rated, except the subject of the front panel of 
 the column, on which is a man with raised wand 
 and at his feet a bird. 
 
 15, 16. VASES (Pair) 
 
 Height, 8 J 4 inches. 
 
 Artificial soft paste. Broad, inverted pear 
 shape. Sides vertically ribbed by overlapping 
 strips. Handles in form of grape stalks, with 
 vines and clusters of grapes in natural colors 
 and full relief, extending around the neck. On 
 base the fleur-de-lis mark in blue. 
 
 Late period, 1780-1790. Plate V 
 
 1 7. VASE 
 
 Height, i 8^4 inches. 
 
 Artificial soft paste, of waxy quality. Jar 
 with dome-shaped cover. Decorated with figure 
 scene, painted in deep rose or lake — a woman 
 leaning against a tree, with a distaff in her hand. 
 A naked boy asleep at her side, a man reclining 
 [22] 
 
Plate IV 
 
 12. Group (Summer and Autumn) 
 
 Buen Retiro 
 
Plate V 
 
 15, 16. Pair of Porcelain Vases 
 Buen Retiro, 1780-1790 
 
Plate VI 
 
 17. Vase (Two Views) 
 
 Buen Retiro, 1760-1765 
 
on the ground, with flute in hand. On reverse 
 a boy asleep at the base of a ruined wall, with a 
 guitar beside him, while a woman watches near 
 by. Around neck and edge of cover gilded 
 traceries, which are characteristic of this period. 
 On base fleur-de-lis in blue. 
 
 Early period, 1760-1765. Plate VI 
 
 II 
 
 CAPO DI MONTE 
 
 The complete history of the porcelain manufac- 
 tory projected at Capo di Monte, near Naples, Italy, 
 in 1739, by Charles Bourbon, Duke of Parma and 
 King of Naples and Sicily, has yet to be written. It 
 is known that experiments in clays and pastes were 
 carried on for several years before the buildings were 
 finished and the making of porcelain began, which 
 was not until 1743. The first period extended from 
 that date until 1759, when Charles succeeded to the 
 throne of Spain. Artificial soft paste porcelain was 
 first attempted, but it is uncertain whether the manu- 
 facture of hard paste was commenced under the 
 patronage of Charles III. or at a later date. 
 
 The second period began in 1760, under Ferdi- 
 nand IV. of Naples, son of Charles III. On the 
 departure of the latter for Spain in 1759, the Capo 
 
 [29] 
 
di Monte works were dismantled and partially de- 
 stroyed. The manufacture does not appear to have 
 been resumed there, but a sufficient amount of ware 
 remained on hand to supply the demand for several 
 years. 
 
 In 1771 the new porcelain works were established 
 at Portici, some five miles southeast of Naples, on 
 the bay. In the following year plans were prepared 
 for the removal of the works to Naples, which was 
 accomplished soon after. 
 
 During the second period (1759-1821), hard 
 paste porcelain was manufactured in great abundance, 
 and the production of soft paste continued only in a 
 spasmodic manner. 
 
 The mark most commonly used on the soft paste 
 of the early period of Capo di Monte was the 
 crowned N. It was seldom, if ever, used on the hard 
 paste, decorated with reliefs, of the second period, 
 which latter does not appear to have been marked at 
 all. Modern forgeries of this late ware, however, 
 are almost invariably so marked, and the presence 
 of this mark on hard paste is an almost infallible 
 indication that the piece is a forgery. 
 
 In the books on potters’ marks the fleur-de-lis is 
 given as one of the early Capo di Monte marks, but 
 there seems to be little, if any, basis for this suppo- 
 sition. In our many years of study of Capo di Monte 
 wares we have never seen a single example so marked. 
 
 The hard porcelain of the second period, or late 
 eighteenth century, possesses several distinguishing 
 
 [30] 
 
Plate VII 
 
 18. Group (Christ Mourned) 
 Capo di Monte 
 
Plate VIII 
 
 19. Group (The Empty Tomb) 
 
 Capo di Monte 
 
characteristics by which it may be readily recognized. 
 The paste is rather coarse and the glaze is of a gray- 
 ish or bluish-green tint, which, when placed in com- 
 parison with pure white porcelain, as that of Sevres, 
 is quite pronounced. The relief decorations are well 
 modeled, clear cut and sharp, the human figures being 
 slender and elongated, while the flesh tints are daintily 
 stippled, as in miniature painting. Where gilding is 
 used, it is found to be applied over red color, in the 
 manner of Italian and French furniture of the eight- 
 eenth century. 
 
 Two fine groups of hard paste Capo di Monte, 
 made in the latter half of the eighteenth century, 
 after the works had been re-established at Naples, 
 are exhibited in connection with the Buen Retiro 
 porcelain, as prototypes of the latter and for pur- 
 poses of comparison. 
 
 18. GROUP (CHRIST MOURNED) 
 
 Length, 25 inches ; width, g l / 2 inches ; height, 15 inches. 
 
 The dead Christ recumbent, the weeping 
 Mary seated above Him on a rock, in the atti- 
 tude of bending down and looking into His 
 face, one arm outstretched behind her, the other 
 holding a napkin with which to wipe away the 
 blood. At His feet an angel is kneeling with 
 outstretched arms. 
 
 The figures are beautifully modeled and 
 evidently the work of a noted sculptor. The 
 
 [35] 
 
coloring is exquisite in tone, the flesh tints being 
 delicately stippled. Mary wears a dark red 
 garment over which is a purple robe which has 
 fallen to her waist. The angel wears draperies 
 of green and white, lined with purple. The 
 figure of Christ is partially covered with a white 
 drapery. The gilding, which edges Mary’s head- 
 dress and robe, is applied over red, in the usual 
 Capo di Monte manner. 
 
 Hard paste porcelain of grayish tint. Capo 
 di Monte of the second period. Unmarked. 
 Late eighteenth century. Plate VII 
 
 19. GROUP (THE EMPTY TOMB) 
 
 Length, 26 inches; width, 14^ inches; height, 27 inches. 
 
 Christ’s sepulchre, or empty tomb, of rec- 
 tangular form, standing on four rococo modeled 
 feet. The cover is raised at one side, the other 
 side having fallen in. Suspended in front is an 
 angel holding a napkin to his weeping eyes. A 
 cherub, with yellow drapery, stands on the edge, 
 grasping the grave clothes which a second cherub, 
 suspended above, is bearing from the tomb. The 
 angel wears a loose green drapery. The wings 
 of the cherubs are painted in polychrome. The 
 casket itself is marbled in purple and yellow. 
 
 The modeling of this group was done by 
 another sculptor. While the two pieces were 
 probably executed independently, they fittingly 
 
 [36] 
 
Plate IX 
 
 20. Group (The Holy Family) 
 Seville 
 
. 
 
Plate X 
 
 21. Group (The Holy Family) 
 Seville 
 
supplement each other in illustrating the Cruci- 
 fixion and Resurrection of Christ. 
 
 Hard paste porcelain, of grayish tint. Capo 
 di Monte, of the second period. 
 
 Late eighteenth century. Plate VIII 
 
 III 
 
 SPANISH TERRA COTTAS 
 
 >. GROUP (THE HOLY FAMILY) 
 
 Length, 17 inches. 
 
 The Virgin seated, with Child on knee; 
 Joseph standing in background, and a woman 
 kneeling in adoration. An angel stands at one 
 side, offering gifts. Cherubs surround Mary’s 
 feet. The modeling is particularly fine. The 
 figures are painted in dull reds and browns. 
 
 Marked Dona Luisa Roldan, Es. 
 
 This sculptor was a daughter of Pedro 
 Roldan, a famous carver and sculptor, who was 
 born in 1624, and belonged to a distinguished 
 family of Seville. Dona Luisa was noted for 
 her modeling of small figures and groups. In 
 the hospital in Cadiz is a good example of her 
 more important work — a Magdalen supported 
 by an angel. Her work belongs to the latter 
 half of the seventeenth century. Plate IX 
 
 [41] 
 
21. GROUP (THE HOLY FAMILY) 
 
 Length, 18 inches. 
 
 The Virgin seated, with Child on knee; 
 Joseph kneeling in adoration. An angel is offer- 
 ing gifts. Above Mary's head are three cherubs. 
 In the background stands an ass. The colors 
 are dull red, blue, and brown. 
 
 The piece is not marked and may be of 
 slightly later date than the preceding. It may 
 be attributed to the end of the seventeenth or 
 beginning of the eighteenth century. Plate X 
 
 22. GROUP 
 
 Similar in treatment to preceding but of 
 more recent date, probably nineteenth century. 
 A dying woman surrounded by ministering 
 angels and cherubs. 
 
 [42] 
 
Date Due 
 
 Printed 
 
 At the Sign of the Ivy Leaf in Sansom Street 
 Philadelphia 
 
 
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