Description
c1880 English Majolica Covered Birds on Nest Game Dish. 8.5" x 6.5" x 6" tall. Very good condition with no restorations, one tight hairline on base that doesn't go through to exterior shown in top center of last pic about 1" long. Some very small chips on open eggs. This is an extremely rare piece of Majolica 130-150 years old with very little wear for it's age. The only other one of these I've ever seen for sale was heavily restored(Missing one egg and other eggs restored) and $1200.
In different periods of time and in different countries the word majolica has been used for two distinct types of pottery.
Firstly, from mid-15th century onwards there was maiolica, a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca[1] and beyond. This was made by a tin-glaze process (dip, dry, paint, fire), resulting in an opaque white glazed surface decorated with brush-painting in metal oxide enamel colour(s).
During the 17th century, the English added the letter j to their alphabet.[2] Maiolica was commonly anglicized to majolica thereafter.
Secondly, there is the Victorian mid to late 19th century type of pottery also known as majolica made by a more simple process (paint, fire) whereby coloured lead glazes were applied direct to an unfired clay mould, typically relief-moulded, resulting in brightly coloured, hard-wearing, inexpensive wares both useful and decorative, typically in naturalistic style. This type of majolica was introduced to the public at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, later widely copied and mass-produced. Minton & Co., who developed the coloured lead glazes product, also developed and exhibited at the 1851 Exhibition a tin-glazed product in imitation of Italian maiolica which they called also majolica.
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