Maiolica

Fortnum, C. Drury E. (Charles Drury Edward), 1820-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 282K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Maiolica by C. Drury E. FortnumAuthor: Fortnum, C. Drury E. (Charles Drury Edward), 1820-1899,Language: English, Class: NK: Fine Arts: Decorative and Applied Arts, Decoration and Ornament, Release Date: Aug 29, 2018

Editor's review

This book is a thematic study of maiolica by the nineteenth-century British scholar Charles Drury Edward Fortnum. Combining the roles of collector and researcher, the author systematically surveys the definition, technical characteristics, decorative styles, and historical origins of maiolica, and also addresses key points for identifying wares from kiln sites in Italy and elsewhere. It is one of the classic introductory works for understanding this category of pottery. Its value lies in combining connoisseurial experience with technical knowledge, and its language carries the rigor and composure of Victorian scholarly writing. It is suitable for ceramic collectors and researchers of decorative arts as a basic primer, and also for museum professionals reviewing terminology. Readers should consult it alongside catalogues and direct observation of objects, bearing in mind that some of its dating and attribution views are historically limited and should be cross-referenced with later research.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Ceramic collectors and antique connoisseurs
Researchers of decorative arts and craft history
Museum professionals in ceramics-related roles
Art students seeking basic knowledge of maiolica

Not a good fit for

Readers wanting only a modern picture-guide for quick identification
Readers wholly unfamiliar with and uninterested in European decorative arts
Specialist researchers expecting the latest archaeological dating conclusions

Reading tips

Read the definition and technique chapters first to establish basic concepts of maiolica, then move on to styles and kiln sites.
Read alongside museum collections or high-resolution catalogues, matching terminology to physical features.
Treat the book's dating and attribution views with caution and cross-check with contemporary ceramic history research.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What exactly is maiolica?

Maiolica generally refers to tin-glazed pottery with an opaque milky-white surface suited to painted decoration. The book starts from definition, technique, and decorative style to help readers build a basic understanding of this ceramic category.

Is this book suitable as an identification manual?

It provides basic knowledge of terminology, technique, and style, but was written long ago and its dating and attribution views are historically limited. It should not be used alone as a basis for modern identification; pair it with contemporary catalogues and research.

Can someone without a ceramics background read it?

Yes, but patience is needed. There is much terminology; begin with the definition and technique sections, use museum object images for comparison, and build up concepts before tackling the discussion of styles and kiln sites.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Fortnum, C. Drury E. (Charles Drury Edward), 1820- Author · British · 1820–1899

C. Drury E. Fortnum (Charles Drury Edward Fortnum, 1820–1899) was a British art historian and collector who worked for many years at the South Kensington Museum and studied Italian Renaissance decorative arts. Public information about his early education, family background and the details of his appointment is limited, and present-day knowledge of his life centres mainly on his museum work and collecting activities. His representative work, Maiolica, focuses on Italian tin-glazed pottery and belongs to the study of applied and decorative arts, reflecting nineteenth-century British scholars' interest in Renaissance ceramics and their methods of connoisseurship. The book generally takes object types, ornament and workshop origins as its threads, with an emphasis on empirical description and cataloguing and a plain style; it is one of the important early English works on maiolica and has had a lasting influence on later ceramic history and museum collection research.