Brève description / annotation

An oustanding production of the Italian Renaissance, maiolica ware has long been prized and collected. In his home city of Castel Durante, Cipriano Piccolpaso wrote the first European treatise devoted to ceramics.Piccolpasso described the working practices of a manufacturing process methodically and left an extraordinary account of the art of maiolica and its secrets. He is eager to convey information both on technical matters and ornament, disclosing recipes of pigments and glazes as well as drawing tools and equipment.His affectionate ans detailed views of potters at work make these illustrations memorable by their charming liveliness. Compiled probably in 1557 but unpublished, the manuscript survived for three centuries before being bouht by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. In 1934, Bernard Rackham and Albert Van de Put produced an authoritative translation into English with facsimiles of illustrated pages.

Détails