Sicilian Ceramic Art

The Sicilian ceramic master craftsmanship are deeply rooted in the past. This timeless art has flourished for millennia, perfectly expresses the essence of Mediterranean culture. Shapes, colors and designs are born of a deep respect for the past with an eye for the future. Terra cotta harvested from the ground and patted the Sicilian sun.

A Piece of Sicily

Like any other unique works of art, a ceramic piece begins with an idea. This idea is the vision of a single artist. So the material. The clay found in all regions of the world is unique. Sicilian clay, used in terra cotta earthenware over the millennia, is different from the clay of Mexico and Mongolia because it contains a combination of silica unique to Sicily. This clay, freshly mined from the Sicilian mountains and valleys are shaped by hand by ceramic masters, and then left to dry in the sun.

The object is then carefully painted in ornate motifs with rich glazes before being fired (baked) in an oven. During this last phase of creation, there is something miraculous. In the heat of sun-dried clay hardens to become terra cotta and then crystallizes into ceramic. Its molecular structure changes are permanent, but also more durable. The glazed enamel also crystallizes in fact are binding on the ceramics, since it requires a deeper and clearer colors.

There are of course various decorative ceramic products made in Sicily and sold throughout the world. Bearing Whimsical or even gaudy motifs, these products are sometimes signed with an artist's name but actually painted by the generic workers, many of whom are not even Sicily.Find ceramic art that reflects Sicily's true artistic heritage is not always easy. You may have to search for it. Caltagirone, Santo Stefano di Camastra and Monreale are Sicily's most famous ceramic centers.

A Ceramic Choice

Ceramics, terracotta, maiolica, porcelain, china. What do these terms really mean and how understanding them will help you choose the ceramic art that is right for you? The most important factor in making your choice is a matter of purely personal taste - but keep lead levels into account (see note below). Just a question about what you want and what you think will look good in your home or office - or home with that special person who receives the unique gift of Sicilian ceramics. Aesthetics aside, the eclectic world of ceramic art is a fascinating place where artistic dreams become precious family heirlooms. For many of us, "the word" ceramic conjure up images of plain vægfliser as those in our kitchens. The word "ceramics" brings to mind shaped clay products are sold in craft shops.While neither view is actually wrong, each reflects only a small fraction of the world of ceramics.In its most general meaning) ceramic "from the Greek keramos (potter's clay, describes a wide range of artistic techniques lead to the creation of items fashioned from hardened or baked clay. With a different name Terra cotta (Italian for "baked earth") is a process of baking or partially baking clay objects to make them brittle and water repellent. Known as pottery, clay pottery of ancient Egypt was terra cotta of that type. Since the color and chemical composition of clay varies from place to place, depending on its "clay minerals (eg silicates), in earthenware of Persia was a different case, as in Spain. When the clay is fully baked (fired) at a higher temperature, resulting in an opaque material, it is simply called "ceramic" or "stoneware." If clay is mixed with feldspar or steatite before baking, the resulting ceramic material is known as porcelain. In general, ceramic is a shade of brown or "terra cotta" even after the attempt, and a little coarse (grain) in texture. Porcelain is normally quite transparent, with a white or gray color and a more refined (less granular) texture. As the name suggests, porcelain known as "China" was originally made exclusively in China.The best known European porcelain Capodimonte named after the Italian city where it remains today. Porcelain is a type of ceramic, but not all ceramic is porcelain. Majolica, from the Italian for "Mallorca," refers to the kind of ceramic pottery made in Italy, which is painted with tin oxide glazing enamels before being fired a reflective, durable finish. Most of ceramic art sold in Sicily today is majolica. But "majolica (or maiolica) is a relatively new concept.

Since the Dawn of History

To discover the origin of Sicilian ceramic art, we must look to the entrance of the island's history. The Sicanians, an ancient Sicilian peoples terra cotta objects more than three millennia ago. Their art was developed under the conquering and colonizing Phoenicians Greeks. Romans 'arrival in Sicily brought some Etruscan influence to the Sicilian ceramic masters' art. In medieval and Byzantine then Saracen (Moorish) styles and techniques made their influence felt.Sicily is said to be the most conquered island in the world. Not surprisingly, therefore, each of a dozen civilizations left their mark on his art. It was probably the thirteenth century the Spaniards of Aragon, who was mentioned first colored Sicilian ceramic objects as "maiolica" because the glazing and firing techniques used to create these pieces were the same as those used in Majorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands. This was a logical choice of expression because it was the Moors who brought the majolica to both Sicily and Spain. One of the things that made medieval maiolica so obviously different from the terra cotta stoneware of the ancient Greeks was its glazing technique. The glazes used in majolica is usually viscous tin oxide colors applied over a white imprimatura ( "earth"). Apart from its chemical composition, the characteristic that makes majolica different from porcelain is its relatively low combustion temperature. Majolica was probably introduced in the Arab world, even in the ninth century, around the time when the Moors conquered Sicily. This early majolica probably reflected the Arabs' attempt to reproduce the Chinese (and Mongolian) porcelain, the white-painted earth may have been an attempt to copy China's natural light color. In the Mediterranean world, was the result majolica, an art that can be said to combine the best features of both terra cotta and porcelain.