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Becoming a majolica
expert takes practice and patience!
 When it comes to buying
majolica, each collector, of course, must determine his or her own
particular preferences and price ranges, but certain guidelines should
be followed in all cases. This is particularly true when considering a purchase at a
majolica dealer’s booth or when suddenly attacked by “auction
fever.”
The picture at the left is Marilyn Karmason seated, and Joan Stacke surrounded by
some of their two thousand favorite things.
 A potential buyer should first
carefully note the condition of the majolica.
Chips, cracks that go through the piece, and crazing may be hard
to accept. Glazing that is
dull, or does not conform to the outline of the design, or that looks
“heavy” and over painted, is not going to enhance a collection.
The undersurface of a majolica piece is almost always glazed;
if it isn’t, be wary.
Inexperienced collectors who
cannot spot a repaired piece when they see one, or who don’t know if the
piece is reasonably priced or not, would do well to deal only with a
dealer they can trust.
Some collectors will buy only perfect pieces.
And yet, any of us may still find ourselves carried away by a
piece that has a chip (it can always be fixed!) or a piece that has been
repaired (a “museum-quality" repair, no less!) or a piece that will
require taking a chunk out of next week’s food budget (I should lose
some weight, anyway!).
Most collectors recall making
trips and bringing home a piece of majolica as a prize.
Or many enjoy using pieces of majolica to express hospitality.
Most of all, there is delight in arranging majolica throughout
the house, so that each view of beauty and whimsy will bring a new sense
of excitement and pleasure.
Collectors can become familiar with the works
of different manufactures by making frequent visits to antiques shows and
auctions and observing as much as possible.
But it is also mandatory to learn the marks of the various
factories, or to recognize the undersurface glazes in the event of no
markings. More research is
needed to interpret markings of painted numbers and strokes on the
undersurface, as well as the
underglazing itself.
The best majolica usually has
an undersurface of pink, blue, green, and occasionally white. Some
exhibit a finely mottled blue/black or blue/brown, as in Palissy or
Minton pieces. Many English
pieces with well-glazed yellow undersurfaces are thought to be from
Thomas Forester, but many less well-glazed pieces with yellow
undersurfaces may be American. Grossly
mottled undersurfaces may indicate that the piece is American.
Markings on English majolica may include the name
of the factory and the English registry mark.
The lozenge-shaped registry mark indicates the date of the patent
registration, there to protect the design for three years.
Minton and Wedgwood also have date-code symbols to indicate the
exact date of the manufacture of each piece, even if it were a
repetition of an earlier piece. Minton,
George Jones, and Wedgwood marks also include a three-or four-digit
number corresponding to the number of the piece in the pattern books.
The great ceramic artists also may have signed their pieces, such
as Paul Comolera on the Minton peacock.
However, because some artists
worked for several firms (such as Hughes Protât, who did work for
Minton, Wedgwood and T.C. Brown-Westhead Moore), identification of the
firm cannot be made by the name of the artist alone.
How one is to collect majolica depends on taste,
income, space, and the ability to recognize the authenticity of a piece.
The collector would be wise to be armed with a small
library of books that deal with the history and descriptive details
of majolica, and also carry about a very comprehensive list of marks of the
different potteries.
Most
collectors of majolica prefer pieces that are marked,
but certain anonymous pieces are also very charming and should never be
overlooked.
Marks
themselves must be authentic; there have been some marks on
reproductions partially
obliterated as to appear old. Beware of them!
Beware
also of copies (and I do not say "reproductions" here).
For the most part, copies are lighter in weight than the authentic
pieces, and the glaze does not have the richness of true majolica.
In recent
years, there has been an onslaught of day-before-yesterday's cobalt
pitchers on the market that have fooled many knowledgeable collectors
and even dealers.
As
for modern reproductions, reputable
manufactures operating today will mark their majolica with their own
factory name and, many times, the date of production. The
venerable, and venerated, Minton & Co. celebrated its bicentennial in
1993 with the reproduction of a teapot and will continue to reproduce an
additional majolica teapot each year. Production is limited, and
each teapot is fully marked to inform the buyer of its origin.
Majolica collectors who are lucky enough to own both the original teapot
and the modern reproduction of the same design are able to enjoy the
contrast between the original majolica and the present-day fine china
version.
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