Majolica – Maiolica – Mayolica

Majolica, pronounced my-yol-i-kuh in Spanish and Italian, muh-JOL-i-kuh in gringo English, is a ceramic technique in which earthenware is covered with an opaque glaze of tin oxide and then decorated with all-natural mineral-based pigments.  It was invented by Arabs in the 6th century, when they discovered that glazing ceramics with a mineral oxide mixture and firing them twice, made them stronger and more water-resistant. 

The majolica technique is anything but easy – it is a multi-phased process that takes time, patience, and exceptional skill. The earthenware clay is first bisque fired at around 1900° F. It is then painted or dipped in a creamy, oatmeal-colored glaze, made from silica, tin, calcium, and clay.

Once dry, artists paint designs over this base glaze with natural pigments (each color is made from a mineral – greens are chrome and copper, blue is cobalt, etc.). The pigments are absorbed into the base glaze, which is a porous surface similar to watercolor paper. Just like with watercolor, once applied, the pigments cannot be covered over or blended together, meaning there is no margin for error.

When the piece is fired again at a higher temperature, the glaze melts and fuses with the pigments. Because the end result is a product of chemical reactions between metal oxide colors, the glaze, and a precise firing temperature, it often takes the artist many trials before a new design is perfected.

While extremely time consuming and difficult, this process is what gives completed Majolica a distinctively warm look and feel. That’s because instead of the color lying under a clear surface, the color is actually in the glaze and of the glaze. Sometimes referred to as “fat glaze,” the result is more luscious and vivid. It’s what draws us to Majolica, both visually and physically – making it difficult not to reach out and touch the surface of a beautifully glazed pitcher or serving platter.