Deruta Ware

Deruta ware, outstanding tin-glazed earthenware, or majolica, produced during the first half of the 16th century in the town of Deruta on the Tiber River, near Perugia, Italy. Deruta ware is characterized especially by a unique mother-of-pearl, metallic lustre and by certain decorative features. In the art of lustre, Deruta potters, who introduced an iridescent gold lustre decoration, may be held second only to the potters of Gubbio. Although Deruta majolica displays most of the decorative features common in the Renaissance, it is innovative in at least two respects: the molding of plates with a design in slight relief, the lower part coloured dark to give an even more lustrous effect; and the division of the broad borders of the plates into panels with alternating geometric stripes. These dishes, illustrating subjects from mythology or religion, are at times somewhat harsh and heavy, and the designs of vases and jars are sometimes flat or crude, but, at its most successful, Deruta majolica has a distinctive flamboyance.