History of Ceramics in Tuscany

Anghiari ceramics

The ancient tradition of manufacture in this medieval village “between Tiber and Arno”, is amply recorded by documents in archives, even though there is much more still to be discovered about this ceramic production in terms of archaeological finds.
The report on the state of the factories, written in 1768, mentions three operating kilns in Anghiari which manufactured glazed or unglazed pottery. The glazed type “consisted in cups, bowls and warmers”, covered in “black, pink, white and mixed colouring”. It was also exported to the markets of “San Sepolcro, Pieve Santo Stefano and Città di Castello, Papal State”.
 

It was this very “black colouring”, a glaze made by mixing metal-silica with the brown of manganese, which covered ceramics with a shining uniform black, to become the groundbreaking product and the most characteristic feature of the local earthenware production, meant for use at table (round soup tureens with a conical lid) rather than general household use (warmers, candleholders etc.).
And so, although originally the various handcraft workshops which produced ceramics aimed to produce objects for popular use, this type of product was often accompanied by a more artistic style of object. These two lines developped in different ways and at a different pace. In fact, in times of greater economic progress, there is evidence of a relative increase in the type of product, typified by a more elaborate and refined decoration.
 

The importance and variety of ceramic production in Anghiari reached their apex during the 19th century. In fact, around 1810, the mayor of Anghiari, referring to the types of industry present in this town, points out the fact that “there are factories of every kind of everyday earthenware for use in the kitchen. They make warmers worthy of repute”.
In the first decades of the 19th century, the quality of the products made by Anghiari craftsmen appear to have gained a certain renown, if we consider the presence of some young people who moved to Anghiari from Barga (Lucca) specifically to learn ceramic art.
As evidence of the wide spread of ceramic production of Anghiari in the 19th century, documents show that products from Anghiari “serve consumers in all the Valle Tibertina Toscana and are sold annually in some of the small towns in the nearby Casentino valley. This industry continues to grow and improve in quality. The abundance of fuel, the good quality of raw materials and the ease with which these products are marketed make this industry rather lucrative, and favour its development and improvement”. The quality of tableware from Anghiari is well renowned in fairs and exhibitions, both nationally and abroad, where presently the manufacture of various crafts is on show and enjoys great success.
 

Between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century the Società degli Stovigliai di Anghiari (association of producers of tableware) is set up, evidence of the importance accorded to this activity.
Even though the 20th century began with an imminent decline – seen from the progressive abandonment of the territory by young workmen, accompanied by a reduction in the number of kilns and hands to operate them – this is counterbalanced by the enthusiasm with which craftsmen who left Anghiari took their professional qualities to new destinations, such as Castiglion Fiorentino, Monte San Savino, Città di Castello, Gualdo Tadino, as far as Locarno and Ascona in Switzerland. This is how ceramic production from around the Tiber had a healthy growth thanks to the work of potters from Anghiari in the various centres they moved to.
 

Valentino Minocchi