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| Uccellino di Montelupo |
After talking about the
history of pottery of Montelupo Fiorentino, it's time to talk about the
classic and historical decorations.
There are several types of decorations and they're usually mixed up in pottery in order to get a better result. In particular we can divide them in four main themes: geometrical decorations, natural decorations, animals decorations and Arlecchini decorations.
Pottery geometrical decorations
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| Geometrical decorations of Montelupo pottery |
The geometrical decorations take their inspiration from geometrical shapes and the main pottery decorations are the
checkerboard (
scacchiera),
rhombus (
rombi),
ribbon and fractured ribbon (
nastro e
nastro spezzato),
ovals and rhombus (
ovali e
rombi). Another particular decoration is the
Santa Fina, that is a line and a point making a band on the pottery.
Pottery nature decorations
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| Nature decorations |
The natural decorations of Montelupo pottery are inspired by plants and the most famous are the
Persian palm (
palmetta persiana), the
shrunken leaf (
foglia accartocciata) and the
Montelupo leaf in blue and white (
foglia di Montelupo). Another particular nature decoration is the zaffera a rilievo, a blue leaf made in relief.
Pottery animals decorations
The classic decorations inspired to animals are the rabbit, the deer, the dove, the porcupine, the bird, the slug and the majestic lion.
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| Deer pottery decoration |
Pottery Arlecchini decorations
This decoration is one of my father's favorite and he probably made more than 500 decorations by hand during his life. The
Arlecchini are
funny figures telling a different story every time. But for now I don't say much more, because I want to introduce you to their marvelous world in another post.
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| Arlecchini di Montelupo |
Other important decorations of Montelupo pottery
One of the most famous decorations of Montelupo pottery is certainly the
Rosso di Montelupo, literally Red of Montelupo. This is a very rich decoration, generally made on plate with little angels on a red background. There is also a band with arms and coats.
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| Rosso di Montelupo |
Nowadays we recreate all these decorations mixing them up to decorate our
handmade Italian potteries, giving them a more contemporary look but sticking to our history and tradition.
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