Capodimonte porcelain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Capodimonte Porcelain is a specific kind of porcelain obteined by a peculiar way of working and decorating by hands the porcelain to create figures and above all cups of flowers. This process of mouling the porcelain to create the object is followed by a first cooking at 1250 grades, than the object is decorated by hands and cooked again at 750 grades to fix the colours.
[edit] The origin
This tradition goes back to 1743 when the Spanish king Charles and his wife the saxon queen Maria Amalia instituted the Real Factory of Capodimonte. During this period the chemist Shepers improuved the composition of the pottery and above all the sculptor Gricci and the decorator Casella contributed to the creation of important works of art. Among all the famous boudoir of queen Maria Amalia interely made of porcelain, from the walls to the lamp. With this factory they gave birth to one of the most famous italian arts. The king collected all the masterpieces in the well known Museum of Capodimonte. After king Charles his son, king Ferdinando IV, continued the production of this peculiar decorative porcelain with the Real Factory Ferdinandea that with the direction of the artist Domenico Venuti lived his greatest period. During this period there was a great production of important vases and plates used to enrich the kings table. These table set are now collected in the Museum. After the spanish kings, Naples underwent the french domination. Murat was much more interested in investing money for the napoleonic wars. These period represent a period of changement in the production of objects in porcelain. The important royal table set didn't interest the french king and for this reason these objects were substituted by the creation of decoratives objects made of flowers more suitable for the middle class. This is the true birth of that recognizable style called "Capodimonte". Capodimonte porcelain is finally identified with cups, vases and objects with flowers, all made and decorated by the hands of experienced napolitan artists that gave birth to the first artisan factories.
[edit] The tradition until modern times
The Porcelain of Capodimonte handed on for many years thanks to the creativity of the neapolitan artists. In fact during the second half of IX century the first handicraft factories were born. They all were at family management. In 1867 Alfonso Majello, awarded “knight of job” , founded the Majello factory. Today after four generation the sculptor Lucio Majello and his sons still contribute to the continuity of one of the most famous Italian arts well known all over the world thanks to the masterpieces collected in the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples, Italy, that still fascinate people who love art and also thanks to a very active producion of items in porcelain of Capodimonte that represent the typical italian souvenir for the worldwide tourists. Tourist from all the part of the world are fascinated by these little flower objects in porcelain of Capodimonte , that together with the Murano glass from Venice represent italian modern art in the world.
