Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 139, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Vase

ca. 1870 (made)
Artist/Maker
Mafra (made)
Place of origin
Caldas da Rainha (made)

Earthenware vase with moulded, modelled and applied decoration, painted in colours under a clear yellowish glaze. Bulbous body with a cylindrical neck and flaring at the mouth, around which wind two serpents forming handles. The body is painted brown and the sides are decorated with applied strawberry leaves in green, flowers in blue and reptiles and shells. The inside is painted green.


Object details

Categories
Ceramics
Earthenware
Object type
Vase
Materials and techniques
Earthenware with moulded, modelled and applied decoration, painted with colours under a glaze
Earthenware
Applied
Painted
Glazed
Modelled
Moulded
Brief description
Earthenware withmoulded, modelled and applied decoration, painted in colours under a clear glaze, made by Manuel Mafra, Caldas da Rainha, ca. 1870.
Physical description
Earthenware vase with moulded, modelled and applied decoration, painted in colours under a clear yellowish glaze. Bulbous body with a cylindrical neck and flaring at the mouth, around which wind two serpents forming handles. The body is painted brown and the sides are decorated with applied strawberry leaves in green, flowers in blue and reptiles and shells. The inside is painted green.
Dimensions
  • Height: 33cm
  • Diameter: 17.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
'No. XXVIII', incised, and Manuel Mafra workshop's crown mark (The crown mark was used from 1870 when Mafra gained royal patronage)
Credit line
Given by H. M. Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851
Object history
Exhibited at the London International Exhibition, 1851.

Manuel Cipriano Gomes (1831-1905) was born in a village near Mafra. In 1850, he moved to Caldas da Rainha, a spa town in central west Portugal known for ceramic making. He adopted the name Mafra and set up his workshop in 1853, having purchased the existing workshop of Maria dos Cacos, for whom he had at first worked. In about 1870, he gained royal patronage. In 1887, his son Edouardo Augusto joined the business for a time but left for a political career. Mafra died in 1905. The artisanal workshop specialised in zoomorphic vessels and wares inspired by the work of Palissy (France, 16th century).
Subjects depicted
Serpents
Strawberry
Leaves
Flowers
Reptiles
Shell
Bibliographic references
  • José Quieros, Ceramica Portuguesa, Lisbon, 1948
  • Katz, Marshall P., 'Portuguese Palissy Ware', New York, 1999
  • Cristina Ramos e Horta, 'Manuel Mafra 1829-1905' in 'Manuel Mafra: Mestre na Cerâmica das Caldas', Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, 2009
  • Cristina Ramos e Horta, 'Manuel Mafra Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum', in 'Artis: Revista de História da Arte e Ciências do Património', no.1, Portugal, 2013
  • Cristina Ramos e Horta, 'Portuguese Ceramicist Manuel Mafra: Nature, Exoticism and Luxury' in Journal of the Decorative Arts Society, no.37, 2013
Other number
HMC.45 - H.M.C. Loan no.
Collection
Ceramics Collection
Accession number
C.620-1921

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O344921/vase-mafra/
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