This is a brief history and guide to the origins of the Portuguese Palissyware and majolica which we sell and collect,and the ceramicists who produced it.

Located in a clay rich region of Portugal, the town of Caldas da Rainha has been producing pottery since the 15th century.However it was not until the 19th century that it started to produce the kind of ceramics that it is famous for today.The first factory was opened by D.Maria dos Cacos, one of the most well known ceramicists of the time, for more than 30 years she produced a range of earthen tableware which she sold in fairs around the country.From 1820, in addition to the tableware, she started to produce more decorative items, which although still functional, took the form of figures or animals.

Around 1850 Manuel Cipriano Gomes (known as Mafra after his birthplace), took over the factory from Maria dos Cacos and influenced by the French renaissance ceramicist Bernard Palissy, he started to produce a range of ceramics in the naturalist style.Decorated with animal and plant motives, commonly including snakes, lizards and other insects,often on a bed of shredded clay resembling moss.This the style of ceramics that Caldas became famous for, and alongside him were several other ceramicists who would become famous in their own right, most notably, José Alves Cunha, José Francisco de Sousa,Francisco Gomes d Àvelar and the renowned Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro.

Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro opened the now famous `Fábrica de Faianças das Caldas da Rainha` with his brother in 1884 and it was the first factory in Caldas to introduce the concept of industrial style production.Rafael was a well known caricaturist and this element can be seen in the humouristic ceramic figures he produced based on his satirical drawings, such as Zé Polvinho (the Portuguese Joe Public).You can also see, alongside the naturalistic style ,the Art Nouveau influence in some of his works.He travelled widely and exhibited his ceramics and won awards throughout Europe.Sadly though ,the factory was never financially viable and after Bordalo´s death, in 1905, it struggled to survive.In 1908 it went bankrupt, and was sold at general auction to Manuel Godinho Leal and continued to run under the artistic direction of Costa Motta Sobrinho until it´s closure in 1916.Meanwhile,  Boldalo Pinheiro`s son, Gustavo, who had worked with his father at FFCR and was a very talented ceramicist in his own right, took his father´s designs, molds, and many of his workers and set up a rival factory,where he worked until his death in 1920.The factory was called ´Manufactura de Faiança Artística Bordalo Pinheiro,Lda` and continues to opperate from the same site today, producing a range of tablewares and majolica.Besides being home to many ceramic manufacturers, Caldas da Rainha also has a ceramic school (to continue the artistic tradition) and  museums where you can see pieces from all the ceramicists I have mentioned.Alternatively, just check out our shop, Portuguese Palissy,where you will find a wide range of 19th and 20th century majolica and (for more information about the history of Portuguese ceramics) a book from the ´Museu de Cerâmica` in Caldas.