Medieval And Early Modern Pottery 401
The production of majolica in Sassari seems limited to the decades strad-
dling the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Elements useful for determin-
ing chronology are drawn from associations with Ligurian majolica decorated
with Berettino blue glaze (Fig. 15.8);36 Pisan graffito a stecca (Fig. 15.9); ma-
jolica from Montelupo (Fig. 15.10) with abbreviated decoration: a blue graf-
fito bottom, orange spirals, a fully developed oriental knot, and blue leaves;37
and Catalan majolica decorated with luster following the triple trazo or other
contemporary models (Fig. 15.11).38 These associations, which also include
Ligurian majolica with light blue decoration and figurative decorations on
majolica from Montelupo, refer to the period between the late sixteenth and
the first three decades of the seventeenth centuries. The chronology is also
revealed by a majolica plate with a millerighe motif from Sassari that was
dated on the exterior beneath the graffito rim after being fired. The graffito in-
cludes a partial written text that can be reconstructed as “Añu D 1600” or “1609”
(Fig. 15.12). According to information hitherto available, the circulation of ma-
jolica from Sassari seems to suggest a very active regional market, however lim-
ited to western and northern Sardinia. Fragments that are securely ascribable
to this type have also been found in Tramatza (OR), Bosa (OR), Macomer (NU),
Thiesi (SS), Ardara (SS), Alghero (SS), Castelsardo (SS), near the monastery of
Paulis (Ittiri-SS), and at S. Nicolò di Trullas (Semestene-SS).
Two elements appear obvious from what has emerged until now: the ex-
traneousness of this production to traditional local and regional ceramics in
general, which is presumably attributable to the arrival of foreign workshops
and several decades of restricted activity. The transfer of manufacturing tech-
niques was tightly linked to the relocation of artisanal masters with practical
know-how. In the case of the majolica from Sassari, typological comparisons
lead to the area of Viterbo or the province of Orvieto,39 but certain features
36 Marco Milanese, “Italian Pottery Exported during the 15th and 16th Century,” Medieval
Ceramics 17 (1993), pp. 26–29; Rita Lavagna, “Maiolica ligure,” in Archeologia urbana a
Savona: scavi e ricerche nel complesso monumentale del Priamàr. II.2. Palazzo della Loggia
(scavi 1969–1989). I materiali, ed. Carlo Varaldo (Bordighera-Savona, 2001), pp. 298–299.
37 Fausto Berti, “Storia della ceramica di Montelupo. Uomini e fornaci in un centro di pro-
duzione dal XIV al XVIII secolo,” in Le ceramiche da mensa dal 1480 alla fine del XVIII secolo
(Cinisello Balsamo, 1998), vol. 2, pp. 191–196.
38 Jordi Llorens, Ceràmica catalana de reflex metàl-lic: segles XV al XVII (Barcelona, 1989).
39 From an initial typological analysis of forms and decorations, it seems possible to exclude
a link between majolica from Sassari and the manufacture of Renaissance majolica in
Rome and its surrounding area; see Ricci, “Majolica di età rinascimentale e moderna”;
Paolo Güll, L’industrie du quotidien. Production, importations et consommation de la
céramique à Rome entre XIVe et XVIe siècle (Rome, 2003).