Caratteristiche tecnologiche della maiolica arcaica di produzione veneziana

A production of archaic majolica is documented in Venice in the fourteenth century, cut through the fifteenth century, only to be resumed in the Renaissance with the use of imported clays. In this work the ceramic paste of finds of archaic majolica from recoveries in Venice were subjected to chemical (XRF), mineralogical (XRD) and colorimetric investigations. Most of the artifacts represents the type of decoration in copper green and manganese brown, with a smaller number of type "blue". The aim is to improve the technological knowledge of the archaic Venetian majolica, so far poorly investigated. The finds were sampled avoiding the so-called "wastes of first firing," and are mostly handles, walls and rims of jars. In the case of fragments consisting of parts of wall and handle, the two sides were analyzed separately. The ceramic bodies showed a fairly homogeneous composition, sufficient to constitute a first reference group for the Venetian archaic majolica. This composition, characterized by a calcium content mostly between 4 and 8% of CaO, is not very suitable for the manufacture of majolica and this is probably the reason for the interruption of the production of majolica in the fifteenth-century. The body also shows small but frequent lenses of clear clay, characterized by