From Terracotta to Majolica (3 of 3)

From Terracotta to Majolica

The terracotta is then enameled and decorated; other raw materials used for the execution of a majolica work are enamels and colors. The enamels used for works not intended for food use consist of an aqueous mixture composed of calcined tin oxide and lead oxide, and finely ground quartz sand. This type of enamel, thanks to the presence of tin oxide, makes the terracotta surface white/ivory, preparing it for the execution of pictorial decoration. For decoration, colored earths with mineral oxides are used; in particular, yellow tones are obtained with iron oxide, green with copper oxide (which we commonly call Ramina in Sicily), blue with cobalt oxide, and brown with manganese oxide. Naturally, the colors, as we have already seen for clays and enamels, require a "fresh" aqueous embrace for use in the creation phase. There are various enameling techniques, ranging from immersion enameling (the object is placed in a tub containing enamel diluted in water and then pulled out) to spray enameling with the aid of machinery that covers the work with enamel. The enamel constitutes the base on which to perform the pictorial decoration. The master majolica maker performs the decoration with the sole aid of brushes, dipping them into the earths diluted in water to obtain the various colors. Naturally, the stroke must be quick and sure because the enameled terracotta, due to its inherent permeability, does not allow corrections, and the colors used have very different shades from those that will emerge after the second and final firing. Consider that sometimes the color changes completely (a striking example is Ramina, which the decorator sees as black during the execution of the work and becomes green after firing). After the decorator's intervention, a second firing, with times and temperatures similar to the first (normally a few tens of degrees less), is necessary for the work to be completed.

With the second firing, the work takes on its definitive characteristics and is ready for use.

Francesco Raffa

Tre Erre Ceramiche