The QUALITY

In order to recognize high-quality majolica it is necessary to observe and analyse a few details, such as the use of red clay, of higher quality, which - unlike white clays, or earthenware, which are much frailer and more delicate - gives majolica a more solid structure.
The second basic element in recognizing a hand-made product is the inner and outer biscuit that must present signs and traces of the craftsman’s hands due to the process of wheel work.
Each piece should have the producer’s mark in specially provided spaces or fields so that the producer’s name or the craft shop may be identified. The name, the initial or the subscription sign, which is usually at the bottom of the item, shall be indelible, i.e. "baked in the oven". Do not trust such fake applications as adhesives or printed marks. The fourth element to be considered is the aesthetic aspect: the ceramic product must be recognizable as hand-painted majolica. Indeed, it is well known that an item which was not produced in series presents some imperfections. Imperceptible anomalies are thus the sign of a hand-made product.
The last and most relevant aspect is undoubtedly the ceramic product’s pictorial and aesthetic quality. A good painting may be recognized by the precision of its traces, the accuracy in the details and presence of fine and well defined contours, as well as by the variety of colours, its various tones and the size of the decorated surface. And above all if it represents an important artistic school or craft shop.