The Archaic Production of Deruta

The Development of Deruta Majolica from its Origins to 1940

The first reliable documentation to bear witness to ceramic production in Deruta dates back to the Middle Ages. A document of 1290, one of the oldest to came to light, informs us that the church of San Nicolo in Deruta, subordinate to the chapter of the cathedral in Perugia and therefore obliged to pay an annual tribute, paid it with a load or vases. It is not possible to establish for how long this practice had existed, but it does suggest that ceramic activity in the Deruta area was widespread, established and well-known.

Thanks to research carried out at the Perugia State Archive by Orietta Boini in 1976, an important document has been traced dating back to 1336: a notarial protocol drawn up by Giovanni Contucci, a notary from Deruta, it contains evidence that the guild of potters was thriving and throws light upon the relations which existed with the Perugia College. The Franciscan Archive in Assisi also contributes to outlining the mediaeval production in Deruta.

 A written document dating back to 1358 makes mention of a certain Cecce O'Alessandro, a potter who sold hundreds of pieces of pottery to the friars at the convent, including yellow vases, white vases, green amphorae, small white jugs, small basins and other earthenware, for which the friars also paid the transport expenses from Deruta. From the point of view of qualify, it is difficult, given the present state of research, to give a precise connotation to the mediaeval production of Deruta, though on the basis of the fragments available for examination, overall it does not seem to diverge much from that of central Italy.

Even if Orvieto was probably the Umbrian center where forms of the archaic style found their widest expression, with decorative motifs, at times of an elaborate nature, being proposed in several variations (alongside the simple vegetable and animal decorations drawn in green and brown, more complex representations such as monsters and mermaids do in fact appear), the numerous finds discovered in the Deruta subsoil allow for the identification of a fairly simple production.

These consisted of, for the most part, objects for everyday use such as vases, wine and water jugs, bowls and basins and the decorations, in the typical two-color scheme of the archaic style, depict on the whole geometric motifs and rapid stylizations of flowers and leaves.