View all examples of SEVILLA BLUE ON BLUE
| Type Name: | SEVILLA BLUE ON BLUE |
| Type Index: | MAJOLICA |
| Production Origin: | SPAIN, probably Seville |
| Date Range: | 1550-1630 |
| Defining Attributes: |
Yellow or pink-tinted compact paste with little evident temper. Vessel walls are thin and light. Solid blue background enamel, with designs painted in darker blue. The paint used in decoration often has a “foamy” or mottled appearance. The background enamel can range from pale powder blue to a light cobalt blue, and may be subject to slipping and pinholing. Finish is frequently matte or low gloss. Design motifs consist of heavy and stylized elements, commonly floral and leaf motifs, birds, animals, geometric patterns, and human heads. They are simpler and less carefully executed than the designs on Ligurian Blue on Blue (see comments). Overglaze yellow detail lines occur rarely. Exterior of vessels are decorated by overlapping series of arches in dark blue. |
| Vessel Forms: |
BRIMMED PLATO SHALLOW BOWL TAZA |
| Comments: | Sevilla Blue on Blue was formerly included in the blue-on-blue majolica variety designated by John Goggin as "Ichtuknee Blue on Blue", which also incorporated what is now known as Ligurian Blue on Blue. It is a Sevillian product made in imitation of its Italian prototype, Ligurian Blue on Blue. Sevilla Blue on Blue is distinguished from Ligurian Blue on Blue by its yellowish or pinkish (as opposed to white or cream-colored) paste, its thinner background enamel, the thicker heavier, lines used in painting, and the casual simplicity of its decoration. Sevilla Blue on Blue appeared in New World sites around 1550; peaked in popularity at about 1600 and fell into disuse at about 1630-1640. |
| Published Definitions: | Lister and Lister 1976, 1987; Deagan 2002 |