Tin-Glaze and Image Culture

The Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna holds a unique collection of Italian maiolica from the 15th to the 18th century, which is now being published almost in its entirety for the first time.

Tin-glazed earthenware — maiolica — is a highly pictorial and colourful form of ceramic. Developing a technique adopted from the Islamic world, Italian potters created an art form whose luminous colours, variety of motifs, and connection to other art forms reflect the culture of the Italian Renaissance. In sumptuous detail the pieces tell of he-roes, feminine beauty, the everyday, and nature, whose colours have survived unchanged through-out the years on account of their glazes.

The majolica collection of the Museum für angewandte Kunst in Vienna (MAK), which is rooted in the historical treasures of the Habsburgs, is one of the most fascinating yet least known in the world. This book, which documents the first exhibition of this particular collection at the MAK alongside spectacular loans from Austria and Germany, provides an extensive survey on the subject.

The author of the catalogue, Timothy Wilson, former Keeper of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, is an internationally recognised expert. The volume also includes essays contextualising the collection by Rainald Franz, Michael Göbl, and Nikolaus Hofer.