HISTORY
While we (or more correctly, my wife) prefer English/Irish ceramics and porcelain, at times "other" objects have caught our eye ... this is one of those items from the Continent, Italy to be specific.
We view objects of art as exactly that, the maker or "name" behind the item is not so important to us. It is all about the craftsmanship, the meaning or what the artist/decorator was trying to tell us, particularly with our oil paintings.
This demitasse teaset fitted our "that looks interesting" criteria although we are the first to admit we are not sure about two things ... exactly who the maker was and what is the story unfolding around the teacup!
So, without further delay, let's take a look at what we are seeking a new home for ...
MOLLICA (ITALY) - Demitasse Teacup & Saucer
Made in Italy
Hand decorated artwork and Gold gilding
DIMENSIONS:
Demi teacup: 66mm diameter x 60mm height
Standard cup handle
Saucer: 122mm diameter
DESIGN:
Cream-White base ceramic on both pieces is not flat but raised which creates a 3D effect, particularly when decorated.
Both pieces have the "ring of non-glazing" underneath the piece.
The teacup design is centred on nine putto (chubby children, some partially dressed, some not and some with wings) around the side of the teacup. Most are wearing what appears to be a cloth body covering. Some are flying or at least elevated from the ground, some look to be dancing and one putto has a dog which is trying to reach the clothing of the putto in front of it. The ground underneath is a rich, bold Green with some Brown. The sky is a very pale Blue with some far-off birds being visible. Often the facial expression of a putto can give clues as to what the artist was trying to convey but all of the facial features of the putti seem to express something serious, they don't look like happy little faces. The artwork style used for the facial expressions is simple linework only (dots for the eyes, lines for the nose and mouth)
Colouring used is bold and strong - it is this colouring that caught our eye originally.
Heavily applied Gold gilding has been hand applied to the INSIDE of the teacup, the rim, all over the handle and at the base.
The saucer on the other hand has no putto present at all. The decoration here is still over a "raised" ceramic base but consists of flowers shaped in the style of a bouquet along with geometric patterns.
Like the teacup, heavy Gold gilding has been hand applied.
Just a little extra information about the decorative work. Just today we very closely inspected the artwork and we can clearly see the outline brush strokes BUT the background colouring almost looks as though it has been "air-brushed" on. This has a certain "roughness" when viewed extremely closely (using high magnification eye piece) so it was hand applied but brush strokes to the background colouring do not exist and instead I can see small dots of varying sizes and slightly different shades, the sort of effect you would see if the paint had been blown onto the piece(s).
THE MAKER (The Enigma)
Just who made this teaset has always been a mystery for us. We purchased this from a shop in Italy selling used items - the sort of place that used to be mandatory visit for us while travelling. The shop person had no idea who made it and we have some "theories" but nothing 100% certain. If knowing the maker is important to you, some further research may be required!
Please look at the photographs of the underside for both the teacup and the saucer. All markings on the underside look to have been hand applied, not stamped or impressed.
The upper most symbol is a coronet or crown. This is made using the Gold paint. Immediately underneath this crown is an M or N in a mid-Blue. Being hand applied and a little "blurry" it is difficult to determine which letter this is.
Our reference to the Mollica family in Italy is because we know that their early pieces (around the turn of the 20th Century) used this symbolism on the underside.
On both pieces, the next line of text is in handwriting and is either a persons name or place and what appears to be a signature/initials to the far right side of this line. Comparing the two pieces, it seems to read CopoSilliou TS - a little hard to decipher as the handwriting is very "scroll-like"
Next line down is one word, ITALY in capitals
Lastly, in a Brown/Red colour has been painted three characters which are very difficult to work out ... perhaps this is a design pattern number or code.
Now here is the most interesting part (for us!). We are used to working out English backstamps which are usually UNDER the glazing ... however it appears to us as though all of the above markings have been applied AFTER the glazing was applied. We are not about to do some rubbing of the text to find out but that may explain why those characters in the last line are so hard to read, parts of the characters are missing - as though they have rubbed off.
Please refer to the underside photographs to view these markings.
For us, quite a little mystery. Perhaps for someone who is very much into their Italian ceramics, this will be instantly recogniseable as either a Mollica or something else.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
Clean
NO damage (no chips and no cracks)
NO discolouration to the base ceramic clay
NO discolouration to the teacup artwork
Slight variation in the saucer colouring, the central Pink ring bordered by Gold gilding has shades of Pink varying from very pale to quite a deep Pink.
NO marks (that shouldn't be there!)
Gold gilding is in A1 condition, meaning there are NO scratch marks or damage apparent to the gilding in any area, not even the inside of the teacup nor the handle.
We have sent a large amount of our beloved china and ceramics all over the world and ALWAYS package extremely carefully (pointless sending a piece that arrives damaged - sadness all round!)
