Capodimonte porcelain

Jar painted by (or in the style of) Giovanni Caselli with three figures of Pulcinella from the commedia dell'arte, 1745–1750. 16.2 cm high
Detail from the porcelain room now in the Palace of Capodimonte

Capodimonte porcelain (sometimes "Capo di Monte") is porcelain created by the Capodimonte porcelain manufactory (Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte), which operated in Naples, Italy, between 1743 and 1759. Capodimonte is the most significant factory for early Italian porcelain, the Doccia porcelain of Florence being the other main Italian factory. Capodimonte is most famous for its moulded figurines.[1]

The porcelain of Capodimonte, and later Naples, was a "superb" translucent soft-paste, "more beautiful" but much harder to fire than the German hard-pastes,[2] or "a particularly clear, warm, white, covered with a mildly lustrous glaze".[3] The Capodimonte mark was a fleur-de-lys in blue, or impressed in relief inside a circle.[4]

The entire Capodimonte factory was moved to Madrid (and became the Real Fábrica del Buen Retiro) after its founder, King Charles, inherited the Spanish throne from his brother in 1759. Strictly speaking, this was the end of "Capodimonte porcelain", but the reputation of the factory's products was so high that the name is often claimed and used for porcelain made in other factories in or around Naples.

The first of these was the new royal factory established by Charles' son Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, which manufactured from 1771 until 1806.[5] This is generally known as Naples porcelain, officially the "Naples Royal Porcelain Manufactory" (Real fabbrica delle porcellane di Napoli) or Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea. Since the 19th century, a number of other factories have used the name, for a wide variety of wares, with a great range of quality.[6]

  1. ^ Battie, 104–105; 103–104 on Doccia
  2. ^ Battie, 104–105
  3. ^ Le Corbellier, 20
  4. ^ Battie, 104–105; examples: blue and relief
  5. ^ Battie, 105; Le Corbellier, 29
  6. ^ Battie, 190