Vezzi porcelain

Vezzi porcelain is porcelain made by the Vezzi porcelain factory in Venice, Italy, established in 1720 by the Vezzi family. It was the first porcelain factory in Italy, after the experimental Medici porcelain of the 16th century.^[1] It operated only until 1727, so surviving pieces are few, probably fewer than 200. It made "true" hard-paste porcelain, and was only the third factory in Europe to do so, hiring technicians from Meissen porcelain and Vienna porcelain, the first two makers.^[2][3]

The great majority of wares are teaware: cups, saucers, teapots and a few small plates. Many cups are beakers without handles, and the teapots, which form an unusually large proportion of the surviving pieces, often have moulded shapes, including relief decoration. The bodies can be white, but often tend to grey; they are very translucent. The shapes often draw from silverware, but they are brightly painted in a variety of styles, influenced by the northern factories and Asian export wares.^[4][5]