19th-century Talavera albarelo

19th-century Talavera earthenware.
Glazed ceramic.
It has been restored and has some missing pieces.
Measurements: 25.5 x 12 cm.
A Talavera ceramic albarelo, or apothecary jar, decorated with cobalt blue glaze over a white tin slip. It has a typical 18th-century shape, narrowing toward the center. The front features a heraldic motif with a rampant lion inside.
Of Muslim origin, Talavera de la Reina pottery gained industrial significance beginning in the 16th century. Mentioned by Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Tirso de Molina, Talavera pottery is also documented in much of Spanish Baroque painting. Used by both nobles and commoners, its commercial monopoly was in constant competition with Sevillian pottery. One of the architects of the revival of Spanish Talavera pottery was Juan Niveiro, who founded the “El Carmen” factory; the hiring of workers brought in from Manises marked another significant change in its decorative lines. These changes would reinforce the tricolor series produced by another emerging pottery workshop in the mid-19th century: “La Menora.” The earthenware and tiles produced in Talavera de la Reina (Castile-La Mancha, Spain) throughout its five centuries of renowned ceramic tradition have generated such a rich and varied typology that it has necessitated a classification into series proposed since the late 19th century by various specialists, in order to facilitate their study and cataloging.