A plate with fish and cabbage leaves by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (1893), photographed at the Museu Bordalo Pinheiro in Lisbon. Photo Pedro Ribeiro Simões, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cabbageware
What it took directly
- statedCabbageware comes from the Fábrica de Faianças das Caldas, founded on 30 June 1884: Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro ran the art and technique, his brother Feliciano ran the business"Fábrica de Faianças das Caldas was established in June 30, 1884. Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro was responsible for the technical and artistic aspects and his brother Feliciano Bordallo Pinheiro was in charge of the organizational aspects of the factory." Bordallo Pinheiro, the factory's own history
- documentedThe Caldas da Rainha factory took from King-consort Fernando II, "the artist-king", one of the main subscribers to its building"como demonstra a sua precoce cumplicidade com o rei-consorte D. Fernando II, “o rei-artista”, aliás um dos principais subscritores para a construção da fábrica caldense." Vasco Rosa, book review in Observador (2015)
- statedToday's Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage pieces took from the plates Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro made in the 19th century, pairing vegetables with animals"Para criar a coleção Couve com Lavagantes, a Bordallo Pinheiro teve como base os icónicos pratos clássicos que Raphael criou no século XIX, combinando elementos vegetais com animais que mimetizam características humanas." Bordallo Pinheiro / Grupo Visabeira, press release for the Couve com Lavagantes collection (Caldas da Rainha, 15 September 2022)
What it learned to do
- statedRafael Bordalo Pinheiro learned from the cabbage itself, which he used as a laboratory for modelling and for finding the right glazes"Na exploração complexa da estética naturalista, Bordallo Pinheiro usou a couve e os crustáceos como laboratório para as possibilidades de modelação e de procura dos vidrados perfeitos, demonstrando um domínio cerâmico perfeito." Bordallo Pinheiro / Grupo Visabeira, press release (15 September 2022)
- documentedRafael Bordalo Pinheiro learned from modelling clay at his father's house, as he told the newspaper O Mundo in 1903"o seu interesse artístico por barro não foi tardio: ao Mundo, Rafael reconheceu em 1903 que se habituou “a modelar” em casa do pai." Vasco Rosa, book review in Observador (2015)
- documentedRafael Bordalo Pinheiro learned from a European tour to learn and update his technique before founding the factory in 1883–84"após conveniente périplo europeu de aprendizagem e actualização técnica, o incansável desenhador criou em 1883-84 nos arredores daquela localidade" Vasco Rosa, book review in Observador (2015)
- statedEach Bordalo Pinheiro piece comes from the Caldas factory's workers, who made it with him"Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro with the help of his workers produced bold pieces, either by their size or by the delicacy of the details." Bordallo Pinheiro, the factory's own history
The tradition it sits in
- documentedGreen-glazed Staffordshire cauliflower ware took from Josiah Wedgwood's green glaze, recipe no. 7 in his Experiment Book, 23 March 1759"Wedgwood’s formula for ‘A Green Glaze to be laid on common white biscuit ware’ is number 7 in his Experiment Book entered on 23rd March 1759." Victoria and Albert Museum, catalogue entry for a Wedgwood cauliflower teapot (around 1765)
- statedCabbageware comes from the local pottery of Caldas da Rainha, with its plants and animals as decoration"At Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro’s factory were created hundreds of ceramic models of unparalleled creativity, based on local traditions particularly Caldas’ pottery, adopting the fauna and flora as decorative inspiration." Bordallo Pinheiro, the factory's own history
- documentedCaldas da Rainha's naturalist pottery comes from the workshop of the potter Maria dos Cacos, where Manuel Cipriano Gomes ("Mafra") worked before taking it over in 1853"He adopted the name Mafra and set up his workshop in 1853, having purchased the existing workshop of Maria dos Cacos, for whom he had at first worked." Victoria and Albert Museum, catalogue entry for a Mafra leaf-shaped dessert plate (about 1865–70)
- documentedRafael Bordalo Pinheiro's Caldas faience comes from the Caldas da Rainha potters before him, Maria dos Cacos and Manuel Cipriano Gomes (Mafra)"Other ceramic artists from Caldas da Rainha are represented, such as Maria dos Cacos, Manuel Cipriano Gomes, known as Mafra, and Manuel Gustavo Bordalo Pinheiro, son of Rafael Bordalo." Museu Bordalo Pinheiro, Lisbon, which shows their work beside his (the museum's placement, not an influence he stated)
- inferredCabbageware comes from 18th-century cabbage-leaf tableware, such as the Sèvres "cabbage leaf compote" of about 1760"known as a compotier à feuilles-de-choux ('cabbage leaf compote')" inferred — the V&A and the Met hold cabbage-leaf and cabbage-shaped tableware from the 1750s–1770s (Sèvres, Worcester, Staffordshire cauliflower ware, a salt-glazed cabbage teapot); no source here says Bordalo Pinheiro knew or drew on them
- documentedBordalo Pinheiro's ceramic work comes from William Morris's aesthetic movement, and a commitment to training his workers"sobressai claramente na obra de Bordalo Pinheiro pela filiação ao movimento estético de William Morris e pelo seu empenho na formação técnica do operariado" Vasco Rosa, book review in Observador (2015)
Where the whole form comes from
- documentedCaldas da Rainha's naturalist pottery comes from the work of Palissy, 16th-century France"The artisanal workshop specialised in zoomorphic vessels and wares inspired by the work of Palissy (France, 16th century)." Victoria and Albert Museum, catalogue entry for a Mafra leaf-shaped dessert plate (about 1865–70)
- statedBordallo Pinheiro's cabbage comes from the rustic Portugal that Bordalo Pinheiro so often satirized"The cabbage, stalky and wrinkled, with its flattened shape, could serve as a metaphor for the rusticity of a Portugal that Bordallo so often satirized." Bordallo Pinheiro, introduction to its Cabbage collection
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