A coffee pot and 2 cups. Antonio Ferretti Manufacture Lodi, Circa 1765-1770

A coffee pot and two cups with saucers
Antonio Ferretti Manufacture
Lodi, Circa 1765-1770
Maiolica polychrome decorated “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire).
They measure:
coffee pot: 9.64 in height x 6.69 x 5.51; 1,164 lb (24.5 cm x 17 x 14,9); 1.16 lb (528 g)
cups:
a) 2.75 in height (7 cm); saucer diameter 4.33 in (11 cm); 0,357 lb (162 g)
b) 2.75 in height (7 cm); saucer diameter 4.33 in (11 cm); 0,372 lb (169 g)
State of conservation: the cups are intact. The coffee pot is intact except for a marked chip on the foot in the back and two chips on the edge of the lid, which also has a glued grip without touch-ups to the paint. Slight chipping from use to the internal stop circle of the lid.

The coffeepot, with a ribbed, enlarged and bellied pyriform body, rests on a slightly everted flat foot and has a rather pronounced beaked pourer. The upper portion of the handle is curved in a C-shape whereas the lower portion is another C-shape curving in the opposite direction. The coffee pot has a raised and cusped lid surmounted by a tall and slightly twisted knob.
The polychrome decoration, carried out “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire), shows, on the front under the spout, a composite bouquet of flowers with small rosettes and spring flowers from which some thin stems branch off supporting minute buds. Some scattered florets and secondary bouquets scattered along the body and on the lid complete the decoration. The handle is lined with purple, while the rim, the lid knob and the spout are highlighted with a touch of gold. Under the foot there is a dark green brushstroke - “chiodo”(nail) - to indicate the decoration to be created in the process.
The coffee pot is a rather rare and typical example of high “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire) production, of which few known examples of comparison have been made (M. L. Gelmini, in Maioliche lodigiane del '700, cat. mostra Lodi, Milano 1995 p. 147 n. 56 without lid; the shape is perfectly comparable to the specimen decorated in green monochrome on p. 187 n. 226).

The cups have a slightly ribbed circular body and a slightly raised disc foot, with a tubular handle woven like a branch. The saucer is circular, with a smooth edge and a disc-shaped foot with a vertical brim. The rim of both cups and plates is highlighted with gold. The decoration known as “a fiori fini“ shows on the front of the cup a) a bunch of flowers, with the rose and various flowers as well as some flowering branches repeated, in a more contained and decentralized version, on the saucer. On the second cup b) the decoration is distinguished by the presence of a multi-petal flower, probably a marigold or a marzolino flower, and small florets. This decoration with small flowers, painted with great skill in the Ferretti factory, constitutes, along with the other rare examples of comparison (M. L. Gelmini, Maioliche lodigiane del ‘700, Milano 1995, p. 146 nn. 154-155), a poignant example of the high production level achieved, in some ways comparable to German porcelain models.

This decorative style represented a strong point of the Lodi factory, which established itself thanks to the vivid nature of the colors made possible by the introduction of a new technique perfected by Paul Hannong in Strasbourg and later introduced by Antonio Ferretti to Italy. The production process, called “piccolo fuoco” (third fire), allowed the use of a greater number of colors than in the past; in particular, the purple of Cassius, a red made from gold chloride, was introduced. Its use allowed for many more tones and shades, from pink to purple.

Just the aforementioned introduction in 1760 of the innovative “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire) processing, which, expanding the ornamental repertoire with Saxon-inspired floral themes, was able to commercially compete with the German porcelains that had one of its most renowned offerings in the naturalistic Deutsche Blumen. Antonio Ferretti understood and promoted this technique and this decoration, proposing it in a fresher and more corrective version.

Bibliography:
C. Baroni, Storia delle ceramiche nel Lodigiano, in Archivio storico per la città e i comuni del circondario e della diocesi di Lodi, XXXIV (1915), pp. 118, 124, 142; XXXV (1916), pp. 5-8;
C. Baroni, La maiolica antica di Lodi, in Archivio storico lombardo, LVIII (1931), pp. 453-455;
L. Ciboldi, La maiolica lodigiana, in Archivio storico lodigiano, LXXX (1953), pp. 25 sgg.;
S. Levy, Maioliche settecentesche lombarde e venete, Milano 1962, pp. 17 sgg.; per l’esemplare qui presentato idem, tav XXIX
A. Novasconi - S. Ferrari - S. Corvi, La ceramica lodigiana, Lodi 1964, ad Indicem; Maioliche di Lodi, Milano e Pavia (cat.), Milano 1964, p. 229;
O. Ferrari - G. Scavizzi, Maioliche italiane del Seicento e del Settecento, Milano 1965, pp. 26 sgg.;
G. C. Sciolla, Lodi. Museo civico, Bologna 1977, pp. 69-85 passim;
G. Lise, La ceramica a Lodi, Lodi 1981;
M. Vitali, in Storia dell'arte ceramica, Bologna 1986, p. 251;
M. A. Zilocchi, in Settecento lombardo, Milano 1991, pp. 492-496;
M. L. Gelmini, in Maioliche lodigiane del '700 (cat. mostra Lodi), Milano 1995;
R. Ausenda (a cura di), Musei e Gallerie di Milano. Museo d’Arti Applicate. Le ceramiche. Tomo secondo, Milano 2000, pp. 213-220;
Felice Ferrari, La ceramica di Lodi, Lodi 2003.