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Medici porcelain was the first successful attempt in Europe to make imitations of Chinese porcelain. The experimental manufactory housed in the Casino of San Marco in Florence existed between 1575 and 1587 under the patronage of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. A painted mark of Brunelleschi's dome and a capital letter F appear on the underside of some pieces; others bear the Medici ''palle'', the balls that are the Medici heraldic charge. Never a commercial venture, Medici porcelains were sometimes given as diplomatic gifts; for example, surviving pieces bear the arms of Philip II of Spain. ==History and Manufacture== Giorgio Vasari reported in the 1568 edition of his ''Vite'' that Bernardo Buontalenti was currently at work on discovering the art of porcelain, but there is no sign that he was successful. The first successes were finally reported in 1575 by the Venetian ambassador Andrea Gussoni, who mentioned in his brief to the ''Serenissima'' that Francesco discovered the means of making "the porcelain of India," (i.e. the East Indies).〔Marco Spallanzani, ''Ceramiche alla Corte dei Medici nel Cinquecento'', (Pisa: Scuola Normale Superiore, and Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 1994), p. 69.〕 Gussoni mentioned in particular the four qualities that made porcelain desirable, apart from its exotic rarity: However, the entire project was ultimately relatively short-lived; the high-firing temperature pushed sixteenth century technical capability to its limit, resulting in exorbitant production costs. There are no references to Medici porcelain manufacture securely dated after Francesco's death in 1587.〔Cristina Acidini Luchinat, p. 248.〕 The body of Medici porcelain ware is a type of soft-paste porcelain, composed of white clay containing powdered feldspar, calcium phosphate and wollastonite (CaSiO3), with quartz. The glaze contains calcium phosphate, indicating that the Islamic technique of using calcined bone to make an opaque white glaze was adopted.〔According to on-site Raman spectroscopic analyses performed at the Musée National de Céramique, Sèvres, reported in Ph. Colomban, V. Milande, H. Lucas, "On-site Raman analysis of Medici porcelain", ''Journal of Raman Spectroscopy'', 35.1 (2003:68-72).〕 The result is translucent but slightly glassy in feel. Following the precedents of classic Chinese blue and white porcelain, decorations were painted in underglaze blue, which resulted in a range of hues when fired—from a bright cobalt blue (such as a flask in the National Gallery of Art〔(National Gallery of Art: Widener Collection 1942.9.354 )〕) to grey (such as the bottle detail at right). Some pieces have outlines traced in manganese.〔A single piece decorated in green and yellow is at Brunswick and another conserved in a private collection.〕 Body shapes are adapted from maiolica ceramics and silver models; they range from the largest basins and ewers, chargers and plates, to the smallest cruets. Decorative motifs are executed in imitation of Chinese blue-and-white wares, or of Turkish İznik ceramics, or more rarely in imitation of maiolica ''grottesche'' ornament. Both Chinese and Turkish ceramics had been represented in the Medici family collections for over a century; for example, one prized possession of the family was a gift from the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt who sent Lorenzo de' Medici "large vessels of porcelain, the like of which has never been seen" in 1478.〔Spallanzai, ''Ceramice'', pp. 55-56. See also the National Gallery website: (National Gallery, Washington DC: Medici porcelain flask )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Medici porcelain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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