Don Buenaventura Pedro de Alcantara inherited in 1725 the estates belonging to the title of Aranda in the province of Valencia. Count Aranda found that the inhabitants of the village of Alcora made coarse earthenware of every description, and that their vicinity to the sea coast favoured exportation; he determined, therefore, upon establishing in 1726 a manufacture of pottery there, in which fine wares might be made in imitation of those imported from Italy, Germany, France and England. The count's efforts were so successful that in less than two years specimens of different kinds of Alcora pottery were exported to a very large extent.
No account has hitherto been published which gives any idea of the importance of this manufactory, nor have the names of the artists who worked there been known, or the works which they executed. Wishing to ascertain this, I applied to the Duchess of Hijar, the present representative of the house of Aranda, and permission was granted me, thanks to the kindness of the Duchess's Apoderado general, Sr. Robles, to look through the Archives, where the accounts, contracts, and details of the manufactory are kept. This has enabled me to give an idea of the importance of this industry, and the names of the artists who worked there, which have been ignored until the present time by writers on ceramic art.
Count Aranda spent in 1726 about £10,000 in establishing the manufactory of Alcora, and in May, 1727, the first specimens appeared, consisting of pottery made "in the manner of China, Holland, and other localities." The manufactory was at that time under the superintendence of Dn. Joaquin Joseph de Sayas and Joseph Ollery, a Frenchman, chief draughtsman and carver, who was engaged at a good salary in 1726, and brought to Alcora from Moustiers by the painter, Edward Roux. In 1728 Count Aranda increased his salary owing to the "excellent manner in which Ollery has worked at Alcora, the fine and numerous models which he constructed, which have contributed to make my manufacture the first in Spain."
Five painters and two modellers from Cataluña and six Valencian painters and two modellers joined these French artists. The personnel of the fabrique was completed with eleven potters from the locality. The French painters, M. Pierre Maurissy and M. Gras, and the master of the modellers, M. Sebastian Carvonel, were engaged in 1728 for two years to work at the manufactory. Ollery only appears in the lists up to 1737. The Count granted him a yearly pension of 500 francs besides his salary, "for his especial zeal in the improvement of the manufactory, and his great skill in directing the construction of every kind of work." From this date until the manufacture of porcelain in 1764, only Spanish artists worked at Alcora.
The Count was able from the year 1729 to circulate the pottery made at Alcora through the Spanish dominions, free of custom-house duties. The government granted him several other privileges and the manufactory continued to improve, and spared no pains to import the foreign shapes and designs which were most acceptable. No Spanish pottery manufactory could compare with Alcora in the excellence and beauty of its work.
Among the obligations of the artists engaged, whether Spaniards or Frenchmen, was that of teaching drawing and modelling to a certain number of pupils. A special Academy was created for this purpose, which at one time held more than one hundred pupils, who were constantly renewed and increased with those who appear henceforward in the works at Alcora. In 1736 there were fifty-six painters, eleven masters, twenty workers at the wheel, and twenty-five apprentices. In this same year, 1736, specimens of pottery made at Alcora were sent "to all the dominions of Spain, Rome, Naples, Malta, many Italian cities, Portugal, and some provinces of France."
The manufactory produced yearly about 300,000 specimens of different kinds. The ordinances are interesting which in 1732-1733 prescribe, "that in our manufactory only pottery of the most excellent kind should be made, similar to the Chinese, to be equally fine as to the earths employed, that the models and wheels should be perfect, the drawing of a first-rate kind, and the varnish and colours excellent, and the pottery light and of good quality, for it is our express wish that the best pottery should only be distinguished from that of an inferior kind by the greater or less amount of painting which covers it."
Miguel Soliva, Christobal Cros, Francisco Grangel, Miguel Vilar, Christobal Rocafort, Vicente Serrania, and Joseph Pastor were the best painters at Alcora in 1743; they decorated a fine dinner service made for the Tribunal of Commerce, and the large slabs for the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales at Madrid, representing the Virgin as the Divine Shepherdess.
Pottery painted with metallic lustre was made in 1749. We find among the receipts used in that year one brought from Manises for this object.
We find it also stated in the communications which passed between the Tribunal of Commerce and the count in 1746, that "the perfection of the earthenware of Alcora consisted in the excellent models which had been made by competent foreign artists, the quality of the earth and receipts brought at great expense from abroad." Joseph Ochando is mentioned in that year as an excellent painter, and Juan Lopez as the best carver and modeller. This document tells us "that from the earliest period of the manufacture pyramids with figures of children, holding garlands of flowers and baskets of fruits on their heads, were made with great perfection, likewise brackets, centre and three-cornered tables, large objects, some as large as five feet high, to be placed upon them, chandeliers, cornucopias, statues of different kinds, and animals of different sorts and sizes. The entire ornamentation of a room has also been made here; the work is so perfect that nothing in Spain, France, Italy or Holland could equal it in merit."
The objects which were made to a great extent at this time consisted in:
Vases of different shapes.
Small pots, Chinese fashion.
Teapots and covers, Chinese fashion.
Teapots and covers, Dutch fashion.
Cruets, complete sets, Chinese style.
Entrée dishes.
Salt-cellars, Chinese style.
Escudillas (bowls) of Constantinople.
Barquillos (sauce bowls), Chinese style.
Bottles, in the Chinese manner.
Cups, plates, and saucers of different kinds with good painted borders in imitation of lace-work (puntilla); some were designed in the Chinese manner, and especial care was taken with fruit-stands, salad-bowls and dishes.
Trays and refrigerators.
In 1750 Count Aranda passed the pottery works on to a private company, in whose hands they remained until 1766. We know the pottery continued to be excellent. Unfortunately almost all the details of this period are missing from the Archives. One of the few documents remaining is a contract drawn up in October, 1741, with François Haly (the name of this artist is given by Baron Davillier), a Frenchman, in which he agreed to work at the manufactory during a period of ten years with a yearly salary of over 1000 francs, under the following conditions:
"That the travelling expenses of his wife and children should be given him, and that his salary should be paid as soon as he made before the Director and two competent judges the different kinds of porcelain which he had undertaken to make." He agreed to give up his receipts, and it was promised him that he should have two modellers and one painter working by his side, and that if in one year Haly's porcelain was satisfactory the Count undertook to make him a present of 1000 livres (tornoises).
Towards the middle of the century, porcelain was made for the first time at Alcora. A contract was drawn up on 24th March, 1764, with a German, called John Christian Knipfer, who had already worked there in the pottery section. By the original agreement, which exists at the Archives, we find he was to prepare works of "porcelain and painting similar to those made at Dresden, during a period of six years, under the following conditions:"
"That the said Knipfer obliges himself to make and teach the apprentices the composition and perfection of porcelain paste, its varnishes, and colours, and whatever he may know at the present time, or discover during this period of six years; he is not to prevent the Director of the Works from being present at all the essays made."
"The said Knipfer offers to make and varnish porcelain, and to employ gold and silver in its decoration, and in that of the ordinary wares; likewise the colours of crimson, purple, violet, blues of different shades, yellow, greens, browns, reds, and black.
"That Knipfer will give up an account of his secrets, and the management and manner of using them, in order that in all times the truth of what he has asserted may be verified."
From the original documents which exist we gather that Knipfer was chiefly famed for his excellence in the painting and decoration of porcelain.
François Martin was engaged in 1774 for his skill in preparing different pastes for manufacturing porcelain and pipeclay. He agreed to make "hard paste porcelain, Japanese faïence, English paste (pipeclay), and likewise to mould and bake it. The necessary materials were to be provided by the Count of Aranda." His expenses were to be paid if the specimens he presented to the competent authorities gave a satisfactory result, and his salary was to be increased to 1200 francs a year.
Knipfer and Martin greatly added to the importance of the works made at the manufactory. Don Pedro Abadia, the Count's steward, an intelligent man, possessing great scientific knowledge, who had studied this subject in Paris and London, writes to the Count that the presence of both these artists was of absolute necessity at Alcora, "until the workmen who were near them perfected themselves." For owing to the carelessness of the managers of the porcelain works in 1776 Count Aranda wrote from Paris, during his embassy there: "My pottery of Alcora, notwithstanding every effort which has been made, the money spent, and foreign masters which have been brought over, gets worse every day instead of improving." Abadia repeats this in his reports. Porcelain of other kinds decidedly improved. He says also that the pipeclay which Martin had found at Alcora was the best in Europe.
In my opinion, a large number of unmarked white biscuit and demi-porcelain figures which are so constantly found in collections belong to this period of the manufactory of Alcora. They have hitherto been classified with very great difficulty, and attributed to the porcelain manufactory of Buen Retiro, without any reason which justifies this opinion. For the help of collectors I will mention the subjects which they represent, which I have found in a document, dated 1777, of the figures and groups and other objects made during that year.
FIGURES OF DEMI-PORCELAIN.
Figures of tritons.
"of soldiers, two sizes.
""one-third palmos high.
"of the four seasons (two sizes).
"of dancers.
"of tritons in form of children.
"with brackets.
"of different animals.
"of gardener and female companion in the Dresden style.
Dancing figures in the German style.
Figures of Neptune.
Figures of shepherd and shepherdess.
"of the Moorish king, Armenius.
"of the four parts of the world, two sizes.
"of peasant and his wife.
Small figures holding musical instruments.
Figures representing different monarchies.
""historical personages.
""the history of Alexander the Great, two sizes.
""Marius Curtius, two sizes.
"of elephants.
"of a man mounted on an elephant.
"representing Chinese figures.
"of Heliogabalus.
"of a general on horseback.
"of a grenadier supporting a candlestick.
Large figures representing Julius Cæsar.
Figures representing the different costumes worn in Spain, on brackets.
Groups of Chinese figures.
Snuff-boxes, sugar basins, inkstands.
Rabbits, horns, and pug dogs for holding scent.
Small scent bottles.
Needle cases.
Large vases with foot and cover.
Brackets.
Walking-stick handles.
Knife handles.
Tea-spoons.
FIGURES OF WHITE BISCUIT CHINA.
Figures representing Spanish costumes, two sizes.
Groups of two figures.
Large and small figures of the four parts of the world.
Figures of the four seasons, two sizes.
We find also the following figures of painted and glazed porcelain:
Four seasons, two sizes.
Groups of two figures.
Figure of a Moorish king.
"of musicians and huntsmen.
Figure of peasants.
"of Chinese.
Small figures of a gardener and female companion.
Figures of soldiers in the German style.
In 1780 four rival pottery works were established in the neighbourhood which copied and imitated the pottery made at Alcora. The two most important were at Rivasalbes and Onda, the other two at Alcora itself. Many of the artists who belonged to the works established by Count Aranda worked at the rival factories; among them were Mariano Causada, Joaquin Ten, Francisco Marsal, Vicente Alvaro, Christoval Mascarós, Francisco and Miguel Badenas, and Nadal Nebot; some of these artists returned to the Count's manufactory. In order to distinguish the genuine pottery from imitations, orders were given, with the authorization of the Tribunal of Commerce, that the pottery made there should be marked henceforward with the letter A; no special mark had hitherto been used at the manufactory, the artists very often signed the specimens they made with their monograms or signatures, of which those most frequently met with will be found accompanying the list of artists' names, for the help of collectors; all of them have been copied from original documents. It is interesting for collectors to bear in mind, that all specimens which are marked with the letter A are posterior to 1784. The pottery works founded in imitation of the manufactory belonging to