Glazed Ceramics in Architectural Heritage

Résumé 0

Glazed ceramics are used in architecture since at least the 6th century BC, as the magnificent Ishtar Gate, partially reconstructed in the Berlin Pergamon Museum, testifies. Glazed tiles decorated with intricate geometric patterns and Arabic writing were for centuries, and still are, in widespread use in the Islamic countries and for westerners remain one of the most recognizable and constant marks of the beauty of mosques. From their origin in the Middle East and flourishing in the Islamic world, glazed tiles spread to Spain and Portugal, to Italy, the Low Countries and most of Europe. Modern majolica was perfected in Italy during the 15th century and saw an early architectural integration in the works of Luca Della Robbia. A representative work is the vault of the Capilla del Cardinal del Portugallo in the church of San Miniato al Monte (Florence) where the tondi protrude from a covering of patterned glazed tiles, curiously of the same pattern as later used in façade glazed tiles manufactured in Lisbon in the 19th century.