than of pottery, and this is
right, for there is nothing certainly known of the work of this great
sculptor which connects it with painted majolica. The old theory that
Luca invented the tin-glaze is long since exploded; what he did was to
use coloured glazes made with a basis of tin-enamel on his boldly
modelled terra-cottas--a very different thing,--and it is by no means
certain that he was the first to do even that. The Victoria and Albert
Museum is extraordinarily rich in della Robbia ware of every kind; and
one may see there these beautifully modelled figures in high relief
covered with pure white tin-enamel, set in a background of slatey blue
or rich manganese purple and framed in wreaths of flowers and fruit
which are coloured with blue, green, purple and sometimes yellow. There
are altar vases too, of classic shape with low relief ornament, covered
with the same peculiar blue glaze; these are sometimes furnished with
modelled fruit and flowers; and finally there is the rare set of
roundels painted on the flat with figure-subjects typifying the months;
but the attribution of these remains doubtful, and their method is not
that of painted majolica.

A remarkable development took place at the beginning of the 16th
century, and in the forty succeeding years the highest perfection of
manipulative skill, both in potting and painting, was attained.
Artistically regarded, the elaborate and detailed methods of painting
then adopted are too much allied to fresco-painting to be considered as
fit treatment for enamelled clay; but this view was certainly not
accepted at the time, nor is it subscribed to by many modern collectors;
yet, regarded as decorated pottery, the 15th-century majolica, simpler
and more conventional in design and treatment, is eminently preferable.
The ruling families of northern Italy, who now took the industry under
their personal patronage, clearly inclined to the opposite view and
spared no expense to provide subjects for their pot-painters. During
the first two decades the influence of Faenza was paramount, and though
the encroachments of purely pictorial motives are clearly indicated on
the wares, room was still found for ornamental patterns. The broad rims
of the dishes were covered with beautiful arabesque designs, frequently
including grotesque figures, masks, dolphins and cherubs (see the Faenza
Casa Pirota piece, 1525, Plate VI.). Sometimes reserved in the white on
a dark blue ground and sha