Antipasti bowl from Granada, Spain

ca. 3,8 cm height, ø 10 cm

This white-ground traditional ceramics called Fajalauza pottery are decorated with beautiful patterns in blue. Fajalauza is the gate of the city wall in Granada that led to the traditional quarter of potteries that settled here in the 16th century. It is the old Arab quarter, called Albaicin, which was outside the city walls, and today is the oldest quarter of the city. In 1994 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This type of pottery art had been around for over 200 years. The production of the Fajalauza has remained almost the same to this day. After turning the pieces by hand on the potter’s wheel, they are fired, glazed in a tin oxide bath, and fired again. They are hand painted and common motifs are flowers, grape vines, birds and pomegranate.