Introduced to great acclaim at London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, the landmark celebration of art and industry closely associated with Queen Victoria and her beloved Prince Albert, the richly glazed and textured earthenware known as majolica quickly became one of the great decorative crazes of the era. With its whimsical and often pastoral designs alongside exuberant color palettes and fine detailing, majolica was the height of fashion in Victorian homes.

The love affair with majolica continues today, and with this Antique Majolica Pitcher, it’s easy to see why! A joyful riot of color and texture, this Antique Hummingbird & Fern Majolica Pitcher celebrates the natural world in wonderfully exuberant Victorian fashion. Against a rich chocolate-brown ground, a brilliantly colored hummingbird darts among lush green ferns and foliage, its form picked out in crisply molded relief; a butterfly flutters happily on the opposite side. Bands of turquoise basketweave encircle the generously rounded body and neck, while a rustic faux-bamboo handle and scalloped brown rim complete the wonderfully fanciful design.

Strictly one of a kind and subject to prior sale. In very good antique condition. 6" D x 6 1/2"L x 7 3/4"H.

Learn More About Majolica

Using glazing techniques developed in the Middle East during the 3rd century, combined with whimsical forms originating in 8th century Spain, Victorian Majolica was born in England during the latter half of the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution was creating a middle class with more disposable income and Herbert Minton - a potter in Staffordshire, England, saw the opportunity to introduce something beautiful for the English home. After decades of white ironstone, blue and white china and other drab stoneware, Minton recognized a hunger for something colorful and new. 

Joining forces with French glazing expert, Leon Arnoux, the two visionary ceramicists, introduced majolica at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London in 1851. Queen Victoria and the public at large became instantly enamored with the new brightly colored, whimsical ware. For the next 40 years, Victorian majolica held a position of prominence at most of the major international exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic.