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How To Pick The Best Italian Pottery For Your Needs

By Lisa Schmidt


If you love the idea of adding colorful elements to your kitchen or dining room but are not sure how to do so, you may not need to look any further than pottery. Italian pottery is bright, beautiful to look at and highly functional. This is makes it a great option for people who want to decorate but don't want to choose items that will just sit around gathering dust.

Pottery has been made for thousands of years. At first, finding a way to use local materials in such a way that they were waterproof and durable was important to many cultures. It was only a matter of time before we found ways to decorate them and turn functional items into works of art. Pottery items are glazed and then placed near a heat source so that the true colors of the glaze can come out and so that the patterns will not wash away when a piece is exposed to water.

If you are someone who has collected pottery for an extended period of time it is usually possible to tell where a piece was created. This is because artisans living in a specific geographic areas or during specific time periods tend to use similar color schemes, decorative elements, and carving or painting techniques that are easy to recognize. If you see a particular element that you like it may be worthwhile to find out where the piece that interests you was created so that you can find other pieces that look the same.

One thing that makes pottery from Italy so recognizable is the bright color schemes that are used. Some pieces that originate from other parts of the world may use pale, diluted colors but Italian items tend to be much more strongly colored. Yellow is a popular color and is used as both an accent color and a background color depending on the decorating scheme.

Some collectors choose to feature a specific region or village in their collections. A collection of Tuscan pieces may look very different than one that features only pottery items that were made in Umbria or Abruzzo. If you are considering starting your collection in this way it may be worthwhile to read up a bit on each area and look at pictures of the items created there so that you know which appeal to you most.

Some individuals may want to add strongly colored items to their collections but may not know how to do so without making the collection compete with items around it. If you are concerned about that, look for pieces that are colored to compliment your other decorative elements. For example, pulling an accent color out of a small decorative element will help keep your collection looking like it was always meant to be there.

For many people their first few pieces may be purchased on a trip to Italy. If you are fortunate enough to be able to do this it can be a fantastic experience. For other people who may not be able to get to Europe, you will need to look in stores and on websites in order to find pieces. Look for indications that they are actually from Italy however as there are many knockoffs being sold online.

Some people simply want to look at their collections and this will certainly help ensure that it stays undamaged for an extended period of time. It can, however, take some of the joy and enjoyment out of the collecting process. Just be sure to read and follow any care instructions that come with your pieces.




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