Chemical Characterization of Majolica from 14–18 Century Production Centers on the Iberian Peninsula: a Preliminary Neutron Activation Study

Majolica pottery is one of the most characteristic tablewares produced during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Majolica technology was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by Islamic artisans during Medieval times, and its production and popularity rapidly spread throughout Spain and eventually other locations in Europe and the Americas. The prestige and importance of Spanish majolica was very high. Consequently, this ware was imported profusely to the Americas during the Spanish Colonial period. Majolica pottery is nowadays an important horizon marker at Spanish colonial sites. In order to make a preliminary study of Spanish-produced majolica, a set of 246 samples from the 12 primary majolica production centers located on the Iberian Peninsula were analyzed by neutron activation analysis (NAA) and the resulting data interpreted using an array of multivariate statistics. Our results show clear discrimination between the production centers, and even allow distinguishing amongst shards coming from the same production city suggesting different workshops or group of workshops of this preindustrial pottery.