Italian majolica ceramics and pottery from Deruta, Umbria, Tuscany and Castelli, Italy. Indulge your passion for the finer things in life. Merchant of Prato presents beautiful handmade ceramics from Italy. Our Italian ceramics are created in small workshops by artisans using techniques passed down from generation to generation. Many of the designs we feature date back hundreds of years and many patterns are derived from Renaissance art. Each piece of Italian pottery is handmade and painstakingly hand-painted, thus each piece of our pottery is unique.

Whether you are purchasing a gift or adding to your own Italian ceramic collection, The Merchant of Prato presents an assortment of Italian pottery to choose from. Bring Italy into your home! Our exquisite Italian Dinnerware will bring elegance to your table. Matching Serving Ware, Pitchers & Biscotti Jars compliment the dinnerware pieces. Wonderful Home Decor pieces will brighten up your home. Lovely Wall Plates, Della Robbia Plates, Umbrella Stands and Urns from Deruta, Italian Ceramics Majolica Tiles, colorful Vases, colorful House Number Plates and decorative pieces will have your friends saying "Bella, Bella". Our Italian Ceramic Mattonella Tiles featuring The Saints, Professions & Botanicals are truly unique and are the perfect gift. Our Handmade Italian Christmas Ornaments and Religious collection of Holy Water Fonts are perfect gifts.

We provide many decorative home decor pieces all Made in Italy, including magnificent wall plates, urns, umbrellas stands, vases and decorative pieces. Interior decorators will find many unique decorative pieces as well as a large selection of Italian ceramic tiles which are wonderful in kitchen and bath redesigns.

Our Italian ceramic collection features collectible patterns including Ricco Deruta, Raffaellesco, Ornato, Miele, Geometrico, Alcantara, Frutta Mista, Frutta, Limone, Melograno, Contrade Palio di Siena and many others.

The Merchant of Prato works with several ceramic factories in Italy including Ceramiche Simonetti, Sberna, Fratelli Mari and several others. We are now proud to present works by the renown Italian artist, Augusta Schinchirimini. Her works include high-end decorative ceramic pieces which are true works of art. All items are handmade and handpainted.

In addition, we carry fine kitchen cutlery and collectible knives by Coltelleria Saladini. Since the Middle Ages, the Tuscan town of Scarperia has been a famed center of knives and cutlery production. Coltelleria Saladini is one of the only businesses still producing knives in Scarperia, Italy. Based on historical patterns and materials, the Saladini Collection of kitchen cutlery and collectible knives is immediately distinguished by a stylistic renewal of form with a particular attention to detail.

Deruta Majolica: Majolica, the name given to the style of tin-glazed, decorated pottery that reached its peak in the 1500’s in Renaissance Italy, is produced in many Italian towns, with Deruta being the most famous. Today over 250 factories produce pottery in Deruta.

Artisans in Deruta still apply age-old techniques to produce the ceramics, from throwing local clay on a potter’s wheel to meticulous hand painting using time-honored, as well as more modern designs. First, local clay is formed and thrown on a potter’s wheel. The, after two to three days of air-drying, the pottery is cleaned and sanded of small imperfections or bumps before the first baking in a kiln at nearly 1000 degrees centigrade. The object is then dipped into a pale-colored glaze, typically white or cream, that serves as an opaque base before decoration is applied with mineral paints.

Before the designs can be hand painted onto the pottery, the artists will use a paper pattern to transfer a design onto the piece, tapping carefully with carbon sticks through holes pierced on the paper. Some of the designs used date back hundreds of years, including the Raffaellesco pattern. The Arabesco pattern is reminiscent of Arabic art. For modern designs, the artist will paint freehand. After the painting is complete, the pottery is given a second firing at about 950 degrees centigrade.

Castelli Majolica: The San Donato tiles are reproductions of the beautiful tiles that cover the ceiling of The Church of San Donato in Castelli, Italy. San Donato It owes its fame to the beautiful majolica ceiling which earned her the nickname "the Sistine Chapel of majolica. The ceiling, made between 1615 and 1617, was composed of 780 tiles votive art castle, decorated with profiles, coats of arms, animals, astronomical symbols and floral patterns and bright colors. 

Ceramiche Simonetti is a very famous in Italy and abroad, being one of the best producer of pottery in Castelli. Castelli is a little village in the centre of Italy, just close to the Gran Sasso Mountain. Castelli is best known for its, a form of decorative ceramic, which were collected by the nobility of Europe for centuries and which were at their pinnacle from the 16th through 18th century and are still produced today by local artists. Castelli majolica was a favorite dinnerware of Russian Tsars. One of the most valued collections of Castelli ceramics is now housed at the Winter Palace of the Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
 

The Merchant of Prato offers The Fratelli Mari Decorator Collection.
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