Doccia porcelain

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      porcelain produced at a factory near Florence founded by Marchese Carlo Ginori in 1735; until 1896 the enterprise operated under the name Doccia, since then under the name Richard-Ginori. After an initial experimental period, during which he imported Chinese porcelain samples, Ginori engaged two Viennese painters, J.C.W. Anreiter and his son Anton, with Gaspare Bruschi employed as chief modeler. By 1740 Doccia had a monopoly of porcelain making in Tuscany and in 1746 began public sales. The product was a grayish, hard-paste porcelain made from local clay, with a glaze lacking in brilliance; a finer, white paste was adopted later. Early wares were decorated by stencil, a rare process that was to give way to a fine range of painted colours.

      Such early Doccia porcelain, hardly ever marked, is often credited to other factories. In the main, Doccia continued, belated by some 30 years, the late Baroque styles of Meissen. Three decorative themes distinguish this Doccia ware: the a galletto design, of Chinese origin, consisting of two fighting cocks; the a tulipano pattern, a central, stylized red tulip with surrounding flowers; and a range of polychrome or white-figured reliefs of mythological subjects often erroneously named Capodimonte and introduced during the highly successful directorship of Lorenzo Ginori (1757–91). Doccia figures (some of which are very large) include Meissen-like figurines and Oriental figures, peasant and rustic groups, and versions of Baroque sculpture in both single figures and groups. Virtually the only Italian porcelain factory to prosper in the 19th century, Doccia extended its production to porcelain for industrial use. In recent times modern ware has been complemented by the reintroduction of traditional patterns.

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