Mafra, Manuel
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 MANUEL CIPRIANO GOMES (1830-1905)
In 1850 a twenty-year-old, part-time waiter and potter from the nearby town of Mafra began work at a local Caldas ceramics factory which three years later he leased with a fellow worker. From the start Gomes adopted the Palissy style, but rendered it in his own interpretation. There are several reasons hypothesized, though none documented, why Gomes chose to emulate Palissy, but the most plausible was his captivation with a French Palissy ware plate purchased in Paris by a collector friend. Further indication of this explanation is the lack of evidence that any of the French and Portuguese ceramists ever knew one another or visited each other's countries, and the absence of written or oral narrative to suggest any form of cooperation or technology transfer between French and Portuguese.
Sometime during the mid-1850s, Gomes adopted the name "Mafra" after his home town and incorporated it in the mark "M. Mafra, Caldas, Portugal." Mafra's adaptations of Palissy ware differed markedly from his 16th-century predecessor. In his hands, the characteristic Palissy theme—life as found in a tranquil pond—gave way to images of a fierce struggle for survival, usually between snake and lizard. This subject became so popular that it was copied by nearly every subsequent 19th-century Caldas ceramist, and became the dominant output of many.
Mafra also innovated a new element into his design—musgo, or moss. As shown in the illustrations, Mafra often placed his creatures on abed of thick green moss, using a more than 2000-year-old Egyptian technique of pressing wet clay through a sieve.
Mafra introduced many technical as well as subject-matter innovations. He greatly enlarged the color palette, was the first to employ high-glaze mottled backgrounds of brown, or brown and green, and refined the jasper2 technique first developed by Bernard Palissy. Mafra is also credited with developing an export trade in ceramics from Caldas, still an important source of the town's revenues.
Mafra's renown did not escape the attention of King Fernando II, who both purchased and commissioned works for the royal collection. He dubbed the Mafra factory "Royal Supplier to the King" and even authorized use of the crown as part of the Mafra mark, probably in the early-to-mid-1860s. The Mafra factory employed 15 at its peak. Manuel Mafra retired in 1887 leaving control to his son, Eduardo, who in turn transferred management to others. Ten years later, in 1897, Manuel Mafra reassumed control but was unable to resuscitate the business, and the factory closed that same year. Mafra died on November 11, 1905.
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Quick Facts
Born:
Mafra Portugal
Died:
Type(s):
Ceramacist / Potter
Categories Most Known For:
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