DETAILS
Food storage jars from Grottaglie, Puglia, southern Italy.
They were used to preserve olives, beans, and vegetables pickled in salt or oil for long periods of time, and were an essential part of supporting the food culture and people's lives at the time.
Even today, we often see them being reused as flower pots on the eaves and balconies of private homes.
This folk art has transcended the ages and is deeply rooted in Puglia life, quietly playing a part in people's daily lives.
Robba Bianca
"Robba bianca," meaning "white things" in Italian, is a significant category in the ceramic history of Grottaglie, Puglia, in Southern Italy. It symbolizes the technological maturity and refinement of lifestyle culture since the late 16th century.
Its foundation lies in a production system connected to the Majolica technique, which involves applying an opaque white glaze containing tin oxide (tin-glaze) and completing the piece through two firings. However, unlike the ornate Majolica known for its painted decorations, Robba Bianca suppresses decorativeness, positioning itself as a regional and practical evolution that finds value in the form of the vessel itself and the texture of the white glaze.
The beauty of this style lies in the contrast between the strong red earth (terra rossa) nurtured by the Puglia land and the soft white glaze that embraces it. The warmth of the clay faintly perceived beneath the glaze layer, or the reddish-brown clay body that peeks through the rim and foot after years of use, quietly tells the story of this land's unique expression of white.
LOCATION
Grottaglie, Puglia / ItalyGrottaglie, Puglia
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