The ceramics gallery will be on view beginning March 27th, 2025.

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Ceramics at the Hispanic Society

Inspired by a deep love for the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world, Hispanic Society founder Archer Milton Huntington (1870–1955) assembled a comprehensive collection celebrating Hispanic culture. Initially focused on archaeological artifacts and books, he expanded his scope to include paintings, decorative arts, and everyday objects. Huntington believed all artifacts—whether grand masterpieces or humble items for everyday use—were essential expressions of material culture. Together with crafts like woodwork, metalwork, glassmaking, and leatherwork, these objects captured the essence of the people’s character. Ceramics, which Huntington described as “creations of the hand and soul,” held a special place in his collection. One of humanity’s oldest industries, ceramics also represent a cornerstone of Iberia’s artistic traditions. Huntington amassed books, catalogs, and articles on the subject, often acquiring small objects as tools for study. He also supported research and publications, including The Industrial Arts in Spain by Juan Facundo Riaño y Montero—one of the first English-language studies of Hispanic ceramics from the 18th and 19th centuries. This era was marked by the founding of royal manufactories by King Carlos III of Spain (1716–1788)—Capodimonte in Naples (1743) and Buen Retiro in Madrid (1759)—key milestones in ceramic production. The Hispanic Society advanced scholarship in this field with its 1915 catalogue documenting 22 pieces from these factories, a subject rarely explored at the time. Additional contributions to ceramic studies include Edwin Atlee Barber’s Hispano-Moresque Pottery (1915) and publications on Mexican maiolica. Alice Wilson Frothingham (1902–1976), curator of ceramics and glass from 1925 to the 1970s, expanded this legacy with her pioneering research. The Hispanic Society’s ceramics collection spans millennia, beginning with Bell Beaker culture pottery dating back 4,000 years, as well as Roman ceramics. The Phoenicians (early settlers in the Iberian Peninsula) first introduced the potter’s wheel in the 9th century BCE, and Roman ceramic production flourished, driven by practical uses such as transporting olive oil and wine. Huntington himself enriched the collection through his archaeological work at Itálica, a Roman city near Seville founded in 206 BCE.

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Works on Display

Plate | Plato
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1435–1475
Tin-glazed earthenware with luster | Loza vidriada con lustre
E551. Acquired by Archer M. Huntington for the Hispanic Society, ca. 1906–08

Apothecary jar | Albarello
Valencia, Spain, ca. 1435–1460
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada
E558. Purchased from R. Stora, 1906

Plate with coat of arms of Tedali family | Plato con escudo heráldico de la familia Tedali
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1435–1475
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto y lustre
E569. Formerly in the Tollin Collection.
Reproduced in 1897 sales catalogue. Purchased from R. Stora, 1906

Plate with coat of arms of Lorenzo di Mariotto Benvenuti | Plato con escudo heráldico de Lorenzo di Mariotto Benvenuti
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1450–1470
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto y lustre
E571. Formerly in the Tollin Collection. Reproduced in the 1897 sales catalogue. Purchased from R. Stora, 1906

Apothecary jar | Albarello
Valencia, Spain, ca. 1400–1450
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
E573. Formerly in the Michel Boy Collection, Paris

Plate | Plato
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1400–1430
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto y lustre
E584. Formerly in the Bellgarde Collection. Sold in the Hotel Drouot, Paris, Dec. 15, 1904

Deep dish | Plato hondo
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1400–1430
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto y lustre
E586. Purchased from Harris, Spanish Art Gallery, London

Plate with coat of arms of Neroni family | Plato con escudo heráldico de la Familia Neroni
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1425–1466
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto y lustre
E588. Purchased from R. Stora, 1906

Apothecary jar | Albarello
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1435–1475
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto y lustre
E597. Acquired by Archer M. Huntington for the
Hispanic Society, 1906

Plate | Plato
Aragón or Valencia, Spain, ca. 1525–1550
Earthenware with luster overglaze | Loza vidriada con lustre
E601

Basin with coat of arms of Guasconi family of Firenze | Barreño con el escudo heráldico de la familia Guasconi de Florencia
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1450–1470
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto y lustre
E627. Formerly in the Arosa and Bellgarde Collection

Plate | Plato
Barcelona or Muel, Spain, ca. 1650–1699
Tin-glazed earthenware with luster overglaze | Loza vidriada con lustre
E638. Purchased by Archer Milton Huntington, from R. Stora, 1906

Plate | Plato
Manises, Valencia, Spain, ca. 1525–1560
Earthenware with luster overglaze | Loza de reflejo
E668. Formerly in the Hakky Bey Collection

Plate with a rider on a caparisoned horse | Plato con jinete montando un caballo enjaezado
Valencia or Cataluña, Spain, ca. 1525–1575
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto y lustre
E688. Acquired by Archer M. Huntington for The Hispanic Society of America, 1906

Plato | Plato
Talavera de la Reina or Puente del Arzobispo,
Toledo, Spain, ca. 1600–1650
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
E805. Formerly in the Schevitch Collection, cat.
no. 48

Apothecary jar | Albarello
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1700
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
E981

Jar | Jarro
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1700
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
E986

Basin | Lebrillo
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1700
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
E988

Jar with handles | Jarro con asas
Attributed to Damían Hernández | Atribuido a Damián Hernández
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1660
Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt | Loza vidriada al estaño con cobalto
E991. Acquired by Archer M. Huntington for the Hispanic Society, 1911

Jar | Jarro
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1700
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
E993

Dish | Plato
Manuel Cipriano Gomes “O Mafra” (1829–1905)
Caldas da Rainha, Estremadura, Portugal, ca. 1860–1900
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE1125. Presented by George G. Heye, Sept. 15th, 1922

Dish | Plato
João Coelho Cézar (1876–1930)
Caldas da Rainha, Estremadura, Portugal, ca. 1860–1900
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE1126. Presented by George G. Heye on September 15th, 1922

Dish with mollusks | Plato con moluscos
Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (1846–1905)
Caldas da Rainha, Estremadura, Portugal, ca. 1889
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2120. Museum Department Purchase, 2002

Dish (Chinescos series) | Plato (Serie chinesca, o chinoiserie)
Real Fábrica de Cerámica de Alcora
Alcora (Castellón de la Plana), Spain, 1735–1760
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE1906

Tobacco container in the form of a sea creature | Petaca en forma de criatura marina
Real Fábrica de Cerámica de Alcora
Alcora (Castellón de la Plana), Spain, 1799
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE1938. Museum Department Purchase, 1999

Paperweight in the form of a toad | Pisapapeles en forma de sapo
Real Fábrica de Cerámica de Alcora
Alcora (Castellón de la Plana), Spain, 1799
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE1945

Handled bowl with bird (búcaro de Indias) | Cuenco con asas, ave y decoración (búcaro de Indias)
Tonalá, México, 1650
Black micaceous clay | Arcilla micácea negra
LE1966. Museum Department Purchase, 1999

Handled bowl with fish (búcaro de Indias) | Cuenco con asas, pez y decoración (búcaro de Indias)
Tonalá, México, 1650
Black micaceous clay | Arcilla micácea negra
LE1967. Museum Department Purchase, 1999

 

Sculpture of a fish | Escultura de pez
Tonalá, México, 1650
Black micaceous clay | Arcilla micácea negra
LE1970. Museum Department Purchase, 1999

Ming-style blue and white jar with bird on cactus | Jarro estilo Ming azul y blanco con pájaro y cactus
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1700
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2254. Museum Department Purchase, 2008

Dish | Plato
Caldas da Rainha, Estremadura, Portugal, ca. 1860–1900
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2365. Gift of Sean Noonan & Gianfranco
Grimaldi, 2011

Ewer | Jarro de Pico
Talavera de la Reina or Puente del Arzobispo,
Toledo, Spain, 1600–1650
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2370. Museum Department Purchase, 2012

Plate with Jonah and the Whale | Plato con Jonás y la Ballena
Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Spain, 1600
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2407. L. Codosero Galería de Arte Antiguo, Madrid, 2015; acquired by The Hispanic Society of America, 2015

Aquamanile in the form of a female beast | Aguamanil en forma de una bestia femenina
Lisbon, Portugal, ca. 1625–1650
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2409. From the collection of Joao Maria Correia Ayres de Campos, 1st Count of Ameal
(Coimbra, 1847–1920). Museum Department purchase from Santos, London, October 26, 2015

Dish | Plato
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1650–1750
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2417. Museum Department Purchase, 2016

Tile | Azulejo
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1780–1800
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2438. Gift of Rodrigo Rivero Lake, 2018

Tile | Azulejo
Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, ca. 1650–1750
Tin-glazed earthenware | Loza vidriada al estaño
LE2440. Gift of Rodrigo Rivero Lake, 201