Fajalauza: Traditional Ceramic Techniques Endure in Granada

Over 500 years after its inception, Fajalauza production still takes place in artisan workshops, which were handed down from parents to children, preserving the manufacturing traditions and customs. These workshops were once organized into guilds and internally divided between masters and apprentices.

The head master painter handled the most important pieces which were usually decorated in blue while his assistants handled any items painted in green, brown or purple. 

The first step of production was extracting the clay, which was later purified in the workshop to make a smooth paste. Next, the pieces were shaped on the potter’s wheel.

Once the pieces were shaped, they were left to dry and then glazed. 

By the start of the Fajalauza period, glazed ceramics was an already established practice during the Caliphate era in Granada. Glazing made the ceramics impermeable, making them apt for tableware and suitable as storage containers for liquids (water, wine, vinegar). 

Fajalauza ceramics bear a first layer of tin-white glaze, over which the artist then paints a decoration.

Fajalauza decoration was and is still done by hand, one piece at a time.  

Painters use thick brushes that leave broad strokes. These brushes are used until worn out from painting rougher and larger pieces like lebrillos. Worn, finer brushes are then used to paint more delicate pieces. 

Though Nasrid designs were dominated by strict mathematical rubric, nowadays stencils are rarely used except in the case of the most complex geometric decorations. 

During the Caliphate area, ceramicists fired their wares in the traditional Arab kiln. Nowadays, the Arab oven has become a relic of the past. Though there are some functional Arab kilns throughout southern Spain, most artisans also make use of smaller electric ovens to fire their ceramics. 

‍Gavilla de Flores is a good example of the Fajalauza tradition: modeled in clay, turned on a potter's wheel, and glazed in white, then fired in an oven. When we compare this Fajalauza serving bowl to another fuente semillana made early in the 20th century, we can see a clear and faithful lineage. Following the classical scheme in the iconography of Granada ceramics, a central axis of symmetry organizes the decoration.

Their walls bear a geometric pattern while the base features the classical plant motifs including a flower with oval petals and reticulated center, next to two other buds that have yet to open. 

Both pieces are decorated in blue. 

Other typical motifs that have endured include birds and fruits, especially the granada or pomegranate, either closed or open and bursting with fruit.