Deruta history: The Grazia factory in Deruta

Class and prestige at the Grazia
factory in Deruta. 

My dream home for ceramics in Deruta is the Grazia factory. I love their building and their ceramics style. I wish they liked the idea of hosting Cama. I would make them part of the wonderful world of the Friends of Cama!

The Grazia factory is the oldest workshop in Deruta that made it from the 1500s. Indeed the Grazia factory is listed among the most ancient family run operations worldwide. 

In 2009 Electa Editor published the book "Museo della fabbrica di maioliche Grazia di Deruta" (tr. Museum of the Grazia ceramics factory in Deruta" ISBN-13: 978-8837063450), where the authors write for the first time about the date of birth of the workshop: 1527 A.D. Marco di Paolo Grazia was the name of the founder. He started the art of his family by renting a furnace in the borough of Deruta with the following description "ad artem vasorum fictilium" (English translation "The art of earthenware vessels").   

I would be grateful to the Grazia factory for dedicating part of their factory to my mother as the "heir of Grazia", what she is known for when in the 1980s the Grazia factory opened their laboratories to contemporary artists creating modern designs, while my mother Elena Niccacci was energetically restyling the traditional Deruta patterns for Cama. 

To me the work of my mother and the style of Grazia have the same "transferware" look, funny enough nowadays an appreciation to a handpainted ceramics piece that is very well done is that it looks like "decal".

A full of grace expression from
a Renaissance lovers' cup. 

Indeed a ceramics piece from Deruta can reach the perfection and can be flawless. The process to reach such a high challenge is much longer and takes more care and attention than any other process. This is one of the reasons for the higher prices of the ceramics pieces.

The work of my mother Elena Niccacci and her team goes beyond the perfect look. Her work is graceful and an expression of love and passion. Graceful literally translates in Italian "Pieno di GRAZIA".

If you google "grazia factory Deruta" the photo of the hands of my mother come up and lots of photos from my blog. This might be a sign of the destiny!

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Latest news as of September 18th, 2011 - Victim of the recession in Deruta, Italy is this time the famous Grazia factory. In the paper these days, the factory has sent their 18 employees home for two months for lack of orders. The Italian government will be supporting the artists according to the temporary redundancy program. 

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- Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

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Filiera Corta = Short chain for ceramics

The sign of a historical ceramics shop in Assisi, dated 1925. The original shop closed a few years ago. 

In the past 90 years foreign customers have been visiting Deruta to purchase their ceramics directly from the producers according to the endorsements of retail stores, located especially in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

As of the 1920s Deruta was mainly the furnace of important shops in Perugia and Assisi serving tourists visiting our region.We do not know what the number of visitors coming to Deruta was and preferring the short chain at that time. The ceramics tradition had been restored only at the end of the 19th century - after a long recession due to the Industrial Revolution - and the 1920s were very important years for Deruta. 

Nowadays of the original store in Assisi there is only the sign left. A few years ago the store was rented out to a fast food company. The store was located on the way to the Basilica and it had a special flavor. The windows were made of wrought iron in the liberty style. It was part of the history of Deruta. The ceramics store sign was made at the famous Ubaldo Grazia ceramics factory in Deruta by excellent painters. 

In recent years globalization has affected the quality of the the production of ceramics very badly. The shortest cuts took producers to other countries of production such as Rumania, Burgaria and China and to a lot of "do-it-yourself" producers. By visiting Assisi I notice Deruta style ceramics painted in Rumenia or China, decals, transferwares and lots of productions made by hobbyists, sometimes by the store owners themselves. This latter - they declare  - helps them survive. 

The hands of a special artist from Deruta

My mother Elena Niccacci was born and raised in Deruta. She started her career when she was only 11 years old by finding a paint brush in the streets of Deruta. She got interested in the art and fell in love with ceramics while climbing to the windows of the closest workshop near her home, where she would spend everlasting minutes watching the artists at work.

Elena has learned the art from another lady artist from Deruta. At that time pupils went to the houses of their teachers located downtown Deruta. Her teacher, Mrs.Giulia Furesco, who worked for the Grazia Factory, was like a mother for her. 

At the age of 14 she applied to be an apprentice at the "Ars Artigiana"  factory, a well known workshop which has stopped the production around the year 2000 and located on the way to downtown Deruta. She is very proud that she was always among the painters selected to make the samples for the fair in Milan.

When she got married to my father, Elena left "Ars Artigiana" to join "Cama Deruta"  early 1960s. At Cama she has made all the samples and the tracing papers that you have been admiring in the past 30 years in the United States without copying any other workshop. She has created her own style.

Elena is specialized in traditional Deruta patterns. At first glance it is hard to detect why her work is so beautiful. But with the passing of time, the comparison with other similar interpretations, you may notice the difference.

Her work  together with the help of her assistants has a consistency which is difficult for other workshops to achieve. Elena is a hard worker besides being creative and her hands talk for her. She is passionate about her art!

Congratulations for all the work you have done so far. We look forward to enjoying your art for more years to come.

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Elena Niccacci, owner of Cama since 1971. Photos of her hands. In 2009 she celebrated 60 years of work in the ceramics art. See her creations at www.camaderuta.com (photos will be completed asap).

Ars Artigiana Deruta: Ars stands for "Art" in English from the Latin Ars, Artis.
Cama is the acronym for Cooperativa Artigiana Maioliche Artistiche.