Majolica (from the Italian name of the island of Majorca, where this ware seems to have been first made), a decorated kind of enamelled pottery made in Italy from the 15th to the 18th century. It attained its greatest development in the duchy of Urbino, which included the four great manufactories of Pesaro, Gubbio, Urbino, and Castel Durante. Majolica is an earthenware usually of a coarse paste, covered with a stanniferous glaze or enamel. It has sometimes been called 'Raffaello ware' from the fact that a number of the paintings upon it were copied from the designs of that famous painter. Majolica is generally considered to be the most beautiful decorated pottery that was ever extensively made, at least during the Christian era.
Some of the finer pieces when they come into the market bring large, almost fabulous, sums of money. See POTTERY.