Workshop shelves

Until the mid-1970s the palette was three: red from iron oxide, yellows from potassium dichromate and chromium oxide, and green from copper sulphate. Cobalt oxide (blue) and manganese oxide (browns) joined later, and the profusion of ceramic paints from the 1980s widened the choice again. At one workshop in the village a so-called blue ware appeared, which its maker first managed to get in a wood kiln even though the colour demands high temperatures; electric and gas kilns made it easier, and another workshop developed an opaque ware.

Shapes moved with the colours. In the 1970s decorative pieces began to outnumber utilitarian ones, and plates became shallower than the originals, made for decoration. Motifs were first painted directly, mostly flowers, and only later scratched with a nail. The study lists what has largely disappeared from the shelves: alguidares, from the great barranhão down to small dishes for sweets, tarefas, pots and chocolate pots, jugs, kegs, bowls, the small mouringues and enamel ware. Some workshops still make rough ware and red glazed ware for those seeking traditional products, for cooking or serving regional dishes.