Jars of the so-called "Museo delle terre"

The founding of the Manifattura di Doccia in 1737 was preceded by years of research and studies aimed at perfecting the recipe for porcelain clay. Marquis Carlo Ginori conducted investigations, especially on clay samples found throughout the Tuscan region and other parts of Italy. At the Palazzo Ginori in Florence, the samples underwent chemical analyses and high-temperature tests performed using a burning lens. 

Between 1738 and 1741, all the materials collected during these experiments were organized by Carlo in the so-called Museum of Minerals (Museo delle Terre), consisting of a series of vessels with blown glass containers and bases and lids in maiolica decorated in monochrome blue, accompanied by a register recording the results of the experiments conducted. 

The collection was rediscovered only in the 1950s by Marquis Leonardo Ginori Lisci, who attributed the manufacture of the maiolica vessels to the Manifattura di Doccia. This finding confirms that from the beginning maiolica was made along with the porcelain. In fact, in 1740, Carlo called Nicolas Le Tourneau, originally from Nevers, to Doccia and entrusted him with the direction of the maiolica department. Le Tourneau introduced decorations that were very fashionable at the time, known as “French-Dutch style,” (Franco-olandese) in monochrome blue on a white background. The decorations on the jars of the Museum of Minerals - characterized by simplified phytomorphic elements combined with geometric reserves, stylized flowers, and grids with dots - echo motifs found on Chinese porcelain.