SOLD
 
A late 19th century Manuel Mafra Palissy ware wall plate decorated in relief with lizards and moth against a textured background. Glazed in vibrant majolica colours. Minor chips to base.
 
Manuel Mafra (1829–1905) lived in the Portuguese town of Caldas da Rainha where he worked at the famed pottery factory of Maria dos Cacos. Eventually he took over this Caldas factory where he pioneered a style of Palissy ware that featured the distinctive 'shredded clay' moss as a decorative bed for fish, lizardds, snakes and insects.