Coimbra Ceramics

Coimbra ceramics has existed since the 16th century and includes ceramics that traditionally use cobalt blue in monochrome tones but also yellow, green and ochre. This art, characteristic of this city in Northern Portugal, has been recognized throughout the world for several centuries.

During the 16th century, the "Malegueiros", so-called because they originated from the city of Malaga in Spain, were the first artists to introduce the ceramic technique in the Coimbra region.

With their privilege, the Malegoiros quickly amassed fortunes, acquired titles of nobility and prospered. In 1886, 11 ceramic factories were working in Coimbra and in the 2000s, the ESTACO factory had more than 1,000 employees not counting its production unit in Mozambique.

Today, Coimbra ceramics remains very present in the collective imagination and arouses attention, respect and curiosity. Very rare, 16th, 17th and 18th-century pieces are part of private collections and are in great demand at auctions.

This is an opportunity for a few talented craftsmen to rediscover the ancestral manufacturing processes and to produce again the historical pieces of Coimbra ceramics.