San Gimignano Pottery Appraisal

Il Borgo San Gimignano Italian Pottery Majolica Fruit Bowl

This is a hand-painted Italian ceramic bowl featuring an elaborate three-dimensional fruit and floral motif along the rim. The piece is crafted from earthenware with a creamy white glazed body. The underside bears the handwritten script 'Il Borgo S. Gimignano' followed by 'Lav. a mano' (hand-worked), indicating its origin from the famous hilltop town of San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. The bowl's exterior exhibits fine crazing throughout the glaze, which is a common aging characteristic of Italian majolica. The sculpted elements on the rim include detailed peaches, grapes, and green leaves in naturalistic oranges, purples, and greens. The construction shows a heavy, rounded base with a slight foot rim that has minor shelf wear and dirt accumulation typical of a vintage piece. Despite the user-provided context of 'Lalique,' this item is definitively a ceramic piece and not glass. It represents mid-to-late 20th-century Italian artisanal pottery, prized for its vibrant colors and high-relief decorative elements. The craftsmanship is evidenced by the delicate application of the botanical features and the traditional hand-signed marks on the unglazed portion of the base.