Royal Factory of La Moncloa (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Real Fábrica de La Moncloa''; variations: Moncloa Porcelain Factory, or Royal Porcelain Factory and Thin Earthenware of the Moncloa, or Real Fábrica de Loza de la Moncloa) () was a Spanish manufacturing plant for porcelain and ceramics which was in operation in the 19th century. The Royal Factory of La Moncloa was located in

Moncloa-Aravaca Moncloa-Aravaca is a Districts of Madrid, district of the municipality of Madrid, Spain. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, spanning across both banks of the Manzanares River, Manzanares. It is made up of the neighborhoods of Arav ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, in a place called the Granjilla of Jeronimos in Cementerio de La Florida.

History

When the British attacked French positions in Madrid in 1812, during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

they damaged the Real Fábrica del Buen Retiro, a porcelain factory on a site in the

Buen Retiro Park The Retiro Park (Spanish: , literally "Good Retreat Park"), also known as Buen Retiro Park or simply El Retiro, is one of the largest Urban park, city parks in Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish monarchy until 1868, when it became a ...

. Later that year General Hill took his troops from Madrid to join the main army under Wellington near

Alba de Tormes Alba de Tormes is a municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. The town is on the River Tormes upstream from the city of Salamanca. Alba gave its name to one of Spain's most ...

. Before leaving the Spanish capital, the British burned what remained of the factory. Although the building had been fortified as part of French defensive positions in the park, it has been suggested that the destruction was at least in part caused by commercial rivalry on the part of the British, as it represented a

mercantilist Mercantilism is a nationalist economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports of an economy. It seeks to maximize the accumulation of resources within the country and use those resources for one-sided trade. ...

project designed to reduce the need for imports. Production resumed after the absolutist restoration, but at a new site in the Moncloa district of Madrid in a building which had once been a villa of the Alva family on the

Manzanares River The Manzanares () is a river in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, which flows from the Sierra de Guadarrama, passes through Madrid, and eventually empties into the Jarama river, which in turn is a right-bank tributary to the Tagus. In its ...

. The Royal Factory of La Moncloa inherited personnel as well as moulds and other materials surviving from the old factory. Founded by

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

, the factory was patronized by his second wife, Queen

Maria Isabel of Portugal Maria Isabel of Braganza (Maria Isabel Francisca de Assis Antónia Carlota Joana Josefa Xavier de Paula Micaela Rafaela Isabel Gonzaga; 19 May 1797 – 26 December 1818) was a Portuguese infanta who became Queen of Spain as the second wife of ...

. The first director was an Italian, Antonio Forni from the Capodimonte porcelain manufactory. There was a change of artistic policy under

Bartolomé Sureda y Miserol Bartolomé may refer to: People * Bartolomé Abdala (born 1964), Argentine politician * Bartolomé Bermejo (c.1440–c.1501), Spanish painter * Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 1 ...

, appointed to the position of acting director on 26 March 1821, and made the full director the following year. Sureda had been director of the Real Fábrica de Porcelana del Buen Retiro, and during his career he ran other royal factories such as the Real Fábrica de Paños in Guadalajara, and the

Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja The Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja ("Royal Factory of Glass and Crystal of La Granja") is a glass factory in San Ildefonso near Segovia, Spain. It was built as a royal manufactory in the eighteenth century. It is south east of Segovia on ...

. Sureda was succeeded by Eusebio Zuloaga (1808-1898). It continued to operate until 1849. It was revived in the 1870s, and was involved with architectural ceramics such as the tiles of the Palacio de Velazquez. In order to meet the requirements of the factory's pottery industry with technically trained personnel, a school of ceramic arts (''Escuela de Cerámica Artística'') was established in Moncloa, as well as a factory for the production of fine ''loza''. In 1877, of land was allotted for this purpose. In 1882, the Escuela de Cerámica Artística was divided to form Escuela Oficial de Cerámica (Official School of Ceramics) and the Escuela Madrileña de Cerámica de La Moncloa (Madrid School of Ceramics of La Moncloa). The schools came under pressure in 1911 from Francisco Alcántara. Subsidy grants to run the schools were formalized in 1914 through a royal decree under the title "Escuela de Ceramica Artistica".

References

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External links

Porcelana de La Moncloa
Centro Virtual Cervantes Ceramics manufacturers of Spain Manufacturing companies established in 1817 Manufacturing companies based in Madrid Defunct manufacturing companies of Spain Industrial history of Spain 1817 establishments in Spain Moncloa-Aravaca