Ancient 19th Century Pair Of Painted Maiolica Vases Mollic Manufacturing

Pair of double-handled majolica vases, in the shape of snakes,
 polychrome, hand painted, with decorations featuring mythological scenes.
Dating back to the 19th century,
Mollica manufacturing brand under the base.
Both in excellent condition,

They have no breaks or dents.

Period: 19th century

Measurements: Height 57 cm
width including handles 28 cm

The ancient Neapolitan factory "Mollica" was founded by Giovanni Mollica, son of Pasquale, a ceramist at the "Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea" and at the "Giustiniani", in 1842, in some premises in via Santa Lucia.
Led by Giovanni's sons, Ciro, Achille and Alessandro, the factory became, at the end of the 19th century, one of the most important in southern Italy, excelling above all in the manufacture of red or black-figure terracottas and characters modeled in the round in red terracotta .
In the early years of the twentieth century, and until the end of the thirties, the factory produced porcelain in the Capodimonte style and was the first to use the so-called "ribbon" process and decorations of all-round polychrome flowers with a baroque flavour.
In the first half of the 1920s, the young Giuseppe Macedonio collaborated with the factory.
In 1927 the Mollica factory purchased some of the molds from Guido Cacciapuoti's production and put the models into production
From the beginning of the 1930s, the management of the factory passed to Carlo Mollica who quickly modernized its production, creating interesting works influenced by twentieth-century art.
In the 1940s and 1950s, pottery, tableware, triumphs of flowers and fruit left the factory and the production of full-round figures in porcelain and polychrome terracotta was resumed.
Starting from the early 1950s, the company renewed its traditional Capodimonte style production by creating new and original subjects, soon imitated by other factories operating in the area.
The manufacturer's brand, which remained active until 1978, consists of a crowned blue letter "N", used by many manufacturers in Campania and beyond, together with the writing "Mollica". A trademark consisting of the crowned letter "M" is also known.