It is located in the city and municipality of Caldas da Rainha, district of Leiria, Central Portugal
The factory was born from a project by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro with the support of his friend Ramalho Ortigão, his sister Maria Augusta and his brother Feliciano Bordalo Pinheiro
The land was 80,000 square meters with two water springs and two clay pits essential for the manufacture of tiles, bricks and artistic crockery.
The deed establishing the factory as a limited liability company was signed on June 30, 1884.
Management was handed over by the founding shareholders to two directors, Rafael (responsible for technical-artistic aspects) and his brother Feliciano Bordalo Pinheiro (responsible for organizational aspects).
Rafael immediately took charge of the architectural design of the facilities where a two-story pavilion was built with two side sections of ground floors for classes and crockery storage, surrounded by a landscaped and tree-lined park, a large single-story building where the machines and workshops and three ovens were installed, and a large pavilion for the sale and storage of finished products.
The building, composed of a raised central body, with an oriental-inspired roof, and two ground-floor side bodies, was designed by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro and built with materials produced in the Factory dating back to 1885 in the Pavilion and park area.
The architectural design and facade decoration were original due to the shape, polychromy and textures used, including tiles, ceramic ornaments and figurative panels. In the central body, two large faience panels with pink marshmallows in a circular frame and a snake wrapped in the Factory's monogram stand out.
The company's social objective was to explore the ceramic industry in the field of faience and proposed to launch ornamental ceramic and covering products on the market, and crockery of the type that was cultivated in Caldas: objects of the finest faience stamped with original engravings for daily use and ordinary crockery for the use of the less wealthy classes.
The factory's production thus encompassed tiles and utilitarian ceramic construction materials and decorative pieces where "Art nouveau" manifests itself with the creation of a gallery of characters characteristic of Portuguese society at the end of the 19th century.
Its products were presented in several exhibitions in the Commerce of Portugal halls (1886), at the Ateneu Comercial do Porto and at the Industrial Exhibition of Lisbon (1888), at the Universal Exhibition of 1889, Antwerp (1894) and Spain (1895) and in the United States of America (1905).
The production of artistic ceramics went through three stages during this period: 1st phase (1885-1889), 2nd phase (1889-1899) and 3rd phase (1899-1905).
Years later, Bordalo Pinheiro's son, Manuel Gustavo, continuing his father's work, in 1908 founded the San Rafael Factory, which he took over as management.
The factory, still in operation, together with the José Malhoa Museum and the Ceramics Museum, are still references in the city of Caldas da Rainha today.
The land was 80,000 square meters with two water springs and two clay pits essential for the manufacture of tiles, bricks and artistic crockery.
The deed establishing the factory as a limited liability company was signed on June 30, 1884.
Management was handed over by the founding shareholders to two directors, Rafael (responsible for technical-artistic aspects) and his brother Feliciano Bordalo Pinheiro (responsible for organizational aspects).
Rafael immediately took charge of the architectural design of the facilities where a two-story pavilion was built with two side sections of ground floors for classes and crockery storage, surrounded by a landscaped and tree-lined park, a large single-story building where the machines and workshops and three ovens were installed, and a large pavilion for the sale and storage of finished products.
The building, composed of a raised central body, with an oriental-inspired roof, and two ground-floor side bodies, was designed by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro and built with materials produced in the Factory dating back to 1885 in the Pavilion and park area.
The architectural design and facade decoration were original due to the shape, polychromy and textures used, including tiles, ceramic ornaments and figurative panels. In the central body, two large faience panels with pink marshmallows in a circular frame and a snake wrapped in the Factory's monogram stand out.
The company's social objective was to explore the ceramic industry in the field of faience and proposed to launch ornamental ceramic and covering products on the market, and crockery of the type that was cultivated in Caldas: objects of the finest faience stamped with original engravings for daily use and ordinary crockery for the use of the less wealthy classes.
The factory's production thus encompassed tiles and utilitarian ceramic construction materials and decorative pieces where "Art nouveau" manifests itself with the creation of a gallery of characters characteristic of Portuguese society at the end of the 19th century.
Its products were presented in several exhibitions in the Commerce of Portugal halls (1886), at the Ateneu Comercial do Porto and at the Industrial Exhibition of Lisbon (1888), at the Universal Exhibition of 1889, Antwerp (1894) and Spain (1895) and in the United States of America (1905).
The production of artistic ceramics went through three stages during this period: 1st phase (1885-1889), 2nd phase (1889-1899) and 3rd phase (1899-1905).
Years later, Bordalo Pinheiro's son, Manuel Gustavo, continuing his father's work, in 1908 founded the San Rafael Factory, which he took over as management.
The factory, still in operation, together with the José Malhoa Museum and the Ceramics Museum, are still references in the city of Caldas da Rainha today.
