Large old ceramic pot turned into lamp - should I run back and buy it?

Saw this at ReStore today - they have it priced at 50$ - but it looks really old to me. The paint has a lot of flaked off areas. Really old? Or just kinda old? Has a bust of a man(Perhaps Hermes/Mercury holding a banner that says LVCIA - Lycia perhaps? I almost bought it - now thinking perhaps I should run back and get it...opinions? Pictures to follow momentarily...

 

Pics?

 

Yep - totally forgot to attach...one moment.

 

Pics!

 

Now I'm thinking it says "LVCIA BELLA" which I just found a notation of in a book about old italian majolica... "Castel Durante and Urbino - ca 1508 - 1580"

 

The only thing I can tell you is that if the pottery was drilled to make the lamp, most of its value as a piece of pottery has been lost.

 

Yes - having a hole drilled definitely damages value. I'm thinking this might still retain some value if it is early-mid 16th century italian pottery - even with the flaked off bits and a hole drilled. Who knows if it's that old - I doubt it but...maybe?

 

Well, according to David Rago, THAT all depends...........but I don't really know pottery, I just happen to watch when it and he is on AR!!!

 

It doesn't look like majolica. Lucia Bella could refer to this song:
Santa Lucia bella
dei bimbi sei la stella
pel mondo vieni e vai
e non ti fermi mai.

 

Not majolica. Not something I'd have bought either.

 

I'd say that's always been a lamp; it's terra cotta.

 

The top terracotta part is A separate piece to the main body which I believe is a large pot. Same with the Terracotta on the base.

 

I can tell you that I would have passed. Maybe at half-price but even then I don't think I would have taken the leap. I think this is a case where the corrosion is more a matter of problems with the materials than with great age. I think most likely it's an inexpensive piece of Italian pottery that starts to flake at the first sign of moisture.

I'm also not convinced it was originally made to be a lamp base. Somehow the whole thing looks cobbled together. Maybe held sentimental value for someone or a project for a hobbyist who liked to tinker. If you like it and want to keep it fine but I doubt you'll get much value back on resale. JMHO.
Don

 

Thsnks all. I passed at first and will not buy it now...unless the story on it changes

 

Run away ... run away!

 

I'd only buy it if I needed the shade and wiring for something.

 

Smart to run it by the group. I did a little searching around and couldn't come up with a thing.

 

I'd suspect if it were old and good...there would be a little more attention paid to the detail of workmanship..

 

This form of decoration is known as Sgraffito or Scratch in English.
The Sgraffito technique of decorating pottery dates back as far as the 11th century but its popularity had faded away by about the 18th century. It took the efforts of a single ceramist in the early 20th century to revive the art form and revitalize an industry. Zulimo Aretini descended from an ancient family of potters working in the Umbrian town of Perugia, near Deruta. Here he learned the secrets of traditional sgraffito practiced by his family since the sixteenth century. After being employed by such famous studios as Colonnata and SACA in Florence he decided, in 1929, to return home and open his own studio in Perugia. There he begins to reinterpret ancient sgraffito forms in an absolutely modern and original manner. His studio won almost immediate recognition and success. His workshop joined with a consortium of other potters in Deruta and Perugia and established international contacts for the export of their wares. It was Zulimo's international success that spurred the interest of the sgraffito wares of Montelupo and Montopoli.
Your vase was probably made somewhere in Umbria during the 1930’s or 40’s. The missing flakes of glaze, also known as glaze pops, is caused by either impurities in the glaze or dirt on the body of the piece. This is an indication of poor quality control and suggests that it was produced by less than a first-rate pottery firm