XVII.—Notes on the “Bacini,” or Dishes of Enamelled Earthenware, introduced as Ornaments to the Architecture of some of the Churches in Italy, &c. &c

Extract

All writers on the history of pottery have more or less alluded to the Bacini, or deep howl-shaped dishes of various sizes and colours, which are to be seen on the exterior of several churches in different parts of Italy. More particular allusion has been made to those found on the churches of Pisa, and various theories have been raised to account for their origin. It is particularly stated by Sismondi, in the “History of the Italian Republics” (i. 354), that the Pisans made great exertions to rid the Tyrrhenian Sea of the Moorish pirates, which had so often destroyed their vessels and ravaged their coasts. Their efforts were specially directed against a certain King Nazaredeck of Majorca, whose cruel acts of piracy had spread terror in the coast towns of Italy and Southern France.