There are many wondrous things hidden away in the back streets of Lisboa, but one of our favourites is Cerâmica S. Vicente owned and run by Christina Pina. 
We first discovered her shop on Rua S. Vicente last year, but only had limited time (& space in our luggage). So this year on our return to Lisboa her wonderful studio and shop was high on our programme of things to do.
Cerâmica S. Vicente specialises in art restoration and the traditional method of painting tiles, and their studio is in the middle of the shop. There are of course plenty of places where you can buy tiles in Lisboa and also Porto, and there is also the fabulous Museu Nacional do Azulejo. Unfortunately though these days there are not many places where you can still buy tiles that have been created using traditional techniques, and even fewer I suspect where you can actually see them at work. So Cerâmica S. Vicente is something rather special.
On our arrival one of Christina’s colleagues was in the middle of painting a tile, and when we left she was using the tracing paper to ‘pounce’ a charcoal image onto the next tile so that she could then begin painting again. As much as I was enjoying watching the traditional methods, I was relieved to see she was using a soft brush rather than rabbits tail to rub away the excess charcoal. At the back of the studio is the design board, and it is here that the tracing patterns are created and much of the wonderful earthenware can be found.
As well as the earthenware you can purchase individual azulejos at Cerâmica S. Vicente, and even commission your own panel(s). On our visit they had recently finished a set of stunning panels for a very large kitchen. The photograph below includes an unused section from their design. It reminds me of the wonderful panel in the cafe at the Azulejo Museum. If you want to see the actual one they have created they have posted a few photographs on their facebook page. Must admit I was very tempted by the panel in my picture. Only the lack of luggage space combined with uncertainty as to where I would put it stopped me!
The fish may not have made it home with us, however we did find a few individual azulejos to add to the one we bought last year.The two in the middle which typically in the first half of the 18th century were used in functional areas such as kitchen and corridors are called ‘figura avulsa’. So called because each one has a distinct figure in the centre. You may have noticed they also have blue flower shapes in each corner, these are known as ‘little star’ since they form a type of star when four azulejos are put together.
If you are lucky enough to be in Lisboa soon and also want to take back a rather special memento of your visit to Portugal or perhaps find an unusual gift then make sure you pop by and visit Cerâmica S. Vicente.
The quality of their work really is superb, and as every piece is hand painted you’ll also be acquiring something quite unique. If you are fortunate enough to be living here in Portugal and have a few pennies to spare, then why not go one step further and commission a panel. Not only will it be beautiful but you will be supporting some extremely talented as well as lovely artisans. Have fun, and don’t forget to invite me round once it is all done!
I love them so much, the colours are amazing. Your posts fascinate me always. Thank you dear Becky B. Love, nia
oh I am so glad you enjoy them Nia 🙂
I love blue and white tiles. I think I would like the fish tiles.
They were just under 500euros for the 12 or was it 16, reasonably priced we thought in light of the work involved.
That’s the priced like fine art. Do they take a weeks to paint?
Painting seems to be the quick stage . . .it’s the designing and drawing which takes the age. Once a picture is drawn is then has to be copied onto wax paper, then tiny pin holes made on the lines before the paper is placed over the tiles to enable charcoal to be pressed through to create the outline on which to then paint. And of course the tiles themselves are also handmade and there are two firings.
I see. Thanks for explining the process.
They are superb, Becky!
They are wonderful aren’t they 🙂 fabulous find, it is why we like to wander aimlessly sometimes as you never know what you might come across
Thanks for sharing this gem with us 🙂
Next time I find myself in Lisboa, I’ll definitely pay them a visit. Their artwork looks absolutely stunning.
It really is ☺ do keep me posted if you do go.
The cherub wino is so unusual, Becky 🙂 🙂 What a fantastic place! I’d love a good rootle about there. Added to the list 🙂 There used to be an artisano where you could commission tile panels on the E125 near Luz. Unfortunately it closed. I always wished we’d bought something. 🙁
Couldn’t resist him!! You’d love it and the women who work there are all so lovely.
Had heard about that one on tbe E125 and wondered where it was, now I know why I couldn’t spot it 🤐