1806 - 1809

Foundation

Every story has a beginning.

That of SARGADELOS began in 1806, when Antonio Raimundo Ibáñez, the Marquis of Sargadelos, began a project that would forever change the panorama of Galician art and industry.

After developing various commercial activities, some of them very innovative for the time, such as maritime trade routes with the constitution of the Royal Maritime Company or the creation of a powerful iron and steel industry that revolutionized eighteenth-century Spain, Antonio Raimundo Ibáñez inaugurated a porcelain factory in the small town of SARGADELOS, Cervo (Lugo), which allowed him to develop his refined taste for good quality, artistic work, and take advantage of the existing kaolin deposits in the area.

1809 - 1832

First Period

José Ibáñez, son of the founder, with the help of his uncles and his wife, Anita Varela, expanded the original factory by installing three production furnaces and building several workshops with more than 25 furnaces. Production would rise to 20,000 pieces of porcelain per year in the early 1930s.

This chinaware was characteristic for its white color, its cream or slight blue glossy enamel, with neoclassical styles inspired by English Bristol porcelain. The first hand-painted pieces correspond to this time.

1835 - 1842

Second Period

In 1835, José Ibáñez joined forces with Antonio Tapia to establish the Ibáñez y Tapia company. Under the direction of the Frenchman M. Richard, they opted for the manufacture of fine white hand-painted chinaware. They also undertook the first trials of stamping and polychrome techniques. The pieces that stand out from this period are those with traditional, mythological and religious motifs.

1845-1862

Third Period

In 1845, Luis de la Riva y Cía, from Santiago de Compostela, took over SARGADELOS from the Ibáñez family, initiating the first golden age of the company: 1000 families arrived to work in the factory in 1849.

Under the direction of the Englishman Edwin Forester, unbeatable qualities were achieved in tableware and figures, adding variety in both design and color, highlighting the monochromatic prints and the impregnation of color on the bases of the white and slightly blueishchinaware pieces.

1870-1875

Fourth Period

In 1873, forming an association with Atocha and Morodo from A Coruña, the Ibáñez family regained the management of SARGADELOS, trying, without success, to reproduce the quality of the previous stage, ceasing investments in new facilities and no longer employing expert foreign potters. The lawsuits caused by the Ibáñez family led to the closure of SARGADELOS in 1875.

In spite of everything, a century later, in 1972, the perimeter of the old factories was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument due to the beauty achieved in its workshops and the rich cultural legacy that it had spread throughout the society of the time and of future generations. SARGADELOS became a true myth with a special space reserved in the collective memory.

1949 - Actualidad

O CASTRO DE SAMOEDO

In 1949, the painter and intellectual Isaac Díaz Pardo started a ceramic workshop that soon became the industrial complex of Cerámica do Castro.

After some time experimenting with new techniques and designs, he decided to reproduce original figures of artists using Galician soils with which he obtained a fine, translucent paste, of great durability and whiteness and that contributedexceptional quality to the porcelain.

SARGADELOS

Diaz Pardo's artistic and business interests led him to Argentina, where he was in contact with Galician exiles, including the renowned painter Luis Seoane. Although these experiences were not very lucrative at the time, they served to arouse the interest of the Galician intellectuals exiled from the Spanish Civil War for the economic and cultural recovery of Galicia.The start of this process was associated with the recovery of CERAMICA DE SARGADELOS.

In 1968, the works began in the Cervo factory (Lugo), the former site of the factories and steel industry of SARGADELOS, manufacturing the first pieces and trying to restore the creative and artistic spirit of Antonio Raimundo Ibáñez, who had revolutionized Galicia at the time. The success of such an undertaking was immediate: design and quality were combined with history, making SARGADELOS a cultural reference in Galicia. The commitment and alliance between both personalities and the effort and dedication of the workers allowed the company to become a local and international icon, transmitting a sense of pride within and beyond the Galician borders.

Hoy

The Present

Currently, SARGADELOS has two production plants with over 150 employees. It has several sections, one of the most important being the design team, which models and draws all the pieces and objects that are manufactured. Quality is of extreme importance within the factory, but the roots that permeate the designs of SARGADELOS are not forgotten. These roots are what lend the pieces their recognizable characteristics.

In the production plants of SARGADELOS, visitors can observe all the various processes that our manufactured products go through, and which require attention and treatment far removed from what would be a regular manufacturing process. In SARGADELOS each piece is treated as a prototype, so the almost imperceptible differences in color or shape are part of its elegance and distinction, since, despite the skill and experience in their work, each craftsman marks the final result with his "tempo" and his genius.

SARGADELOS is a firm respected and valued around the world for the avant-garde approach and innovation of its designs. The principal, specialized magazines have dedicated studies and works to SARGADELOS. The visits of artists to the facilities are also frequent.

That is why, in both production plants, the aim has been to establish an artistic and cultural environment that enriches the experience of visitors with two separate painting and porcelain museums, various artistic and cultural activities that take place in their characteristic and unique auditoriums, and a gastronomic offer served in SARGADELOS tableware that will surely make your visit a lasting memory.

The current management of the company does not want to run a purely industrial and commercial complex, it wants SARGADELOS to be a cultural and artistic beacon of light that shines its history and experience for the benefit and enjoyment of all.