Cerámica Valenciana – The Legacy of D. José Gimeno Martínez

Founded around 1925 by the prestigious D. José Gimeno Martínez, Cerámica Valenciana is a family-run ceramic workshop located in Manises, Valencia, Spain, in a building that once housed a 15th-century potter’s studio. Today, his grandchildren Vicente and María José Gimeno Peris proudly continue the tradition, creating ceramics that represent the finest craftsmanship of Manises—an area with more than 700 years of ceramic history.
Each piece is still handcrafted using age-old techniques. The clay is hand-molded and left to air dry before undergoing its first firing, lasting nearly nine hours at 1080°C in natural gas ovens. Once cooled, the piece is immersed in a traditional majolica opaque glaze, creating the perfect canvas for decoration. Skilled artisans then hand-paint every item with fine brushes before it is fired a second time at close to 1000°C. This process fuses the underglaze and painted decoration, producing the distinctive, almost crystalline finish that defines the artistry of Cerámica Valenciana.
Visiting the Gimeno family workshop is like stepping into history. Beneath the studio are seven exhibition rooms showcasing reproductions of Valencian and Manises ceramics from the Gothic through the Baroque periods. For Vicente and María José, every creation is not just a product but the continuation of a centuries-old artistic tradition.
From elegant plates to intricate decorative pieces, their ceramics are magnificent in every detail—true collector’s items that embody the beauty, heritage, and mastery of Valencian artistry.