Pot signed ICS Italia and fish mark - Industria Ceramica Salernitana, Italy

Walter Del Pellegrino wrote:


I.C.S.
Industria Ceramica Salernitana
1927 – 1940

Without doubt, the most important, the most collectible, the most expensive and the most forged mark of all the twentieth century ceramic art studios of Campania.

In 1927, Berlin-born, Moses Malamerson, better known to the art world as Max, arrived in Vietri Sul Mar and established a ceramics studio. It was a monumental moment in ceramics history. His ICS factory was a magnet for the Teutonic émigrés settling along the Amalfi coast beginning in the first half of the 20th century. ICS became the foundation for an entirely new and distinctive form of ceramics art that melded the traditional themes of nature captured by native Campanian artists (sea-life, animals, cliff-side panoramas, etc) for centuries with the experimental art forms sweeping Europe at the time.

ICS is the only mark that can claim the honor of having employed all the famous artists of the German (Tedesco) Period. The list includes Studemann, Kowalski, Hannasch, Dolker, Cassetta, Gambone, Procida, Giovannino and others.

Max Malamerson was not an artist. He was a businessman and a premier art collector of the highest order. As an entrepreneur Max knew that it was not enough to merely gather about him the best of the best. He needed a means of bringing attention to his enterprise.

Prior to the end of World War II the Amalfi coast was largely undiscovered by European and American tourist and it did not appear in guide books of the times. Its isolation was, in fact, a large part of the attraction for the artists arriving on its rocky shores. In the early 1930’s Malamerson undertook a large advertising campaign in the European newspaper. In addition to bringing much needed attention to his company these ads also attracted many artists, seeking to escape the economic depression and political upheaval engulfing Europe, to Vietri and ICS.

Malamerson also received a great deal of exposure by entering every major European and American exposition and art competition available to him. The art of ICS received accolades and export orders at shows in Milan, Florence, Rome, Padua and abroad.

In the mid 1930’s, ICS entered into an agreement with the internationally famous Cantagalli factory of Florence to display its products in their studios and outlet stores. This recognition by Cantagalli added a sense of legitimacy and acceptance in the art world that secured the position of ICS. In 1936, Cantagalli’s widow, Margaret, sold the company to Amerigo Menegatti who continued to honor the union.

In 1940, ICS closed its doors. It was not economic factors that caused the demise of the firm but the Second World War. Malamerson was Jewish. Under extreme pressure from the Nazis, Italy established internment camps throughout the country. Fortunately, the more compassionate Italians managed these camps more on the style of the American internment camps that were created to house those of Japanese origins rather than the concentration camps the Nazis would have preferred. Barbed wire is, nonetheless, barbed wire and the shame for both Italy and the United States cannot be erased.

Malamerson and his wife, Flora were interred at Viterbo, near Rome, for the duration of the war. Some writers have claimed that Max had escaped before the war’s end but I find this highly unlikely. Max was fifty-nine years old in 1940 and it is unlikely that he would have risked an escape attempt, especially knowing he would have to leave his wife behind and expose her to possible retribution.

According to the author, Matilde Romito, who interviewed Marianne Amos, a close family friend of the Malamersons and a former employee at ICS, Max arrived in Vietri at the end of war and immediately wanted to see the condition of the home he left behind. Amos accompanied him. On the way, Amos informed Max that soon after his imprisonment she had gone to his home in the hopes of retrieving the family’s possessions, especially Max’s extensive ceramics collection, which contained examples of pottery from as early as the Greek and Roman periods. Amos had the sad task of informing Max that by the time she had arrived at the home all she was able to retrieve of his precious collection were a few broken fragments that had been left in the doorway of the house. Amos related to Romito how Malamerson’s eyes filled with tears upon hearing this. He never completed the trip. Max turned the car around and returned to town in silence.

Amos, who was familiar with the Malamerson collection recalled pieces of outstanding beauty and richness. She particularly recalled a breath-taking table setting, complete with a serving set, made by the Cantagalli in the late 19th century. The set was magnificently decorated with scenes of a boar hunt. She also remembered a large number of original panels and tiles by Richard Dolker and Giovannino and each artist ever employed by ICS. Amos was also impressed by the large number of original works by Guido Gambone that Malamerson had in his collection. All are now gone. As a collector, I share Malamerson’s tears and sorrow.


The ICS fish mark is perhaps one of the top three Italian ceramics marks faked by unscrupulous dealers and internet sellers. The only way for buyers to protect themselves is to become familiar with the pottery. Chances are strong that if the piece does not attract the attention of a large number of bidders it most likely is not a product of ICS.