The Royal Factory produced tombstones from the beginning of its activity. The production of tombstones was occasional, and they were made only to wealthy customers. We can find some examples in the Fine Arts Museum in Castelló, in the National Museum of Ceramics in València or in the church of Figueroles.
We have a small tombstone from 1735 on display in our museum, it has Bérain decorations and it was given by the Villalonga family, from Figueroles. In the 19th century the use of ceramic tombstones became widespread. A great number of the displayed tombstones came from the former cemetery of l’Alcora (which was placed in the current street “la Bassa”). These tombstones were moved to the Museum in 1994. Their formal model is quite homogeneous: discreet perimeter decoration and a lot of space for the inscription. In some cases, the tombstone has also mortuary symbols. During the first third of the 20th century it decreased the tradition of using ceramics to make tombstones, but we still have pieces decorated by local ceramists.
