Dutch Delftware - a melting pot of cultures!

Cultures brought together

A technique that originated in the Middle East. Brought to Spain by the Arabs and brought to the Netherlands by the Spanish. Refined in process and decorated with Oriental inspirations, Dutch Delftware really was the melting pot of cultures and an inspiration to the entire world!

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Aronson Antiquairs of Amsterdam.

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) imported literally tens of millions of pieces of porcelain during the two centuries of its existence (1602-1799) and flooded the Netherlands with all kinds of tablewares made in China or Japan.

The qualities were obvious: porcelain was thin, light and nevertheless very strong, easy to clean, available in many varieties and shapes and, at least in the seventeenth century, it imparted status to its owner. In the 1640s when porcelain became scarce due to political upheavals in China, Delftware became a real alternative. Potters managed to make a thinner type of faïence, which they had often decorated with well-painted Oriental designs.

More in our article on the VOC trade.

خزف

陶瓷

Ceramics

A brief history of Dutch Delftware

In the first half of the 15th century, mercantile cities such as Brugge (Bruges) and Antwerp in the southern Netherlands (now Belgium) became familiar with earthenware from southern Europe through both trade and political contacts with Italy, Spain and Portugal. This earthenware was exported by Spain and Italy to the northwestern European commercial centers often by sea.

One of the maritime trade routes passed through the Spanish island of Mallorca, from which the name ‘maiolica’ developed for a certain type of glazed pottery. Dutch Maiolica is an earthenware product coated with a tin glaze on the front or exterior and a highly translucent lead glaze on the back or base. Maiolica dishes were fired face down on three spurs that often left marks which remained visible in the central design.

More in our article on the history of Delftware.