“Is Delft just copying Chinese porcelain?” It is a question I am asked frequently, and while the short answer might be “it began with emulation,” the longer, and far more interesting, answer reveals a story of innovation, exchange, and artistic independence. When Chinese porcelain first reached Europe in the 16th century, it was unlike anything…
Every month we present you a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs’ collection. This month, we would like to show you this petit feu and gilded puzzle jug from circa 1730. The puzzle jug is one of the oldest jokes in the Delft potters’ continually playful repertoire. Puzzle jugs were intended as an amusing tavern game…
In 1794, Gerrit Paape wrote the treatise De Plateelbakker of Delftsch Aardewerkmaaker (‘The Faience Potter or Maker of Delftware’), in which he outlined many aspects of the eighteenth-century process of producing Delftware. This invaluable resource offers a step-by-step explanation of production, from the kinds of soil and all the workmen and their functions, to the…
Every month we present you a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs’ collection. This month, we would like to show you this plaque from circa 1745. Faience was made throughout Europe, yet until around 1900, anything that looked typically Dutch was labeled Delftware. It was not until between 1910 and 1920 that a reasonable distinction was…
Between 1550 and 1850, the Netherlands experienced exceptionally cold winters and relatively cool summers, a period in meteorological history known as the ‘Little Ice Age.’ The storms, freezing cold, ice and snow of these Dutch winters lent themselves to enchanting and atmospheric scenes often portrayed in seventeenth-century paintings. These joyful scenes of snow and ice…
Every month we present you a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs’ collection. This month, we would like to show you this pair of blue and white candlesticks from circa 1765. Before electrification, candles were the main source of light after dark. However, they were considered a luxury, even in the well-to-do home. Thus, the expression…
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the city of Delft boasted a number of flourishing industries in addition to the well known earthenware. There was a cloth industry, breweries, and also a rich silver industry. Around 1600, the finest silver objects in the Low Countries were made in Delft. The city was transformed when William…
Every month we present you a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs’ collection. This month, we would like to show you this pair of small blue and white jardinières with stands from circa 1780. In the second half of the 17th century many of the wealthy urban bourgeoisie built country residences (Buitenplaatsen) along the Amstel, Spaarne…
In a building named “de metalen Poth”, located on the Geer, the present Lange Geer in the city of Delft, the factory arose in 1670 as the last in row of four Delftware factories. On the south side of De Metaale Pot (The Metal Pot) was 't Fortuyn ( The Fortune) factory and to the…
Every month we present you a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs’ collection. This month, we would like to show you this pair of polychrome figures of prancing horses from circa 1770. This pair of horses is marked for Johannes van Duijn, the owner of De Porceleyne Schotel (The Porcelain Dish) factory from 1764 to 1772,…
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