Articles

Porcelain, lacquer and silk are among the most sought after exotic goods from China and Japan in far-away Europe. The attraction to these precious items was particularly strong among the courts during the era when trade flourished by land via the Silk Road or by sea.[1]  Early in the seventeenth century, the Dutch East India…

The dinner table, as with all aspects of the decorative arts, is subject to changing fashions. As the structure of meals has evolved over time, the table settings and decoration have followed suit to complement the variations in each tradition. Beginning in the fifteenth century, a formal meal became increasingly divided into numerous courses. Typically,…

De Porceleyne Schotel (The Porcelain Dish) factory is one of the oldest, if not first Delftware factories that existed. The journey began in 1598, when Egbert Huijgensz. Sas bought a factory that consisted of a house and yard. [1] De Porceleyne Schotel factory first produced majolica wares that were decorated with European motifs. By the early…

Delftware is a fragile material and therefore the breaking and cracking of these approximately three-hundred- year-old objects is almost inevitable. Today, objects are restored in an ethical manner after much research, whereas restoration was much different in the past. Especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many Delftware objects were utilitarian and they were quickly…

From the mid-eighteenth century onwards it was the fashion to decorate the interior with Delftware models of animals. This custom was a result of Delftware becoming a popular consumer good in the late seventeenth-century, mainly under influence of Mary II (1662-1695), the English consort of King-stadholder William III (1650-1702). The coveted Delftware blue and white…

Salt has been an invaluable commodity for thousands of years, used to preserve and flavor food and traded as currency. In Asia, salt has been used in pickling and preserving foods for over 5000 years, and for at least 2000 years in the West. It was used by the ancient Egyptians in mummification during the…

In the Netherlands and throughout Europe, people drank alcoholic beverages when water was unsafe. Cold beverages were consumed in the summer, and hot punch, wine and beer were drank to keep warm in the winter.[1] In Northern Europe, the consumption of wine carried a strong social distinction, whereas beer was a more common beverage. Although…