In-depth Articles

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 or a conversation piece during a dinner party. One can only imagine the popularity of these objects in homes and taverns as drinkers attempted to consume the contents without causing…

Cows are the most famous and beloved subjects depicted in Dutch Delftware. Since the eighteenth century they have adorned mantelpieces, furniture and window sills. They were always produced in pairs, with their heads turned towards each other and tongues lapping. Remarkably, these cows are almost always painted with lavish swags of floral garland draped around their…

While Dutch Delftware comprises many different colors and styles, it is most commonly known for its characteristic blue and white decoration. Many variations within the simple scheme of blue and white can help date an object and place it within an historical context. While fashion largely dictated the color changes, the varieties of blue in…

Dining has a history of its own. From the fifteenth century onwards, a formal meal became increasingly divided into different courses. The meal began with a course of cold foods served from the buffet or sideboard, followed by hot dishes from the kitchen: roasts, pastries and soup. The meal would end with what would eventually…

For centuries the technique of making earthenware covered with a clear or colored glaze had been well known throughout the Middle East and Europe, but by the middle of the fifteenth century, during the early years of the Italian Renaissance, it was the Italian potters who developed the highest skills in the use of polychrome…

Around 1700 the Dutch pottery painters in Delft were experimenting with beautiful intense blue grounds. Nowadays, we call this ‘Persian Blue’ originally from the 'Bleu Persan'. By the end of the seventeenth century, potters were so skilled in keeping the tin glaze stable during the fire, that they could experiment with decorations. At some factories,…

It would seem rather impossible to speak of ceramics, either earthenware or porcelain, without paying tribute to the color blue. This story cannot be told without explaining the influence of the Middle East, which one can see in the early Chinese stoneware and porcelain production. The cobalt ore, needed to create the intense blue, was…

It was in the late seventeenth century, under the patronage of Queen Mary II, who was as passionate about Chinese blue and white porcelain and its local counterpart, Dutch Delftware, as she was about her gardens, that the Delft factories developed their technical skills and virtuosity in the production of all sorts of ’vases with…

For centuries the Commedia dell’Arte (Italian Comedy) has been a source of inspiration for painters, printmakers and porcelain manufacturers throughout Europe. This had as result that the subject appeared almost in every medium of the fine and decorative arts. The Commedia dell’Arte was a form of comedy theater characterised by masked types which began in…

Who can think of a thing that is more Dutch than people skating on the ice? December is also known as the first winter month, although lately there were no harsh winters during this month in the Netherlands. This has not always been the case, since there was a Little Ice Age which lasted from…