In-depth Articles

Delftware was produced in numerous forms and functions, some of which remain unclear today. One example of such objects are the so-called wig stands, which are designed as a sphere supported on a stem above a foot. The French, and especially King Louis XIV, dictated one of the most fashionable and unusual accessories of the…

The Eighty Years' War (1568-1648), or the Dutch War of Independence, transformed the Netherlands and gave birth to the Dutch Republic. The war grappled with freedom of religion and conscience, the right to self-determination and the right to participation. The leitmotif of the war was the emerging reformation and the fact that the Spanish king,…

De Porceleyne Fles (The Porcelain Bottle) factory was founded on the West side of the Oosteinde in the city of Delft around 1653. Of the more than thirty factories that once existed in Delft, this is the only one still operating today. De Porceleyne Fles is currently housed on the Rotterdamseweg. The factory was bought…

During the second half of the nineteenth century, there was a renewed interest in the decorative arts, and particularly ceramics. Dutch Delftware became a serious pursuit of study for art historians and collectors, and contemporary potters soon began producing Delftware replicas to satisfy demand. The Samson factory in Paris was among the producers of wares…

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…

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…

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…

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…

At the end of the nineteenth century, there were very few pieces of Dutch Delftware in museum collections. The most important collections of Delftware objects, both in quantity and in quality, were assembled by private collectors. One of these important private collectors was John F. Loudon, whose collection of approximately 500 objects was donated to…

De Twee Scheepjes (The Two Little Ships) factory was active since 1619, and flourished especially in the eighteenth century. The factory was located on the south side of the Molslaan.1 In 1619, Adriaan Cornelisz. Kater purchased a house with a yard and a shed that may have already functioned as a pottery. This sale marks…