Delftware
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204px-Delft,_delftsblauw_paneel_aan_de_Voldersgracht.jpg
Delftware, or Delft pottery, is blue and white pottery generally made in the Netherlands around the town of Delft.
After the Dutch East India Company began importing Chinese porcelain in the early 1600s, a demand began for locally produced imitations of the porcelain. For unknown reasons the industry was concentrated in the Delft and Rotterdam area. Delftware includes pottery objects of all descriptions such as plates, ornaments, banks, but especially tiles.
Delftware is part of the tin glaze style of pottery, which also includes maiolica, faïence and majolica in which tin-based white glazes is first applied, then metal oxide decoration and finally a lead-based clear glaze overcoat to make the surface glossy. Originally produced with local colored clay, the delftware was first painted white then blue decoration added. In 1884 a white clay was introduced and today all clay for Dutch delftware is imported.
Usually produced in blue and white, but also in polychrome, delftware often, but not exclusively, depicts native Dutch scenes such as windmills and fishing boats.
English Delftware was originally called galleyware, but was renamed in the 1700s due to the popularity of Dutch products.
The only remaining original producer of Dutch delftware is De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles founded in 1653. The name translates as Royal Porcelain Jar or Bottle and their logo is a stylized jar.
Delftblue pottery formed the basis of one of British Airways' ethnic tailfins. The design, Delftblue Daybreak, was one of the most widely used, and applied to 17 aircraft.
External link
- How did they produce Delft blue faience or 'porcelain' in the delftware potteries? (http://www.xs4all.nl/~kalden/dblue/delftblue-workshopENG.htm|)nl:Delfts Blauw