Dutch Originals Decorative Objects

Blue and white chinoiserie altar vase. Delft, circa 1685 The ovoid altar vase stands on a high-waisted foot. The flaring cylindrical neck ends in an outward sloping mouth rim. The two blue coloured lion-shaped handles have suspending rings in their jaws. The body is painted with a continuous oriental landscape with banana and pine trees, Chinese figures and houses, while the neck is painted with three bands of different ornaments. The mouth rim is decorated with rectangular ornaments, the foot with leaves under a band around the ankle. Altar vases are also called vases à chimères. The oldest faience examples were made in the sixteen-twenties in Nevers, France and are attributed to the Conrade potters family, who originated from Italy. The shape is based on metal vases used during the services in Catholic churches. Therefore it is no wonder that many altar vases are painted with the Christogram IHS. Altar vases were made in Delft from about 1675 onwards and production continued well into the eighteenth century. Marked examples are known from multiple manufacturers, such as The Greek A and The Moor’s Head potteries (Aronson 2011, pp. 14-15). A pair of eighteenth century vases was made between 1700 and 1716 at The Three Porcelain Ash Barrells pottery. They are marked with PK for the owner Pieter Kam or, after 1705, by his widow (Blazy & Boyazoglu 1983, p. 110). The pair is painted with a dense parsley decor. A miniature example was excavated from a cesspit in the grounds of the former Porcelain Bottle pottery in Delft. At the same location a larger fragment was also found, decorated with a triple-tulip design in blue and yellow (Eliëns, Schledorn, Van Aken-Fehmers, pp. 31 , 36, 45). Three altar vases with similar tulip and flower decoration in blue and yellow are in the collection of the Dutch Open Air Museum in Arnhem and can also be attributed to the Porcelain Bottle pottery (Klein, p. 152). Official Catholic services were not allowed in the seventeenth century in the Dutch republic, however Catholic conventicles were tolerated. At first sight it might be surprising that a Catholic object...

The ovoid jar stands on a slightly spreading foot, has a short upright neck, and is painted in blue with a floral decor. Three large cartouches containing flower bouquets have been a...

Purple and yellow chinoiserie jug. Delft, circa 1680 - 1700 The ovoid jug stands on a lightly spreading foot and has a tapered neck with spout. The top of the handle is pierced for a metal mount. The jug is painted in purple and yellow with a continuous chinoiserie landscape with Chinese figures. Bands with rectangular ornaments between double circles are applied on the shoulder and just above the foot. The neck is painted with a double leaf motif. The handle is decorated with stripes and dots, alternately applied in purlple and yellow. Purple or multi-coloured Delftware with chinoiserie landscapes are relatively rare, though versions in blue and purple, blue and yellow, green and purple are known, as well as three colour combinations like purple, yellow and green. A butter pot in this last colour combination was excavated from a cesspit in the grounds of the former Porcelain Bottle pottery in Delft. Multi-coloured chinoiserie decorations are painted especially on lobed dishes and also on beer mugs, covered spiced wine bowls and small plates. A purple, yellow and green painted beer mug in the Princessehof Ceramics Museum in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, combines a chinoiserie landscape with a depiction of stadtholder prins Willem III...

3 piece chinoiserie Famille rose garniture, Delft, 1730-1740 This petit feu garniture consists of a baluster vase with cover and two beaker vases. The cover has a bell-shaped knob...