The real Dutch treat is Delft

The Dutch harnessed the sea with their ingenious dikes, and the wind, with their trademark windmills. They also gave us Rembrandt.
So, it’s only fitting that their most famous pottery, Delftware, is not only known for its artistry, but also for its technical superiority.
How Delft pottery came to be is a story typical of the Dutch—making the best of a bad situation.
They needed dikes because their country lies in lowlands.
They needed wind to power their mills because they had no rapid streams or waterfalls.
And they needed Delft, because they had no porcelain to compete with Chinese imports.
Tiny Holland, besides having more than its share of artists and engineers, is also the home of historically clever merchants and bold adventurers. This is what led them to be among the first in Europe to develop a thriving Asian trade, especially with China.
The Dutch East India Company began importing Chinese blue and white ware by the beginning of the 1600s. Dutch potters knew right away that these were going to be the rage of Europe that they would eventually become, and the competition would have to be met head-on.
In 1614, Claes Jannsen Wytmans received a license from the Dutch government to fabricate “all sorts of Porcelain, decorated and not decorated which come from far off lands.” Thus started the European tradition of copying Chinese blue and white wares, which would eventually lead to English Blue Willow and Meissen’s Blue Onion in Germany.
Of course, the Dutch didn’t have the materials or the formula to make true porcelain. Instead, they made faience, like majolica, a simple earthenware glazed with a metallic (tin or lead) oxide.
Inspired by the vitreous shine of Chinese porcelain, however, Dutch potters (plateelbacheys) double-glazed their wares, giving them a deep shine and making them more durable than any other faience made in Europe at the time.
Here’s how it worked: the pottery was formed, painted with a white background, and slow fired under low heat. Then the artist would paint the cobalt decoration (originally a copy of a Chinese design), and the piece would be lightly re-glazed and fired again. This process is what gives Delft pottery its distinctive porcelain-like look.
The demand for Delft blue and white wares became so great that by 1800 there were 32 potters making it in Holland, a big number for such a small country. But by the 1860s, that number would be reduced to one, De Porcelyne Fles (the porcelain jar).
The reason was competition from first the English, then the Germans and the French, all of whom cashed in on the Delft craze by making their own versions. It’s all called Delftware now, and it’s all equally valuable, although there are still those collectors who prefer only the Dutch pieces.
Most of the Delft we see in today’s antique shops was made between 1860 and the 1930s. De Porcelyne Fles became Royal Delft in 1919.
Appraisals: ”Wooden shoe” ashtray souvenir, $15; Tile, windmill scene, marked “Delft Handpainted Made in Holland,” $50; Souvenir tile, $10; Urn w/lid, 14″ h., floral decoration, $800; Plaque, 10″x10″, canary in cage, $600; Vase, 10″, mid-19th C. converted to a lamp, $295; Six-tile scene, Dutch landscape, marked “De Porcelyne Fles Royal Delft, $1,900.
Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antique Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send your comments or appraisal questions with photo to: aschwerdt@cmcherald.com.