Very Large Delft Blue Wall plate by Porceleyne Fles

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A gorgeous Delft Blue wall plate by De Porceleyne Fles depicting a windmill. It was made after a painting by Gabriël. It has the year initials of 1973 (CS) and painter initials WT (no idea who.....). It measures 16.3 inch ( 41,5 centimeters) and is in good condition - no chips or cracks - just a slight scratch on the surface (hardly visable). The picture of the back of the plate shows a corner of a couch pillow...it's not a chip missing !!! The Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles is the only remaining factory of the 32 earthenware factories that were established in Delft in the 17th century. Although it is not exactly sure when the first factories started to operate, we do know that already in the second half of the 16th century t were factories in Amsterdam, Haarlem and Middelburg which produced multicoloured (or polychrome) earthenware. Dutch potters learnt this trade from their Italian colleagues. It was presumably not until the end of the 16th century that the first pottery was founded in Delft . From then on the number of factories rapidly increased. Not only because seamen got hold of several cargos of Chinese porcelain, but above all because the tradesmen of the Dutch East India Company (founded in 1602), brought home large quantities of Chinese porcelain from the East. This type of porcelain with blue decorations on a white background was very popular among the Dutch. Soon afterwards the Dutch potters started to imitate the technique. The 17th century 'De Porceleyne Fles' (The Porcelain Jar) was founded in 1653 by David Anthonisz v.d. Pieth, at the Oosteinde in Delft . After two years, the factory passed into the hands of Wouter van Eenhoorn and Quirinus van Kleijnoven. Wouter van Eenhoorn was a businessman who also had financial interests in other potteries, such as 'De Griekse A', 'De drie vergulde Astonnekes', 'Het Hooge Huys' and 'De Paeuw'. Little is known about the financial or artistic results of the various companies, and conclusions can only be based on deeds of purchase and sale, contracts, etcetera. Consequently, we can only suspect that during the period in which 'De Porceleyne Fles' was owned by Van Kleijnoven and Van Eenhoorn, the factory was one of the most important companies of the time and very prosperous. In 1663, Van Eenhoorn sold his share of the company to Van Kleijnoven, who owned the factory at that time. After Van Kleijnoven died in 1695, his widow continued the business, but after two years she sold it to Johannes Knotter. The 18th century Johannes Knotter was the first one to introduce the jar to the trademark. He owned the company for only four years, and subsequently sold it to Marcelis de Vlugt. Like the previous owners, De Vugt was neither a potter nor a painter, because t are no traces of his work. He tfore hired Jan Sixtus van der Joeck, a master painter who was famous for his fabulous decorations. After 1750, the factory was respectively owned by Christoffel van Doorne, his son Pieter van Doorne and Jacobus Harlees. The latter reintroduced the jar to the trademark for the first time in 70 years. It has remained part of our trademark ever since. After Harlees deceased in 1786, the company was owned by his son Dirck Harlees. He then sold it to Henricus Arnoldus Piccardt, who was succeeded in 1849 by his daughter, Geertruida V.M.A. Piccardt. The earthenware industry in Delft had to face many difficulties. Firstly, porcelain-clay was discovered in Europe , and the porcelain industry became a difficult competitor. Secondly, in 1746 a white-baking clay was discovered by Cookworthy. This new type of clay was in many ways superior to the clay that the Delft pottery makers were using. It did not need the layer of white glaze, and the decorations, which were more refined, were covered with a layer of transparent glaze The 19th century At the end of the 19th century t was only a small part of the once so prosperous industry left. Of the many factories, Geertruida Piccardt's was the only one that managed to survive. H... read more

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