Delftware, or Delft Blue, is a particular style of pottery work that developed as a distinct style assosciated with the Dutch town of Delft and surrounding areas. The style is still very popular today, both for collectors of antique pieces and modern day pieces. Tourists to the Netherlands can easily pick up a small piece of Delftware to take home as a commemorative of their holiday to the Netherlands.
You can pick up Delftware anywhere in the Netherlands. Department stores will carry a range as will all souvenier shops. Souvenier shops are great for something that is both Delftware and iconic of the Netherlands, such as Delftware windmills. For higher quality plates and pots you will be better off purchasing from a department store.
For those tourists that have a strong interest in Delftware and want to get a quality piece or even a collector's piece, your best option is to head to the town of Delft itself. There are many authentic pottery workshops and associated shops that you can visit to get a great piece. One of the best options is to visit Royal Delft, they also offer full tours so you can see where your purchase was made. Visit our Delft page for more information.
The origins of Delftware date back to hundreds of years ago in China. In the 17th century white and blue porcelain began arriving in Europe, and with that to the Netherlands through the Dutch East India Company. The porcelain soon became wildly popular and the local Dutch potters sought to imitate the pottery to cash in on the blossoming trade. At the time porcelain was unknown to the Dutch and the potters endevored to copy it instead with local clay. They succeeded in this and by the first half of the 1600's there were a number of factories locally producing the copies. The majority of these factories were founded around Delft - it is believed they were taking advantage of the vacant buildings left behind by the brewery industry which was in decline at the time.
The first tiles to be produced were used for flooring, usually in churches, wealthy homes and institutional buildings. At times some tiles were too delicate for the heavy use of flooring. Rather than wasting the tiles, they began selling these as wall tiles. Shortly after, new patterns and motiffs were being produced for decorative purposes of walls and for insulation.
It wasn't long before the tiles started to be exported to a variety of countries including Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and Britain. The various artistocracies coveted the quality of workmanship and the wonderful designs produced on the tiles.
It wasn't until 1746 that a white baking clay was finally discovered. In many ways, this new clay was superior to the clay the Delft potters were previously using. A great advantage was that the clay did not require a layer of white glaze on top. This allowed the decorations to become more sophisticated and refined with just a layer of transparent glaze on top.
The arrival of the 19th century brought with it advances in machinery, which coupled with the rise in popularity of wall paper, meant a collapse in demand for hand crafted porcelien. By the end of the century only a small part of the industry still survived. Of the many factories that were once in operation, only one remained open producing pottery. Gradually the industry adapted to the new modern industrial techniques and with it came the mass production of delftware by machine. The industry was well positioned to ride the resurgence in interest in Delftware.
The infrastructure needed for creating Delftware was very extensive. Each step of the creation process was complicated and demanded large amounts of space and personnel. Production would begin in the workshops, where the Delftware was shaped, painted, glazed and fired in large kilns. Large areas were demanded for drying the Delftware and then storing it in warehouses as well as storage of all the materials and supplies needed for the entire process. On top of all this, a shop front was also needed so the customers could get to the actual products and view them before deciding on what to purchase. All in all the infrastructure demands were massive.
The whole process began at the earth washeries, which were located remotely from the factories. The personnel at the earth washeries prepared the clay formula - the right mixture having been perfected over years and much experience. Marl, a type of clay rich in calcium compounds, allowed the Dutch potters to make fine and intricate designs. The main body of the pottery was usually made from a mix of three natural clays, one source locally, one from the Rhineland in Germany and one from Tournai in Belgium.
The earth was transported to the seventeen earth washeries along the banks of the Rotterdam canal or Schie. It was already mixed and washed when it was fed through brass sieves and dried from turning to a thick paste. The paste, consisting of quartz, clay and feldspar was then transported to the workshops.
In the workshops the earth mixers began by kneading the earth paste with their bare feet and removing any lumps. The potters then took the clay to the pottery wheel, centered it and made the requested amount of objects for mass production. The potters belonged to one of three sub-groups: round potters, flat potters and large potters who made large hollow shaped objects, for example vases.
After the potters were finished, some objects - like sets of jugs and bowls - came to the shapers for a more intricate and detailed shape. Then the givers dunked the delftware in a tin glazing solution and the pottery was sat out on a rack to dry. This filled all of the pores of the clay and gave the items a fine basic layer.
When the objects were dry, the painters marked circles on plates and saucers with a profiling wheel. Due to mass production becoming the norm, decorations by free hand design were no longer profitable. A drawing was made on a sheet of paper or cardboard and this drawing was punched along the main lines. The perforated image was called pricked stencil/transfer. It was used over and over again on the object. A sponge or bag with charcoal powder was used to lightly dab the stencil. The painters followed these black dots with their paint brushes to produce the images and patterns required in a fast and uniform manner. The high temperatures in the kiln meant that the charcoal powder was burnt off, leaving only the paint.
After painting, the items where covered in a thin layer of transparent lead glaze by the floor workers. The pottery was now ready to head in to the kiln for cooking.
The process of firing the painted plates was difficult because they had to avoid damaging the glazing. The plates were therefore stacked in layers, each plate resting on three prongs of equal height. The prongs left three small dot traces at the bottom of each object.
Up to nine or eleven containers were piled on top of each other and the kilns were always filled in the most economic way. The firing temperature of the kiln was usually 1000°C (1800°F).
This whole production was overseen and supervised by the Delftware master. A high amount of money was invested in the industry. The process was complicated and intricate and the time between initiating production of a piece of Delftware and having a product ready for sale was usually months and sometimes even a year.
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