Delft Is Perfect Setting for Porcelain Artistry

It’s no accident that Dutch delftware pottery resembles late Ming Dynasty porcelain. The Netherlands’ pottery industry began in the early 17th Century after Dutch traders brought floral-patterned, blue-and-white porcelain from China.

Initially, Dutch potters found it difficult to duplicate the fine Chinese porcelain. The Chinese used white clay to obtain a fine, thin, translucent quality, and Dutch potters were limited to their native gray-brown, somewhat sandy earth.

But after several decades of experimentation, Dutch potters discovered how to decorate their pieces with the extensive detail used by the Chinese.

The technique required that pieces be dipped in a white underglaze before the pattern was painted on. The resulting Dutch pieces were thicker and less translucent than Chinese porcelain, and incorporated windmills and other Dutch motifs in their designs.

Dutch factories flourished until the mid-18th Century, when Meissen and Berlin, Germany, and Sevres, France, developed porcelain industries that challenged Delft’s market dominance.

Further competition came when Josiah Wedgwood and other English potters, using white clay, developed time-saving techniques that eliminated the need for underglazing. Their porcelain was lighter in weight, less porous and more durable.

Where once there were 32 factories, De Porceleyne Fles (the name means porcelain bottle), founded in 1653, is the only Delft pottery factory still in business.

Joost Thooft saved it from bankruptcy in 1876 by modifying production to use imported English white clay. His method is still in use, and his initials are part of the De Porceleyne Fles logo.

Today, workshops are closed to visitors, but the public can watch demonstrations at the factory. Plates are thrown on potters’ wheels. Vases, bowls and pitchers are pressed in plaster molds. The pieces are dried and sent for a first firing.

Painting may take several hours or days, depending upon the complexity of the design. When a piece is completed, the painter initials it and applies the De Porceleyne Fles logo. Each piece is then dipped in white glaze and fired again.

De Porceleyne Fles is best known for its blue-and-white ware, but the factory also produces Pijnacker (a red, blue and gold pattern on a white background, similar to Japanese Imari porcelain), Black Delft (pottery made first during the late 15th Century) and Polychrome (red, yellow, blue and green patterns on a white background).

De Porceleyne Fles also makes commemorative plates to mark royal birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other events of national interest. The company’s annual Christmas plates are collectors’ items.

The factory (196 Rotterdamsweg in Delft, telephone 011-31-15/569-214) is open weekdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m. The factory museum has fabulous antiques.

Although the shop doesn’t sell antiques, it does have an exceptional selection of Delftware. Perfect pieces are comparable in price to those in other shops, but the factory sells seconds at 40% to 50% off list prices. Stock varies daily.

Here are some sample prices: blue-and-white clocks cost $300; with slight smudges the price drops to $200. Perfect tiles begin at $25; seconds are about $18. You’ll pay $270 for a perfect Christmas plate, $180 for a second.

You can order a portrait plate painted from a photograph. It takes three or four days to make and costs $1,000 or more.

The town of Delft is picturesque, filled with canals and old bridges. If scenes seem familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen them on Delft plates or in the paintings of Jan Vermeer.

Markt Square is the center of the old town. At one end stands the 17th-Century Town Hall, at the other the New Church, built in the 14th and 15th centuries (it houses the mausoleum of William of Orange). The cobblestone square is surrounded by centuries-old buildings.

Many shops stock blue-and-white pottery, but not all of it is the product of De Porceleyne Fles.

Some is cheaply made and decorated with transfer patterns rather than hand-painted. Those products are less expensive and sometimes pretty, but inferior in quality.

Markt Square’s reliable outlets include W. A. Reynders (Markt 45) and De Backer v.d. Hoeck B.V. (Markt 30 and 62-64), which belongs to De Porceleyne Fles and sells some seconds at discount.

Most Delftware is too delicate for daily use. It is somewhat porous and chips easily. Keep Delftware pieces as collectibles to be used primarily as decoration.

It takes less than an hour to get to Delft from Amsterdam, and the city is 15 minutes from The Hague or Rotterdam.

Prices quoted in this article reflect currency exchange rates at the time of writing. De Porceleyne Fles and shops mentioned in this article participate in the Netherlands’ tax-free program that rebates 18.5% on items purchased for export. Some shops give point-of-purchase rebates; others supply forms that will allow you to claim the refund at the airport before leaving the Netherlands.