Delftware

Timeline

1. 1620–1650Delft · South HollandIn the early 17th century Delft's brewing industry declined, and many brewhouses were converted into pottery workshops. Building on Italian tin-glazing (majolica) techniques, craftsmen introduced Chinese blue-and-white motifs and began producing blue-and-white decorated earthenware. Early products mainly imitated the Wanli blue-and-white style; the craft was still rough, but it established the basic characteristics of Delftware—a white tin-glaze ground with hand-painted cobalt-blue decoration.
2. 1660–1680Delft · South HollandThe 1660s–1680s were the golden age of Delftware. Kangxi blue-and-white porcelain arriving continuously from the VOC provided craftsmen with direct models, and Delft workshops continuously improved their tin-glaze formulas, cobalt-blue coloration, and decorative refinement. In the 1670s about 33 pottery workshops operated in Delft, producing vases, plates and dishes, apothecary jars, and decorative tiles. Workshops began blending Chinese landscape and figure motifs with Dutch scenery, developing a distinctive East–West hybrid style. De Porceleyne Fles (predecessor of Royal Delft) had become an important producer during this period.
3. 1690–1740Western European countries · Western EuropeThe success of Delftware sparked a wave of imitation across Europe, with pottery workshops in Bristol, Liverpool, Frankfurt, and elsewhere following its blue-and-white style. Delft workshops also began imitating the polychrome styles of Japanese Imari porcelain (polychrome Delftware), diversifying their product lines. However, the rise of Meissen hard-paste porcelain in mid-18th-century Germany gradually eroded Delftware's position in the high-end market, and many workshops closed one after another.