DELFT PORCELAIN

                                       Famous Delft Ware

            I would guess that most of you are familiar with the well known blue porcelain known as Delft Ware. And it is not a far reach to figure that it might come from a place called Delft in the Netherlands. Today I’ll talk about the porcelain.I talked  about the delightful city in early November '13..

            During the 13^th century Delft was a   long-time home port to the Dutch East India Company.

Several small Dutch facilities produced tin-glazed pottery known as Majolica in the 16^th century. The Dutch East Indian Company began importing porcelain from China in the seventeenth century, and it, especially the blue and white, became very popular. The imported Chinese porcelain meant competition, so the Majolica-producing factories started to imitate the Chinese porcelain, plus travel time meant long waits for specific pieces of pottery from China.

            The famous blue and white porcelain known the world over was first produced in the 17^th century. From about 1615, the potters began to coat their pots completely in white tin glaze instead of covering only the painting surface and coating the rest with clear ceramic glaze. They then began to cover the tin-glaze with clear glaze, which gave depth to the fired surface and smoothness to cobalt blues, ultimately creating a good resemblance to porcelain. By 1640 Delft potters began using personal monograms and distinctive factory marks. Many factories were established in beer breweries that had stopped production after a large explosion.

            Delftware ranged from simple household items--plain white earthenware with no decoration to items with fancy artwork. Pictorial plates were made in abundance. Delft potters also made tiles in vast numbers over a period of two hundred years, and still today many Dutch homes still have tiles that were made in the 17th and 18th centuries. 

            Today artists work 3-5 years training to paint the porcelain before they are allowed to paint on their own. Delft ceramics have been an important export product for more than 400 years.Royal Delft, established in 1653, is still entirely hand-painted according to a centuries-old tradition. In the1600s there were 39 factories producing Delft pottery; today three remain with 20 painters.  

            We visited one of the small factories, De Candelaer, where the owner explained the pottery process. Especially interesting was how to spot a fake opposed to  real delft.

            The fellow told us, “Clay for genuine delft is imported from Cornwall, England and arrives in powder form. The first firing takes 9 hours at 2000 degrees. Then it is 24 hours before the mold can be opened. It takes 8-10 days for a piece of pottery to be completed. It is microwave and diswasher  safe.”

            Before leaving the facility and the interesting presentation on the famous blue porcelain most of us helped the city economy. I did my part by doing some Christmas shopping!

DELFT, THE NETHERLANDS

                                  City  Highlights of  Delft

            The city of Delft, known for its distinctive pottery and close ties to the Dutch royal family, is located between Rotterdam and The Hague. The city’s atmosphere is relaxed and typically Dutch. Delft received its city franchise from the Dutch Earl, Willem  II, in 1246.

            In the characteristic town center are exceptional gabled buildings, intimate canals, bridges, narrow alleys and limited car access.  The center piece in the square is a statue of Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), an edacuator and lawyer who formulated the basis for many laws.

            In May 1536 a fire destroyed 2,300 homes. It is likely that the wooden spire of the Nieuwe Kerk (new church) was hit by lightning and flying sparks set the surrounding buildings on fire. The Netherlands has no native stone, so all stone is imported. When this was demanded after the explosion and  fire in 1654 only well-to-do people could afford to build with stone forcing many less fortunate people to leave the city. Somehow 80,000 pounds of gunpowder stored in the convent set off  the event  known as the Thunderclap. In 1660 a new gunpowder house was built about a mile outside the city center.

            It is not unusual to see leaning building in the Netherlands and Delft was no exception. The Oude

Kerk, (old church) founded as St. Bartholomew’s Church in 1246, is on the site of previous churches dating back two centuries. During its building, the foundations weren't strong enough to support the building, so the church began to lean. As building the church continued they tried to compensate its lean on each layer of the tower, so only the 4 turrets at the top are truly vertical. The tower was added between 1325–50, and dominated the townscape for a century and a half until it was surpassed in height by the Niwuwe Kerk tower. Its huge heavy bell, 1570, is rung only for funerals. The old monastery, Prinsenof, now a museum, is also where William of Orange was shot.

            The city’s association with the House of Orange dates to 1572 when William of Orange took up residence in the walled city, making it his headquarters in the fight against the Spanish. When William was shot in 1584 the family’s traditional burial ground was still under Spanish rule, so he was buried in Delft’s New Church, a custom the royal family continues today.

            Nieuwe Kerk, 1382, is the landmark Protestant  Church in Delft, and stands opposite  city hall (Stadhuis) on the square. Its church tower is the second highest in The Netherlands. The 16^th pillar represents the prophets, the four pillars represent the evangelists, and the 12^th pillar represents the apostles. The stain glass windows, added in 1936, were removed in 1938 and stored safely and replaced after the war. The church is remarkable for its fine 330-foot high tower and chime of  bells as well as a splendid mausoleum of Prince William of Orange, also known as William the Silent. All of the royal family is buried in this church.

Delft City Hall

            The Renaissance-style City Hall is the former seat of city government. Today it is where residents hold their civil wedding ceremonies. Changed over the centuries, it was restored in the 20th century to its original Renaissance splendor. The red shuttered building dates to 1618-1620, but the tower, covered in expensive Belgian limestone, is much older. The tower, called De Steen or The Stone, originally built around 1300, has decorative clock faces from 1536. Under the tower is an old city prison where William the Silent’s assassin was confined before sentencing.

            Except for one, the old city gates were demolished in the 19th century. The Eastern Gate (Oostpoort), 1400, is an example of Brick Gothic Northern European architecture. In 1510 the towers were enhanced with an additional octagonal floor and high spires. It currently serves as an art gallery and private residence.