Delftware Blue and White

The blue and white color palette of Delftware was heavily influenced by the Chinese blue and white porcelain imported to Europe by the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century. Dutch potters in the city of Delft mimicked this style using tin-glazed earthenware since they could not produce true porcelain at the time. The cobalt blue pigment was also highly stable and easy to work with.

Delftware is a type of tin-glazed earthenware that typically features an opaque white glaze covering the entire piece, often decorated only in blue. Earlier Dutch majolica had a lead glaze and usually left the edges of the foot unglazed, resulting in a different texture and visible chips on the rim. Delftware was essentially a superior, refined evolution of earlier majolica techniques.

Authentic modern Royal Delftware is hand-painted and will bear the "Royal Delft" hallmark, which includes a stylized apothecary bottle, the initials "JT" (for Joost Thooft), and the word "Delft." Every piece is also marked with a painter's signature or initials and a date code. Genuine antique pieces will feature slightly different, historically accurate pottery marks.

A tulipiere is a specific type of Delftware vase designed with multiple spouts or holes to hold tulips and other flowers. These pyramid-shaped vessels were highly popular in the 17th century and remain an iconic piece of Dutch blue and white ceramic art. They were originally designed to display the incredibly valuable tulip bulbs of the Dutch Golden Age.