A robust international trade network brought all types of exotic treasures to the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. The two major trading groups were the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (WIC). These powerful entities discovered many treasures, commodities and delicacies from faraway lands that were uncommon at the time…
Delftware objects were commonly given as gifts to commemorate special occasions as early as the seventeenth century. During the reign of King William II and Queen Mary, Delftware objects were gifted to the nobility across Europe. The tradition continued even after the death of Mary in 1695, when King William gave many of the late…
The dinner table, as with all aspects of the decorative arts, is subject to changing fashions. As the structure of meals has evolved over time, the table settings and decoration have followed suit to complement the variations in each tradition. Beginning in the fifteenth century, a formal meal became increasingly divided into numerous courses. Typically,…
Despite the Portuguese importations of Asian goods starting in the early sixteenth century, Chinese porcelain was rarely seen in Europe before 1600. The small quantities of porcelain that were imported to Europe were rare and expensive, and almost exclusively collected by the nobility. In 1600, the market for Chinese porcelain changed significantly when the Dutch…
The extraordinary legacy behind the creation of the museum of Bailleul in 1859 is remarkably eclectic, while drawing on the identity of its collector, Benoît De Puydt. This collection testifies to a widespread phenomenon in nineteenth-century European bourgeois circles, and draws visitors into the world of a local personality. Born in the French commune of…
Every month we present a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs’ collection. This month we would like to show you this blue and white plate! As early as the late 15th century, exotic animals were collected by Europeans to be kept in their menagerie. It is known that innkeeper Jan Westerhoff had built a menagerie…
De Roos (The Rose) factory was built on the west side of Noordeinde street in Delft in 1661. A lease from 1662 offers an early glimpse of a well-run company in its infancy. The lease states that for example the tenant was obliged to maintain the kiln with certain tools and to take care of…
Every month we present a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs’ collection. This month we would like to show you this cute polychrome figure of a Spaniel! The origins of the Spaniel (in old-Dutch Spioen) can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Its name refers to Spain, where many dog breeds were created or…
In 1911, Albert Evenepoel (1835–1911) bequeathed his formidable collection of Dutch earthenware to the Museum of Decorative and Industrial Art in his home town. This generosity was the culmination of a life dedicated to earthenware, and more specifically to the production of Delft in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Indeed, for over 40 years, the…
Every month we present a special object from the Aronson Antiquairs’ collection. This month we would like to show you this extraordinary blue and white armorial tobacco jar! This tobacco jar is painted with the Dutch royal coat of arms. It shows a lion holding a sword and arrows. In 1578, during the Eighty Years'…
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