Homenews

The National Museum in Gdańsk (historically Danzig) is one of Poland’s oldest museums, formed through the merger of the Municipal Museum (1870) and the Museum of Decorative Arts (1881). Its origins trace back to the collection of Jacob Kabrun (1759–1814), which includes thousands of European paintings, drawings, and engravings from the late 15th to early 19th century.

The museum’s ceramics collection dates back to the late 19th century, when efforts began to establish a dedicated Museum of Decorative Arts. In 1881, Gdańsk collector Ludwig Garbe sold 433 objects to the museum, including around 60 pieces of Delftware. By World War II, the collection had grown to approximately 190 Delft ceramics, but many were lost during the war, leaving only about half surviving. Due to missing documentation from the German period, these figures remain estimates.

Despite these losses, the collection has continued to grow through purchases and donations, bringing the museum’s Delftware holdings to approximately 130 objects, alongside a significant collection of Dutch wall tiles.

The current permanent exhibition presents a selection of Delftware and tiles, including a set of large vases and covers marked LVE and a 17th-century panel by Jan van Oort. Archaeological excavations in Gdańsk have uncovered numerous Delftware fragments, particularly from De Drie Posteleyne Astonne during Gerrit Kam’s ownership (1679–1700)—a factory richly represented in the museum’s collection.

The significance of Delftware in Gdańsk reflects the city’s deep historical ties with the Netherlands. As a major trade hub, Gdańsk played a crucial role in Dutch-Baltic commerce, influencing architecture and decorative arts.

Plans are underway to expand the exhibition, allowing for a more in-depth presentation of the collection.

The MAK – Museum of Applied Arts (German: Museum für angewandte Kunst) is an arts and crafts museum located at Stubenring 5 in Vienna’s 1st district, Innere Stadt. Besides its traditional orientation towards arts and crafts and design, the museum especially focuses on architecture and contemporary art. The museum has been at its current location since 1871.

Founded in 1863 by Rudolf von Eitelberger, Vienna’s first professor of art history, the MAK was modeled after the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria & Albert Museum) in London, which had been established just eleven years prior. Initially housed in the Ballhaus on Ballhausplatz, the museum found its permanent home on Vienna’s prestigious Ringstraße in 1871. The grand structure, designed by Heinrich von Ferstel in the Italian Early Renaissance style, was the first museum to grace the Ringstraße, setting a precedent for future institutions. Today, visitors to the MAK’s Columned Main Hall stand within a space that reflects both historical grandeur and an ongoing commitment to artistic discourse.

The MAK collection is guided by a singular purpose: to inspire critical thought on essential design principles. It encompasses Austrian and international works spanning centuries, fostering a dialogue between tradition and innovation. The collection serves as a repository of artistic experimentation, material exploration, and social relevance, demonstrating how design and art interact with everyday life.

The MAK showcases Vienna 1900 Design and Arts and Crafts from 1890 to 1938, an extensive collection of carpets, and a significant selection of Asian art from China, Japan, and Korea. European artistic movements are well represented, spanning from the Renaissance through Baroque and Rococo to Classicism. Additionally, Empire Style and Biedermeier works highlight key shifts in aesthetic trends, while Historicism and Art Nouveau reflect the evolving artistic landscape. Among its diverse holdings, the MAK houses a collection of Delftware, featuring blue-and-white jugs and vases from the seventeenth century, as well as polychrome ewers and plates from the eighteenth century.

The National Museum in Kraków (Polish: Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie), commonly abbreviated as MNK, is the largest museum in Poland and serves as the main branch of Poland’s National Museum system. Established in 1879, it has grown to encompass 21 departments, including 11 galleries, 2 libraries, and 12 conservation workshops. With a vast collection of approximately 780,000 art objects spanning from classical archaeology to modern art, the museum holds a particular focus on Polish painting.

The museum initially occupied the upper floor of the Renaissance Sukiennice building at the Main Square in Kraków’s Old Town, which remains one of its key divisions. The construction of the contemporary New Main Building at 3 Maja Street began in 1934 but was interrupted by World War II, with completion only achieved in 1992 after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. While many of its collections are housed in the Main Building, the museum also manages nine divisions spread across the city, preserving and showcasing a vast array of artistic heritage.

The National Museum in Kraków boasts an extensive and diverse collection covering centuries of artistic achievements. Its Gallery of the Twentieth Century Polish Art, housed in the Main Building, is among the largest exhibitions of modern Polish painting and sculpture. Notable works include those by Jacek Malczewski, Leon Wyczółkowski, and Włodzimierz Tetmajer. The collection also features an extensive array of works by Stanisław Wyspiański and contributions from Polish cubists, expressionists, and avant-garde artists of the 1930s and 1960s. Masterpieces from the Young Poland movement include works by Konrad Krzyżanowski, Olga Boznańska, and Józef Pankiewicz, alongside influential avant-garde artists such as Zbigniew Pronaszko, Leon Chwistek, and Tytus Czyżewski. The museum’s post-war collection highlights contributions from Tadeusz Kantor, Jonasz Stern, Maria Jarema, and Jerzy Nowosielski, as well as contemporary Polish artists like Wilhelm Sasnal, Jadwiga Sawicka, and Leon Tarasewicz.

Beyond paintings and sculptures, the museum houses a vast arsenal collection, including Polish armor from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, sabers, firearms, military uniforms, and orders of distinction. The “Arms and Colours” exhibition presents European weaponry from various historical periods. The Decorative Arts and Crafts Gallery exhibits gold, silver, and gemstone artifacts, pewter and wrought iron objects, antique furniture, musical instruments, clocks, ceramics, and stained glass from Kraków’s churches. The museum also holds one of Poland’s largest collections of antique Oriental and Polish carpets and textiles. Among its extensive holdings, the museum also preserves a selection of Delftware from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The Musée Carnavalet in Paris is dedicated to the history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, the civil servant who transformed Paris in the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Hôtel Carnavalet was purchased by the Municipal Council of Paris in 1866 and opened to the public on February 25, 1880. Since 1880, the museum has been substantially enlarged, with the construction of new buildings and the annexation of the Le Peletier de Sant-Fargeau mansion in 1989. The museum’s architecture now offers a history spanning more than 450 years. 

For over 150 years, the continuously enriched museum collections have told the story of Paris, from prehistory to the present. The current collections on display are presented within the two seventeenth century residences, the Hôtels Carnavalet and Le Pelletier de Saint-Fargeau. Some rooms have their original decoration intact, while others have been recreated with furnishing and decoration of a certain period. They include furnished rooms from historic residences from the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Located at 23 Rue de Sévigné, the Hôtel des Ligneris (known as “Carnavalet”) is one of the rare examples of Renaissance architecture in Paris, along with the Louvre’s Cour Carrée. Built in the mid-sixteenth century (1548-1560) for Jacques des Ligneris, President of the Paris Parliament, it is one of the oldest Marais District private mansions in Paris.

The Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau is located at 29 rue de Sévigné. It was built between 1688 and 1690 for Michel Le Peletier de Souzy (1640-1725), according to plans made by Pierre Bullet (1639-1716), Architect of the King and the City, and has a remarkable orangery.

With the growth of Paris, the idea of a museum dedicated to the history of the city became popular during the Second Empire (1852-1870). Since the beginning, the museum has been dedicated to collecting authentic objects “having belonged to” a well-known person and with a strong individual and collective emotional resonance.  The Carnavalet Museum features, among others, the campaign kit belonging to Napoleon I, mementos of the French royal family and the revolutionaries, Zola’s watch and the bedroom and personal affairs of Marcel Proust.

Today the Carnavalet-History of Paris Museum contains over 618,000 items dating from prehistory to the present. Paintings, sculptures, scale models, shop signs, drawings, engravings, posters, medals and coins, historical objects and souvenirs, photographs, wood paneling, interior decorations and furniture combine to present the history and tell the unique story of the capital. The collection also houses three Delftware plaques in the shape of birdcages. Birdcage plaques were typically part of the architectural scheme of a room, sometimes set within a wall amongst other tiles. The trompe l’œil decoration was an intended effect to seamlessly blend into the interior, and perhaps match the room’s decorative trimmings. These birdcage plaques demonstrate the trompe l’œil (deceive the eye) technique, a style often used in old master paintings to captivate and fool the viewer. The Delft potters probably took inspiration from seventeenth-century still life paintings with trompe l’œil effects. They show a scene with painted depth and realistic details, which were intended to create an optical illusion. Birdcages painted with realism are also commonly depicted in seventeenth-century genre paintings as well as trompe l’œil paintings.

Hauteville House is the house where writer Victor Hugo lived in Guernsey. Built on the heights of Saint Peter Port, Hauteville House was Hugo’s residence during his exile in Guernsey on the island.

Hugo lived in Guernsey for the last 15 years of a long 19-year exile. He was banished from France following the coup d’état by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte on 2 December 1851, and also expelled from Belgium in 1852 and from Jersey in 1855. He moved to Guernsey where he acquired Hauteville House in 1856. By owning it, Hugo ensured that he could not be expelled from the island as Guernsey law prohibits the deporting of people with property on the island.

Hugo and his wife Adèle Foucher transformed, furnished and decorated the house during his exile from 1856 to 1870, and during a return visit in the summer of 1878. He named the house “Hautville”, rather than Liberté, which had been his original intention. Many masterpieces were written here – Les Misérables, Toilers of the Sea, The Man Who Laughs, The Legend of the Ages, Le Théâtre en Liberté, and so on.

Hauteville House remained in the family until 1927, when it was donated to the City of Paris by Victor Hugo’s granddaughter Jeanne Negreponte and the children of his grandson Georges Hugo, on the occasion of the centenary of the Romantic Movement.

The house consists of four levels, with the top floor featuring a glazed lookout with a view of Saint Peter Port, Herm and Sark, and the islands near them. It is a work of art by its layout and décor, designed by Victor Hugo himself. It starts already with the entrance hall which is a transition between nature and architecture, it gives the impression of a pergola, with panoramic wallpaper covering the top of the walls and the ceiling. Furthermore, there are a tapestry room, the billiard room and the workshop, and many more rooms that are in fact a work of art in themselves. The house also houses ceramics, for example in the Tiled Hallway where the walls has been fitted with chine cabinets containing the Sèvres porcelain service given to Victor Hugo by Charles X and English imitations of Chinese porcelain dinner sets. Victor Hugo also placed ceramics on the ceiling to complete the décor. Ceramics can also be found in the dining room, which is possibly the most spectacular room in the house: its walls are decorated with Delft tiles framed by wood panelling and the ceramic double “H” of its monumental fireplace. 

Further, the collection houses a large kraak-style delftware charger with ducks. Kraak-style chargers like the present example are also called Kaapsche schotels (Cape dishes), because Chinese porcelain was imported via the Cape of Good Hope route. This Kraak-style decoration enjoyed great popularity in the Netherlands, even when a larger variety of Kangxi porcelain was available at the end of the seventeenth century. Often, the chargers are painted within a hexagon or octagon with a river landscape, where large blossoming plants rise alongside the banks and little birds, ducks or peacocks strut. The border is always divided in alternating wide and narrow panels decorated with flowers and Daoist or Buddhist motifs or fortunate emblems. The Delft potters would often deviate from Asian motifs, as in the present dish where the blue color has a dark-blue, black or purple outline. The draftsmanship on Kraak-style chargers varies and determines the character and quality of the chargers.

The Walters Art Museum is one of Baltimore’s premier cultural institutions, renowned not only for the breadth of its collections but also for its deep historical roots in the city. Established through the bequests of William T. Walters and his son Henry, the museum houses a diverse collection of artworks and objects spanning antiquity to modern times. This article delves into the museum’s evolution, architecture, and key collections, highlighting its contributions to both the art world and public education.

The origins of the Walters Art Museum can be traced to the vision of William Thompson Walters (1819–1894), a successful businessman and art collector. William began amassing a collection during the mid-19th century, focusing on European and Asian art. His son, Henry Walters (1848–1931), expanded this collection, further acquiring works of art that reflected his interests in ancient, medieval, and Renaissance art. Henry’s vision for the museum culminated in his decision to bequeath the collection and the museum buildings to the city of Baltimore, ensuring that the public would have free access to one of the most comprehensive art collections in the United States.

In 1934, the museum formally opened as a public institution under the name of the Walters Art Gallery, later renamed the Walters Art Museum in 2000. Since then, the museum has grown, expanding both its physical footprint and its curatorial scope. Today, the Walters continues to be a free cultural institution, sustained by a combination of public and private funding.

The Walters Art Museum is notable not only for its collection but also for its architectural evolution. The museum’s original building, completed in 1909 and known as the Palazzo, was designed by William Adams Delano in the style of a 17th-century Genoese palace. This building reflects Henry Walters’ admiration for the Italian Renaissance and Baroque architecture, and it provides a fitting environment for the display of European art from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

In contrast to the Palazzo, the Centre Street Building, completed in 1974, is a striking example of Brutalist architecture, characterized by its bold use of raw concrete and geometric forms. Designed by the architectural firm Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson, and Abbott, this modernist structure reflects the museum’s expanding vision and need for additional space to house its growing collection. The juxtaposition of the ornate, Renaissance-inspired Palazzo with the austere, modernist Centre Street Building symbolizes the museum’s commitment to bridging historical periods and artistic styles.

The Walters Art Museum’s collection spans more than 7,000 years, encompassing artworks from nearly every major civilization. The museum’s holdings are organized into several key areas, reflecting the global scope of its acquisitions. With over 36,000 objects, the collection offers a breathtaking panorama of art and culture, from ancient Roman sarcophagi to richly illuminated Qur’ans and Gospel books, from serene images of the Buddha to romantic 18th and 19th-century French landscapes. Each piece in the collection tells a story, connecting the past to the present and sparking wonder and surprise in all who visit. Among the museum’s diverse collection is a remarkable three-piece Delftware blue and white garniture from the early 18th century. The exquisite vases are painted with putti flying amidst a profusion of floral sprigs and flowers, showcasing the exceptional artistry and intricate detailing that characterize Dutch Delftware.

The Petit Palais, an architectural jewel nestled in the heart of Paris, was originally constructed for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, alongside its grand neighbor, the Grand Palais. Located on Avenue Winston Churchill, the Petit Palais stands as a testament to both the opulence of the Belle Époque and the innovative spirit of the early twentieth century. Designed by the architect Charles Girault, this stunning building combines traditional and modern architectural elements, showcasing a harmonious blend of grandeur and functionality.

From its inception, the Petit Palais was intended to be more than just a museum—it was to be a celebration of the City of Paris and the transformative power of art. Girault envisioned a building that would exude the grandeur and dignity of an official palace. To achieve this, a comprehensive decorative program was undertaken, involving some of the most prominent artists of the time. The murals, sculptures, and other decorative elements created between 1903 and 1925 continue to captivate visitors to this day.

The Petit Palais officially opened as the “Palais des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris” on December 11, 1902, and has since been home to an impressive collection of art. The museum’s holdings are divided into two main areas. The first focuses on French art from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, featuring works acquired by the City of Paris through commissions, direct purchases from artists, or at Salons. This collection is one of the major strengths of the museum today.

The second key area of the collection is the pre-modern art bequeathed by the Dutuit brothers, Auguste and Eugène, in 1902. This collection reflects the nineteenth-century fascination with European history and the exploration of other civilizations. It includes an impressive array of ancient Greek and Roman works, medieval and Renaissance art objects, Flemish and Dutch paintings from the seventeenth century, manuscripts and books, and a vast collection of engravings. Over the years, the museum has continued to grow its collection through various donations and bequests.

Among the many treasures housed in the Petit Palais is a beautiful Delftware blue and white sweetmeat dish from the eighteenth century. This object is decorated with a scene of people engaged in conversation within an Asian landscape.

Located in Namur, Belgium, the Musée des Arts décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts) holds a distinguished status as a heritage site. Housed within the splendid Hôtel de Groesbeeck – de Croix, an architectural gem from the Age of Enlightenment, this museum has a rich history.

Originally, the museum building was constructed from the former refuge of the Abbey of Villers-en-Brabant, dating back to the thirteenth century. In 1605, it underwent significant transformation and was later acquired in 1688 by Baroness d’Harscamp. A detailed relief plan from 1747, crafted by Jean-Baptiste Larcher d’Aubancourt, reveals the layout of the mansion, comprising a main building adjacent to the street, a rear wing extending northward, and various ancillary structures. Some remnants of the original 1605 construction are still visible, including markings in the vaults of the vestibule.

In 1751, Alexandre-François de Groesbeeck, the grandson of Baroness d’Harscamp, initiated extensive renovations under the guidance of architect Jean-Baptiste Chermane. Despite initial enthusiasm, the project was overshadowed by personal tragedies, with the premature deaths of family members leaving Alexandre-François to pass away alone in 1789.

This melancholic legacy seems to linger within the hôtel, since only two rooms were richly decorated: the dining room and the countess’s boudoir. Old inventories do not mention other luxurious decorations or materials. he latter and his descendants rarely occupied the hotel in the nineteenth century. The building was nevertheless maintained but – fortunately – it was not be brought up to date. Bij preventing modernization, it was preserved in its original structure.

Maintained but untouched by technological advancements, the hotel remained largely intact until the 1930s, marking a new chapter in its history. Surrounded by a charming French-inspired garden, the museum showcases decorative arts spanning the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Its collection includes furniture, clocks, paintings, sculptures, crystal, and earthenware, notably featuring Dutch Delftware objects, mostly on loan from the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels.

The National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design (Nasjonalmuseet) in Oslo, Norway, is a treasure trove of art, architecture, and design objects. It holds the Norwegian state’s extensive public collection, which spans centuries and genres, making it a cultural landmark in the heart of Oslo.

The National Museum was established in 2003 through the merger of several prestigious institutions: the Museum of Architecture, the Museum of Industrial Art, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the National Gallery of Norway. This unification aimed to create a cohesive institution that could better serve the public and showcase Norway’s rich artistic heritage.

In 2022, the museum’s new building opened at Vestbanehallen, centrally located in Oslo. This state-of-the-art facility now houses the entire collection from the previously separate museums. The new permanent exhibition brings together older and modern art, architecture, design, crafts, and contemporary art under one roof, highlighting new and intriguing connections between different artistic disciplines.

The National Museum’s collection is vast, totaling over 400,000 works. It includes iconic pieces such as the first version of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” from 1893 and a significant collection of paintings from the Norwegian Romantic Nationalism movement. The museum also boasts extensive collections of graphics, drawings, architecture and contemporary art.

Among its many treasures, the museum houses an impressive collection of Delftware. This collection was originally part of the Art Industry Museum. The origins of the Art Industry Museum date back to 1876, initiated by Professor Lorentz Dietrichson and antiquarian Nicolay Nicolaysen. Founded by the state, it was one of Norway’s first museums and among the earliest art industry museums in Europe. This initiative was likely driven by Norway’s desire to establish itself as an independent nation with a rich cultural identity.

The museum’s collection of design and handicrafts is diverse, ranging from ancient Greek vases and East Asian artifacts to European decorative arts. It includes costumes, fashion and textiles, furniture, silver, glass, ceramics, and crafts. Each piece in the collection reflects the evolution of artistic and industrial design, offering a comprehensive view of cultural history.

Delftware highlights include a rare early Delft dish adorned with a bouquet of yellow flowers, blue and white vases, and figural cisterns and tureens. One standout piece is a large tureen with pikes from circa 1760, marked for Johannes van Duijn of De Porceleyne Schotel. The tureen’s lid features a pike holding a small fish in its mouth, with the tail serving as a handle, showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Keramisch Museum Goedewaagen (Ceramic Museum Goedewaagen), established in 1893 in Nieuw-Buinen, Drenthe, is housed in the former pottery factory of Royal Goedewaagen, a company dating back to 1610. This museum is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting Dutch ceramics, showcasing a vast array of collections that span various eras and styles.

Royal Goedewaagen in Gouda, originally a pipe factory from 1779, expanded throughout the 19th century by acquiring smaller factories. This growth allowed it to evolve into a major ceramic producer with an international footprint. The transition to a modern, technologically advanced factory in 1909 at Jaagpad marked a significant phase, enabling Goedewaagen to blend centuries-old Dutch ceramic traditions from Gouda with new production techniques.

The museum now has a collection of approximately 4,000 pieces of ceramics, ranging from decorative pottery to tableware, from tile to tile tableau to miniature house. The permanent collection consists of around 800 objects, which together tell the story of Dutch pottery production from 1880 onwards. Since 1989 the museum’s foundation does academic research on decorated Dutch ceramic made after this period.

The museum’s collection includes not only Goedewaagen products but next also a collection of Old Dutch majolica from the 1550-1650 period. These pieces provide insights into the artistic expressions of that time, marked by vibrant colors, reflecting the skills of craftsmen and the cultural exchanges of the period.

In the sixteenth century, many potters from Antwerp migrated to the northern Netherlands and established themselves in various cities. By 1600, the city of Haarlem emerged as the leading majolica centre. Multiple inventories show that forty-five potters had settled there and the production of majolica increased proportionally. Although it is impossible to identify and attribute the work of the forty-five potters in Haarlem, there is one exception: the wares of Willem Jansz. Verstraeten, who is considered the most important potter in Haarlem during the second quarter of the seventeenth century.

In addition to majolica, the museum’s collection also features modern ceramics, industrial products, and special exhibitions on decorative tiles and pipes. The museum serves a rich collection. Also, the museum regularly organizes temporary exhibitions and educational programs aimed at spreading knowledge about ceramics and its historical context in the Netherlands.

Focusing on both historical and modern ceramics, the Ceramic Museum Goedewaagen offers an insight into the rich ceramic traditions of the Netherlands.

The Koopmans – de Wet House opened in 1914, which makes it the oldest house museum in Cape Town, South Africa. Before the house became a museum it was occupied by Marie Koopmans – de Wet and her sister, Margaretha. Marie was well-known in her community, as she helped orphans and widows of the Boer republics during the South African war.

Many of the museum treasures were first collected by the original owners of the house. The collection grew significantly after the house became a museum, with many purchases and donations. The house is richly decorated in a style typical of eighteenth century townhouses of well-to-do families. It contains paintings, carpets, mirrors, gold and silver. Houses like The Koopmans – de Wet house also would have contained Chinese and Japanese porcelain, and of course Delftware.

The Dutch East India Company, or the VOC for short (Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie) quickly built a monopoly over international trade, responsible for the transportation of millions of goods between Europe and Asia during its almost two hundred year existence. The Cape of Good Hope was on the route, so a great variety of goods were brought there, from eastern woods, foods and much more. During the seventeenth century and eighteenth centuries, the VOC ships transported passengers in addition to goods. People traveled to the colonies to visit family and friends, or back to The Netherlands to seek a better education, or to find a suitable lover. Many passengers simply wanted to start a new life in the colonies of the Cape of Good Hope or Batavia. The regular ship traffic informed colonists of current events in their homeland through word of mouth, journals, newspapers and letters.

The Koopmans – de Wet House has a wonderful collection of Delftware among other ceramics that are displayed inside a curiosity cabinet in a richly decorated room. The collection and the unique house are not to be missed. 

In northern England located in the town of Barnard Castle in County Durham the Bowes Museum is to be found. This museum built by Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson was intended to house the art collection of John Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier. John and Joséphine both came from wealthy families and had royal blood. Joséphine was the Countess of Montalbo, the Republic of San Marino. The museum opened its door in 1892 after the passing of the couple.

The Bowes Museum is a richly modelled building with large windows and mansard roofs, which was typical for the French Second Empire. Around the museum there are beautiful landscaped gardens with a French feel. Sir Nicholas Pevsner, a German-British art historian considered the building “… big, bold and incongruous, looking exactly like the town hall of a major provincial town in France. In scale it is just as gloriously inappropriate for the town to which it belongs (and to which it gives some international fame) as in style”.

The couple left many beautiful art pieces after their death with approximately 15.000 pieces of European fine and decorative arts. Beautiful paintings can be found of the hand of Anthony van Dyck, Fransisco Goya and more great artists. 

Not to be forgotten the museum contains Delftware. The museum houses two plates by Willem Jansz. Verstraeten made in circan1675. Although it is impossible to identify the work of the 45 potters in Haarlem and to attribute objects to one potter, there is one exception: the wares of Willem Jansz. Verstraeten, who is considered the most important potter in the city of Haarlem during the second quarter of the seventeenth century. He started his career by making Majolica. Later on he introduced important technical innovations, which marked the end of the majolica production. From around 1640 his factory created earthenware, which had a layer of white tin-glaze on the reverse. Together with other innovations (such as the blue and white color pattern), the workshop of Verstraeten was able to compete with the so sought after Chinese porcelain.

In 1642 Verstraeten suffered a stroke and he decided to turn his pottery over to his son Gerrit. Against all odds Willem made a good recovery and set up a new factory in the same year. Father and son both signed a contract in which the production of earthenware was divided between them. The contract was based on the decoration or the material of the earthenware. Some think that father and son agreed that Gerrit would make the new faience inspired on the blue and white Chinese porcelain and the father would focus on the production of old-fashioned majolica. They state that the contract has been based – almost certainly – on the material and not on the decoration, since there was no need to produce earthenware with Chinese decoration before the year 1647 in which imports of Chinese porcelain came to a halt. Hollandts Porceleyn (Dutch porcelain – as the earthenware mistakenly was called) was in fact in the first 25 years faience with a non-Chinese decoration.

Willem Verstraeten tried several times to get out of the contract with his son, he also wanted to make Hollandts porceleyn. What started with a few skirmishes, ended in a whole series of controversial legal cases, involving numerous witness statements by colleagues. The cases were centered around the question what Hollandts porceleyn was exactly. While Willem focussed on the decoration, his son was aiming at the material. According to Willem faience referred to white goods with a small amount of decoration, porcelain on the other hand was faience with full decoration. In contrast to this, Gerrit stated that all better made flatware was called Hollandts porceleyn, irrespective of the decoration. Willem got the top of the Delft ‘Dutch porcelain makers’ to testify in favour of his point of view. Despite the existence of the archives of these court cases, it is still rather difficult to find out if the contract father and son signed was based on the material or on the decoration.

Finally in the autumn of 1650, the ruling of the Court of Holland handed down to the effect that Willem could produce wares with new inventions but not in the manner of porcelain. The last judgment, that of the High Court, is not known; possibly a settlement was reached in the end. This outcome had as result that Willem Verstraeten continued making faience, but at first without the Chinese full decoration, since he had stated in several court cases that the Chinese decoration was the main characteristic of Hollandts porceleyn. Instead of the Chinese decoration he focussed on a more Italian style pattern.