Delft, circa 1710

Marked LVE O J A in blue for Lambertus van Eenhoorn, the owner of De Metaale Pot (The Metal Pot) factory from 1691 to 1721

DIMENSIONS
Height: 13.8 cm. (5.4 in.); Length: 18.3 cm. (7.2 in.)

NOTE
This teapot  is a refined example of Delftware decorated in the so-called cashmere palette, a distinctive polychrome scheme closely associated with Van Eenhoorn’s tenure at De Metaale Pot (The Metal Pot). The decoration of the present teapot is organized around circular panels enclosing flowering branches, framed by scrolling borders and textile-like bands that further evoke woven patterns. These motifs reveal a synthesis of Asian and European sources: the floral imagery ultimately derives from Chinese and Japanese porcelain, while the overall compositional balance and ornamented borders reflect Western design principles. The cashmere palette lends these elements a painterly delicacy, emphasizing surface richness without overwhelming the form.

The shape of the teapot itself reflects the growing importance of tea consumption in the Dutch Republic during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Tea was introduced to Europe in the early seventeenth century through the Dutch East India Company and quickly became associated with refinement, sociability, and elite domestic ritual. 

Tea was presented to guests in tea canisters, and then strongly brewed in small pots. These concentrated brews were then diluted with hot water from a bouilloire, a silver, copper (although this material was thought not so suitable for boiling water) or pewter kettle on a stand over a brazier. When the guest wanted to try a different kind of tea, he or she could rinse the cup in the slop bowl. The new drink should be sipped as hot as possible, but if too hot, it could be poured on the saucer to cool a little and sipped from there. With tea being very expensive, the cups were small, so it was not uncommon if one would have up to twenty or even fifty cups during a tea party. Although early Delft teapots were modeled after imported Chinese porcelain examples, by around 1700 Delft potters had developed their own interpretations, adapting Asian forms to European tastes and practical use.

Delft, circa 1710

DIMENSIONS
Height: 11.6 cm. (4.6 in.)

NOTE
When the Dutch East India Company (VOC) expanded its trading networks across Asia in the seventeenth century, it introduced to the Netherlands a range of commodities that reshaped daily life. Chinese porcelain quickly became a symbol of refinement, yet botanical imports, most notably tea, had an even more profound cultural impact. Although tea was known in Europe before the VOC’s involvement, described by writers such as the Portuguese friar Gaspar da Cruz and the Dutch traveler Jan Huygen van Linschoten, it was only in the final decades of the seventeenth century that tea gained widespread popularity in the Dutch Republic. What began as a medicinal infusion soon evolved into a fashionable social beverage.

Early proponents extolled tea’s supposed restorative properties, claiming it improved health and sharpened the mind. By the 1680s, “taking tea” had become a familiar domestic ritual, fostering new forms of sociability. Afternoon gatherings centered on tea provided opportunities for polite conversation, the display of imported luxuries, and the enjoyment of exotic goods. This emerging ritual created a demand for specialized equipment. While early tea services often combined imported Chinese porcelain with locally produced wares, coordinated sets became common by the eighteenth century, reflecting an increased emphasis on aesthetic harmony.

Among the most important objects in this context were tea canisters, used to store the expensive imported leaves, typically green hyson or black bohea teas. Both functional and decorative, the canister was presented to guests so they could examine the quality of the tea before it was infused in a small pot. Delftware canisters demonstrate the technical mastery of local potters and frequently incorporate motifs drawn from both Chinese porcelain and European ornamental traditions, illustrating the cross-cultural exchanges that shaped Dutch tea culture.

Delft, circa 1740

The pear-shaped body decorated with blossoming peonies, alternating birds perched on a banded hedge, the neck with elaborate scrollwork suspending floral swags, the spout with elongated stylized panels, dark blue upright handle, the pierced stand raised on three scrolled feet.

DIMENSIONS
Total height: 30 cm. (11.8 in.)

PROVENANCE
The Peter Van Slyke Collection, U.S.A.;
Christie’s, Amsterdam, 6 May 2003, lot 324;
The late Mrs. A.C.T. Tempel-Zwartsenberg

NOTE
The tea kettle became an essential object in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, reflecting both the evolving customs of tea consumption and the social hierarchies within households. In this period, boiling water was primarily the task of a maidservant, who was responsible for keeping water hot over an open fire in the kitchen. At the mistress’s signal, the maid would discreetly bring the hot water to the tea table to fill the teapot and cups. This process emphasized the formal and hierarchical nature of tea-drinking rituals, as described by Dr. Cornelis Dekker (1647–1685), known as Bontekoe, in his Gebruik en Misbruik van Thee (The Use and Misuse of Tea, 1686). Bontekoe stressed the importance of maintaining hot water, writing, “continuing to do this, as long as the tea supplied taste and color to the water; but it must not be forgotten that the water always has to be hot” (cited in Thema Thee, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam 1978, p. 33).

For both practical purposes and prestige, it became increasingly customary to have a bouilloire (a type of tea kettle) placed beside the tea table on a special guéridon (a small decorative table), which allowed the hostess to maintain hot water nearby. This shift not only streamlined the tea-serving process but also elevated the kettle to a decorative and status-symbol object, as seen in a plaque from the Historisch Museum Arnhem that depicts a lady seated beside such a setup, inscribed with a poem emphasizing the elegance of tea drinking and the sweet indulgence of sugar.

Bontekoe’s writings also advised against the use of copper kettles, suggesting that “small sharp particles” from copper could wash into the boiling water, causing nausea. Instead, silver, pewter, or ceramic kettles became the preferred options. Among these, faience (tin-glazed earthenware) kettles, particularly Delftware, stood out for their beauty and craftsmanship. However, these decorative ceramics were less durable and could not consistently withstand the high temperatures required for boiling water. As such, Delftware kettles may have ultimately served more as ornamental objects within tea salons, reinforcing the display of wealth and taste.

By the eighteenth century, silver kettles became the most desirable vessels for tea tables, prized for their practicality, durability, and their role as symbols of affluence. Over time, even these fell out of use as tea-drinking customs evolved. By the late nineteenth century, the Dutch adopted the less formal English tradition of brewing and pouring tea directly from larger teapots, marking the decline of the tea kettle’s prominence in tea culture (Thema Thee, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam 1978, p. 33).

Delft, circa 1720

The bulbous body decorated with floral and foliate motifs, a central floral design with vines and stylized flowers on either side, underneath the handle and spout, which is painted with blue accents along the tip, the handle features a row of blue comma-shaped marks repeated at the rim of the cover which features a matching floral pattern and a rounded knop.

DIMENSIONS
Height: 13.5 cm. (5.3 in.)

NOTE
Initially, tea was consumed for medicinal purposes in Europe, since it “suivert het grove bloedt, verdrijft de sware droomen, (…) ’t verjaegt de dommigheijt en ’t sterckt Venus’ handel (gedienstig voor nieuw getrouwde)” (“purifies coarse blood, drives out heavy dreams, (…) chases away stupidity and strengthens Venus’ affairs (useful for newly weds)”. Although it took some time, the craze for tea drinking swept through Europe in the last quarter of the seventeenth century.

Once the practice became fashionable, it changed the rhythm of people’s daily lives. Tea could be drunk once or twice a day, but afternoon gatherings became the new habit. Furthermore, it inspired people to acquire the necessary accoutrements for serving the drink. In the seventeenth century, these necessities could be of a variety of materials, and even a combination of Chinese and European tea wares. However, by the end of the eighteenth century, it was customary to have complete matching sets. Tea was presented to guests in beautiful tea canisters, and then strongly brewed in small pots. These concentrated brews were then diluted with hot water from a bouilloire, a silver, copper (although this material was thought not so suitable for boiling water) or pewter kettle on a stand over a brazier. When the guest wanted to try a different kind of tea, he or she could rinse the cup in the slop bowl. The new drink should be sipped as hot as possible, but if too hot, it could be poured on the saucer to cool a little and sipped from there. With
tea being very expensive, the cups were small, so it was not uncommon if one would have up to twenty or even fifty cups during a tea party.

Dutch Delftware teapots are rare, since vessels made from regular earthenware were comparably coarser than porcelain, and considered less elegant and pleasant to drink from. More important is the fact that earthenware is not the best material to hold boiling water. Heat is conducted more readily by earthenware, being a porous material, than by
porcelain, and it was prone to crack when it had to endure large temperature differences. If the glaze crackled, the material underneath became unsealed, and the water caused it to crumble.

SIMILAR EXAMPLES
A smaller, but comparable modeled and decorated teapot is in the Kunstmuseum, The Hague (inv. no. 1059828).

Delft, circa 1710

Marked and numbered LVE VA 70 12 in blue for Lambertus van Eenhoorn, the owner of De Metaale Pot (The Metal Pot) factory from 1691 to 1721

The reeded body with a blue ground with floral scrollwork, all four sides decorated with a raised oval medallion featuring flowering branches, the cover with a threaded interior and the top with flowering branches and its sides with a border of stylized leaves.

DIMENSIONS
Height 8.7 cm. (3.4 in.)

PROVENANCE
Belgian Private Collection;
German Private Collection

SIMILAR EXAMPLES
An identical tea canister, but missing its cover, is in the collection of Museum Arnhem (inv. no. AB 8917). A similar tea canister, marked for De Roos (the Rose) factory is in the collection of Kunstmuseum The Hague with inv. no. OC(D) 5-1905. Other similar tea canister by De Roos are recorded, including four with an additional ‘H.S.’ mark. Three are housed in the collection of Musées royeaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels and one 1706 dated example in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (inv. no. 135-1887).

Delft, circa 1700

Marked with impressed ARY DE MILDE above a running fox within a beaded oval, the owner of De Gecroonde Theepot (The Crowned Teapot) from 1690 to 1708

The spherical body applied on either side with a relief-molded floral sprig, and the domed cover with three curling ornaments encircling the knop mounted in silver with a boy holding an axe and connected by a chain to a hinged foliate mount on the handle and spout.

DIMENSIONS
Height: 14 cm. (5.5 in.)

NOTE
Although the trade of Chinese porcelain by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) became increasingly difficult around 1650 due to civil unrest in China, the VOC managed to maintain trade relations with southern China. Among the imported wares were porcelain, tea, and the highly sought-after red stoneware teapots.These Chinese objects became an inspiration for the production of red stoneware teapots in Delft.

Red clays are abundant worldwide, but the Yixing region, north of Shanghai, had distinguished itself since the Song dynasty (960–1279) for using a red clay with a high kaolin content to produce exceptional teapots. The material’s ability to retain heat and preserve the fragrance of tea made Yixing teapots highly desirable. These small infusion pots (trekpotjes) were used to brew strong tea, which was then diluted with water from a larger kettle. By 1640, Dutch colonists encountered tea and Yixing teapots in Batavia (now Jakarta), and the VOC soon began including both in their cargoes to the Netherlands. By 1685, the VOC had established a monopoly on the tea trade, with Yixing teapots becoming a complementary import.

The popularity of tea as a fashionable beverage in Europe and the successful properties of Yixing teapots encouraged Delft potters to imitate this red stoneware. However, several technical challenges arose. First, they needed a clay composition suitable for unglazed pottery that was dense, refined, and fired at high temperatures to become watertight without glazing. The color and hardness had to replicate the Chinese originals, and the clays had to be adapted to Dutch production techniques. Unlike the hand-molded slabs used by Chinese potters to create a variety of shapes, Dutch potters relied on wheel-throwing, which typically produced circular, ovoid, or cylindrical forms. This limited the Delft imitations to simpler Chinese teapot models.

At least three Delft potters are known to have experimented with red stoneware teapots: Lambertus Cleffius of De Metaale Pot (The Metal Pot) factory, Samuel van Eenhoorn of De Grieksche A (The Greek A) factory, and Ary de Milde, an assistant to Samuel’s father. In 1678, Cleffius advertised in the Haarlemse Courant crediting himself with the invention of red teapots that could rival the Chinese originals in color, beauty, strength, and functionality. However, Van Eenhoorn and De Milde made similar claims and applied for patents from the Staten van Holland in 1679. To avoid disputes, the issuing board in The Hague allowed all three potters to use their own marks to distinguish their wares.

Among these innovators, De Milde and Jacobus de Caluwe are most prominently associated with Delft red stoneware, largely due to the frequent marking of their products. De Milde, nicknamed the “Master teapot maker,” operated De Gecroonde Theepot (The Crowned Teapot) factory and produced red teapots from circa 1680 until his death in 1708. His daughter continued the business under his name until 1724. Characteristic De Milde teapots often feature applied blossom sprigs on an even spherical ground, as can be seen on the present teapot.

SIMILAR EXAMPLES
A similar silver-mounted teapot, also marked for De Milde, is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 2023.3040); another similar teapot by De Milde, but with the relief decoration mirrored is in the collection of Musée National de Céramique Sèvres (inv. no. 2244).

Delft, circa 1690

Painted with a Chinese figure standing before his attendant bearing a large fan, amidst four vessels placed on the ground and one on top of a stove within a blue ground border, separated by eight lappets with the depiction of a flower, Chinese characters, or fret-patterns

DIMENSIONS
Length: 15.8 cm. ( 6.2 in.)

PROVENANCE
The Kitty Valkier-Schreurs Collection, Belgium; Aronson Antiquairs, Amsterdam

LITERATURE
Described and illustrated in Aronson 2017, p. 26, no. 13.

NOTE
The Dutch were intrigued by Chinese and Japanese porcelain objects, and imitated many of the unique forms in Delftware. Potters were particularly interested by the small porcelain dishes and saucers used for small bites during the Japanese tea ceremony. Similar forms were made in Holland, decorated with chinoiserie decorations, or with purely European subjects, such as harbour views and landscapes. One example is a set of leaf-shaped dishes made by Frederik van Frytom dated 1684, found in the collection of Museum Prinsenhof in Delft (inv. no. PDA 126B & PDA 126E). Interestingly, these small dishes that bear Dutch landscapes were then produced in Japan from circa 1700 until 1725, of which an example is in the Museum Prinsenhof (inv. no. PDA 126 g), illustrated in Kievit and Klüver, 2015, p. 114. According to van Dam, 2004, p. 83 small dishes shaped as leaves and various forms were probably created on a large scale in China for the Japanese market in the seventeenth century. Therefore, it is likely that the small chinoiserie dishes that the VOC brought home from China were actually intended for a Japanese clientele.

Delft, circa 1690

Marked AK in blue for Adrianus Kocx, owner of De Grieksche A (The Greek A) factory from 1687 to 1701

The body depicting a man sitting on a horse hunting with a deer and two dogs around him, in the background a blossoming tree and a mountain, on the sides chinoiserie figures doing work on the sides, floral scrollwork on the top and the cover depicting a man on a horse, the foot-rim decorated with a band of overlapping petals.

DIMENSIONS
Height: 12.4 cm. (4.9 in.)

NOTE
Hunting is an old aristocratic sport, and is especially popular as a subject for paintings. In Chinese hunting, hawks and hounds were mostly used. Firearms were rarely employed, and even then, the imperial hunting arsenal only included the traditional local flintlocks. Bows and arrows were occasionally employed, and deer were the main game.

On the present tea canister, the hunter on horseback carries a second arrow in his left hand as he strikes his victim. While the delicately rendered deer and dogs present help during the hunt, the powerful horse is depicted in an animated “flying gallop,” with bulging muscles suggesting the frenzied excitement of the chase.

On transitional wares, the entire area was covered with a continuous scene that often consisted of landscapes with animals or figures either conversing or in a moment of spirited action. The decoration on this specific tea canister shows elements of engravings by Petrus Schenk II.

A unique type of decoration evolved from these different Chinese styles, which is freer and shows the Delft interpretation. Chinese figures, landscapes, architecture and attributes are rendered and composed in a way that evokes Chinese style: Chinoiserie. This style originated in the seventeenth century and quickly became a dominant fashion throughout Europe, enduring through the first half of the eighteenth century. The faience painter chose the elements which he considered the most characteristic for exotic Asia and combined it as he wished.

Delft, circa 1700

The spherical body and cover painted with sprigs and flowering plants, the loop handle and spout with a border of stripes, and a triangle-shaped knop encircled with a continuous line.

DIMENSIONS
Height: 7.2 cm. (2.8 in.)

PROVENANCE
Bernard C.M. Grijpma Kunst en Antiek, 1998; Private collection

NOTE
Tea and coffee were first imported from China to Holland by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. At the time, it could take up to two years for the Dutch trading ships to complete a round trip. Drinking tea was initially a luxurious pastime reserved for the elite. The practice of drinking tea became increasingly fashionable amongst the upper class who expressed their good taste by acquiring the necessary accoutrements. In response to the demand for tea wares, Delftware factories produced magnificent objects for tea services. Tea imports rapidly became one of the most profitable traded commodities. By the second half of the eighteenth century, the consumption of tea spread to every social class and became an indispensable article to daily life. By the end of the eighteenth century, almost every household owned a tea service.

Early teapots are generally of a small size, not only because tea was an exotic and expensive luxury and consumed sparingly, but also because these teapots were used as infusion pots from which a small portion of the strong brew would be poured into a cup and then diluted with hot water from a kettle. The present teapot, however, is particularly small and is referred to as a ‘tasting pot.’ As described in the exhibition catalogue, Thema thee: de geschiedenis van de thee en het theegebruik in Nederland, Rotterdam (Museum Boijmans van Beuningen) 1978, p. 32, the hostess would offer several blends in these small pots to be tasted by the guests so that they might select the one they would like to drink. K. Duysters, in Theepotten steengoed, Roodstenen theepotten uit Yixing en Europa, Arnhem (Historisch Museum het Burgerweeshuis) 1998, p. 31, comments further that tasting pots were brought along to the tea shops by ladies in order to sample the teas before choosing the kind they wished to buy.

Delft, circa 1700

Marked LVD in yellow for Lieve van Dalen, the owner of Het Jonge Moriaanshooft (The Young Moor’s Head) factory from 1692 to circa 1726

The spherical body with a brown ground painted in blue, red, white and yellow in a marble-like pattern, the short spout and loop handle with red and white scrollwork bands and a yellow flower on the top of the cover.

DIMENSIONS
Height: 8 cm. (3.1 in.)

PROVENANCE
Private Dutch Collection, 2023

NOTE
Japanese lacquer wares imported to the Netherlands were extremely popular at the end of the seventeenth century. Delft potters attempted to imitate the rare and lustrous brown ground color, although it proved to be quite challenging. Brown- ground Delft is extremely rare, even more so than Black Delft of which there are only about sixty- five known examples. The largest assemblage of ‘Brown Delft’ is in the Albert Evenepoël Collection at the Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, which has sixteen pieces. Several Delft factories attempted to produce brown-ground wares, but the most successful was Het Jonge Moriaanshooft under the twenty-year proprietorship of Lieve van Dalen, whose mark appears on many of the surviving ‘Brown Delft’ wares, which include tea and table wares, various small useful wares and vases.