J

Broken and fire-damaged delftware recovered from garden digging

4
Voorwerp
Decoratie

lots of broken shards of delftware dug-up in English garden and possibly early 18th Century

Vraag

I own a very old Farm house in England. The main frontage of my house was built in 1718, although the north and south wings of the property are much older possibly 17th or 16th Century. I think the 1718 portion of the house was built following a fire in the south wing and this is consistent with some fire damage we have found when renovating the property.

Recently we have been digging in the rear garden and have uncovered an area of burnt timber, roof tiles and stonework. It appears to be an area where all the burnt rubble from the house was dumped after the fire was put out and then simply covered over with soil. Amongst all the burnt rubble and timber we have also found the remnants of lots of Delft pottery and I wondered if you would be able to assist me in dating this pottery. I have included a few photographs of lots of different types of broken pottery and can provide detailed photos if you need to see something in close-up. Would you be able to date any of this pottery shown in the photo? Any help you can offer would be most useful.

Afmetingen
various sizes
Collectie
publiekscollectie

Reacties 4

Verdict:

  • Not Delftware

Analysis:

  • Not made in Delft The term Delftware is only used for earthenware actually produced in Delft. Read more
  • Tin-glazed earthenware Earthenware with a glaze to which tin oxide has been added to make it opaque white. Delftware produced before 1850 is always covered with a tin glaze. Read more
  • More recent production technique After 1850, factories in and outside Holland developed more efficient and cheaper production techniques. This goes beyond the scope of this website. Read more
  • Creamware From the 18th century, English creamware is imported to the Netherlands on a large scale and becomes a formidable competitor for Delftware. Read more
  • Hand-painted An important characteristic of authentic Delftware is that it is hand-painted. Printing techniques do not occur on this earthenware. Read more
  • Not hand-painted Due to historical research, we keep discovering more about the marks Delft potteries used. Would you like to learn more about these potteries? Read more
  • No mark visible No mark is visible in the photos. If it is present, please add some extra photos of the bottom or the back of the object.

Dear John,

I think it is always wonderful to see so many shards. It's great to have so much history surrounding your house. Most of these shards are not considered delftware, but pottery from manufacturers from mostly Staffordshire between 1781-1900s. The pottery from those factories was printed and not handpainted. Next to that the ceramic and glaze were of different materials. The only pottery that can be recognized as delftware are the shards next to the key. Even though it is hard to see in the picture, the colour and painting refer to English delftware. Ceramics with a tin glaze, like in Delft, were made in for example London and Bristol. I think the shard can be recognized as pieces from a butterdish with a lid. You can find a Dutch delftware example in the collection of the Rijksmuseum and Museum Arnhem. 

Hi Suzanne,

thank you for your reply. Everything makes much more sense now, especially since your colleague Vincent linked me to the CC on the video. Without the English subtitles I had assumed that a similar plate in the video was Delftware. I fully understand now. Do you have a date for the English plate in the decoration video?

 

Thanks in Advance