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Vase with Cover

A work made of tin-glazed earthenware (delftware).
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of tin-glazed earthenware (delftware).

Date:

1678-80

Artist:

Attributed to De Grieksche A (The Greek A) Factory
Delft, Netherlands, 1658-1811

About this artwork

Starting in 1604 the Dutch East India Company (founded 1602) imported Chinese porcelain into the northern Netherlands in ever-increasing quantities. The popularity of these predominantly blue- and white objects led potters in the Dutch city of Delft to refine their clay and glaze formulas to better compete with the Chinese imports. Delftware proved an important source of wealth for the Dutch Republic, which had only recently achieved independence from Spain.

In the 1640s porcelain imports into Europe ceased due to civil war in China, leaving Europeans looking for a substitute. By 1665, more than twenty pottery factories had been established in Delft to fill the gap. Most delftware painted with Chinese decoration, like the Art Institute’s vase, dates from this important creative period.

The source of the principal image on the vase is an engraving from the title page of a record of the 1655–57 mission undertaken by the Dutch East India Company to China to negotiate trade agreements with the Chinese emperor. While the mission failed in its trade objectives, the steward, Johan Nieuhof, wrote extensive reports on the journey, which were subsequently published with engraved illustrations.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Artist

Grieksche A Factory (Maker)

Title

Vase with Cover

Place

Delft (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1678–1680

Medium

Tin-glazed earthenware (Delftware)

Dimensions

H.: 58 cm (23 in.); Diam.: 40.7 cm (16 in.)

Credit Line

Anonymous gift in honor of Eloise W. Martin; Eloise W. Martin Fund

Reference Number

1998.515a-b

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/151387/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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