21 Oct 2011 Delft, Netherlands

Just a few Km's away is the Delft Factory. Elder Walters was not really interested in spending time in a china factory but he said he wanted me to do what I wanted to this trip and this was my choice. I think he liked it however. A little history about this beautiful porcelain.

In 1600, the Dutch East India company brought back blue painted porcelain from China (Ming & Kang HSI Dynasties). At the time here in the Netherlands, the breweries were going out of business and left these huge factories vacant. There was also a big demand here for hand painted porcelain. The "De Porcelelyne Fles" was established in 1653.

In 1800 competition came from the Wedgwood Company in England, so 20 of their factories became one. The place we visited today was that factory that remained from 1653. In 1900, the Delft Company received the Grand Prix Award in the Paris Exibition. When most of us think of Delft, we think of the color blue, but in 1978 they introduced Black Delft, and in 2003 they introduced the Jubilee Line.

The clay is a composition of kaolin, chalk, feldspar and quartz. Most of these products are imported from England, the Czech Rep. and France. After the clay is shaped and hardened, a layer of engobe is sprayed on it. It is then fired at 1160 c. after which it is called a biscuit. After it is hand painted it is submerged in a glazing bath which is a white opaque layer, then a second firing process at 1200 c. is done which makes it smooth and glassey. The paint brushes they use are made of marten and squirrel hair (thought this info would be interesting for my brother Bill who is an artist.) The painters here must undergo an internal basic training for one l year. After 5-7 years they can call themselves experienced Delft Blue painters. Landscapes, portraits and tile scenes are only painted by ones who have graduated from an Arts Academy.





















So now you know all about Delft and how it is made. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Did you also know that the painters do not paint in blue, they use a black paint that contains a special ingredient cobalt oxide which changes black into the delft blue.

We enjoyed the gardens, all made from porcelain tile and I had to take a picture of the toilet plaque as well as the toilet bowl itself. Sorry, I guess that was gross. We saw the collection of Christmas plates that date back to 1879. We really enjoyed seeing a copy of the world famous "Night Watch" by Rembrant. It contains 480 tiles and took 2 master painters 2 years to complete. They also have copies of Johannes Vermeers paintings in porcelain. All of the first edition signed copy pieces are given to the Royal Family in the Netherlands. We also went through the factory where everything is made. You are able to see the painters at work. This place is a must see if you are into Porcelain China.