Rare Dutch maiolica Charger with decor of a Dutch Gentleman, early 17th century

Origin: Haarlem, the Netherlands
Workshop Verstraeten
Date: Circa 1640

A rare Dutch maiolica or majolica plate with a decoration of a gentleman painted in cobalt blue on a tin-glazed white ground. The gentleman is greatly dressed including sword and lance. The rim is decorated in ocher yellow with spearhead ornaments.

Dutch majolica is one of the rarer ceramics known. Dutch Majolica is extremely rare to find, and most of the time parts are missing. That is because almost all pieces are from excavations. We think that only an estimated 200 pieces have been handed down over the centuries, most of which are in museum collections or foundations.

Besides that Dutch majolica is rare, it's also historically special: it's a new chapter in people's lives and a mixture of cultures. Majolica has something magical and a special attraction that makes you marvel. That’s how it’s for me, but so it should have been for the people in the first half of the 16th century when this luxury product was introduced for the first time. This product was exotic, innovative, and decorated in bright shining colors on a tin-glazed ground, in contradiction with the brown, yellow, and green lead-glazed ceramics which were common. Dutch majolica has been influenced by a lot of cultures. The first influences were the Spanish-Islamic culture and the Italian Renaissance. Sometimes we also see influence from the imports of Chinese porcelain. Later, we see scenes from daily life. Decorations of people, landscapes, fruits, animals, birds, and flowers.

Excavated, broken, and missing pieces filled and restored.