Royal Delft Wit Schotel White Charger Netherlands Steamship Company 1870-1950 Anniversary Hand Painted Nautical Plate by de Porceleyne Fles

A different kind of Delft, a WHITE CHARGER hand painted by the most famous of all Delft manufacturers, DE PORCELEYNE FLES!

This was my first specimen of "WHITE" Delft. I never had a chance to research its origins or it's purpose until listing here :-)

Success! > This is a commemorative plate celebrating the 80th Anniversary of "Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland ("Netherlands Steamship Company") or SMN, also known as the Netherland Line or Nederland Line, was a Dutch shipping line that operated from 1870 until 1970, when it merged with several other companies to form what would become Royal Nedlloyd. The company's motto, Semper Mare Navigandum ("Always sail the seas"), conveniently fitted the same initials."

The plate states "1870 - 13 Mei - 1950 - S.M.N." = 80th Anniversary in 1950

There's also a flag in relief in the center medallion of the plate...it's the company's flag, not the Netherlands' flag.

PIC 5 is also by this maker, a DELFT WHITE RIBBED VASE -

https://www.etsy.com/listing/235349780/royal-delft-white-vase-delfts-wit-vaas

PIC 4 is a separate listing of collectible note of a HUGE-STUNNING-MUSEUM Piece >

https://www.etsy.com/listing/229308470/huge-historical-1609-1909-royal-delft

Would make a perfect gift for that special MOM for Mothers Day, a special housewarming gift or a fine addition to your own collection!

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PHOTOS - integral to description, please use zoom feature for detailed views.

SPECS- about 9.5"D x 1.25"H

CONDITION - Excellent!
- no hairlines, cracks, chips or flakes
- moderate crazing, characteristic of older Fles glazes
- In the back of the plate there is at 10 o'clock - a glaze skip
- foot ring is pierced and currently has a string ready to hang

MY SUBJECTIVE GRADING GUIDE >

Outstanding - pristine, like new
Excellent - excellent as it's an antique (minor issues)
Good - moderate issues
Fair - more than moderate issues, okay for display, but not a prized piece
Poor - major issues = a bargain deserving of continued existence

🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 WHERE AMERICA'S DAY BEGINS! 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴 🌴

🌺 HÅFA ADAI from the tropical island paradise of GUAHAN (Guam/USA) 🌺

de Porceleyne Fles INFO >

De Porceleyne Fles "the porcelain bottle" has been in continuous existence since 1653 and is considered crème de la crème of Delft production. One reason for their continued success is their wares are hand painted. Joost Thooft and partner Labouchere bought the firm in 1876. (this plaque is incised with their names in a circular mark as opposed to the printed "modern" mark of a stylized JT and vase/jug) Fles is the oldest "Delft" manufacturer still in the town of Delft! Fles pieces are sought after collectibles and the larger the item, the more detailed, the more expensive! Modern production of large pieces and tile tableaus are priced in the thousands of dollars! The only Dutch Masters themed charger currently in production goes for over 2,000 Euros on their online store!

"White delft started in the thirties. Because of the economic depression and the outbreak of the Second World War the marketing of the hand painted earthenware stagnated. At the end of the sixties the total collections consisted of more than 174 different models. In 1976 the
production was stopped. In 1986 a small collection again was production which was less cream-colored. At present only the tulip vases are made in White"

I'm thinking they mean "tulipieres" as the auto-translations leave a lot to be desired. I'm also conjecturing that "white" delft was produced because of lack of skilled painters and lack of pigments and enamels, because of the difficult times?

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Delft Chargers were highly sought after display pieces as an alternative to framed oil paintings. Royalty, nobility, wealthy merchants and even rich farmers acquired these examples of hand painted art! Many of the depicted themes were actually copies of popular (now famous) original oil paintings of the Dutch artists and masters. The other themes primarily were Chinois patterns copied from the Ming imports. When rich farmers held a large celebration, they would clear out the barn and then hang Delft Chargers either on the horse stalls or the walls of the barn as part of the party decor for the rustic party venue!

“Old Delft” were expensive and mostly used to flaunt their owner's status and wealth by displaying in their formal dining rooms and other public rooms of their estates. These Delft pieces were exported all over the Western world including the New World as found in Williamsburg and other colonial towns in both North and South America. Delft manufacturers were threatened by Chinese imports, but when China went through their times of troubles and the kilns destroyed and potters killed, the Delft makers capitalized on the sudden rarity of Chinese exports and imitated Ming and Wanli/Kraak patterns to supply the continually growing demand. Eventually Delft potters began using their own patterns and incorporating what has become “iconic” themes of Dutch Windmills, Canals, Nautical and Biblical renditions. When the Chinese Imperial government stabilized, kilns were rebuilt, but found they had lost most of their market share. To regain that share, they began copying the Dutch designs. The humor in all this, is that many of the Dutch designs were copies of Chinese patterns! With all these cross-copying of patterns, meaning was lost and “fanciful” unreal patterns resulted!

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July 4th Independence Day > USA
July 21st Liberation Day WWII > GUAM/USA
Sep 14th Liberation Day WWII > MAASTRICHT, NL

Just wanted to take the opportunity to share this regarding WWII and the people of Holland in regards to the people of the US >

Near Maastricht, in Margraten, is the Netherlands American Cemetery. It is the only American military cemetery in Holland and where 8,301 of our soldiers rest eternal. There are Tablets of the Missing that contain 1,722 names. It's a beautiful and fitting resting place. I mention this because, we visited in 2010 and it was early May just after Koninginnedag (Queen's Birthday) as we were meeting a Dutch aunt who's married to a German citizen and they live in Germany and Maastricht is the halfway point from where we were staying. We were surprised and amazed at the thousands of visitors and the fresh flowers on EVERY GRAVE! It turns out, that ever since the cemetery was first created, every US Soldier's grave had been adopted by a nearby local family (also Belgian and German families across the border) and is visited several times a year and flowers laid and the soldier honored and remembered on certain holidays! It brought us to tears that after all this time, that the Dutch continue to honor and remember our soldier's ultimate sacrifice in helping to liberate their country! Thank you to the anonymous Dutch, Belgian, and German families who remember and honor our fallen!

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I'm not an expert on Porcelain. The information above is based on my research as a collector. It's time to downsize and find an appreciative home for this exquisite piece!

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or need additional photos.