Dutch Delft Polychrome Model of a Cow Milking Group

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Dutch Delft Polychrome Model of a Cow Being Milked,
De Twee Scheepjes Pottery (The Two Little Ships),
Circa 1765

The … Read more Dutch Delft Polychrome Model of a Cow Being Milked,
De Twee Scheepjes Pottery (The Two Little Ships),
Circa 1765

The Dutch Delft cow figure, from the De Twee Scheepjes Pottery (The Two Little Ships), is modeled with the cow standing affronté with slightly turned head and yellow horns and being milked by a man seated on a yellow stool wearing a round broad-brimmed hat and smoking a pipe with the milk pail held at an angle between his legs. The figure group is on a hollow chamfered rectangular base with a green top and floral scrolls around the side. The cow has a floral garland around its neck and body.

Dimensions: 7 1/4 inches high x 9 inches wide x 5 1/4 inches deep (18.42cm high x 22.86cm wide x 13.34cm deep).

Mark: Underglaze AP conjoined on underside of base for Anthonij Pennis, owner of De Twee Scheepjes, 1750-1770.

De Twee Scheepjes pottery stood on the southern side of Molslaan. The sixth owner was potter Jan Gaal, who ran it from 1707 to his death in 1725. His widow then took over, but sold the pottery to Hendrick van den Velde two years later, in 1727.

From 1750 Jan Pennis managed the company, and his son Anthonij officially took over from him in 1764. That same year Pennis Jr. registered his AP factory mark, adding that there was no board or ‘stone plaque in the facade’.

Reference:
(Aronson Delftware)

Delftware cows are inspired by a long-standing Dutch tradition. The Delft potters drew inspiration from the seventeenth-century custom of the Gilde-os (Guild Ox) parade, an annual festivity organized by the Butcher’s Guild in the Netherlands on the feast day of St. Luke—the patron saint of butchers, traditionally represented by the apocalyptic winged ox. This grand procession showcased the guild’s finest bull or cow, lavishly adorned with floral garlands, ribbons, and gilded horns, often topped with oranges. The decorated animal was paraded through the streets, accompanied by drummers and pipers, followed by singing and dancing guild members and townspeople. Following the parade, the ox was butchered, its meat served at the guild’s celebratory feast, with a portion donated to the church and the local poor. This tradition gave rise to the Dutch saying, ‘De gilde-os is op parade,’ meaning ‘This is a real feast!’—a phrase signifying abundance and celebration.

The enduring imagery of the Gilde-os found its way into Delftware figurines a century later. Some Delftware cow models even include small frogs and snakes in the grass at their feet, a likely reference to Dutch proverbs and allegories associated with life’s fleeting nature. In Dutch folklore, the toad symbolizes mortality, reinforcing the ephemeral fate of the well-adorned but soon-to-be-slaughtered ox. Similarly, the Dutch proverb ‘Er schuilt een adder in het gras’ (‘There lurks a snake in the grass’)—meaning hidden danger or deception—may allude to the cow’s cruel destiny.

(Ref: NY10791-nmix) See less