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Description
Maritime Majesty: Dutch Delft Tile Picture of a Fleet of Ships
Object: Large Picture of a Fleet of Ships
Medium: …
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Maritime Majesty: Dutch Delft Tile Picture of a Fleet of Ships
Object: Large Picture of a Fleet of Ships
Medium: Tin-Glazed Earthenware (Delftware) Tiles
Origin: The Netherlands
Date: $19^{th}$ Century
Composition: 20 individual tiles, mounted as a single panel
This monumental tile panel captures the glorious naval tradition of the Netherlands, depicting a formidable Dutch fleet on the high seas. Composed of 20 hand-painted, blue-and-white tiles, the picture shows at least eleven different battleships and longboats traversing the choppy water.
Visual Analysis and Subject Matter
The composition is dominated by a majestic ship of the line in the center foreground, shown in a dramatic rear-view perspective. This large vessel proudly displays a coat of arms on its stern, signaling its importance as an official or flagship vessel. The presence of debris in the foreground water suggests the scene may commemorate a significant naval battle or a return from a challenging engagement, emphasizing the turbulent, yet profitable, maritime life of the era.
Unlike smaller, decorative Delft tiles that show single vessels, this large-scale picture functions as a naval painting translated into ceramic form. It serves as a striking piece of decorative history, celebrating the naval strength and global trading power that defined the Dutch Golden Age and continued to inspire art a century later.
Historical Context: Delftware and Maritime Art
While the tradition of Dutch ships on tiles dates back to the $17^{th}$ century, this particular piece, dated to the $19^{th}$ century, reflects a revival of Dutch national pride and a reverence for the golden age of naval exploration and trade.
Delftware Technique: These tiles are examples of Delft Tin-glazed earthenware—the European attempt to replicate the highly prized blue-and-white porcelain imported from China. The white tin glaze provided an opaque, brilliant surface ideal for painting with cobalt oxide, creating the famous blue-and-white palette.
Scale and Use: Large tile pictures of this size (20 tiles) were expensive to produce and typically commissioned for use as decorative wall panels in grand homes, above fireplaces, or in ship-owners' offices or commercial buildings, where the image of a successful fleet was both decorative and symbolic of prosperity.
Condition and Dimensions
The panel, while well-preserved, shows evidence of its history, with two tiles in the sky having been invisibly repaired.
Overall Dimensions (Framed): $29 \ 1/2$ inches high x $24 \ 1/2$ inches wide x $1 \ 1/4$ inches deep
Sight (Visible Tiles): $20 \ 1/4$ inches high x $25 \ 1/2$ inches wide
Potential References
Pluis, Jan., The Oxford English Dictionary of Delftware Tiles (A definitive reference for Dutch tile imagery).
Van Dam, J.D., Delffs Porceleyne: Dutch Delftware 1620-1850 (For historical context on Delftware production and styles).
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (For comparative reference on Dutch naval painting and ship iconography).
See less
- Dimensions
- 24.5ʺW × 1.25ʺD × 29.5ʺH
- Styles
- Nautical
- Frame Type
- Framed
- Art Subjects
- Seascape
- Period
- Late 19th Century
- Country of Origin
- Netherlands
- Item Type
- Vintage, Antique or Pre-owned
- Materials
- Delft
- Condition
- Good Condition, Original Condition Unaltered, Some Imperfections
- Color
- Blue
- Condition Notes
- two tiles repaired incivisbly two tiles repaired incivisbly less
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