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A Parcel of Old Delph: British Delft from Colonial Williamsburg 11/16/1996 - 12/31/1996 Nearly 200 pieces of delftware have been selected from the collection of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, owner of the largest collection, outside the British Isles, of British-made delftware and the second largest collection in the world. Originally created in the 16th century as an imitation of blue and white Chinese porcelain, British Delft quickly developed a unique style and character and evolved into its own art form. Delftware was created by covering ceramics with a glaze made opaque by the addition of tin oxide. Although a variety of mineral oxides produced many decorative colors, the mineral cobalt was used most frequently because it yielded a blue that was similar to the decorations on Chinese porcelain. Some delft was left undecorated in its pure white form. Not only versatile in color, delftware was unlimited in form also. From chamber pots to flower vases, delftware served all levels of society with a variety of functions. Taverns employed posset pots, mugs and punch bowls to serve beverages. Apothecaries needed pill tiles and other containers for medicinal preparations. Homeowners bought large sets of delft for tea service and even special ordered delft presentation pieces painted with monograms and coats of arms. Ceramics similar to delft have been known to exist since the time of Tutankhamen. In more recent centuries, delft-like objects were introduced into the Near East, then Italy, to France and Germany and finally into England. Delft was the generic term that came to be used due to the great influence of that town in Holland. The first record of the manufacture of delft in England is a 1567-68 petition to Queen Elizabeth I. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, English delft production was centered in London, Liverpool and Bristol. In the early 1600s, delph (as it was often called then) was almost as rare and prized a possession as the Chinese porcelain it imitated. But by the middle of the eighteenth century, delft was replaced in England by other white-bodied stonewares, earthenwares and semi-porcelains. It was at this same time however, due to heavy exportation to England's colonies, that delft was the most common ceramic type in use in America. An integral part of the society's history, a review of English delft becomes a review of society in the American colonies. The use of these ceramics in all levels of society and in such a variety of form and function, serves to illustrate the story of the people who used them. A Parcel of Old Delph: British Delft from Colonial Williamsburg is made possible by Sarah Lee Corporation. The exhibition is organized by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia. The tour is organized and circulated by the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, Washington, D.C.  |
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The Norton Museum
of Art is a major cultural attraction in Florida.
The Museum is internationally known for its distinguished permanent
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