Fragile Matters: Fascination for Ceramic in the Early Modern Period

Femke Diercks
Chinese porcelain caused a sensation from the moment it entered Europe. While the first rare pieces were acquired for important princely collections, Dutch merchants began importing porcelain on a much larger scale in the early 17th century, lowering prices and making pieces available to the up-and-coming middle class of the Dutch Republic. Femke Diercks, Curator of European Ceramics at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, considers this material-pure white with deep blue decorations, hard but fragile-which fascinated Europe, and the immediate attempts to imitate it across the continent. From 16th-century Medici porcelain in Italy to tin-glazed earthenware in 17th-century Delft, and culminating in the production of the first European porcelain in Meissen in 1710, these efforts to (re)create porcelain objects speak volumes about the cultures and ambitions of the societies that manufactured them. Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Fund.
Note: This lecture is the third in the series “The Dutch Abroad and What They Brought Back.”