Tin-glazed earthenware, commonly known as delftware or delft, for the town in Holland where many successful potteries operated, is composed of a buff-colored body coated with a layer of lead glaze opacified by tin ashes. From its ninth-century origins in the Near East, the tin-glazed production process spread throughout the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages, reaching France and the Low Countries in the sixteenth century. Delftware potteries came to dominate the ceramics market in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by frequently imitating Chinese decorative patterns. Delftware at Historic Deerfield 1600-1800 introduces a wide range of topics pertaining to the history, manufacture, sale, and consumption of tin-glazed ceramics. Lange also traces the acquisitions of delft that have built the collection at Historic Deerfield. In all, ninety-seven pieces from the museums English, Dutch, and French delftware collection are presented, all in full color, many with details and records of provenance. Chapters review the variety of delftware forms, ranging from posset pots to punch bowls, based on function rather than chronology or decoration. Suitably exacting in conception and beautiful in execution, Delftware at Historic Deerfield is a valuable resource for dealers, collectors, museum professionals, or anyone who appreciates delft. Amanda E. Lange, Associate Curator at Historic Deerfield, has served as Assistant Curator of Ceramics and Glass at the Winterthur Museum. Ms. Lange often teaches in the Cooper-Hewitt/Parsons School of Design Program in the History of Decorative Arts.
