A unique collaboration with Museum Prinsenhof Delft.
Friday 16 February 2024 marks the opening of the ‘Pioneers in Ceramics’ exhibition. This exhibition will include three objects from the permanent museum display. This creates empty spaces in the permanent display of Museum Prinsenhof Delft. Especially for this purpose, the museum has asked our fourth-year Creative Craftsmen in Ceramics students to create a contemporary variant. They have the unique opportunity to exhibit their work here.
Last term, our fourth-year students worked hard on this assignment. Three designs will be on display at the Museum Prinsenhof Delft from 16 February to 8 September 2024. The museum has an exceptional collection of Delft Earthenware from the 17th and 18th centuries and that was also the inspiration for this assignment. Our students had the choice of creating a contemporary variation on The Double Jug, The Grecian A and The Crowned Teapot.
The Double Jug
Around 1700, Delft flatware makers made brown and black objects with yellow-gold or multi-coloured decorations, trying to imitate Japanese lacquerware and Chinese famille noir porcelain. We now call this ‘Delft Black’.
The Greek A
Around 1690, Mary II of England, wife of stadholder-king William III of Orange, commissioned the Delft pottery ‘De Grieksche A’ to make large showpieces with which to decorate her palaces in England and the Netherlands. The English and Dutch nobility followed her example. This gave a huge boost to the Delft pottery industry.
The Crocked Teapot
The VOC imported blue-white Chinese porcelain from the early 17th century, which served as a model for ‘Delftware’. But towards the end of the 17th century, the VOC imported even more types of Asian ceramics, including stoneware teapots from the Chinese city of Yixing. This Delft teapot is a very accurate imitation of a Yixing teapot.
After the first pitch moment where the ideas were explained, the presentations followed. The Museum Prinsenhof Delft chose three winning objects from all the students’ works.
Museum Prinsenhof Delft: “First of all, we are extremely impressed by all the students’ work. How hard they have worked in the past weeks, what they have achieved in a short time, but especially how well they have studied the three objects.
We had the difficult task of choosing a winner for each object. We looked at how well the object fits in with the historical work, whether it fits in the permanent display and what story we can tell in the museum later on. Grateful to the students for their commitment to our museum.”
On view from 16 February 2024 at the Museum Prinsenhof Delft.
The Golden Dragon by Anouk van Zon
“I inspired my object from the Double Gourd Jug. In terms of shape, I looked to combine the countries of China and Japan with something modern, something technical and something futuristic. I started experimenting with that and this shape pouring jug came out. With this work, I wanted to provoke the question so that you start talking about what it could be.
I also found Museum Prinsenhof Delft a very nice client, really involved with us as students. They asked the right questions that made you think again and listened to you very attentively.”
Let them eat cake by Emma Nelson and Renske de Meijer
“We were inspired by the Greek A and the story behind it. We transformed this status symbol into a sculpture for normal people. It is less about function and status, you can clearly see the class system of the past and the class system of today reflected in our work. There is more class difference in today’s times than in the past and we wanted to emphasise that in our flower vase.
Super cool that our work we made together is on display in the museum, truly an honour! We are proud of that.”
Today's teapot by Lineke Louwers
“In my project, I looked at how we deal with crockery now and it turned out that we no longer use an actual teapot. We now pour tea directly from a kettle and so my design is based on that as well.
This is a project I have been working on day and night. Normally I work very large and sculptural. Which makes you think: ’that takes a lot of time’, but for me, making something small and finishing it perfectly takes a lot of time. I am super proud that my work will soon be on show in the museum. Hopefully a nice step in my further career, so I can go on to art school. Oh yes and the nicest clients I’ve ever had!”
Want to know more?
Curious about our Creative Craftsman course?
During the course, you will learn to apply the technical and practical possibilities of ceramics. You will design products yourself or work on behalf of a client. During this ceramics programme, you will learn all the ins and outs of this beautiful craft.
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