Type Name:

DELFTWARE, SPONGED

Category:

DELFTWARE

Production Origin:

ENGLAND AND HOLLAND

Production Date Range:

1708-1790

Defining Attributes:

Paste is cream to light-buff colored and often chalky feeling.

Background enamel is white to bluish-white in color, is generally smooth, and tends to have a matte, or low-gloss surface finish. The tin enamel surface is often poorly bonded, and tends to flake off the paste body more readily than majolica or faience.

Vessel exteriors are decorated by sponging blue or purple (manganese) over the surface. Sponging can cover the surface of the vessel, serve as a background for painted panels or cartouches, or form major elements of a design.

Interior can be plain or hand painted with blue or polychrome designs.

Vessel Forms:

BOWL
MUG
PLATE

Comments:

Published Definitions:

Noel Hume 1970, 1977; 2001; Shlasko 1989; Black 2001; Miller 2002; http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/Historic_Ceramic_Web_Page