Washington Winter Show 2026

63 cooled from the kiln, which sit on the broad open wood shelves lining the pottery walls. She lifts one piece of Delftware in particular to inspect—it was a specially commissioned work made for a patron under her direction. It is indeed beautiful and, with its final glazing complete with no cracks, meets with her approval and is ready for delivery. Now, centuries later, the piece rests in an urban aerie high above the streets of Manhattan. Locked in bronze cases behind thick glass panels, it lies on faded ivory velvet padding within a cache of blue- and-white Dutch Delftware. With its gently curved handle, protruding spouts, and a body adorned with cobalt flowers framing stylized rocaille panels of river landscapes, this uniquely shaped Delftware is nestled among a myriad of chargers, figurines, bowls, and vases. The afternoon light dances across its shimmering glaze. Unaffected by time, its cobalt painting remains as vibrant as the day it emerged from the kiln over 250 years ago. Dutch Delftware was born in the 1600s, an Left: Charles Antoine Goutzwiller, lithograph, “Planche XII. Bouquetiers à Jacinthes décorés en Camaïeu bleu” from Henry Havard, Histoire de la Faïence de Delft (Paris: E. Plon et Cie, 1878). Author’s collection. Right: A Dutch Delft Blue and White Puzzle Jug, Het Oude Moriaanshooft (The Old Moor’s Head) Factory, marks G.VS for Geertruij Verstelle, ca. 1769. The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York. age of piracy, when Dutch fleets audaciously commandeered galleons returning from the East laden with spices, silks, and porcelain. By the 1690s, Delftware had risen to international fame, becoming a symbol of royal favor in European courts. Nearly two centuries later, it captivated collectors once again as Gilded Age Americans, swept up in the craze of Chinamania and the enthusiasm of Holland Mania, voraciously sought blue-and-white ceramics as prized trophies. But fashions shifted again, and for the last fifty years, the once-coveted Delftware in these cases has sat untouched. Now, the blue-and-white waits patiently, a silent testament to its enduring allure and the cycles of human desire. Beyond Blue and White tells the story of a particular collection of Dutch Delftware. Its rediscovery in New York City opens the door to a ceramic journey from potter’s wheels in the workshops of seventeenth-century Delft to museum shelves.