A Rare Ming Porcelain Tile in the Style of Dutch Delftware

A Rare Late Ming Porcelain Tile in the Style of Dutch Delftware, Jingdezhen Kilns, late Chongzhen or early Shunzhi Period c.1635 – 1645. Made for the important V.O.C. trading port of Batavia. This early Chinese Export Porcelain tile depicts an armoured archer. Delftware tiles are famous worldwide, so it might seem curious to think that the Chinese would make copies of this ubiquitous product. As is often the way, it is to do with what is cheaper and easier. The present tile, like the later Kangxi versions, is connected with the Dutch East Indies. Dutch delftware tiles were shipped out of the Netherlands to these colonies, but it seems there were shortfalls. Christiaan Jörg writes  “They originate from the Dutch East Indies, in particular Batavia, where huge building programs were carried out in the second quarter of the 17th century. The Dutch built in the traditional style they knew from home and thus needed tiles to protect the skirting boards” See ; Chinese Ceramics in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The Ming and Qing Dynasties by Christiaan J.A Jörg in collaboration with Jan Van Campen (see References) . It appears that these were not directly copying the Delft tiles, as the central subjects are of Chinese soldiers, the borders are copying the Delft Fleur de Lis borders, although they are slightly different. There are later Chinese tiles, made during the Kangxi period c.1700-1720 which were also made for the Dutch East Indies are Chinese in style including the corner motifs. The Chinese produced tiles for other countries, including India and England. There are Chinese export porcelain tiles that imitate Mid-18th Century tiles made in London. These tiles are decorated in over-glaze puce enamel to give the impression of the under-glaze manganese decoration found on the London originals. Of course, the London tiles were in the style of Dutch tiles, not all of which were made in Delft, they were also made in Rotterdam, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Friesland, and other places within the Dutch Republic.

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