Dutch Delftware chimney vase

This vase of impressive dimensions must be regarded as a ceramic wonder. On the inside you can clearly see that the vase consists of two parts which were placed on top of each other before being placed in the oven. The surface is dominated by four elongated medallions showing an alternating decor of a Chinese person and a room servant, one of them filling a vase-shaped jug and the other then carrying it , which is placed on a tray with a stand ring. These medallions are surrounded by complicated patterns of stylized leaves, rosettes, and flower patterns.

At the end of the 17th century, when the influence of Daniël Marot was widely represented, richly decorated mantlepieces came into vogue, particularly to be displayed in prestigious areas of interiors. A good example of such an impressive setting can be seen in a painting by Pieter Jansz van Ruijven (1651–1719) a piece intended to be placed on the mantle. This painting is now part of the collection of the Willet-Holthuysen House of the Amsterdam Museum.

It shows an arrangement of blue and white decorated ceramics in combination with small plastic (soapstone figurines). On the lids of the two cup vases is a parrot. An identical lid vase is part of the collection of the pediatrician Irmgard von LemmersDanforth (b. 1892; d. 1984), who lived in Wetzlar. This collection of European arts and crafts from the Renaissance and Baroque period was left to the city of Wetzlar after her death, and catalogued by Wolfram Koeppe, currently curator of European furniture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Despite such large vases having been set on the mantlepiece, it is sometimes also said that they could be used as extinguishers.

Literature:  Dr. Wolfram Koeppe. Die Lemmers-Danforth Sammlung in Wetzlar. (1992)

Provenance: Helmut Szprycer, Gent. (B)