Set of Hague porcelain plates

Porcelain from The Hague was produced between 1777 and 1790 by the Lijncker family from Germany, led by Anton Lijncker, a merchant primarily dealing in German ceramics. In 1772, Anton sent his son Johann Franz Lijncker from Dresden to The Hague to expand their business network in the Dutch city, which was home to the royal court.

The venture proved successful, prompting Anton to shift his focus entirely to The Hague and leave Dresden behind. There, he established a factory that specialized in painting porcelain imported from Tournai and Germany. This marked the beginning of what would come to be known as Hague porcelain.

The factory produced a wide range of utilitarian items, including tea and coffee services, ink sets, and flower pots. The designs were heavily influenced by Rococo and Louis XVI styles, reflecting the international fashion trends of the time. Porcelain from The Hague was typically marked with the distinctive image of a stork holding an eel in its beak. The decorations were primarily painted by German artists working in the factory and often featured floral or bird motifs, although examples with figures, cityscapes, and landscapes can also be found.

This particular set of plates contain purple colored scenes of a woman feeding her child and washing clothes. The borders are decorated with lovely floral motives in pastels adorned with golden details. The plates were probably painted by Fidelle Duvivier, as a very similar plate has been attributed to him by Laurence Lenne in her recently published study “Les Duvivier, une dynastie d’artistes peintres tounaisiens au 18e siècle.”

Duvivier was born in Tournai, the same place where he received his first training and experience as a painter. Later in his career he moved to England, however his career also brought him to the Netherlands. He was active in different porcelain factories in the Netherlands, such as the De Mol factory in Loosdrecht  and the Lijnkcer factory in The Hague. Duvivier apparently began decorating for the Lijncker firm sometime after Lijncker’s death in November 1781, during the four-year period when his widow was running the business.