Description:
Dutch delft toy vase decorated in cobalt blue with dots and leaves and a band around the narrow neck; and with dots and tall petaled flowers with narrow leaves on the body with its swelled shoulders tapering to a narrow base. There is a pinkish color to the body, no mark on base, and small glaze losses to the rim. The base has a previous owner's label that reads "A-482/TC". This rare earthenware small miniature vase is an exact Dutch copy in form and decoration of a Chinese export porcelain miniature vase. These miniature vases were very popular in the Netherlands around the beginning of the 18th century and were probably used as less expensive substitutes of their Chinese originals, dating from the Kangxi period. At that time, there was a fashion among wealthy Dutch ladies to have models made on the scale of a house and furnish the rooms with miniature pieces of furniture, paintings, upholstery, and all other sorts of objects that would have belonged to the interior of a wealthy home. These doll houses were very costly and certainly not meant for children to play with - but were proudly displayed for friends and visitors and regarded as luxury items - and the counterpart to cabinets of curiosities for men. Only a few of these houses remain preserved, one in the Gemeentemuseum den Haag - see C.J.A. Jorg and M. Flecker, Porcelain from the Vung Tau Wreck, The Hallstrom Excavation, UK, 2001.
Label Text:
From Aronson Antiquairs: "In the 17th century miniatures were often sold at annual markets or ‘kermissen’ and were called ‘poppegoet’ (doll’s ware). Rapidly, they played an important social role amongst wealthy Europeans. Miniatures were distinguished by two different groups and uses. The large doll’s wares were conceived as children’s toys and the smaller miniature objects were intended to distract adults. "
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2002.68.1 |
