Large Dutch Delft Faience Blue and White Chinoiserie Baluster Lamp

The arrival in Western Europe of the first shiploads of Chinese porcelain, lacquerware, ivory and silk in the 17th century stimulated interest in China, or Cathay, as it was then called. Europeans soon began copying the Chinese artworks and decorative objects. These decorative arts inspired by China, which enjoyed their heyday in the late 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries, are known as chinoiserie.

Soon after the introduction of expensive Chinese porcelain in the Netherlands, a demand arose for an attractive and affordable alternative. During the third quarter of the seventeenth century, Delft potters were able to expand the production of very refined faience for the higher end of the market. In order to compete with Chinese porcelain, it was vital that the potters not only created pieces with a similar outward appearance, but that they also faithfully copied both the exotic shapes and the decoration of the successive Chinese stylistic periods.

Our vase is a particularly handsome example of such a trend.