Trials and tribulations

One could argue that Black Delftware is almost a hybrid production that positioned itself between porcelain and lacquerware. Let’s find out how this effect was attained and to what extent potters succeeded in producing these black ceramics.

Black Delftware pieces were expensive to make, and the production process was time-consuming too. Only a limited number of successfully created items exist compared to the massive production of most other types of Delftware. Making Delftware is by itself already a pretty complex task. It involves preparing and mixing clay, shaping it, firing it multiple times, lead glazing, decorating by hand: the list goes on. The firing alone could already take up to two weeks.

There was an explosion of factories in Delft with over 30 in existence. They embraced the reality that they could not compete with genuine porcelain and subsequently tried to outdo each other instead. This competition between factories led to new forms, new colored glazes, and advanced techniques. Achieving the glossy black ground color was a technically challenging and labor-intensive process. The potters in Delft faced many technical challenges, and only a few factories succeeded, or even attempted, to develop black Delftware.

Around 1700, there were substantial technical developments, and multi-colored painted faience became possible to produce. Dam, Jan Daan van, and Wiggers, Hinke. Delffse Porceleyne : Delfts aardewerk 1620-1850. Zwolle : Amsterdam: Waanders ; Rijksmuseum, 2004, 106. At the end of the 17th century, the technique of using tin glazes was well-mastered, and potters dared to experiment with new colors. One of these was the invention of the black fond. The deep black glaze was developed using manganese oxide alongside other aggressively reacting oxides. It proved to be difficult to create a proper black glaze that could withstand the high temperatures of the ovens and that had the desired outcome. The whole production process was burdensome, because excellent technical knowledge was required to prepare the correct formula and to obtain the perfect color and shine in the end. Dam, Jan Daan van, and Wiggers, Hinke. Delffse Porceleyne : Delfts aardewerk 1620-1850. Zwolle : Amsterdam: Waanders ; Rijksmuseum, 2004, 121.

When prepared and fired incorrectly, it would result in undesirable effects in the glaze itself or in the enamel decoration. Mainly, this was due to the occurrence of chemical reactions. The risk was a dull appearance when fired too low, or the merging of colors into the background when fired too high. Aronson Antiquairs ‘’The Creation Of The Exotic Black Delft’’ https://www.aronson.com/the-creation-exotic-black-delft/#_ftnref3. As a result, there were probably many failed attempts.