Delftware is the iconic ceramic from the Dutch city of Delft: blue and white painted tiles, dishes and flower pots. Now, Genevieve Wheeler Brown, an expert in the decorative arts, has traced the history of these dazzling, cobalt glazed pieces, as they fueled the Dutch Republic economy in the early 1600s and then enjoyed waves of popularity, including the Delft craze in the late 1800s in America, when women would go on “China hunts,” knocking on doors in search of old delft.
A Dutch Delftware Blue and White Large Plate, De Klaauw, (The Claw) Factory, ca. 1725-40. (Courtesy of The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York)
A Dutch Delft Blue and White Large Plate, De Dubbelde Schenkkan (The Double Jug) Factory, ca. 1765. (Courtesy of The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York)
Her book is “Beyond Blue and White, the Hidden History of Delftware and the Women Behind The Iconic Ceramic.”
An artist hand paints delftware. (Robin Young/Here & Now)Book excerpt: ‘Beyond Blue and White’
By Genevieve Wheeler Brown
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Pegasus Books. All rights reserved.
This segment aired on August 12, 2025.