Dish with Stadtholder Frederick Henry 1654

Editor: This is a ceramic dish made in 1654, featuring Stadtholder Frederick Henry and created by Willem Jansz. Verstraeten. The blue and white immediately makes me think of Delftware, and I'm struck by how this functional object is also a formal portrait. How do you interpret its significance? Curator: It's fascinating, isn't it? We see Frederick Henry, a powerful figure, presented on something as commonplace as a dish. This object speaks volumes about how power was not just held but also disseminated and consumed in the 17th century. Delftware itself becomes a crucial element in this narrative. Consider its rise coinciding with the Dutch Golden Age and its complex entanglement with colonial trade. The very blue we admire, often sourced via trade routes connected to colonial exploits, hints at darker, less savoury aspects of Dutch prosperity. Editor: So you’re saying it is more than just a portrait of a powerful man, it’s tied into global trade networks and colonial history? Curator: Precisely! Who was being represented on this plate, and equally important, *who* was eating off it, or displaying it? The act of owning this object could signify not just allegiance to Frederick Henry but also participation in, and tacit endorsement of, the socio-political structures of the time, which included colonial practices. How does considering that impact your view of the piece? Editor: I hadn't thought of it that way. The everyday nature of the dish almost normalizes this power dynamic. It really changes my understanding to see the connections between this object, colonialism, and the reinforcement of societal structures. Curator: Exactly. Art like this dish becomes a lens through which we can examine the complicated intersections of identity, power, and historical narrative, compelling us to question who benefits, who is excluded, and what stories remain untold.