Tureen and stand c. 1778

Curator: Here we have a striking example of late 18th-century decorative art: a tureen and stand, crafted around 1778 in Doornik, currently held in the Rijksmuseum. The piece masterfully combines ceramic and drawing mediums. Editor: My first thought is that it’s like a peaceful dream. The blue and white color palette with touches of gold create a soothing scene that simultaneously feels elegant and grounded. There’s something comforting about seeing the landscape in the center and floral ornaments combined together. Curator: The composition reflects the Rococo style of the period. What's truly compelling here is the juxtaposition of high art form with everyday function. Fine porcelain was becoming increasingly available at the time, trickling down into society’s upper middle class. The transfer printing shows the influence of print culture on the decorative arts. Editor: Exactly! And think about how this object, ostensibly designed for serving food, becomes a space to explore landscape and floral decoration. In its own way, this speaks to the democratizing of aesthetics. Also, it evokes complex notions of class. In some circles, even if the object was accessible, the idea of refined social rituals could feel exclusive to those on the outside. Curator: The use of imagery also reflects certain power dynamics. Depictions of landscapes – even imagined ones – were frequently deployed by landowners and other dominant social groups to express dominion and project a sense of place. These pastoral scenes were sometimes a fantasy detached from the socio-economic realities for most. Editor: That’s such a crucial point. While this stand offers a seemingly innocent image, we can ask ourselves, who exactly benefits from it and who might be missing? Did its owners understand or care about their implication within broader structures of wealth and social dominance? Curator: Thinking about the object within the collection of the Rijksmuseum also shifts the context. As an emblem of the Netherlands’ artistic legacy, the piece can contribute to contemporary discourses surrounding identity and the meaning of culture within museum spaces. Editor: Precisely! A once privately-owned item now accessible for everyone to see, to learn from. I now perceive the ceramic stand as a canvas for conversation, stirring ideas related to social identity, and the dynamics of belonging.