Schotel van faience en stro met bloemdecoratie c. 1680 - 1710

This plate of faience and straw, decorated with flowers in blue, was crafted by De Dissel. Pieces like these take us back to a time of intense cultural exchange and imitation, when Dutch artisans eagerly adopted and adapted Chinese porcelain designs. The blue-and-white floral patterns, though originating in China, became highly fashionable in Europe and were reproduced in local faience factories. The decorative choices here—the stylized flowers and somewhat abstracted insect—reflect a blend of cultural influences. The Dutch East India Company’s trade routes brought not only the objects themselves, but also pattern books and the visual language of the East. This plate embodies a moment where global trade reshaped local artistic production, blurring the lines between imitation and innovation. Studying these objects involves delving into archival records of trade companies, examining pattern books, and comparing them with both Chinese originals and other European imitations. It reminds us that art and craft are always embedded in broader networks of social and economic exchange.