Bord, beschilderd met de ontvoering van Europa 1725

This plate, depicting the abduction of Europa, was made by Johannes Verhagen, probably in the early 18th century. It’s earthenware, coated with a tin glaze that gives it that bright white surface, and then painted with cobalt oxide to produce the blue decoration. While earthenware itself is relatively inexpensive, the process of making Delftware like this was quite labor intensive. First the clay had to be prepared, then the plate formed, fired, glazed, and fired again after painting. The distinctive blue decoration was particularly prized, as the cobalt had to be imported. The design is transfer printed, a clue that the maker was attempting to make more of these and bring costs down. The finished product imitates porcelain, aiming for the high end of the market, but still, it would have been within reach of the rising middle class. So we see how this object reflects a tension between high-end aspiration, and the realities of production in an increasingly consumer-driven world. It is the process, as much as the finished design, that gives the plate its social meaning.