Chocolate Cup Stand 1701 - 1722

This chocolate cup stand was made by the Grieksche A Factory in Delft, using tin-glazed earthenware. This type of pottery, also known as Delftware, imitates Chinese porcelain. The stand is made of a low-fired clay body coated with a white glaze containing tin oxide. The painted decoration, in blue, red, and green, is applied directly to the unfired glaze, and the whole piece is then fired at a relatively low temperature. Delftware was produced on a large scale, and it was a labour-intensive process that involved many skilled artisans. The factory system itself was regimented and highly structured. The choice of material and technique was driven by a desire to capture the qualities of a luxury material, while keeping production costs low. This stand testifies to the ingenuity of Dutch potters, and to the increasingly globalized economy of the 17th and 18th centuries. It also blurs the line between art, craft, and industrial production, inviting us to consider the social and economic forces that shaped its making.