JVV 0582
Makkum, circa 1760
Tichelaar pottery
painter: Gatse Sytses [attributed to]
The oval-shaped plaque has a double notch in the raised rim at the top and bottom, and a single notch at the sides. It is painted in blue with a coastal landscape. On the right, three conversing men stand on a pier in front of a dilapidated tower. Several overgrown ruins are visible across the water. A three-master leaves the harbour, while several ships sail in the distance. The inner rim is painted all around with floral rosettes on a blue ground, the outer rim is marbled.
Dimensions: length 28 cm / 11.02 in., width 22 cm / 8.66 in.
Explanatory note
The coastal landscape with tower is an enlargement of a tile décor. It was also painted in simplified form on majolica dishes. From records of the Tichelaar pottery we know that Gatse Sytses worked there as a painter between 1744 and 1796. From 1763, he became the company's first painter and master craftsman for thirty-three years. He painted the most important pieces like plates, chargers, plaques and other objects, tile pictures and biblical tiles with scriptural references. Gatse Sytses never signed his pieces, but his style is so distinctive and therefore very easy to recognize.
Literature
P.J. Tichelaar, Fries aardewerk 3. Tichelaar Makkum 1700-1876, Leiden 2004
