JVV 0446
Delft, dated 1747
The plate without foot rim has a narrow, flat flange and is painted in blue with a double portrait of William IV, prince of Orange and Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange. The pair is placed in the open, bordered at the bottom by a text bar with 'Pc Anna Pr W.C.H.F.' and '1747'. The well is unpainted. The rim is decorated with a narrow band of stylised scrolls on a blue background. The outer rim is brown.
Dimensions: diameter 22,5 cm / 8.85 in.
Similar examples
A similar plate is in the collections of the Drents Museum in Assen (Lunsingh Scheurleer, p. 75) and the Musée National de Céramique in Sèvres (Lahaussois, p. 250). A variant of this decor with the stadtholder and his family with the caption 'd'Oranje Familie 1749' is also in Sèvres (Lahaussois, p. 254). Other examples were with Aronson in 2009 (p. 69) and in the Klok collection in Oostvoorne (p. 36).
Explanatory note
The decor on the plate refers to a turbulent period in the existence of the Dutch Republic (The Northern Netherlands). In 1747, The Northern Netherlands sided with Austria against France in the War of Austrian Succession, in order to maintain a buffer zone between France and the Dutch Republic. This was the Southern (Spanish) Netherlands, a large part of present-day Belgium. According to the Barrier Treaty, The Dutch Republic had the right to station troops in these southern cities. The French invaded the Southern Netherlands and occupied a large part of them. Prince William IV was stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen, Gelre and Drenthe. In the panic that followed the French invasion, he was also appointed hereditary stadtholder in Holland, Utrecht, Zeeland and Overijssel. This made him the hereditary stadtholder of the entire Dutch Republic. The decor refers to this important year. This period lasted only briefly, as he died in 1751. His son Prince William V was appointed hereditary stadtholder of the Republic in 1766.
The Delftware potteries in general were very strong supporters of the house of Orange, so it is not surprising that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries many Delft objects were painted with Orange motifs. Depictions of William IV are known on plates, dishes and other items, on Dutch- decorated Chinese and Japanese porcelain, and on tile pictures. Not only were he, his wife and children depicted, but also his Coat of Arms and more symbolic representations, such as an orange tree with his initials.
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