Hand Painted Delftware Charger
A hand painted delftware charger brings centuries of tin-glazed earthenware history to your wall or table, showcasing rich cobalt blue pigments and vibrant polychrome glazes.
Hand Painted Delftware Charger
A hand painted delftware charger is a large decorative dish or platter produced in workshops across England and the Netherlands during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These substantial earthenware plates served primarily for display rather than dining, often mounted on walls or dresser plate racks.
The pieces on this page span from early seventeenth century Dutch examples to later eighteenth century productions from English centres such as Bristol and Lambeth, alongside continental variations. Common forms include circular plates, lobed dishes, and barber's bowls featuring distinct hand painted scenes.
Buyers encounter classic blue and white designs alongside polychrome floral arrangements, geometric motifs, and chinoiserie patterns. Occasional twentieth century pieces reflect later revivals of these traditional styles.
Materials and Construction
Potters shaped the earthenware body before coating it in an opaque tin glaze that provided a smooth white background for painting. Artisans applied cobalt oxide and other ceramic pigments directly onto this porous unfired or biscuit surface.
The painted pieces underwent high temperature kiln firing, allowing the cobalt pigment to melt into the tin glaze and produce deep blues alongside manganese purples and polychrome hues.
Hand Painted Delftware Charger Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for hand painted delftware charger among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Early bleeding dishes remind us that historical domestic care occasionally involved household medical procedures alongside dinner service.
Evaluating Quality and Execution
The finesse of the brushwork largely determines the distinction between standard utilitarian production and superior decorative output. Skilled painters achieved fluid botanical details and crisp geometric borders with confident, rapid strokes.
The stability of the tin glaze and the intensity of the cobalt pigment also distinguish finer examples. Even glaze coverage without excessive pooling or crawling indicates careful kiln management during firing.
The Hand Painted Delftware Charger Glossary
- Tin-Glazed Earthenware
- Pottery covered with a lead glaze made opaque by the addition of tin oxide. This technique created the characteristic white surface used for painting in European workshops.
- Polychrome
- Decoration employing multiple colours rather than a single pigment. Painters utilised manganese purple, yellow, green, and iron red alongside traditional blue.
- Chinoiserie
- European decorative motifs imitating Chinese artistic styles. These designs frequently appear on eighteenth century chargers depicting imaginary landscapes and figures.
- Grand Feu
- A firing technique where colours are applied to the raw glaze and fired together at high temperatures. This process fuses the pigments permanently into the glaze layer.
- Manganese
- A metallic oxide pigment producing purple, brown, or plum tones. It frequently appears in early delftware either as the primary colour or alongside cobalt blue.
Hand Painted Delftware Charger: Frequently Asked Questions
Were these chargers used for food?
Most large examples served decorative functions in wealthy households rather than practical dining purposes. Their generous size made them ideal for display on sideboards and walls.
Smaller related items such as plates and bowls saw domestic use at the table. Tin-glazed surfaces can be susceptible to scratching from metal cutlery and crazing from prolonged contact with moisture.
How can I tell English and Dutch delft apart?
English delftware bodies often appear slightly softer and thicker with a pinkish or buff tone visible at unglazed points. Dutch pieces frequently demonstrate particularly crisp tin glazes and distinct footrim formations.
Regional painting styles also offer clues, as English kilns in Bristol and Lambeth developed unique palettes and floral motifs distinct from Delft potteries.
Why do some pieces show crazing?
Crazing refers to the network of fine cracks across the glass surface caused by tension between the earthenware body and the glaze over centuries. This natural ageing process develops as the ceramic expands and contracts through environmental changes.
Stable crazing is normal for antique tin-glazed pieces and does not detract from their historical authenticity. Strong interior staining within the cracks simply records centuries of handling.