Antique Delft-Ware 12" Lidded Pitcher

Make:  Delft, Holland, Netherlands

Age: Late 18th-19th Century

Construction:  Tin-Glazed Earthenware

Dimensions:  12 1/2" Tall x 7" Wide (at spout/handle) x 5 3/4" Diameter

Condition:  Very good antique condition. Some signs of wear on foot and around belly of pitcher.  Two chips and two fine cracks on lid.  Finial knob on lid appears to have been repaired.  Two small chips on mouth of spout. Please see photos. 

Details:  Tall, garlic-necked pitcher with serpentine handle and spout.  Mouth of spout is in the shape of a serpent's head.  Several floral patterns incorporated into the overall design, all in cobalt blue on a white tin-glazed base.  Arabesque escutcheons with satyr's faces around shoulder of pitcher.  Belly of pitcher decorated with detailed depictions of romantic couples with trees and maritime scenes in the distance.  Marked in blue on bottom with what appears to beRK or PK with dots above and to the right, and what looks like 99 below. We have not been able to identify this mark.  Noticeable chip on inside of bottom lip.

Originating in the Dutch city of Delft in the 17th to 19th centuries, blue and white Delftware was created in response to Chinese export-ware so popular in Europe at the time.  Typically made of local clay, it is a buff or cream colored earthenware with a white tin glaze.  Originally decorated with shades of blue only, later pieces also featured polychrome, or multicolored designs.