This large 18th century Dutch Delft charger is a particularly beautiful example of Delft’s fascination with imagined Eastern landscapes, rendered with confidence, balance, and rich color. The broad central well is hand-painted with a finely composed chinoiserie scene in vibrant polychrome enamels, where warm iron red, soft yellow, green, purple, and deep cobalt blue are brought into harmony against the creamy white ground.
At the center, delicate pavilion-like houses with exotic, upturned roofs sit along a rocky shoreline, their architectural forms lending rhythm and structure to the scene. Behind them, gently rising mountains flow toward the water’s edge, while a single expressive tree anchors the composition, its red foliage spreading across the sky with an almost calligraphic grace. The painter’s confident brushwork gives the landscape a sense of movement and air, allowing the eye to travel naturally through foreground, middle distance, and horizon.
The wide rim enhances the charger’s decorative impact, bordered with a refined pattern of iron red darts set within crisp blue cross-hatching. This framing device not only heightens the color contrast but also emphasizes the charger’s generous scale, making it a striking display piece whether hung or placed on a stand. The combination of scale, lively polychrome decoration, and assured painting places this charger among the more engaging Delft chargers of the period.
Dimensions: 13.75 inches diameter, 1.75 inches tall
Condition: Excellent
Material: Tin-glazed earthenware
Style: Dutch Delft, Chinoiserie
Origin: The Netherlands
Date: Circa 1770