This elegant marked pair of Dutch Delft vases dates from the early 18th century.
It was hand-painted between 1705 and 1716 at De Drie Posteleyne Astonne workshop.
A similar pair can be found in the Philadelphia Museum’s Bradbury Bedell Memorial Collection 1921-3-159, 160.
The vases are beautifully hand-painted and feature cobalt blue decoration in the early to mid-18th-century “Thousand Flowers” style.
Each vase depicts a lovely garden scene with a long-tailed songbird surrounded by flowers, leaves, and scrolling vines.
The decoration around each base consists of ornamental panels alternating with a floral motif.
Fine blue lines encircle and define the five sections of each vase.
The design is lively, and the painting is beautifully done.
The quality of the glaze is exceptional.
The vases have a traditional, softly rounded hexagonal shape with bases that flare out at the bottom.
Their long hexagonal necks end in a flared trumpet-shaped opening.
In Dutch, this type of vase is called “knobbelvaas.”
Dimensions: 12 inches tall x 5.5 inches at the widest point
Condition: Excellent
Marks: PK for Pieter Kam at the De Drie Posteleyne Astonne workshop marks (see the mark in the last image).
1. Form of the Mark
The tall vertical stroke with a small angled “K” is a known PK variant, similar to the “PK 7” and “PK 8” marks on Delftware from about 1700–1710. Its slightly uneven brushwork is consistent with authentic early Delft.
2. Attribution
Both Pieter Gerritsz Kam (active c.1700–1705) and his widow Maria van der Kloot (c.1705–1716) used PK. The mark places it firmly in the Kam workshop.
3. Comparison with the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum’s Bradbury Bedell Collection includes jars with nearly identical PK marks. Like our pair, they are octagonal vases with blue-and-white decoration, confirming a close link to the Kam workshop’s recognized output.