Delft blue began as a Dutch answer to Chinese porcelain. In the seventeenth century the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, was shipping blue-and-white porcelain from China to Europe in large quantities, and it was highly desirable. Potters in the city of Delft could not make true porcelain, so they made tin-glazed earthenware painted in cobalt blue on a white glaze that looked like it from a distance. The look stuck and became one of the world's best-known pattern families.
From breweries to potteries
Delft had been a brewing town, and as the brewing industry declined, potters took over empty brewery buildings. Delftware factories flourished through the seventeenth century. Royal Delft, officially De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles, was founded in 1653 and is still making Delft blue. The style spread: English and Irish potters made their own delftware in places such as Lambeth, Bristol and Liverpool, so the Delft look appears across Europe.
Chinese beginnings, Dutch life
Early Delft motifs closely copy Chinese originals: figures in landscapes, pagodas, flowering branches. Over time the potters added subjects from their own world.
| Motif | Where you see it |
|---|---|
| Windmill | Plates, tiles, vases |
| Sailing ship | Tiles, plaques |
| Tulip | Flower vases, tiles, plates |
| Canal house | Plates, souvenir ware |
| Bird | Tiles, borders |
| Children's games | Tile series |
Tulip vases. Delft potters made tall, tiered vases with multiple spouts to hold single tulip stems, a showpiece shape that is still copied.
Wall tiles. Delft tiles lined fireplaces and kitchens across Europe. Many have a single motif in a circle or square, with a small ornament in each corner. Two corner designs you will see over and over are the ox head and the spider. They are what hold a wall of different tiles together.
Color. Later Delftware also appears in polychrome, with reds and golds under the influence of Japanese Imari porcelain. The blue-and-white version is the one most people mean today.
The look, in six traits
- Cobalt blue only, in two or three strengths
- Dark outline with a lighter wash filling the shapes
- Cross-hatching for shading, drawn with a brush or fine pen
- A glossy glaze that shows small pits and pooling at edges
- A small ornament in each tile corner
- A white that is slightly warm or blue-gray, never pure
A palette
- Cobalt #2B4C9B
- Ink blue #1C3566
- Wash blue #8FA8D8
- Tin-glaze white #F6F4EE
Designing a Delft-style pattern
- 1Pick a motif per tile. A windmill, a tulip, a ship, a bird. Draw it in a circle or square.
- 2Add the corners. Draw a small corner ornament at each tile corner. Make the same one for every tile in the pattern.
- 3Draw with outline and wash. Outline in ink blue, then fill with a thinner wash, leaving small white gaps at the edges.
- 4Compose a 3 by 3 block. Use five or six different motifs across nine tiles so the block tiles seamlessly but feels collected, not repeated.
- 5Show the grid. Leave a narrow, slightly irregular gap between tiles.
- 6Scale it. A tile of about 5 inches (13 cm) with a 3 inch (7.5 cm) motif is a safe reference for printed products.
For an all-over version, scatter tulips, small houses and birds on a white ground in a half-drop, in the manner of a toile; see our toile pattern design guide for scenic layouts.
Using it with care
"Delft Blue" and Royal Delft's marks are brand assets. Learn the structure and make your own motifs. Also remember that this is a Dutch tradition that began by borrowing from China, so the best modern versions treat both sources with respect.
Related tile traditions include Portuguese tiles, covered in our azulejo tile pattern history. Start from the Delft patterns, Dutch patterns or blue and white patterns categories, and use Restyle in Pattern Weaver to change the finish between a glossy glaze and a matte printed look.
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