How old is Delftware pottery?

Delftware pottery is more than 400 years old. Historians place the beginning of Delft Blue production in the Netherlands around 1600 to 1620. The style developed during the Dutch Golden Age, a period when Dutch trade expanded rapidly across Asia and Europe. Dutch merchants brought Chinese blue-and-white porcelain into Europe through the Dutch East India Company. Local potters in Delft duplicated the colour patterns and decorative style using earthenware clay and tin glaze. By the late 1600s, Delft had become one of Europe’s leading ceramic cities and some records suggest there were over 30 active pottery workshops in Delft during that period. Many early Delftware pieces featured biblical scenes, flowers, ships and windmills. Antique collectors often search for marks from famous factories such as De Porceleyne Fles, founded in 1653. A well-preserved Delft Blue plate from the 17th century can sell for several thousand euros at auctions.