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Aronson Antiquairs of Amsterdam

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Nederland
Amsterdam
Aronson Antiquairs of Amsterdam

Specialists in 17th & 18th century Dutch Delftware Aronson Antiquairs is now in its fifth generation.

Robert Aronson runs this gallery on the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat which was founded in 1881. In the gallery you will find some of the earliest objects made by the Delft factories in the 17th century, and a superb collection of polychrome animals, figures, plaques and chargers from the 18th century.

13/08/2026

Strength, elegance, and craftsmanship come together in this charming pair of Delftware horses.

Animal figures became increasingly popular in eighteenth-century Delft, reflecting both the Dutch admiration for the natural world and the potters' remarkable skill as sculptors. Horses, in particular, symbolized prestige, nobility, and prosperity, making them highly desirable decorative objects for fashionable interiors.

This delightful pair, made around 1765 at De Porceleyne Byl (The Porcelain Axe) factory, is beautifully modeled standing alert with expressive faces, white bridles, and vibrant saddlery. Their rich brown coats are complemented by bright blue saddles resting on yellow saddle blankets, creating a lively palette that perfectly captures the cheerful character of late eighteenth-century Delftware.

Although inspired by real horses, these figures were never intended as exact portraits. Instead, they embody the playful elegance that made Delft animal sculptures so beloved by collectors, both then and now.

🔹 Delve into details:
Pair of Polychrome Figures of Horses
Delft, circa 1765
One marked with the axe for De Porceleyne Byl (The Porcelain Axe) factory
Height: 16.3 cm (6⅜ in.)
Object no. D1343

Would these spirited horses earn a place in your collection, or do Delftware cows remain your favorite animal figures?

12/08/2026

A refined pair of Delft Imari plates, vividly illustrating the fascination with East Asian imagery that permeated Dutch decorative arts in the early eighteenth century. Painted in a rich palette of iron red, cobalt blue, mint green, and gilt, each plate shows a youth in conversation with a seated lady beside an urn, set within a fenced garden of chrysanthemums and prunus. A pavilion, partially veiled by tasseled drapery and drifting clouds, frames the scene and enhances its sense of theatrical elegance.

Imari-style Delftware reflects the Dutch response to Japanese Imari porcelain, which reached Europe via the VOC and was admired for its striking color contrasts and ornamental richness. Delft potters adapted these designs to tin-glazed earthenware, blending them with chinoiserie motifs derived from Chinese and Japanese sources. This imaginative reworking of Asian models, less concerned with accuracy than with atmosphere, became a defining feature of Delftware around 1700.

The present plates bear PAK marks in red for Pieter Adriaensz. Kocx, owner of De Grieksche A (The Greek A) factory from 1701 to 1703, or possibly his widow Johanna van der Heul, situating them firmly within this dynamic period of experimentation and exchange.

🔹Delve into details
Pair of ‘Delft Imari’ Plates
Delft, circa 1710
Object no. 638

11/08/2026

A marriage of two great Dutch crafts.

This elegant Delft tankard, made around 1725, combines the artistry of Delftware with the skill of an Amsterdam silversmith. Shortly after the ceramic body was fired, it was fitted with a finely crafted silver lid and thumbpiece, an addition that not only protected the rim but also elevated the vessel into a refined object suitable for the most fashionable dining tables.

Its decoration reflects the enduring European fascination with China. Painted in rich cobalt blue, the continuous chinoiserie landscape features scholars gathered around a garden well, surrounded by stylized rockwork, trees, and elegant pavilions. Rather than illustrating a specific story, Delft painters adopted these motifs for their harmonious compositions, drawing inspiration from Chinese woodblock prints and export porcelain that reached the Netherlands through the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

The result is an object that perfectly embodies the international character of the Dutch Republic: a European drinking vessel, decorated with Asian-inspired imagery, and enhanced by exceptional Dutch silversmithing.

🔹 Delve into details:
Silver-Mounted Tankard
Delft, circa 1725
Silver mount by Abraham Marshoorn, Amsterdam
Height: 23.5 cm (9.3 in.)
Object no. D2639

Which detail catches your eye first: the beautifully painted chinoiserie landscape or the elegant silver mount?

10/08/2026

It is Museum Monday! Today we visit The Holland Open Air Museum!

The Holland Open Air Museum located in the town of Arnhem. This museum focuses on everyday objects and culture from the lives of ordinary people. Antique houses, farms and factories from different parts of the Netherlands are spread throughout the museum grounds, inviting visitors to explore the unique culture of each.

The idea for the Open Air Museum was conceived by Frederic Adolph Hoefer in 1912 after he had visited several similar museums in Scandinavia. At the same time, the rise of industrialization and urbanization caused regional differences to disappear. Since traditions and craftsmanship were threatened to vanish, historical buildings were moved to the museum. In 1918 the museum opened to the public, comprised of six buildings that were relocated from across the country.
Today there are about forty historical buildings from various places and historical periods. An indoor museum was opened in 2000 in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The permanent collection chronicles the history of the Netherlands with a key focus on daily life.

The collection of the Dutch Open Air Museum contains approximately 153,000 objects, including farm wagons, home textiles, regional costumes and toys. The museum also houses several Delftware objects. The collection mostly comprises utensils, such as many blue and white and polychrome plates. But also a rare coffee pot, tureens, butter tubs and several teapots, of which two red stoneware examples are included. Also included are decorative household objects, for example several garniture sets, to***co and apothecary jars and vases. One of the highlights of the collection is an inkstand with two inkwells and sand spreader from 1782. Further there is an interesting blue and white complete to***co box consisting of the box, cover and tamper, a jolly figural cistern and a money bank.

09/08/2026

This elegant pair of polychrome chinoiserie plaques captures a moment of poised interaction within an imagined Chinese landscape. Figures pause on and beside a bridge, gesturing toward flower-filled tables, while ducks glide quietly across the water below. The scene is framed by a sculptural rococo border, its scrolling c-volutes and rocaillerie enhancing the painterly richness of the decoration.

Scalloped, foliated plaques such as these are characteristic of mature eighteenth-century Delftware, marking a departure from earlier examples fitted with plain wooden frames. Chinoiserie subjects combined with luxuriant floral bouquets were especially admired, reflecting Europe’s fascination with an idealized vision of Asia. The well-known Long Eliza theme, inspired by Chinese famille verte porcelain and popular from the 1710s onward, celebrates graceful figures set within a harmonious landscape. The confident use of color and finely balanced composition make this pair an exemplary expression of Delftware production around 1740.

🔹Delve into details
Pair of Polychrome Chinoiserie Plaques
Delft, circa 1740
Object no. D2431

07/08/2026

Few Delftware figures are as beloved as the recumbent cow.

Inspired by the cattle that played such an important role in the Dutch landscape and economy, these charming ceramic sculptures became treasured decorative objects throughout the eighteenth century. Their peaceful pose and lifelike modeling made them a favorite display piece on mantelpieces, cabinets, and window sills.

This rare pair stands out for its distinctive decoration. Rather than the more familiar polychrome floral garlands, the cows are painted with expressive manganese-striped hides, yellow horns, and subtle green grassy bases. Although unmarked, their unusual decoration links them to a small group of Delft animal figures sharing the same characteristic manganese treatment, making them an especially intriguing survival.

Simple in form yet full of character, these reclining cows perfectly capture the creativity and individuality of eighteenth-century Delft potters.

🔹 Delve into details:
Pair of Polychrome Models of Recumbent Cows
Delft, circa 1775
Height: 10.8 cm (4.2 in.)
Length: 14.4 cm (5.7 in.)
Object no. D1959

💙And this is just the beginning... Join us at the Delaware Antiques Show in Wilmington, November 6–8, where we'll be presenting a true Delftware Cow Parade: an extraordinary gathering of some of the finest eighteenth-century Delft cows, each with its own unique character, history, and charm. We can't wait to share them with you.

06/08/2026

This blue and white chinoiserie plate presents an intimate yet animated garden scene, where Asian figures engage one another in conversation, their gazes locked in quiet intensity. Painted in a delicate transitional style, the central composition is framed by a wide rim alive with vignettes of figures strolling, conversing, and resting amidst lush foliage, an elegant orchestration of movement, landscape, and narrative.

Made in Delft around 1680, this plate bears the mark SVE for Samuel van Eenhoorn of the celebrated De Grieksche A (The Greek A) factory. Under the stewardship of Wouter van Eenhoorn and later his son Samuel, De Grieksche A rose to extraordinary prominence for its refined blue and white faience inspired by Chinese porcelain of the Transitional and Kangxi periods. So accomplished was their work that it was frequently described as “porcelain” itself. Samuel, admitted to the Guild of Saint Luke in 1674, played a crucial role in expanding the factory’s international reach, cultivating clients from Amsterdam to Rouen, London, and Hamburg. This plate stands as a testament to that global outlook, where Delft craftsmanship meets the European fascination with an imagined Asia.

🔹Delve into details
Blue and White Plaque Chinoiserie Plate
Delft, circa 1680
Object no. D2405

05/08/2026

What was this elegant Delftware object actually used for?

Traditionally known as a wig stand, this remarkable Delft sphere on a pedestal was long believed to have supported expensive wigs when they were not being worn. Its rounded form certainly resembles the shape of a human head, making that explanation seem perfectly logical.

Today, however, scholars are divided. While some continue to support the traditional interpretation, others argue that these rare objects were intended purely as luxurious decorative ornaments. Their varying shapes and sizes do not correspond well with actual head dimensions, and contemporary paintings suggest similar spherical forms were displayed on cabinets, staircases, and architectural features as fashionable interior decorations.

Whatever their original purpose, surviving examples are exceptionally rare. Decorated in an elegant Chinese Transitional style with figures in a rocky landscape, this blue-and-manganese example demonstrates the remarkable artistry of Delft potters in the late seventeenth century and reflects the growing fascination with Asian decorative arts.

🔹 Delve into details:
Blue and Manganese "Wig Stand"
Delft, circa 1685
Attributed to De Grieksche A factory
Height: 18.5 cm (7.3 in.)
Object no. D2140

What do you think, was this object designed to support a fashionable wig, or was it always intended as an elegant decorative ornament?

04/08/2026

This plate reflects more than exquisite ceramic artistry; it evokes an era when European households were discovering tea, a beverage whose history spans continents and centuries.

Tea’s earliest roots trace back to ancient China, where it was first consumed as a medicinal brew and cultivated into a refined cultural ritual before spreading through Asia and eventually reaching European shores in the 17th century via Dutch and Portuguese trade networks. By the late 1600s, drinking tea had become fashionable in the Netherlands, and Dutch merchants, among them the VOC, imported Chinese stoneware teapots and tea wares, blending functional use with decorative display in Dutch homes.

The scene on this plate, a Chinese figure at ease beside a teapot and cups, set against stylized rockwork and pines, reflects that intersecting history of tea culture and Delftware decoration, grounded in both European admiration for and reinterpretation of Chinese aesthetics.

🔹Delve into details
Polychrome Plate
Delft, circa 1760
Object no. D2042

03/08/2026

On this Museum Monday we visit the Museum Paul Tetar van Elven in Delft!

The Museum Paul Tetar van Elven is housed in a quaint sixteenth century canal house on the Koornmarkt in the city center of Delft. The house was once the private residence of the famous artist Paul Tetar van Elven (1832 – 1896), who was a painter of historical scenes, portraits, and copies of Old Master works of art.

Tetar van Elven was also a passionate collector of porcelain, earthenware, antiques and curiosa (weapons, furniture, costumes), and he regularly bought work from contemporary artists. His diverse collection of ceramics include seventeenth century Chinese Ming porcelain, Japanese Imari porcelain, eighteenth century Famille Rose porcelain, Amsterdams bont and of course Dutch Delftware. His remarkable and unique collection is highlighted by the evocative interior design, largely unchanged since Tetar van Elven’s life.

After his death, he bequeathed the house and its contents to the city of Delft to transform it into a museum and maintain his collection. This carefully preserved nineteenth century home transports visitors with its lived-in feel, and is a hidden gem in the city of Delft.

Adres

Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 45-b
Amsterdam

Openingstijden

Maandag	09:30 - 17:30
Dinsdag	09:30 - 17:30
Woensdag	09:30 - 17:30
Donderdag	09:30 - 17:30
Vrijdag	09:30 - 17:30

Telefoon

+31206233103

Website

http://www.aronson.com/

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