![\"Rozenburg](\"https:\/\/proportiodivin.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/Image_1108-Medium-2-001.jpg\")
<\/a>Rozenburg Den Haag, Samuel Schellink, 1900<\/p><\/div>\n
An article about Rozenburg porcelain, published in Origine, together with highlights from our Rozenburg eggshell porcelain collection in April 2007. The centerpiece, a 60cm tall Rozenburg porcelain vase with plumed cover, was depicted life-size on one side of a foldout. On the other side a description of the vase and an article about Rozenburg porcelain. ( Translated from Dutch by Peter Boel, photographs by Fred van den Brink<\/a><\/em><\/h4>\nRozenburg Den Haag, Samuel Schellink, 1900<\/h4>\n
An extremely rare porcelain vase with a plumed cover, model 112. The colourful Art Nouveau decoration with passion flowers is executed differently on two sides of the vase, and then mirrored on the other two sides. The Rozenburg factory produced only nine copies of this vase, all of them in the year 1900. The vase was on display at the Paris World Exhibition,1900. There are two copies of this model in the Rijksmuseum collection, the Dutch royal family has at least one, and another copy is part of the collection of the Mus\u00e9e National de Ceramique in S\u00e8vres. The vase is provided with Rozenburg\u2019s green factory mark, the painter\u2019s signature is by Samuel Schellink, the work order number is 373 in the year 1900. Height: 60 cm (23.6 inches)<\/span><\/p>\nRozenburg porcelain, The Hague<\/h2>\n
The Hague, the year 1900<\/em><\/p>\nIn the narrow city streets hangs a heavy smell of horse dung and faeces barrels in- and outside the houses. The litter in the canals lies rotting in smoke. Just a few streets further on, the large windows of the sales depots reflect the images of the sauntering rich. These department stores, as they are called, sell anything from clothes and household goods to exotic herbs. In this setting, in the spring of the year 1900, the \u2018Haagsche Plateelfabriek Rozenburg\u2019 has been preparing for already more than one year for the World Exhibition which is to be held in Paris in April. At the country estate \u2018Rozenburg\u2019, a man named Jurriaan Kok is working on the manufacturing of a completely new art product: porcelain in the strangest shapes \u2013 brilliantly and translucently white, feathery, and decorated in a great variety of colours.<\/p>\n
The opening of the World Exhibition is rapidly approaching. The porcelain is carefully wrapped in straw and sent in wooden crates to Paris by steam train. It is there that Jurriaan Kok will finally be able to show his great invention to the world.<\/p>\n
The Rozenburg factory was already widely known for its innovative earthenware models and revolutionary decorations. Among its clients were members of the Dutch royal family and prominent citizens like the writer Louis Couperus and the painter H.W. Mesdag. In the pavilion, the entire production was put on display. Shortly afterwards, everything was sold\u2026 The success of the porcelain during the World Exhibition, and the praise it received from all sides, took on proportions that we can hardly imagine today. After the Exhibition, the sales took place in the Rozenburg depot and in department stores throughout the country. A shop was opened in Paris and sales outlets were established in more than 15 cities all over the world \u2013 London, New York, Pretoria, Batavia.<\/p>\n
Rozenburg\u2019s huge success can be attributed to its incredibly innovative character. Both the brilliant designs of the models and the application of bright colours in the decorations caused astonishment. The boundaries of the technically possible were sought, which resulted in a characteristic diversity of the models\u2019 shapes. The invention of applying the painting after the \u2018biscuit heating\u2019 (at high temperatures) instead of before, enabled Rozenburg to apply the same broad colour palette that it used on its pottery. Moreover, this procedure made the biscuit models so smooth that very delicate paintings could be applied on them.<\/p>\n
One effect of this \u2018biscuit heating\u2019, however, was a large amount of reject. The clay would almost reach its melting point, causing about 50% of the objects to perish. Still, this had only a minor effect on the cost price, because the most expensive part of the production process was the painting. Quite frequently this made up 80% of the cost price!<\/p>\n
In Rozenburg\u2019s heyday the factory engaged no less than 82 painters, from apprentices to master painters. The latter, who were also the designers of the decorations, clearly drew their inspiration from pictures in the art magazine \u2018Le Japon Artistique\u2019, published by the renowned art dealer Siegfried Bing (of the L\u2019Art Nouveau gallery in Paris). The master painters were held in high regard, and so they were handsomely rewarded with an average hourly wage of 43 cents. Various painters would work on one object, as the decorations were often highly complicated. Fortunately, the work order books of the painters, in which their fees were recorded per object, have been preserved. Thus, we have found out that no less than six painters worked on model 112 (seen in the large picture)! Consequently, this vase was the most expensive object in the Prix Courant de la Porcelaine, Rozenburg\u2019s sale catalogue in 1900: 175 Dutch guilders!<\/p>\n
The painting process was followed by the glazing process and the \u2018polish heating\u2019 (at a lower temperature). If at that stage a piece had to be rejected after all, this meant serious financial loss. At the time of production, the prices of Rozenburg porcelain were very high.<\/p>\n
Price movements in the past 100 years have followed the appreciation of Dutch \u2018New Art\u2019 in general. However, Rozenburg porcelain is considered unrivaled in Dutch ceramics from this period, and it has been included in prominent museum and private collections both in the Netherlands and abroad. Rozenburg\u2019s porcelain production remained limited. Only three hundred models were executed. It isn\u2019t very hard to imagine that now, one hundred years later, the supply is very scarce. Despite this, if we take into account that the interest and appreciation for Art Nouveau are growing worldwide, the price level is still quite attractive.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Rozenburg porcelain, The Hague<\/h2>\n
The Hague, the year 1900<\/em><\/p>\n In the narrow city streets hangs a heavy smell of horse dung and faeces barrels in- and outside the houses. The litter in the canals lies rotting in smoke. Just a few streets further on, the large windows of the sales depots reflect the images of the sauntering rich. These department stores, as they are called, sell anything from clothes and household goods to exotic herbs. In this setting, in the spring of the year 1900, the \u2018Haagsche Plateelfabriek Rozenburg\u2019 has been preparing for already more than one year for the World Exhibition which is to be held in Paris in April. At the country estate \u2018Rozenburg\u2019, a man named Jurriaan Kok is working on the manufacturing of a completely new art product: porcelain in the strangest shapes \u2013 brilliantly and translucently white, feathery, and decorated in a great variety of colours.<\/p>\n The opening of the World Exhibition is rapidly approaching. The porcelain is carefully wrapped in straw and sent in wooden crates to Paris by steam train. It is there that Jurriaan Kok will finally be able to show his great invention to the world.<\/p>\n The Rozenburg factory was already widely known for its innovative earthenware models and revolutionary decorations. Among its clients were members of the Dutch royal family and prominent citizens like the writer Louis Couperus and the painter H.W. Mesdag. In the pavilion, the entire production was put on display. Shortly afterwards, everything was sold\u2026 The success of the porcelain during the World Exhibition, and the praise it received from all sides, took on proportions that we can hardly imagine today. After the Exhibition, the sales took place in the Rozenburg depot and in department stores throughout the country. A shop was opened in Paris and sales outlets were established in more than 15 cities all over the world \u2013 London, New York, Pretoria, Batavia.<\/p>\n Rozenburg\u2019s huge success can be attributed to its incredibly innovative character. Both the brilliant designs of the models and the application of bright colours in the decorations caused astonishment. The boundaries of the technically possible were sought, which resulted in a characteristic diversity of the models\u2019 shapes. The invention of applying the painting after the \u2018biscuit heating\u2019 (at high temperatures) instead of before, enabled Rozenburg to apply the same broad colour palette that it used on its pottery. Moreover, this procedure made the biscuit models so smooth that very delicate paintings could be applied on them.<\/p>\n One effect of this \u2018biscuit heating\u2019, however, was a large amount of reject. The clay would almost reach its melting point, causing about 50% of the objects to perish. Still, this had only a minor effect on the cost price, because the most expensive part of the production process was the painting. Quite frequently this made up 80% of the cost price!<\/p>\n In Rozenburg\u2019s heyday the factory engaged no less than 82 painters, from apprentices to master painters. The latter, who were also the designers of the decorations, clearly drew their inspiration from pictures in the art magazine \u2018Le Japon Artistique\u2019, published by the renowned art dealer Siegfried Bing (of the L\u2019Art Nouveau gallery in Paris). The master painters were held in high regard, and so they were handsomely rewarded with an average hourly wage of 43 cents. Various painters would work on one object, as the decorations were often highly complicated. Fortunately, the work order books of the painters, in which their fees were recorded per object, have been preserved. Thus, we have found out that no less than six painters worked on model 112 (seen in the large picture)! Consequently, this vase was the most expensive object in the Prix Courant de la Porcelaine, Rozenburg\u2019s sale catalogue in 1900: 175 Dutch guilders!<\/p>\n The painting process was followed by the glazing process and the \u2018polish heating\u2019 (at a lower temperature). If at that stage a piece had to be rejected after all, this meant serious financial loss. At the time of production, the prices of Rozenburg porcelain were very high.<\/p>\n Price movements in the past 100 years have followed the appreciation of Dutch \u2018New Art\u2019 in general. However, Rozenburg porcelain is considered unrivaled in Dutch ceramics from this period, and it has been included in prominent museum and private collections both in the Netherlands and abroad. Rozenburg\u2019s porcelain production remained limited. Only three hundred models were executed. It isn\u2019t very hard to imagine that now, one hundred years later, the supply is very scarce. Despite this, if we take into account that the interest and appreciation for Art Nouveau are growing worldwide, the price level is still quite attractive.<\/p>\n<\/div>