Zenith Gouda - very large handpainted Delft style wall plate with painting after Rembrandt
$145.09
Very large (41 cm diameter) and beautiful handpainted wall plate / dish in Delft style made between 1945 and 1960 by Zenith in Gouda, the Netherlands. The plate has a slightly scalloped edge and is painted underglaze. The plate shows a reproduction of a 17th century painting of Rembrandt, of which the official name is "Tronie van een man met gevederde baret" (Tronie of a man with a feathered baret). On the backside of the plate it is referred to by a more informal name: "Officier" (Officer). Information about the original painting can be found here: www.mauritshuis.nl/en/explore/the-collection/artworks/tronie-of-a-man-with-a-feathered-beret-149/. The edge of the dish is decorated with a ring of beautiful Delft style leaf ornaments. The painting of the dish is of a high quality, comparable with similar (and much sought after) large art reproduction plates of De Porceleyne Fles.
The backside of the plate is signed with a handpainted Zenith Gouda mark and the designation "Delfts Blauw" (Delft Blue). It also shows a painters signature (VA) and the name of the painting ("Officier"). The plate has two holes in its footring with iron wires through it for hanging it on a wall. On the front side in the lower right corner of the painting is written "naar Rembrandt", which means "after Rembrandt".
A beautiful and impressive plate, great to hang on a wall, but it can also be placed on its own in a plate stand. For this, a matching acrylic stand will be provided with the plate (the same as featured in the photos).
Made by: Zenith, Plateelbakkerij
Place of manufacture: Gouda, the Netherlands
Year of manufacture: between 1945 and 1960
Method of decoration: handpainted (underglaze)
Size: diameter 41,3 cm, depth: 6,3 cm
Weight: 1,82 kg
Condition: the dish is in an excellent condition, as new. There are no damages or restorations, nor any visible wear to the glaze, which has a beautiful gloss and shows deep colours. There is some light age related crazing visible on the back side, but not on the front side.
Additional pictures of the object can be provided if required.
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About Zenith:
Zenith was founded in 1749 in Gouda as a factory producing Dutch clay pipes. The factory was owned by the van der Want family. In 1915, as demand for clay pipes was dwindling, the factory started with the production of Art Nouveau (Gouda style) art pottery, inspired by the success of Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland (also located in Gouda). Till 1924 mostly glossy (underglaze) Gouda style pottery was produced, while after 1924 most pieces were given a matte glaze. From 1935 onwards the factory also started to produce Delftware in the Delft blue and white style. During the war production became limited and was oriented to utilitarian articles. After the liberation in 1945, production of high quality earthenware resumed and was greatly increased till in 1968 Zenith was the largest pottery factory in Gouda. Sadly from 1960 onwards the quality of the Delftware decreased. As painters salaries became higher, the factory turned more and more towards printing techniques, sometimes even marking pieces as "handpainted", while they were actually printed.
In 1980 a large fire struck the factory and in 1984 because of bad financial results the factory closed its doors, the last of the large Gouda pottery factories.
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This item will be carefully packed and send by tracked and insured mail.
If you buy multiple items from our shop in one purchase, we will try to combine the items into one parcel. Any excess shipping costs will be refunded.
If you are not satisfied with your purchase, you may contact us within 14 days from the delivery date to return the item. If the item is returned in its original condition, we will issue a refund for the total purchase price of the item (return shipping costs are however not covered).
Shipping from The Netherlands
Processing time
1-2 business days
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I gladly accept returns
Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 30 days of delivery
I don't accept exchanges or cancellations
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Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are your shipping times?
We will send off your order within one or two working days. We use the standard parcel service of PostNL to ship our parcels. You can find their estimated delivery times per country here www.postnl.nl/en/customer-service/international-delivery-times-post-and-parcels/. In the fourth column you can find the delivery times of the standard service (in estimated business / working days). Please keep in mind that customs / import procedures in non-EU countries can sometimes add an extra week (or even two weeks) to the delivery times.
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How do you pack your items, will my item arrive safely?
Broken ceramics is a thing we do not like! Not only is it a waste of time and money, but it also (often) means the end for a rare and unique item, which was treasured and cared for by their previous owners. So we really want to avoid any damages during shipping!
We have lots of experience of shipping ceramics, and we have seen what works and what does not work to protect ceramics during transit. If we ship multiple items in one package, each item is carefully wrapped and kept well seperated from the other items. We use large boxes, with plenty of buffer all around the items, so the packages can withstand a lot of abuse. All our packages should be able to cope with a 1,5 m drop without the items getting damaged.
Do you take care of the environment?
Yes we do. We re-use packaging materials as much as possible, which means we rarely have to buy new materials for our packaging. Only foam peanuts are sometimes bought by us, in which case we choose starch based peanuts which are fully biodegradable, non-toxic and water-soluble.
Each year, we calculate the greenhouse gas emissions in CO2-equivalents caused by our shipping. We multiply that amount by 150% and then offset it in certified CO2 compensation projects based on tree planting / reforestation in Bolivia and Uganda. See https://treesforall.nl/en/project/ for more information on the projects.
How should I take care of my Dutch ceramics?
First of all, don't let them fall! Always handle them in a mindful way and put them in spots where they cannot be accidentally bumped over when cleaning or vacuuming. Some people put some (clean) sand in vases to make them more stable.
Second, don't clean them too often! Underglaze painted Gouda and Delftware can be perfectly cleaned with water if necessary, but often just dusting them off or polishing them up a bit with a soft dry cloth is enough. Overglaze painted items should not be cleaned too often.
The colours of ceramics do not fade in sunlight, so you can put them in bright spots where they look good. But do avoid large temperature differences, which will cause increased crazing in many Delftware and also Gouda type pieces.