Royal Delft Blue Tours
The Royal Dutch Delftware Factory “De Porceleyne Fles”, was established in 1653 and is the last remaining Delftware factory from the 17th century. The world famous Royal Delftware is still entirely hand painted according to centuries-old tradition. We can guide you through this amazing piece of Dutch History as we are honoured to be Official Guides and can even offer you a concession on the entrance price.

Delft Blue Production
The production process of Delft earthenware starts with the composition of the clay. This consists of approximately 10 different raw materials of which the most important are: kaolin, chalk, feldspar and quartz.
They are carefully mixed with water creating a liquid mass (casting slip). Most raw materials are imported from England, the Czech Republic and France.
The casting slip is poured into a plaster cast. The porous plaster absorbs the water from the clay mass, leaving a layer of hard clay on the inside of the cast (clay body). When the clay body has the required thickness, the remainder of the still liquid clay is poured from the clay cast. After a while the product is strong enough to be removed from the cast without this causing any deformities. Any seams or irregularities are then meticulously removed.
Some products are cast as separate pieces and assembled afterwards, ears to cups, for example and heads to cows. Large plates are produced on a mechanical potters’ wheel.

After the clay has dried sufficiently, a thin layer of engobe is applied. Engobe is a layer of liquid clay sprayed on the clay body in order to achieve the best painting results. The product is then fired for the first time at a temperature of 1160 degrees-c, after which the fired clay is referred to as “biscuit”.

Delft Blue Decoration
The decorating process starts with the creation of the outline after which the Delftware painters carefully fill in the details by hand using special paintbrushes made of marten and squirrel hair. The paint is water based and colour shades are created by adding more, or less, water to the paint.
The Delft Blue scenery is painted with a colour mixture made to a centuries-old recipe consisting mostly of cobalt oxide. Due to a chemical reaction during the firing process, the design painted in black, hidden below the glaze, turns blue.
After the biscuit has been hand painted, it is submerged in a glazing bath or sprayed with a glaze. The glaze covers the decoration with an opaque white layer. During the second firing process (“smooth firing”) the glaze melts at a temperature of 1200°C into a transparent layer of glass. The decoration resurfaces at that stage. The chemical and physical reaction between clay, engobe, paint and glaze at that temperature is what creates the typical Delft Blue colour.

The showroom offers a comprehensive collection of hand painted Delft Blue by Royal Delft, as well as an extensive selection of Dutch earthenware and souvenirs.

Royal Delft Products
Delft earthenware is a collective term for all earthenware with decorations made by various techniques which have been in existence since the 17th century Delft Blue is by far the most famous of those. Delft Blue is the name for the earthenware with a blue decoration on a white background. The motifs have their roots in the Chinese porcelain from the Ming and Kang Hsi dynasties. Typical Dutch land and seascapes start to appear from the beginning of the 17th century.

Polychrome is a multi-coloured decoration technique. It uses the colours yellow, green, blue and russet. The knowledge on how to use these colours had at the time come over from the countries on the Mediterranean Sea. Since 1876 Royal Delft not only created an extensive assortment of Blue and Polychrome delftware, but also several new products were produced for either a shorter or longer period of time. For instance the White Delft, Red Crackle and the beautiful New Delft. In the museum you will find an overview of all these product lines.

Taylor Made Delft Blue
If you looking for a high quality and enduring gift for your business relations, at home or abroad then you have the right place. You could really treat your business relations, top customers, speakers at conferences or people celebrating anniversaries by presenting them with one of their products which are imminently suitable for all kinds of gift moments. They also form beautiful mementos for contract signing ceremonies and celebrations of joint ventures.

If you would like to personalize Delft Blue with your own text or logo, that is possible too! The choice is yours and you decide the amount: ordering can be on a piecemeal basis but a series is also possible. They can even develop a totally new design for you.

Art & Design
In 1988 the Porceleyne Fles started the Modern Ceramics Collection. This serves as a follow up of the relationship between potters and the ceramics factory as existed in the past (Experimental department; 1957-1977). Since then they have collaborated with both upcoming and established modern artists and designers.
At the end of 2011, Royal Delft introduced its new label Blue D1653. This collection shows Royal Delft’s ability to combine the centuries-old trade of its Master Painters with the powerful design produced by contemporary Dutch designers.

Delft Blue Trademark
Each product which carries the Delft Blue trademark is provided with a certificate of authenticity. With this certificate, the Porceleyne Fles and the Chamber of Commerce in Delft guarantee that the product has been completely hand-painted According to a centuries-old tradition. You will find this mark at the bottom or the back of every hand-painted product of the Porceleyne Fles.

More information about the Royal Delft Blue experience : https://www.royaldelft.com/en_gb/