Beyond Blue and White : The Hidden History of Delftware and the Women Behind the Iconic Ceramic

When over seventy-five pieces of rare and intriguing 17th and 18th century Delftware are rediscovered in an historic Manhattan townhouse, decorative art advisor and writer Genevieve Wheeler Brown quickly recognizes that together these pieces tell an amazing story.

When over seventy-five pieces of rare and intriguing 17th and 18th century Delftware are rediscovered in an historic Manhattan townhouse, decorative art advisor and writer Genevieve Wheeler Brown quickly recognizes that together these pieces tell an amazing story. What begins as a curatorial exercise quickly evolves not only into an exploration of this colorful, expressive and sometimes even humorous decorative art, coveted in the 17th century by European royalty and collectors today, but also an unexpected uncovering of forceful female lives yet untold.

Connecting the accounts of women across centuries, BEYOND BLUE AND WHITE allows us to paint a more complete picture of female experience through the lens of material culture. We meet female Delftware makers, including Barbara Rotteveel founder of “The Three Bells” Delftware factory in 1671. We are introduced to female Delftware patrons such as Queen Mary II, who found her means of expression while creating a vogue in the 17th century for Delft blue and white across royal courts. And then there are the lady collectors beginning in the 19th century. Specifically, Mrs. J. Pierpont Morgan and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II who came together with fellow female New Yorkers who found agency and laid the groundwork for women in the museum world while preserving decorative arts with an educational mission. With illustrations of period objects, documents, maps, paintings, prints and drawings, BEYOND BLUE AND WHITE is a colorful celebration of an iconic decorative art and dynamic women living in extraordinary times. BEYOND BLUE AND WHITE encourages us to see beyond the dazzling cobalt glaze of Delftware to consider that these vessels are also our connection to a version of history putting a fascinating group of women at its center.