Background Information:

Some interesting facts and history of items on sale

Dutch Textiles: 

The Fabrics on offer are from the last remains of a few major textile manufacturers in Twente who  started an industry with workers from lineages of handweavers as far back as the 16th & 17th century making pure linen damasts and "pellen" (a specific block motif) and selling these to the east and west - as far as Japan, China, the middel east and Russia. Highly prized at royal courts - through internal and European wars and tribulations - the  exclusive products soon became too expensive to produce and cheaper, more affordable goods for the masses had to be found. The introduction of cotton from the Levant and Americas brought a revival albeit still an expensive alternative as cotton had to be imported.
In 1728 a group of "fabrikeurs" from Enschede (linen merchants) asked permission to weave linen with the new cotton and form a strong durable material named "Bombazijn" ( tree-silk) This introduction of cotton proved to be the starting point of one of the greatest industrial concentrations of textile producing in the netherlands.
After the devastating French period 1795 -1812 William III was crowned king and needed to relieve the great financial losses of the country. Through his skills as a merchant he had already formed a company in Belgium (then part of the netherlands) the Generale Maatschappij (now part of Fortis) but had lost this in 1830 due to the loss of Belgium. In 1832 a new company was built - The nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij (NHM) that dealt primarily with the Dutch colonies. These colonies needed work, clothes and trading - One of the products needed was white bleached cotton fabric for batiks. This was also the start of major production lines in Twente as the knowhow, factories and workforce was abundant. Capital was also abundant in certain families due to the linnens and the NHM provided trade capital.
And so the story begins in 1832

From then on the descendants of van heek, Blijdenstein, ten Cate, Salomonson, Willink, Jordaan, ter Weeme, Stork, gelderman, Nieuwenhuis, Stroink, etc.  began their industrial journey from the humble beginnings in the early 18th century. Around 1850 factory's started to appear using steam power, mechanized looms and spinning mules were built in secret - due to the restrictions of Great britain and steel import dfficulties - and when all seemed to go well disaster struck in Enschede - a great fire in 1862. Only it was exactly this great fire that prepared the city and region for a new start. After 1862 enormous new factories were built and production increased. Even the american war delivered good news when the prices for cotton went through the roof as the economically cunning Twentse merchant factory owners had stockpiled great quantities of cotton beforehand. In the 20's of the next century the textile industry of twente delivered nearly 20% of dutch GDP and were major players in the world of producing and finishing. Due to the demise of the colonies and the second World War production slumped and the high incomes were unsustainable to compete with the new asian counterparts. The family owners had also held the tradition of familiy capital and leadership too long in favour and were forced to give up their sole ownership under pressure of their bankers as they had too little captital left to sustain a feasible business in 20th century. With public shareholders and an uninterested gouvernment things soon started to fail and by the 60's most went out of business forced or of free will. At the time of departure most were at least 100 years in existence and had the privilige to call themselves "Royal". the last real company to survive is Ten Cate whereas Blijdenstein is a holding trading in textiles but no longer producing.

Silver:

Silver objects and flatware in earlier times were regarded as a means to "bank" your assets as there were no depository banks as we know have today. Coins and other objects were often given to a gold- or silversmith to be reformed into a usable object such as personal flatware or plates. At one point silver was even more expensive than gold! Even in the 20th century coinage of many countries still contained a high percentage of real value in silver.

In times of need these 'savehavens' could be easily transported or changed into ready cash. As economic wealth and the international bankingsystem started to form in Amsterdam (17th century) the need for these objects changed into pure objects of desire that displayed the wealth of the owner. As long as you could afford to have abundant silver in your household you weren't short of cash or credit!

In silver there are various grades depending on the purity and usage of the object. High grade silver - 999, 935 and 925 parts - are regarded as the best. Lower grades - 835 and 800 - are more often found in continental silver but are cerainly not lesser in quality. The lower grade was often a result of the high taxation and scarcity in the country of origin whereas in England silver was more affordable and abundant. To safeguard the true value of silver in the object an official marking system was introduced - the Hallmark - whereby the maker/owner offered his objecr to be certified at a designated 'guildhall' as a true and honest product. Also the taxman added his approval so that the state could assertain the wealth held by its inhabitants.

After the introduction of the electronic and giro-bankingsystems silver lost it's use as a monetary value and became a commodity unlike like gold and platinum that remain security values. As such it is taxed accordingly with VAT and has a relatively high retail price as a commodity compared to bullion! In true terms however gold is more abundant than silver! In  the last years demand has mainly been supplied through the reclaiming of old silver objects and industry waste - True producing silvermines are scarse and in future there will certainly be an encreased demand for silver. At the moment silverprices are affordable but scrap-values are increasing as silver becomes a new savehaven for investors owing to the recent stockmarket falls!

Famille Rose porcelain

• Famille rose porcelain was named as such around 1860 by the French collector A. Jacquemart who scientifically studied Eastern porcelain. Others named through him are the famille verte - mainly green and without the pink tones - famille noir and famille jaune. All are named after the primarely used overglaze enamels that colour the scheme. Famille rose came in fashion around 1720 after a dutch scientist found an enamel made up of goldchloride and tin combined with an arsenic compound of white to form a hue of pink that could be painted on in various depths of colour thus changing the untill then only known palets of Blue & White, famille vertes and Imari. 

•  The first products were decorated in the traditional Chinese style: open spaces and sprays of stylised iconic flowers, birds and foliage. Especially those of the YongZheng period were of the highest quality. Later the Chine-de-Commande was introduced where the Chinese artists were given European examples like Nymphenburg and Meissen, specific etchings and drawings or heraldry pieces of family crests to copy and decorate their wares with in the more highly decorated European taste. After c. 1760 the produced wares became a mass product, less finely decorated and with harsher colours. For their own taste the Chinese prefered softer colours now known as Fencai but often named Mandarin wares.

• Around 1800 with the introduction of cheaper European porcelain the export started to dwindle allthough there were still some exceptionally fine goods made for the inner market. A follow up of coloured export wares was to be the cantonese porcelains that suited the tastes of fashion better and the restarted export of aesthetic Japanese products owing mainly to the Grand World Exhibition of 1851 in London.

• The nineteenth century produced articles mainly for the wealthy European market as China was rediscovered by travellers and their "Modern" wares undoubtedly seen at the great exhibition of London in 1851 (Crystal Palace) on the various pavilions. In later years ideas fuelled by the great influential designers like Pugin, R. Lalique, Gallé, R. Mackintosh, Chr. Dresser, Berlage and W. Morris and new trends like the Neo-styles and Art Nouveau - interest in the aesthetic and exotic Chinese and Japanese art grew and became the in-thing of the upcoming intellectual artloving middleclass and existing upper-class.

Blue & White Export porcelain

• The monochrome decorated porcelain named Blue & White export has always been regarded as the backbone of Chinese wares. Throughout the Ming- and after the transition period Qing Dynasty, people have always tried to copy or imitate the wares first seen in Europe after the Portuguese - and subsequently mainly the Dutch traders - brought them back from their expedition journeys to the east. A hard paste porcelain body, lightweight, strong and nicely decorated captured the European markets by storm.

• Although mainly used to facilitate as a counter ballast for the lighter tea, once on the key side in Holland demand for the hardwearing goods picked up as sailors were allowed to sell off items to enhance their pay. Combined with the royal approval of king William and Queen Mary everyone just had to have this product. As a consequence vast shipments during the 16th and 19th century were sent to the west, mostly simple everyday goods but also some nicer pieces for the gentry, these were to be known as Chinese Export Porcelain. The real pieces of quality however stayed in the east to be known as Imperial Ware, now sought after and rare in the West. 

• The nineteenth century produced articles mainly for the wealthy European market as China was rediscovered by travellers and their "Modern" wares undoubtedly seen at the great exhibition of London in 1851 (Crystal Palace) on the various pavilions. In later years ideas fuelled by the great influential designers like Pugin, R. Lalique, Gallé, R. Mackintosh, Chr. Dresser, Berlage and W. Morris and new trends like the Neo-styles and Art Nouveau - interest in aesthetic Chinese and Japanese art grew and became the in-thing of the upcoming middleclass and existing upper-class. So it started life as a ballast weight for shipping tea to the west and resulted as a basis for Europe's wealth in culture.

Chinese Imari

• Although underglaze Blue & White porcelain has always been regarded as the backbone of decorated Asian wares, those completed with added Iron red and Gold embellishments also had their followers. Originally thought to have been first produced in the harbour city Imari  (Japan) as a richer finish to the Blue and White wares of Arita it later was copied succesfully by the Chinese by at first copying their more aesthetic designs and later transforming their own designs in the Imari colour scheme.

• After the closing of Japans borders due to internal unrest trade to the East and West from the 18th century up untill the middel of the 19th century halted. As trade in the more expensive Japanese porcelain had deminished the Chinese were all to keen to step in their place as a cheaper alternative. The first products are nowadays highly sought after by collectors although there were some major production faults like the high tendancy of rim-fritting (in later wares bettered by using a honeybrown glaze on the rim) and an easily rubbed off  form  of gilding. The body of the plates tended to be much heavier potted than the Blue and White and also prone to the "chatter marks" within the base ring (also a feature of old japanese porcelain).

• Blue, Red & Gold wares certainly have also earned their place as a traditional product. The early Japanese imari tends to have more aesthetically open spaced and a-symetrical designs: The chinese imari resembles this but in  more evenly placed designs with a KangXi influence. The symbolic cloud cartouches are  often intertwined with stylised flower designs and KangXi panels. Also some wares were enhanced with green enamels as used on true Famille Verte and even with pinks after 1720. Later The Chinese changed to their own style with  flowersprays and a central panel of naturalisticly stylised flower scenes with a rockformation or vase complemented with diaper and scrollwork borders.

• The Chinese blue was at first of a paler hue than that used in later years but never as bright as the Japanese of the 19th century. As the Chinese improved their multi-coloured products demand in the West declined as famille Rose  (occasionally combined with imari colours) stepped in and therefore not much is seen after 1800. The reason for decline was partially due to the upcoming European factories producing copies of the Imari patterns: less expensive and closer to home.

• The sudden interest in the newly opened markets of Japan revived the Imari tast albeit to a more aesthetic style not found in China. The chinese now perfected another product: mandarin ware from the region of canton.