The variety of decoration was great; but mostly of birds, flowers, fruit, and other objects of Nature.
Afterward these, as well as plates, dishes, mugs, etc., were painted with many colors; and some of these were quite rude and garish, to suit a low and garish taste. But, as decoratives, these too have a certain value.
At the small village of Broeck, some seven miles from Amsterdam, there was in 1870 a very nice collection of delft for sale, among which were a dozen or more large plates of the best blue. It was the collection of a woman who had for a long time been a dealer there.
The town of Broeck, as most know, has been a point to visit; it was at one time the cleanest spot in the known world, no horse or cow or other animal being permitted in its streets. In those days it was a sort of country-seat for the rich Amsterdam merchants. It is changed now.
The _marks_ upon delft are mostly those of the individual painters, and may be found in considerable variety in Demmin's more elaborate work.
Fig. 90 is a good representation of the bold painting of the Delft workmen. These great plates, when standing on shelves or fastened to the wall, produce a striking and pleasing effect. They are now much sought for; and the high-class work brings high prices, though not such prices as the Italian maiolicas.
TILES were made from an early period in Holland, and during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in great quantities. They were used to decorate fireplaces, stoves, walls, hearths, etc. The blue and brown Scripture-tiles were made in great numbers, and found a wide and ready sale. They are rude, quaint, and interesting--are not _art_ at all, but whimsical expressions of a religious sentiment. They are still made in Holland almost identical in design and feeling with those produced three hundred years ago.
Very primitive unglazed pottery was made in England by the Britons and Saxons before the days of written history. Some account is given, in the chapter upon "Unglazed Pottery," of the red Roman unglazed ware found in London and elsewhere, which, beyond any reasonable doubt, was made largely in England. An account of the use and production of glazed pottery in England will be in place here.