Plate
Period1690 - 1730
MediumTin-glazed earthenware
Dimensions0.75 × 12 in. (1.9 × 30.5 cm)
ClassificationsEarthenware
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Varick Stout, 1945
Object number2057.1
DescriptionA large circular tin-glazed earthenware plate with a deep cavetto and foot rim. The entire plate front is ornamented in steel blue with a central image depicting a pair of figures seated beneath an elaborate gate, surrounded by exotic and lively flowers and foliage. Around the plate's rim are four evenly spaced panels featuring a seated figure, interspersed with bold and simple floral and foliate motifs. A narrow broken chain border runs along the outer edge of the cavetto, between the central scene and the paneled rim. Three stilt marks appear on the reverse of the plate.Curatorial RemarksA Luyster family tradition holds that this plate and its companion (accession number 2057.2) were brought to New Netherland by Pieter Cornelius Luyster (d. 1695), who emigrated to America in 1656. Given its late seventeenth century date of manufacture, it was more likely purchased in New York. Imported goods of this nature were readily available in that marketplace. The plate copies in Dutch tin-glazed earthenware a type of Chinese porcelain called Kraak. These blue and white wares found favor in European markets until the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, when porcelain production in China became disrupted. Traders then turned to Japan, where manufacturers ramped up to meet the demand for these popular blue and white wares. The term Kraak is believed to be derived from the word Carrack, the name of Portuguese ships used early on to transport the product from China to foreign markets.NotesThis plate, along with a second example (see accession number 2057.2), may have been among the furnishings brought to Monmouth County from New York by Johannes Luyster (1691 - 1756) and his wife Lucretia Brower (1688 - 1771), who were married in 1716. In preparation for a May 1930 visit by members of the Holland Society of New York to the ancient family homestead, John P. Luyster gathered together many family heirlooms from his two brothers, Alfred G. and James B. Luyster, for special display. A lengthy newspaper article that appeared in the Red Bank Register on 14 May 1930 described the contents of the venerable residence and much of the family lore attached to them. Items mentioned included "two plates which Pieter Cornelius Luyster brought with him to America from Holland." The two plates in question were actually made some years after Johannes Luyster's grandfather made the voyage across the Atlantic to New Netherland. John P. Luyster gave up farming and sold the homestead property in 1943. A large auction held on 2 October of that year dispersed much of the Luyster family's collection of heirlooms, including the two plates. They were acquired at that time by Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Varick Stout of Middletown, collectors of Americana and important patrons of the Association. For more information on the Luyster family, please see the Notes and Curatorial Remarks sections of the entry on their grisaille-painted kast (1986.511).
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