Picture in Focus: Westraven Cloissone Tile of Saint George

November 13, 2022

Picture in Focus: Westraven Cloissone Tile of Saint George

My featured artwork this week is a ceramic tile from a European nation famed for its fine porcelain ware: The Netherlands. Founded in 1635, the Royal Delft (De Porceleyne Fles) factory has been known down the centuries for its blue-and-white pottery and smooth-surfaced glazed tiles, often on biblical themes, used as decorative borders. In the first decades of the 20th century Dutch potters at Royal Delft and the Westraven ceramic workshop in Utrecht introduced a new product line of tiles with designs in color glazes outlined with raised clay borders in the style of cloisonne enamel work. We have a beautifully-crafted image from Westraven of St. George (St. Joris in Dutch), the fabled dragon slayer, in sapphire blue armor on a white steed, killing the emerald green monster to add to the gallery of the Dutch Cloisonne Tiles page. It is interesting to compare its style to a Royal Delft cloissone tile of the warrior saint already in our listings. (John Kohan)