Delft Touches // Pottery Found Own Appeal

I t's knock-off time at the Art Institute from Sept. 3 to Nov. 6 asthe museum hosts a traveling exhibit of British delftware fromColonial Williamsburg, home of the nation's most comprehensivecollection of the largely blue-and-white pottery.

British and other delftware takes its name from the town ofDelft in the Netherlands.

The glazed pottery was the European attempt to imitate Chineseporcelains being imported in growing quantities in the 17th century.

As a knock-off, it was a failure, because the European potterscouldn't imitate the translucent white body of Chinese porcelain.

As an inexpensive thing of beauty in its own right, delftwarewas a great success, available to a wide spectrum of society.

During the first half of the 18th century, delft probably wasthe most-used ceramic in Colonial America.

"British Delft from Colonial Williamsburg" offers a look atsocial usage in past centuries via such items as a barber's shavingbowl, a punch bowl and a posset pot.

This pot was used for brewing a hot drink of spiced wine or aleand milk, which separated into solid curds and liquid whey.