Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
delft Blue manufacturing Process
Delft Blue earthenware is made from a soupy mix of clay and
water. To make plates, the glop is rotated on a spinning disk
until it looks like a traditional Dutch
pancake. This “pancake” is then placed
in a plate mold, where a design is
pressed into it.
To make vases, pitchers, cups, and
figurines, the liquid clay is poured into
hollow plaster molds. These porous
molds work like a sponge, sucking the
water out of the clay to leave a layer
of dry clay along the mold walls. Once
the interior walls have reached the cor-
rect thickness, all excess clay within is
poured off and recycled.
After the clay object is removed from the mold, it's fired
in the kiln for 24 hours. The pottery removed from the kiln is
called “biscuit.” Next, painters trace traditional decorations
with sable-hair pencils onto the biscuit pottery; these are then
painted with a black paint containing cobalt oxide. The biscuit
immediately soaks up the paint—making it a very unforgiving
medium for mistakes.
The objects are dipped into an opaque white glaze and
then fired a second time. A chemical reaction transforms the
black paint into the famous Delft Blue, and the white glaze
melts into a translucent, glasslike outer layer.
elements (such as chimneys). After the museum, you'll walk
through part of the factory, past racks upon racks of unfired
pieces. Take some time to watch artisans at work—and feel free to
stop and chat with them.
Getting There:
It's about a 15-minute walk south of the Old
Town. From the train station, catch bus #63, #121, or #129 and get
off at TU Aula/Jaffalaan (a five-minute walk from the factory).
You can also catch the “Delft Express” tourist train in front of the
train station (€2, runs hourly, 20-min ride loops around the north
end of the Old Town with commentary en route to the factory).
Or, from the Market Square, you can hire a bike-taxi to take you
there for about €3 one-way.
Near Delft: Rotterdam
The Hague isn't the only big Dutch city near Delft. About the
same distance in the opposite direction is the Netherlands' (and
Europe's) largest port, Rotterdam—which bounced back after
being bombed flat in World War II. While it lacks the charm of
Delft, and the great museums of The Hague, it might be worth a
