Figure 21 Tile, Holland, ca. 1650–1690. Delftware. 4.96" x 4.96" x .19". A determined-looking merperson with an attenuated neck, straight hair, and a dish-shaped hat, is squirting water (or milk?) from his (her?) breasts. The sea is drawn with straight lines, and possibly there is a weed-covered rock in the foreground. This most unusual figure is painted in dark blue outline and filled in with two tones of blue. Oxhead corners and two pinholes. The glaze is thick, kwaart-enriched, and heavily crazed. The clay body is a pale pink and very sandy, with slightly beveled edges. This tile is probably a product of an inexperienced factory. |