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Royal Tichelaar Makkum is a Dutch
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
company in
Makkum. After initially producing
bricks and later
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
and
tiles
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
, the company has focused on traditional decorative pottery since 1890. As the company in Makkum has always made ceramics, Royal Tichelaar Makkum is regarded as one of the oldest companies in the
Netherlands
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, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The ''Royal Tichelaar Makkum'' has always specialized in stoneware and earthernware, and started making porcelain from 1999. The first Dutch porcelain dates to 1759, with the advent of
Weesp porcelain.
History
In 1960, the company received the designation ''Koninklijk'' (Royal), on the occasion of its 300th anniversary. Later research showed that the company had been active even earlier and it celebrated its 400th anniversary in 1994, on the basis of the results of historical research. In 2007, documentation was discovered showing that the company was already active in 1572, as a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
map of that date shows bricaría (Spanish for
brickworks
A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for ...
) in Makkum.
In 1689, Freerk Jans brickmaker so tichelaar bought one half of the works, and then in 1694, the other half. Tichelaars who have managed the company through the ages are:
*Pieter Jelmers to 1869
*Jelmer Pieters Tichelaar 1831-1911 (1869–1899)
*Jan Pieters Tichelaar 1835-1919 (1869–1899)
*Pieter Jans Tichelaar 1868-1913 (1900–1913)
*Jan Pieters Tichelaar 1893-1981 (1913–1963)
*Pieter Jan Tichelaar (1963–1985)
*Cees van Zeumeren (1985–1994)
*Jan Tichelaar (1994–present)
During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, it was mainly dishes for daily use and
tiles
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
that were made in the clay ovens. Around 1865, the demand for dishes decreased. The brothers Jelmer and Jan started a drastic innovation process, whereby the company could continue as a factory for decorative pottery. Throughout the ages, the company has retained the old working methods, working with locally dug clay that is covered in a white
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
glaze after the first firing, called the
Majolica
In different periods of time and in different countries, the term ''majolica'' has been used for two distinct types of pottery.
Firstly, from the mid-15th century onwards, was ''maiolica'', a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca a ...
technique. In 1882, the use of plaster moulds was introduced, increasing the assortment of decorative pottery.
Materials and processes
The raw material is yellow or red firing
sea clay that is abundant in the west of the province of
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
. Tichelaar bought
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
clay but also dug his own clay from the neighbouring countryside, leading to the local word 'afgeticheld' to describe a meadow that had been dug up. The clay was mixed with
marl in the pottery washing plant and then stored in a cellar to keep it frost-free. Shortly before processing, the clay was thoroughly kneaded and mixed again and then cut to size or punched. After drying, it was baked to biscuit, called raw material, which was then covered in white on the front. On the back, the dishes got a layer of
eadglaze. After the artists had applied their decoration to the lead glaze, they were fired a second time. Two sorts of glaze were used; one transparent and one usually white covering glaze, called lead glaze and white glaze respectively, which were both prepared in the company. For the decoration, coloured glazes were prepared in the company. They were ground to a fine powder and when mixed with water, they could be used for painting. There were five colours (blue, purple, green, yellow and orange), though in practice it was usually blue and purple that were used.
Royal Tichelaar Makkum uses traditional production processes and is often asked to carry out restoration projects on historic
Delft blue. The company works with designers such as
Hella Jongerius, Studio Job, ,
Alexander van Slobbe,
Roderick Vos and
Marcel Wanders
Marcel Wanders (2 July 1963) is a Dutch designer, and art director in the Marcel Wanders studio in Amsterdam, who designs architectural, interior and industrial projects.
Life
Born in Boxtel, Wanders graduated cum laude from the Hogeschool v ...
. The company is now becoming more diversified, glazing ceramic products, roof tiles and facing bricks on commission from third parties.
References
External links
*
Video (2009) on projects by the Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum
{{Porcelain
Companies based in Friesland
Dutch pottery
Ceramics manufacturers of the Netherlands
Dutch brands