Delftware Tiles
The Forms and Functions of Delftware Tiles in Jaina Temples of Early-Modern South Asia
This project examines the material culture relating to the use of Dutch Delftware tiles in Jaina temples in Murshidabad, Bengal, to reflect on the global taste and demand for porcelain in the early modern world.
About the project
The Rijksmuseum holds a formidable collection of Delftware objects originating in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. This project takes the collection as its starting point to highlight the transregional mobility of objects between the Netherlands and South Asia during the early modern period and delve into the architectural survey of Jaina temples in the province of Bengal. Focusing on the extensive use of Delftware tiles in the interior decorations of these buildings, it studies how these objects came to represent notions of a cosmopolitan connoisseurly taste which was ultimately associated with elite courtly consumption and royal patronage in early modern South Asia.
Aim of the project
By charting the various forms of mobility of Delftware tiles between the Netherlands and Jaina temples in early modern South Asia, the project will take an art historical approach in its study of the tiles, the associated material culture and early-modern transcultural aesthetic choices.
Staff
Mrinalini Sil
Mrinalini.Sil@rijksmuseum.nl
Mellon Postdoctoral fellow
Anna Slaczka
A.Slaczka@rijksmuseum.nl
Curator Asian Art
Jan van Campen
J.van.Campen@rijksmuseum.nl
Curator Asian Art
Partners and Sponsors
Mellon Foundation