Rozenburg eggshell porcelain vase model 20P painted by Samuel Schellink in 1899

Description

This vase was made by the Dutch pottery company Rozenburg from The Hague between 26 May and 2 June 1899. The vase is made of eggshell porcelain, a wafer-thin, almost transparent porcelain. Rozenburg launched this ‘innovation’ at the World Exhibition in Paris in April 1900. This vase was made in the months before to make its debut in Paris. You can see from the decoration that this is a very early piece of eggshell porcelain. The painting, inspired by Japanese art influences, shows chrysanthemums. But the brushstrokes are somewhat less refined, if you compare them with eggshell porcelain of a later date. This despite the fact that the vase was painted by master painter Samuel Schellink.
This vase is model 20P, a model with a square foot, which extends into a wavy belly and a narrow round neck. The vase is 23.5 cm or 9.2 inch high and 12 cm or 4.7 inch wide. The vase is well signed with the words: Rozenburg Den Haag (stamped), the signature of Samuel Schellink: SS, the symbol of an anchor (date mark 1899) and the work order number: 691. The vase has a tiny chip on one of the four corners and has a crack in the neck. This crack has been neatly restored and is especially visible on the inside of the neck. On the front you can hardly see the crack. Furthermore, the glaze has some baking errors and one side of the vase has a very light discolouration (probably nicotine).