A set of twelve Dutch Delft blue and white herring fishery dishes

The Herring industry formed the most important fishing activity in the Netherlands outweighing whale fishery in volume and also in turnover. Such was its economic importance to the Republic that it was referred to as "Groote Visscherije" or "large fishery" in contrast with whale fishery which was categorised to be in the small fishery. The present set is decorated after the etches by Adriaan van der Laan (circa 1690-died after 1742) after drawings by Siewert van der Meulen (died 1730).
A comparable series is in the Gemeente Museum Den Haag, illustrated in M.S. van Aken-Fehmers, Delfts aardewerk, Geschiedenis van een nationaal product, volume II, Zwolle, 2001, pp. 239-241, nr. 65

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