DUTCH ART NOUVEAU AND ART DECO CERAMICS 1880-1940.

The Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum Collectionedited by Eugène LANGENDIJK and Mienke Simon THOMAS. Rotterdam: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and NAi Publishers [2001]. With 210 illustrations (71 in color).4to., 256 pp.; printed pictorial stiff paper wrappers with folded flaps.

The first English language monograph to specifically focus entirely on ceramic produced in the Netherlands during the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods, all culled from a single institution.  While initially focusing on “highlights” in its coverage of fifty top items, detailing each with emphasis on aesthetic and historical perspectives, the work then focuses on important factories, studio and artist potters, as well as decorative and sculptural ceramics in full depth (i.e. Rozenburg, Porceleyne Fles, De Distel, Amstelhoek, Mendes da Costa, van der Hoef, etc.).  It concludes each section with a visual survey totalling approximately 600 more items by these same artists or manufacturers with concise detail thus providing a comprehensive review of the work done during the period, all in the museum’s holdings.

An exceptional showcase for one of Holland’s least-known but highly important periods of decorative art.