GOUDA-DESIGN
Part 3 in the Jaap Gidding collection of Dennis van den Hoek and his family.
Chocolate to China.
When the Dutch chocolate company of A. Driessen from Rotterdam was searching for a design to put on their bonbonniere to commemorate that her Royal Highness Queen Wilhelmina was 25 years on the throne – they asked THE designer of the moment in Rotterdam namely Jaap Gidding.
Driessen had had ceramic bonbonnieres made before. They were executed by the Ivora factory in Gouda and this one would also be made by them. It was Giddings very first contact with the ceramic industry but it wouldn't be his last. Although a design signature is not present, we know that the design is by Gidding because of a magazine article about royal memorabilia (from ‘Op de Hoogte’, June 1923, p151).
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Made by Ivora. No design signature. No painter initial. Model number 190. Height 8 cm. Diameter 13.5 cm. |
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On the inside of the lid you can see the name of the chocolate company. |
When Jaap Gidding started working at the Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland in 1925 his first designs looked more like the style of Colenbrander at the Rozenburg factory than his own – dark, heavy. Nothing like his work made earlier that year for the Regina factory. His designs from 1926 onwards were much freer with lots of white, bright colours. A good example is this vase with very abstract design, lots of colours and unused space.
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Made by Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland (PZH). Date 1926 or 1927. No date mark or year code. JG (design signature for Jaap Gidding) Not marked as such but probably the design is G5. Height 28 cm.
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By 1928 Jaap Gidding was at the top of his game.
The example shown was made by the Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland in 1928 (it’s design was created the year before). It shows Gidding at his very best - lots of colour, matte and glossy in one design (very rare) and everywhere you look something is going on.
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Made by Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland (PZH). Date 1928. Painter 'S' is unknown. JG (design signature for Jaap Gidding) Model G21. Model number 0404. Number 4364. The function of this number is unknown. Height 20.5 cm
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In 1932 Jaap Gidding was asked by De Porcelyne Fles to put Blue Delft on the map again and his creations should be called ‘New Delft’. The designs had to be modern but still had to have a link with the old Chinese designs.
Gidding made some vase models and
about 20 designs for De Porceleyne Fles.
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Made by De Porceleyne Fles. Date 1933 (BC year code). Painted by Adrianus Koert. Signature AK. Designed by Jaap Gidding. JG for Jaap Gidding. The 960 is an internal tracking number. Height 20.5 cm.
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When you look at the design on the vase you will see a bird in flight but when you look closely at the bird you will see the strength of Giddings design. Only a few strokes of the pen made this ‘look’ like a bird because in real life it could never have flown. |
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After his work in Delft in 1933, Gidding moved around and eventually returned to Delft in 1943. In that year the war was still going on, but they thought that victory was at hand and therefore peace was very close. Gidding was asked by De Porceleyne Fles to create two wall plate designs to commemorate this.
One wall plate (30cm) has a flying peacock in the centre, the other one (35cm) has a tree (of life ?) with a white dove at its roots. Both plates where made in December of 1943 but… the war went on.
How many plates were made is unknown. How many of those survived the war… probably only a few.
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Made by De Porceleyne Fles. Date 1943 (BM year code). Painted by Pieter Senf. Signature P.S. The 743 is an internal tracking number. Diameter 35 cm. |
| Jaap Gidding Inv. means 'Design by Jaap Gidding'. |
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Dennis Rozenburg Eggshell