Square vase Imari small - Hand-painted - 15 cm
$443,94
A golden jubilee
Beginning of Heinen Delfts Blauw
It’s August 1975. Amid the bustling market stalls in the harbor of Spakenburg, father Jaap Heinen sits hunched over a porcelain vase.
His brush moves with precision across the smooth surface, bringing to life delicate patterns in the Japanese Imari style. The vibrant colors leap from the white background, drawing admiring glances from passersby, captivated by the exotic beauty.
It was with this distinctive painting style that founder Jaap Heinen began his career as a pottery painter fifty years ago — and laid the foundation for his company, Heinen Delfts Blauw.
What started as a fascination with East Asian motifs evolved into a unique artistic signature, blending the Japanese Imari tradition with classic Delft Blue.
To celebrate this golden anniversary, Heinen Delfts Blauw looks back to its roots and proudly launches a sparkling new Imari collection, designed and hand-painted by our talented pottery painter, Isa Lagendijk.
Imari, Jaap's way
New jubilee collection
"I've always had a deep fascination with Japan, but I wasn’t yet familiar with Imari porcelain," says Heinen Delfts Blauw painter Isa Lagendijk.
"While I was walking through the company looking for inspiration for a new product, I came across these beautiful red-and-blue vases with golden accents.
It turned out to be the original Imari pottery that Jaap Heinen made fifty years ago for the Spakenburg markets."
"For me, it instantly clicked," the talented painter explains about the new Imari collection for Heinen Delfts Blauw.
"The Imari style blended perfectly with my love for Japan, and I just couldn’t get the aesthetic out of my head.
When I started designing an Imari-inspired vase, everyone at the company was immediately excited. Of course, that’s because this style is how Jaap Heinen started the company fifty years ago. It felt like everything just came together naturally."
"With Heinen Delfts Blauw celebrating its 50th anniversary — a golden jubilee — and Jaap’s original artwork in mind, I was asked to design a special Imari anniversary collection."
Distinctive painting technique
The Delft blue painting style that Isa normally works with differs quite a bit from the Imari painting techniques.
“The technique I use for Imari painting requires a different approach,” she explains.
“While the cobalt paint used in Delft blue is quickly absorbed into the ceramic, the iron-red Imari paint tends to sit on the surface.
This makes it more difficult to create variations in tone. Additionally, after glazing, a layer of gold luster is applied, and then the piece goes into the kiln for a second firing."
“This collection doesn’t just complete the circle for me personally, but also for Heinen Delfts Blauw.”
The brushstrokes that Jaap Heinen first painted on porcelain fifty years ago have been lovingly studied by today’s master painters at Heinen Delfts Blauw and brought back to life in a brand-new Imari collection — infused with a touch of Jaap’s original signature and seamlessly blended with the painting style of the new generation of pottery artists.
facts about imari
Did you know...
Imari porcelain actually originates from the town of Arita in Japan.
It is a richly decorated type of porcelain, and in this region several substyles also emerged — such as Kakiemon porcelain, known for its whiter background.
In the late 17th century, the transport of Chinese porcelain to Europe temporarily came to a halt, and it was decided to export Arita porcelain instead. This export took place from the port of Imari, which is where the porcelain gets its name.
When the export of Chinese porcelain resumed, the export of Imari declined — mainly due to its significantly higher labor costs.
By then, however, Japanese porcelain had become so popular in Europe that Delft pottery makers began imitating the style. This gave rise to what is now known as Delft Imari.
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