Lost in Delft

Figures of the Laughing Buddha: we’ve been crazy about them in the Netherlands for centuries. They originated in China and have been in great demand in Europe since the seventeenth century. Potters in Delft soon began making faithful copies of the Chinese porcelain, though they often added a familiar European touch to the mysterious figures. Few Europeans were aware of the true meaning of the Buddhist and Taoist deities at that time. In the exhibition Lost in Delft – The Transformation of Budai and Guanyin, the Kunstmuseum Den Haag is showing a small number of these Delftware figurines – still popular today – alongside their Chinese prototypes.

Figurines of Buddhist deities found their way from China to Dutch interiors more than three hundred years ago. Two of them, Budai and Guanyin, were extremely popular and were reproduced in Delft in many variants.

Budai
The seated, laughing Budai Heshang originated as a Chinese Buddhist monk in the second half of the ninth century. In China he is better known as the incarnation of Maitreya, the future Buddha.

Budai became well-known in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century through porcelain and soapstone figurines. The potters in Delft added colours and patterns to Budai’s image as they pleased. They also gave him attributes relating to stimulants that were new in the Netherlands at the time, such as a teacup and saucer or a tobacco pipe. The fusion of Chinese and European shapes and decorations is called chinoiserie, a fantasy of China.

In the eighteenth century, the Delftware imitations of Budai changed from an exotic curiosity to a stereotypical object. The figurines reflect the broader context of European perceptions of China, which changed in the eighteenth century from great admiration for the ancient civilisation to a less positive image.

Guanyin
Guanyin is a bodhisattva associated with compassion and mercy in Chinese Buddhism. According to Indian Mahayana Buddhism, Guanyin responds to requests for help in thirty-three different manifestations. In combination with Chinese folk tales, various legends have arisen in Chinese Buddhism about how Guanyin saves people. When Guanyin first appeared in China during the Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE), the now-female divinity was still male. It was not until the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) that Guanyin’s transformation into a goddess was complete.

In seventeenth-century Delft, Guanyin underwent a new transformation. White porcelain and soapstone examples from China served as a model for the potters in Delft, who enriched her clothes with exuberant patterns in bright colours. Guanyin’s popularity in Europe seems to be due to the presumed association with the Virgin Mary in the Catholic faith, especially since she is sometimes depicted with a child in her arms.

Immortals
In addition to the Buddhist Budai and Guanyin figures, the potters in Delft also made imitations of Taoist deities. China has had a long obsession with immortality and the advent of Taoism helped to perpetuate this tradition by telling stories of how immortality could be achieved. Many Taoist legends focus on the Eight Immortals. Due to their close relationship with the Taoist gods Fu (prosperity) and Shou (longevity), they are often depicted together, as they are on a rare Delftware dish featured in the exhibition.

Tradition
The exhibition continues a long-standing tradition of research into and exhibitions about Delftware at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. This time the focus is on the non-Western perspective of Delftware by looking at the world-famous pottery’s origins and sources of inspiration