Vase (rolwagen) with a company in a landscape c. 1635 - 1650

Editor: Here we have an exquisite ceramic piece titled "Vase (rolwagen) with a company in a landscape," dating back to around 1635-1650. It’s currently housed in the Rijksmuseum, and the artist is unknown. I am struck by its intricate, blue and white design. It evokes this gentle, pastoral feeling… What story do you see unfolding here? Curator: Well, isn't it a delight? It makes me think of Delftware and that Dutch Golden Age fascination with the exotic East. I envision a trading ship brimming with silks, spices, and stories, carrying these ceramic objects back home, stories imprinted on clay. The very scene, a ‘company in a landscape,’ perhaps a group engaged in leisurely pursuits, evokes the elite life. What feelings arise as you view the cascade falling above the depicted social interactions? Editor: I see the social dynamic, for sure. I initially overlooked that dramatic waterfall near the vase's neck, it strikes me now. Does the presence of that particular, waterfall element bear symbolic weight? Is there a connection between the people on the vase and natural forms, or do they offer something contradictory to one another? Curator: Excellent eye! Waterfalls often symbolized purity, renewal, and the passage of time in East Asian art which would soon be appreciated as elements of Dutch Golden Age artwork. Perhaps its placement is no mere accident. Do the people feel isolated against nature, or harmoniously entwined within it? Are they masters of their own domains, or players upon a much vaster landscape stage? Editor: It almost suggests an harmonious vision, a world where humans coexist effortlessly with nature, maybe? I feel this vase gave me an entirely different appreciation for these cross-cultural conversations in art history. Curator: Indeed. It acts as a conduit between worlds and between centuries. This object reveals, after all, that the vase contains echoes not only of craft, and artistry but history. I'll be walking through the museum thinking of that vase and its watery cascade all afternoon!