No. 1, Brayen der Haring Netten (Weaving of the herring nets), from The Herring Catch

Manufacturer: Porcelain Axe (Porceleyne Bijl) Factory

c. 1780

Tin-glazed earthenware

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A blue and white Delftware plate depicts a coastal scene with a house, boats at sea, and two figures working on nets. The scene is rendered in a naive, folk-art style. This series of twelve plates is painted with scenes related to fishing for herring. While undistinguished in appearance, this silver fish was an abundant source of food in the North Sea and supported a vast fishing industry in the Netherlands. Herring fishing accounted for such a large percentage of the wealth of the Dutch Republic that Amsterdam was said to have been built on herring bones. Gallery G332 Gift of Samuel and Patricia McCullough