Book excerpt: Dutch earthenware has a universal reputation and is represented in the ceramic collections of the great museums. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has a comprehensive collection of Delft blue and white and polychrome earthenware. The collection contains a number of highly important and unique pieces. A selection of the most interesting pieces is published here for the first time. This exquisite, fully illustrated volume reveals the importance of faience production in Delft in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, while highlighting the exceptional quality of the Museum's collection. Illustrated entries on thirty-five objects in the collection, written by Ella Schaap, Curatorial Associate for Dutch Ceramics at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, describe the significant features and set them in historical context. An illustrated introduction to the history of Delft ceramic production by noted scholar Hans van Lemmen is informative and lively. This publication will appeal to interested visitors as well