Home is where the heart(h) is: 3. Obeying the curfew by staying indoors?

Hello my friends,

Do you have to stay indoors because of Covid measurements? Here in the Netherlands we have curfew from 9 pm until 4.30 am. Ever wondered where the word curfew comes from? Curfew or 'avondklok' in Dutch, was the answer to the question in the last post and Jonquil guessed it correctly! Now there was a little prize to win. 2 curfews, one replicates led glazed pottery and one replicates tin glazed Delftware. I have invited Jonquil to choose the two she likes most as soon as all 11 are finished. The curfews of her choice will then be sent to her adress. 

But what was/is a curfew? Everybody knows the current meaning of a curfew. Nowadays, a curfew is a regulation requiring people to remain indoors between specified hours, typically at night. For example: a dusk-to-dawn curfew. And right now, several of you, like us in the Netherlands, experience the restraint a curfew places on you as many countries now have installed it as a measure to try to battle the current Covid pandemic. So sadly, this post has an unexpected link with the world of today.

If that is the current meaning of a curfew, where does the word originaly come from? The word curfew comes from Old French and the Anglo-Norman forms, composed of:

– couvre, imperative of the verb couvrir, to cover,

– feu, meaning fire.

The word curfew originally denoted a regulation in force in many if not most towns in medieval Europe by which fires were to be covered over or extinguished at a fixed hour in the evening, indicated by the ringing of a bell. It also denoted the hour of evening (evening bell aka 'avondklok') when this signal was given and the bell rung for the purpose. In other words, the workday was finally at an end and if the city gates were not normaly closed at dusk they would be closed now only to be opened the next day. 

In times of war or civil unrest the civil or military authorities could issue an order that, at the hour where all fires should be covered, noone could leave there house (unless they had special privileges). And that latter meaning of the word remains until this day.

But back to tbe humble fire cover. In front of the hearth in the painting above stands a yellow glazed curfew or couvre feu. In Dutch they are called 'vuurklok' or 'vuurstolp'. These were used, as you have already read, to cover the remaining fire or smouldering embers to make sure that they could not rekindle or spread when the occupants were asleep and burn the house down. 

These household items ranged from simple metal and earthenware items up to fancy brass or glazed earthenware examples. Because these were first and formost utilitarian objects most disappeared on the rubbish tip when they broke. And with the advent of coal fires in baskets and oil fires they became obsolete altogether. So only a few of these survive today and are mostly found in museum collections. In the picture above you can see a selection of sizes and differently shaped borders to add to the variety. 

These are made out of DAS air-drying clay and varnished with gloss varnish The area's I want highlighted in green and pale yellow are first painted in an off-white. And then covered with a few layers of varnish (coloured with ink) to build up the coloured glaze. Some are monochrome and entirely decorated in green or yellow on the outside and the others have coloured decorations on the red clay base. The yellow and green mimic the lead glazes normally used. Curfews like this were made from the 1500's onwards and into the early 19th century and can sometimes be determined where they were made by the type of decorations or glazetints used. Some of them also have a date on them as part of the decoration, which is quite handy for the historians ;-)

A green one is destined for the cooking kitchen and a decorated one is intended for the office of the steward.  The place for the others are yet to be decided. Some will be gifts. 

The next one is made of white Fimo clay and decorated with painted decorations in a dark blue to mimic a delftware curfew. halfway the 17th century Delftware as an imitation of  Chinese porcelain became very popular.

 

For the grander households this new taste produced beautiful curfews in this colourscheme. This one is again glazed with glossy varnish to get that rich glossy sheen. This last one will go into either the dining room or the porcelain room/morning room on the first floor. 

 From the many pieces of broken curfews that have been dug up in excavations, archeologists have concluded that many of the pretty multicolor or delftware decorated curfews had never been used to cover the remains of the fire. Those curfews were status objects to be put into the cleaned hearths as a decoration and a sign of wealth. The simple or monochrome curfews were then hidden away somewhere out of sight of the visitors. How do they know? The very ornate ones often are spotless on the (unglazed) inside while the others are blackened by soot. I am making four more Delftware curfews, but as you can see below, they are not ready yet. Still some painting to do this week before Jonquil can make her choice. :-) 

And that, my friends is why I find myself making miniature curfews while here in the Netherlands a curfew is in place for the first time since the Second World War. Who knew? 

That is it for now my friends, until the next post. 

Huibrecht