AMSTERDAM.- The sale of European Ceramics and Glass on 5 June at Sotheby's offers a good selection of Dutch Delftware and Meissen and Höchst porcelain. An 18th century Dutch Delft mixed technique plaque is painted with a mythological scene of Neptune rescuing Amymone from the attentions of Satire, who can be seen shielding in the grass (€ 1,800-2,200). Another Dutch Delft plaque, dating from the mid 18th century, is painted in blue with a formal garden centred by a fountain surmounted by a statuette surrounded waterfowl.



A set of three Rotterdam tiles from circa 1600-1625 are painted in polychrome with a majestic Neptune in his chariot, pulled by a pair of hippocampi. Printed material, such as maps and Dutch emblem books by the graphic artists from the 14th/16th centuries provided a rich source of inspiration and imagery to the 17th century tile painters. Unfortunately it is not known where the printed imagery for this particular set of tiles derives from. An almost identical tile is illustrated in D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Zeewezens op tegels, Lochem 1970. Also of interest is a Rotterdam Roman warrior tile from 1600-1625, decorated in bold shades of blue, ochre and green with a central figure of a Roman warrior wearing cuirasses and a sash and holding in one hand a lance the other a shield. The Roman warrior tiles are derived from the prints by Hendrik Goltzius (1558-1616) from his series of eight "Roman Heroes". The "Saracen Bowmen" tiles which accompany this series are also inspired by Goltzius expressive prints. On these tiles however their flamboyant dress is more extreme.