Internationally renowned expert on Dutch ceramics Ella Schaap dies at age 108
Ella Schaap (middle), Mary Anne Dutt Justice, curator of European ceramics at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (right) and Robert D. Aronson (left) in 2016.
AMSTERDAM
.- On Saturday July 10th, a mere 3 days after her extraordinary 108th birthday, Mrs. Ella Schaap passed away. Mrs. Schaap was connected to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for no less than 56 years, as a volunteer and from the age of 92 as a Curatorial Associate in the field of European Ceramics. She published several titles amongst which Three Delft Pieces in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1967), Dutch tiles [ ] (1984), Dutch floral tiles in the golden age and their Botanical prints (1994) and Delft ceramics [ ] (2003). Mrs. Schaap was a turn-to authority when researching Delftware and specifically Dutch tiles. She was awarded a royal decoration by HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 2003 for her dedication to spreading awareness of Dutch ceramics in United States. Ella was not only a friend, she was a scholar, an authority, a great specialist in the field of Dutch ceramics, a stable factor and a staple of our little but global community. She will be sorely missed.