By hello
Salt-glazed blue-and-white ware. The blue ceramic jug on the table resembles Westerwald stoneware, a durable household ceramic with cobalt decoration. Its glossy, patterned surface gives Vermeer a different light effect from the matte bread crusts and woven basket. The object also strengthens the blue network running from jug to apron to sleeves, one of the painting’s most important color harmonies. References: Essential Vermeer catalogue entry; Rijksmuseum collection record; Metropolitan Museum of Art essay on tactile and optical qualities in the painting.