Dutch Blue & White Royal Delft Commemorative Plate - 1932. Closing Zuiderzee Afsluitdijk. SOLD

The tin glazed earthenware plate commemorating the final closing from “The Afsluitdijk”. A dike between the states Holland and Friesland, closing the last hole of the salt Zuidersea and the begin of the IJsselmeer with fresh water. Cornelis Lely, a Dutch engineer and politician oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorizing construction of the Zuiderzee Works, a huge project – designed to his own plans – that turned the Zuiderzee into a lake  (IJsselmeer) and made possible the conversion of a vast area of former seabed into dry land. The center decorated in shades of blue with two floating steam crab cranes closing with sand the last part of the Afsluit-dyke and the date 28 Mei * 1992
Under the text:
Als Zuiderzee behoor ik tot d’historie
Als Polderland verhoog ‘k Neerlands glorie
(As Zuidersea I belong to the history, As Polder (Artificial) Land I raise Dutch glory.)
The rim with floral swags and on the left the coat of arms of the State Noord Holland, on the right of the State Friesland.
Signed on the back in underglaze blue for:
DE PORCELEYNE FLES  -  ROYAL DELFT
DELFT - HOLLAND  &   BB  =  1932
Two painters worked on this plate.
Painter’s initials: JL  =  Jan Willem Lispet.
Employment dates: Aug. 9th, 1887 - 1938
& painter VK = A. J. van Kampenhout
Employment dates: 1892 - 1942
Literature:
Only listed in Royal Delft by Rick Erickson
A broken plate is shown in the Zuiderzee Collectie. A good plate in Zuiderzee Museum Enkhuizen 

Diam.:  18,2 cm.  (7,2 inches.)       
Weight: 200 grams