A remarkable DAF anniversary plate from 1953 recreated
Sometimes a project isn’t about creating something new, but about reproducing an existing piece as accurately as possible. Recently, we were asked to create 12 limited-edition replicas of a large and highly detailed anniversary plate from 1953, originally made to mark DAF’s 25th anniversary in Eindhoven.
For the founder’s family, such a plate is not just decoration, but a tangible reminder of an important moment in the company’s history.
A plate with a clear origin
The original plate was presented in 1953 to Hub van Doorne, founder of DAF. At that time, DAF stood for Van Doorne’s Aanhangwagenfabriek, later Van Doorne’s Automobielfabriek.
The plate not only depicts the factory, but also twelve products the company manufactured at the time, including vehicles for transport and defense. This results in a complex and detailed composition where every element needs to be accurate.
From original to replica
The original plate was produced by pottery factory RAM from Arnhem, a well-known name in Dutch ceramics. For this project, the request was clear: recreate it as precisely as possible.
That means not only studying the design, but also understanding how it was originally constructed and painted.
For this series, we spent several hundred hours on painting alone. Each plate involved:
- Matching the correct shades of blue
- Carefully working out the fine details
- Preserving the proportions
- Recreating the look and feel of the original
After an initial test piece, we confirmed that we could closely match the original. In the final series, this was refined further to achieve a result that, according to the client, is almost indistinguishable from the original.
Craftsmanship that remains unchanged
What stands out is that the foundation of this craft has hardly changed over the years. The process of building up and painting is still comparable to how it was done in the 1950s.
In our workshop, we train new ceramic painters ourselves. This is essential to continue producing work like this. Without experience and a strong eye for detail, it’s simply not possible to recreate a plate of this complexity.
If you would like to see more work like this, you can also explore our commemorative plates, where similar personal projects are regularly featured.
A remarkable detail from our own history
During this project, we discovered that our predecessors—then operating under the name Plateelbakkerij Schoonhoven—were also involved in a different series of commemorative plates for the same DAF anniversary in 1953.
We previously shared more about this on Instagram.
These kinds of coincidences highlight how small this field can be, and how certain connections continue over time.
From past to present
Work like this requires time, experience, and above all, patience. That is exactly what defines our approach. Whether it concerns a historical piece or a new design, the process remains the same: careful observation, a steady build-up, and ensuring every detail is right.
You can also view our memorial signs for other examples of work where preserving memories plays an important role.
