Featured Not the cutest Cherub but...

Given the dates, 1941 and 42, the Rotterdam pieces turned up after the bombing of Rotterdam by the Germans. The heart of the city, where the old town was, was blown away. The impact probably revealed centuries of rubble.

 

It was like the apocalypse for the people of Rotterdam. They bombed at 1.30 in the afternoon, so there would be many people on the streets on their lunch break. Extremely cruel.

 

I will definitely check it out Just did a quick Wikipedia check on Putto and it seems this type of decoration came to the Netherlands around the turn of the 16th century. Full glazing of delftware started after 1615 so my shard is likely from between 1500-1615 and most likely 17th century, as you indicate
This has been a lot of fun. Thank you all for jumping right in and helping me find out more about this interesting piece. I have some other things I could use some help ID'ing...I'll be back.

 

That is sad. And would explain how they were found. My Dad worked for the city of Amsterdam (waterworks division) and he was digging near the Rijksmuseum when he found this one. He found lots of other things too and says he will look for them. Perhaps they should be in a museum. I'll look into it.

 

Would love to see them. When you dig in a Dutch town, you are bound to find pieces of history. Not always as nice as this one, of course.

 

Yes, they were. The sewer was for any kind of waste.

 

There was no garbage collection back when so people dumped everything into the street or down the latrine. The mudlarks in the UK are known for finding bits discarded that way.