A Frisian silver marriage casket 'knottekistje'

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From the late 17th Century onwards it became a Frisian tradition that a man proposed to his beloved by presenting her with one or more coins in a silver casket, named "knottekistje". Therefore these caskets were beautifully engraved with cartouches representing scenes concerning love and marriage. On the present wedding caskets we can, for example, find allegorical depictions of the virtues. A hunting scene might seem a strange subject for a wedding casket. However, according to Wayne Franits and M. Thiébaux, the symbolism linking the hunt and love is longstanding. The symbolism was well known in the 17th Century as might be concluded from works of art and literature (cf. Franits, De Jongh). It probably reached its peak of popularity during the late Middle Ages. In poems of that period the hunt after a prey sometimes provided the pretext for an elaborate allegory on the pursuit of love. Franits writes: "The symbolism of this poetry is complex as the quarry, usually a stag, can signify the lady who is forced to accept the love of the hunter or, alternatively, can signify the poet himself, driven to the point of death by the charm and beauty of the object of this affection". Especially the first interpretation seems very suitable for a casket used in the proposal ceremony. comparative literature: I. de Jongh, "Erotica in Vogelperspectief" in: Simiolus 3, 1968/69, pp. 22-74. Wayne Franits, "The Pursuit of Love, The Theme of the Hunting Party at Rest in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art" in: Konsthistorisk Tidskrift 61, 1992, pp. 106-115. Catalogue, Fries Zilver, Fries Museum Leeuwarden, Arnhem, 1985, p.xi. M. Thiébaux, The Stag of Love, The Chase in Medieval Literature, Ithaca, London, 1974, pp. 144-228

A Frisian silver marriage casket 'knottekistje'

MAKER'S MARK ONLY, UNIDENTIFIED (VOET 570), POSSIBLY JOHANNES VAN DER LELY, LEEUWARDEN, CIRCA 1670

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A Frisian silver marriage casket 'knottekistje'
Maker's mark only, unidentified (Voet 570), possibly Johannes van der Lely, Leeuwarden, circa 1670
Trunk-shaped on four ball feet, the sides finely engraved with hunting scene, the sides with 'Hope' and 'Faith', the back with Adam and Eve under the apple tree with snake, flanked by doves amongst flowers and foliage, the domed cover with a male and female figure holding hands and dove above symbolising the Holy Ghost, hinged handle
8cm. long
marked on base
114gr.

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