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Lot Essay
In Dutch 17th Century silver one finds numerous objects decorated with highly detailed engravings for which drawings and prints by well known artists served as models. Many of these scenes were taken from the Bible. Bible stories dealing with marriage and marital fidelity were regularly depicted on wedding caskets.
An important source of inspiration for the silver engravers were the Bible illustrations published in such books as the Bibels Tresoor by Christoffels van Sichem (1646) and the Toneel of te Vertooch der Bybelsche Historien by Pieter H. Schut (1659). In view of the high quality of some of the engravings it must be concluded that the silversmith will generally have called on the aid of a specialist engraver for their execution.
Amongst the sources of inspiration for the present casket are three prints by the French artist Jacques Callot (1592-1635). The Adoration of the Shepherds is based on an engraving from the series La Vie de la Vierge which Callot made in the 1630s. The Marriage at Cana is borrowed from the series Les Quatre Banquets, which Callot made c.1624-1625. This particular scene is regularly found on Dutch 17th Century silver wedding medals and caskets.
The engraving on the front of the marriage casket is borrowed from the series by Callot named: Les petit miséres de la guerre, published in 1636. In this series Callot depicted the miseries of military life. The six engravings show mainly sinister scenes of war and poverty. The only merry exception in the series is The Encampment, of which the present casket shows a detail. It is likely that the engraver picked this detail because he just wanted a joyous scene in view of the coming wedding. An other possibility is that the groom served in the army. The same engraving served as an example for the decoration on a beaker by an anonymous Frisian silversmith (Depicted in Fredriks III, no. 352).
The maker of the casket, Epke Meies Enga (Voet 322), is mentioned in the guild's register between 1656 and 1667. In 1664 he married Hidje Pouwels. He is mentioned as an apprentice to Jan Annes Jorna in 1656. Enga became a master in Bolsward in 1667. Not many works by Enga are known. Voet only mentions a spoon dated 1665 and a cup struck with the date letter Q for 1667. The latter with an engraving of the Last Supper after Jacques Callot.
Literature:
Frederiks, J.W., Dutch Silver III, Den Haag, 1960.
Molen J.R. ter, "Decoration on silver, The application of prints in the work of seventeenth-century Dutch silversmiths" in: The Connoisseur, 1976, pp.94-103.
Voet, E., Jr., Merken van Friese goud- en zilversmeden, 's-Gravenhage, 1974.
See illustration
An important source of inspiration for the silver engravers were the Bible illustrations published in such books as the Bibels Tresoor by Christoffels van Sichem (1646) and the Toneel of te Vertooch der Bybelsche Historien by Pieter H. Schut (1659). In view of the high quality of some of the engravings it must be concluded that the silversmith will generally have called on the aid of a specialist engraver for their execution.
Amongst the sources of inspiration for the present casket are three prints by the French artist Jacques Callot (1592-1635). The Adoration of the Shepherds is based on an engraving from the series La Vie de la Vierge which Callot made in the 1630s. The Marriage at Cana is borrowed from the series Les Quatre Banquets, which Callot made c.1624-1625. This particular scene is regularly found on Dutch 17th Century silver wedding medals and caskets.
The engraving on the front of the marriage casket is borrowed from the series by Callot named: Les petit miséres de la guerre, published in 1636. In this series Callot depicted the miseries of military life. The six engravings show mainly sinister scenes of war and poverty. The only merry exception in the series is The Encampment, of which the present casket shows a detail. It is likely that the engraver picked this detail because he just wanted a joyous scene in view of the coming wedding. An other possibility is that the groom served in the army. The same engraving served as an example for the decoration on a beaker by an anonymous Frisian silversmith (Depicted in Fredriks III, no. 352).
The maker of the casket, Epke Meies Enga (Voet 322), is mentioned in the guild's register between 1656 and 1667. In 1664 he married Hidje Pouwels. He is mentioned as an apprentice to Jan Annes Jorna in 1656. Enga became a master in Bolsward in 1667. Not many works by Enga are known. Voet only mentions a spoon dated 1665 and a cup struck with the date letter Q for 1667. The latter with an engraving of the Last Supper after Jacques Callot.
Literature:
Frederiks, J.W., Dutch Silver III, Den Haag, 1960.
Molen J.R. ter, "Decoration on silver, The application of prints in the work of seventeenth-century Dutch silversmiths" in: The Connoisseur, 1976, pp.94-103.
Voet, E., Jr., Merken van Friese goud- en zilversmeden, 's-Gravenhage, 1974.
See illustration