MID-17TH CENTURY

Details

A DUTCH PARCEL-GILT SILVER FILIGREE MARRIAGE CASKET (KNOTTEKISTJE)
MID-17TH CENTURY
Trunk-form, the filigree panels applied with lion's-mask ornaments, on four ball feet and with hinged handle, the base engraved with an elegantly dressed couple within inscription Getrou tot Iin der dooet Anno 16 __, with fruit clusters in the corners, apparently unmarked
3 1/8 in. (8 cm.) long

Provenance

Christie's, Amsterdam, 16 November 1999, lot 638
Kenneth Davis (Works of Art) Ltd.

Lot Essay

In the Netherlands in the early 17th century a man proposed to a lady by presenting her with a coin knotted into a costly cloth, called a knottedoek. If the lady drew the knot tighter, they considered themselves engaged. Later in the 17th century, the cloth was replaced by a silver casket, called a knottekist, often engraved with scenes symbolic of love and marriage, as on the present casket.

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