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Lot Essay
This pair of bottles are in the ball shape used in the Netherlands from around 1635 with its strip of glass applied below the everted rim to anchor the string to tie up the cork stopper in place giving its distinctive name of ‘string rim’. A similar example produced in Utrecht is held in the Provinciaal Romeins Museum, Utrecht.
Prior to the 17th century green glass bottles had come mainly from the lower Rhein area of Germany and France but in 1597 glassblowing started in Amsterdam and expanded to other major cities including Utrecht in the 17th century. The Netherlands was primarily a beer drinking country but wine had always been popular with those who could afford to import it.
Bottles were used to present wine kept in wooden casks but very few were mounted in silver as only fourteen examples of this type are known today. Most of these appear to have been produced by Adriaen van Hoecke, goldsmith in the Hague, and all seem to have been made in the 1660s and none are identical in their decoration. The earliest known example (1663) was sold in these rooms, 6 October 1981, lot 120. Later it formed part of the Joseph R. Ritman collection and today is in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Further examples are to be found in public collections: the Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (1667), the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (1669, on loan) and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1689, a pair, M.170-1914).
UTRECHT: HOMETOWN TO THE VAN VIANEN
This pair is a rare example made in Utrecht, hometown to the famous Van Vianen whom Tymen van Leeuwen was apprenticed in Adam’s workshop circa 1636 before becoming a master in 1652 until 1705.
Utrecht was one of the seven provinces of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, which had gained independence from Spain in the late 16th century. Located at the crossroads of major trading routes it thrives economically though it did not rival with Amsterdam and Rotterdam. It was nonetheless an important artistic centre with a strong tradition of craftsmanship and notably silversmithing largely due to the Van Vianen. Adam Van Vianen (c. 1570-1627) whom van Leeuwen apprenticed with, is best known for his innovative work in auricular style that became associated with Utrecht. But the city also had a real tradition of Baroque style with designs incorporating floral, scroll and acanthus leaf motifs typical of the period and beautifully rendered on these bottles.
MOTIFS INSPIRED BY ABRAHAM MIGNON STILL LIFE PAINTINGS
The dominant motif on these bottles are flowers unlike other surviving examples of bottles which have grapes, a more logical ornaments for wine bottle. The flowers depicted on these bottles are inspired by Dutch still life paintings and notably those of Abraham Mignon (1640-1679) who was a contemporary of Thymen van Leeuwen in Utrecht. Mignon was born in Frankfurt where he was a pupil of Jacob Marrel (1614-1681), who he followed to Utrecht in the 1660s. There, he absorbed the influence of Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-1684), the city leading still life painter, taking over his studio in 1672. His still lifes became extremely popular, admired for for their unrestrained movements and realism and were collected by figures such as the Elector of Saxony and Louis XIV. Although Utrecht was not the most important flower growing centre in the Netherlands, the city hosted some of the most important still life painters which had a direct influence on other artists and artisans including goldsmiths. The choice of flowers as a dominant motif proves the importance and influence these still lifes had on goldsmiths as well as patrons.
Comparative literature:
R. McNulty, Common Beverages bottles: their production, use and forms in 17th and 18tth century Netherlands, Part I, Journal of Glass Studies, Vol 13 (1971), pp. 91-119.
Centraal Museum Utrecht, Utrechts Zilver, Catalogus, 10 october to 23 November 1952.
Prior to the 17th century green glass bottles had come mainly from the lower Rhein area of Germany and France but in 1597 glassblowing started in Amsterdam and expanded to other major cities including Utrecht in the 17th century. The Netherlands was primarily a beer drinking country but wine had always been popular with those who could afford to import it.
Bottles were used to present wine kept in wooden casks but very few were mounted in silver as only fourteen examples of this type are known today. Most of these appear to have been produced by Adriaen van Hoecke, goldsmith in the Hague, and all seem to have been made in the 1660s and none are identical in their decoration. The earliest known example (1663) was sold in these rooms, 6 October 1981, lot 120. Later it formed part of the Joseph R. Ritman collection and today is in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Further examples are to be found in public collections: the Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (1667), the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (1669, on loan) and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1689, a pair, M.170-1914).
UTRECHT: HOMETOWN TO THE VAN VIANEN
This pair is a rare example made in Utrecht, hometown to the famous Van Vianen whom Tymen van Leeuwen was apprenticed in Adam’s workshop circa 1636 before becoming a master in 1652 until 1705.
Utrecht was one of the seven provinces of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, which had gained independence from Spain in the late 16th century. Located at the crossroads of major trading routes it thrives economically though it did not rival with Amsterdam and Rotterdam. It was nonetheless an important artistic centre with a strong tradition of craftsmanship and notably silversmithing largely due to the Van Vianen. Adam Van Vianen (c. 1570-1627) whom van Leeuwen apprenticed with, is best known for his innovative work in auricular style that became associated with Utrecht. But the city also had a real tradition of Baroque style with designs incorporating floral, scroll and acanthus leaf motifs typical of the period and beautifully rendered on these bottles.
MOTIFS INSPIRED BY ABRAHAM MIGNON STILL LIFE PAINTINGS
The dominant motif on these bottles are flowers unlike other surviving examples of bottles which have grapes, a more logical ornaments for wine bottle. The flowers depicted on these bottles are inspired by Dutch still life paintings and notably those of Abraham Mignon (1640-1679) who was a contemporary of Thymen van Leeuwen in Utrecht. Mignon was born in Frankfurt where he was a pupil of Jacob Marrel (1614-1681), who he followed to Utrecht in the 1660s. There, he absorbed the influence of Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-1684), the city leading still life painter, taking over his studio in 1672. His still lifes became extremely popular, admired for for their unrestrained movements and realism and were collected by figures such as the Elector of Saxony and Louis XIV. Although Utrecht was not the most important flower growing centre in the Netherlands, the city hosted some of the most important still life painters which had a direct influence on other artists and artisans including goldsmiths. The choice of flowers as a dominant motif proves the importance and influence these still lifes had on goldsmiths as well as patrons.
Comparative literature:
R. McNulty, Common Beverages bottles: their production, use and forms in 17th and 18tth century Netherlands, Part I, Journal of Glass Studies, Vol 13 (1971), pp. 91-119.
Centraal Museum Utrecht, Utrechts Zilver, Catalogus, 10 october to 23 November 1952.