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Lot Essay
A silver kaatsbal was presented to the winning team of a match of kaatsen, a ballgame which was already played by the elite in the Middle ages in France, England and the Netherlands.
After the number of players had dropped dramatically in the eighteenth Century, the game became popular amusement in Frisia. Local cafe owners, kasteleyns, began to organize games with view to draw a hungry and thirsty crowd to their villages. By presenting more expensive prizes for games of kasteleynskaatsen, they hoped to draw the best players and therefore the largest possible number of spectators.
Literature: J. Botermans/N. Visser, Timpen, hinkelen en pierebollen,(s.l.), 1991
Waling Dijkstra, Uit Friesland's volksleven van vroeger en later, part I, Leeuwarden, 1895.
Another two kaatsballen dated 1754 were sold at Christie's Amsterdam, November, 1989, lot 853
After the number of players had dropped dramatically in the eighteenth Century, the game became popular amusement in Frisia. Local cafe owners, kasteleyns, began to organize games with view to draw a hungry and thirsty crowd to their villages. By presenting more expensive prizes for games of kasteleynskaatsen, they hoped to draw the best players and therefore the largest possible number of spectators.
Literature: J. Botermans/N. Visser, Timpen, hinkelen en pierebollen,(s.l.), 1991
Waling Dijkstra, Uit Friesland's volksleven van vroeger en later, part I, Leeuwarden, 1895.
Another two kaatsballen dated 1754 were sold at Christie's Amsterdam, November, 1989, lot 853