A Dutch parcel-gilt silver filigree marriage casket 'knottekistje'

APPARENTLY UNMARKED, THE NETHERLANDS, MID 17TH CENTURY

細節

A Dutch parcel-gilt silver filigree marriage casket 'knottekistje'
Apparently unmarked, the Netherlands, mid 17th Century
Of trunk shape, filigree, parcel-gilt, on four gilt ball supports, all over decorated with scrolls, flowers and beads, each side of body and cover applied with a lion ring handle, the hinged cover with a shaped gilt swing handle, gilt borders along the edges, on the reverse engraved with fruit and foliage ornaments centered by a plaquette showing an elegant couple, inscribed with Getrou tot Iin der dooet Anno 16
8cm. (3.5/8in.) long
132gr.

拍品專文

Since the early 17th Century it became a tradition that a man proposed his beloved to marry him by presenting her with a coin knotted into a costly cloth, called 'knottedoek'. If the girl drew the knot tighter, they considered themselves engaged. Later in the 17th Century the cloth was replaced by a silver casket, called 'knottekist'. Three common types exist; trunk, hexagonal and circular shaped. Many of them delecately engraved with symbolic love and marriage scenes. Marriage caskets were also made in West Friesland, the northern part of Holland and Amsterdam, where lavishly decorated examples were produced.

Literature:
A.L. den Blaauwen, Netherlands Zilver 1580-1830, The Hague, 1979, pp. 19, 372-373
L. van den Bergh-Hoogterp, Trouw moet blinken, Cachet, 1999, no 2/3, pp. 10-13

See illustration