MAKER'S MARK ONLY, MARK OF JAN JACOBS MUNNICKHUYS, BOLSWARD, CIRCA 1680

細節

A fine Dutch silver marriage casket "knottekistje"
Maker's mark only, mark of Jan Jacobs Munnickhuys, Bolsward, circa 1680
Trunk-shaped, on four ball feet, reeded lower and upper rim, the sides each with engraved medallions surrounded by scrolling foliage, the two front ones with pairs of lovers, each side with one medallion, one depicting a man walking near a town, the other depicting a man and woman under a tree, the back medallion with the wedding at Canaan, the hinged domed cover with a pair of lovers and two inscriptions Beloften Vyt Lyfde is Trouwe voor Godt and Getrout tot yn den doot, overhead swing handle of two dolphins, lockplate missing, the base inscribed F E d Jong and two erased names, marked on base
8.1 cm. long
126 gr.

注意事項

Christie's charge a premium to the buyer on the final bid price of each lot sold at the following rates: 23.8% of the final bid price of each lot sold up to and including €150,000 and 14.28% of any amount in excess of €150,000. Buyers' premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.

拍品專文

From the early 17th century it became a Frisian tradition that a man asked his beloved to marry him by presenting her with a coin knotted into a costly cloth. This cloth is named knottedoek after the special knot, knotte. If the girl drew the knot tighter, they considered themselves engaged. The knottedoek was later replaced by a small textile bag and in the late seventeenth century by a silver casket, which by analogy was called a knottekistje. Three types occur, trunk-shaped, hexagonal and circular. The most common type is the trunk-shaped on four ball supports with domed cover and swing handle. Frisian marriage caskets are delicately engraved with symbolic scenes concerning love and marriage. Apart from Friesland, they were also made in West-Friesland, the most northern part of Holland.(see L. van den Bergh-Hoogterp, 'Trouw moet blinken', Cachet (1999) 2/3, pp. 10-13; A.L. Den Blaauwen, Nederlands Zilver 1580-1830, Den Haag, 1979, pp. 19, 372-373; E. Voet jr., Merken van Friese Goud- en Zilversmeden, The Hague, 1974, pp. 83-84; B.W.G. Wttewaal, Klein Nederlands Zilver, Abcoude, 2003, pp. 314-315).

Cf. E. Voet, Merken van friese goud- en zilversmeden, the Hague, 1974, p. 30, no. 46. and J.W. Frederiks, Dutch silver, vol. III, The Hague, 1960, p. 74, no. 225, pl. 184, 187 for an almost identical marriage casket. A third identical marriage casket that was attributed to maker Jan Jacobs Munnickhuys, Bolsward, 1663-1709, was sold by The Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann Collection sale; Christie's Amsterdam, 16 April 2002, lot 1108 (the attribution was made in a saleroom notice).