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Lot Essay
Amongst the Dutch silver wager cups which were produced from the late 16th Century until the early 18th Century, the windmill cups were the most popular. The feet of these cups are in the form of the top part of a windmill and therefore they cannot be put down until they are emptied.
Before drinking the cup one had to blow through the blowpipe on the backside, by which the sails were set in motion. At the same time a hand was set in motion indicating a figure from one to twelve. Today scientists do not agree on the exact function of the dial. Most authors suppose the hand indicated the number of beakers the drinker had to empty if he did not empty the cup before the sails stopped, others suggest the unfortunate had to offer his company as many drinks as the hand indicated (please refer to N. Schadee,"Historisch Museum der Stad Rotterdam, Molenbeker Rotterdam", in: Vereniging Rembrandt, Nationaal Fonds Kunstbehoud 1, 1991, pp.18-19) or that the hand indicated the next victim (please refer to Exhibition Catalogue, Nederlands Zilver/Dutch Silver 1580-1830, Amsterdam-Toledo-Boston, Rijksmuseum-The Toledo Museum of Art-Museum of Fine Arts, 1979-1980, pp. 4,5,372,373).
The oldest extant Dutch windmill cup was made in Leeuwarden by Cornelis Floris around 1580. Gerrit Valck (1613-1672) from Amsterdam can be considered a specialist, at least six examples of his hand have come down to us (made between 1638 and 1645). Other examples were made in Rotterdam, Enkhuizen, Dordrecht, Utrecht and Amersfoort. Outside the Netherlands windmill cups were made in Flanders and Germany.
Before drinking the cup one had to blow through the blowpipe on the backside, by which the sails were set in motion. At the same time a hand was set in motion indicating a figure from one to twelve. Today scientists do not agree on the exact function of the dial. Most authors suppose the hand indicated the number of beakers the drinker had to empty if he did not empty the cup before the sails stopped, others suggest the unfortunate had to offer his company as many drinks as the hand indicated (please refer to N. Schadee,"Historisch Museum der Stad Rotterdam, Molenbeker Rotterdam", in: Vereniging Rembrandt, Nationaal Fonds Kunstbehoud 1, 1991, pp.18-19) or that the hand indicated the next victim (please refer to Exhibition Catalogue, Nederlands Zilver/Dutch Silver 1580-1830, Amsterdam-Toledo-Boston, Rijksmuseum-The Toledo Museum of Art-Museum of Fine Arts, 1979-1980, pp. 4,5,372,373).
The oldest extant Dutch windmill cup was made in Leeuwarden by Cornelis Floris around 1580. Gerrit Valck (1613-1672) from Amsterdam can be considered a specialist, at least six examples of his hand have come down to us (made between 1638 and 1645). Other examples were made in Rotterdam, Enkhuizen, Dordrecht, Utrecht and Amersfoort. Outside the Netherlands windmill cups were made in Flanders and Germany.