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Lot Essay
THE HISTORY OF THE WARTON LAYETTE BASKET
This impressive and richly chased layette basket is an extremely rare and very early example of a form more usually found in the Netherlands. Dated to 1657 by the inscription, this appears to be the earliest known English example. Of particular note is its presentation by a mother to her daughter, as recorded by the inscription on the reverse. It was more usual for the layette basket or luiermand, filled with linen and clothes for the newborn child, to be presented by the husband's family.
It this case Susanna Warton, née Poulett, received the gift from her mother, the wealthy Lady 'Paulet', the widow of John Poulett, 1st Baron Poulett (1585-1649), of Hinton St George, Somerset. By the time of the gift, Lady Poulett had remarried. Her second husband was the Royalist John Ashburnham (1603-1671), later groom of the bedchamber to King Charles II, however, she used the form of address she bore when married to her first husband, father to Susanna Warton. A portrait of Lady Poulett aged 22, by a follower of Robert Peake, shows her wearing an elaborate dress of silver and gold thread, strings of pearls and jewelled hair ornaments. It was recently gifted from the Berger Collection to the Denver Art Museum and is reproduced here. It is notable that the basket passed through the female line on three occasions throughout its history.
Susanna married the wealthy Beverley M.P. and Royalist officer Michael Warton in 1646. He was educated at Beverley Grammar School and at St John's College, Cambridge. He served in the Royalist army until he was defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. He was fined £1,600 on the estate of his father for delinquency. but succeeded to the estates of his grandfather in 1655. He and Susanna had seven children, four sons and three daughters. It is probable that this layette basket was a gift following the birth of their fourth son Charles, born in 1657. Michael Warton died in 1688 and an impressive monument to him and Susanna, who died in 1682, survives in Beverley Minster, now attributed to the sculptor William Stanton.
THE ICONIOGRAPHY OF THE WARTON LAYETTE BASKET
The present lot is set apart from other Dutch and English examples by the sophistication of its ornament. Instead of a single central scene or coat-of-arms found on other Dutch and English examples here a series of four stories taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses are displayed around the centre of the basket. They follow depictions of the tales engraved by the Florentine born painter and engraver Antonio Tempesta, "il Tempestino" (1555-1630), who worked extensively in Rome where he was closely associated with Flemish artists. An accomplished fresco painter, he is now chiefly remembered for his engravings, which include the 150 plates he created for The Metamorphoses of Ovid (Metamorphosean Sive Transformationum) published by the Dutchman Willem Jansz from 1606.
The scenes are arranged above and below the armorial cartouche.
The Abduction of Europa, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book II, (lower right).
Narcissus at the Fountain, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book III, (lower left).
Thisbe fleeing from the lioness at the spring, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book IV, (upper right).
The Death of Pyramus and Thisbe, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book IV, (upper left).
The overarching narrative could be read as a series of warnings about deception centred around love.
The Phoenician princess Europa deceived by Jupiter, who abducts her disguised as a bull.
Narcissus, vain and deceived by his own image, which he perceived as true love.
Thisbe flees from the lioness and Pyramus later seeing the bloodied veil as proof of Thisbe’s death, brings about the resulting tragedy, illustrating the perils of false evidence and the dangers of youthful passion and impetuosity.
These scenes are surrounded by nine botanical specimens. A number derive from an early florilegium, Crispin van de Pass's Hortus floridus in quo rariorum et minus vulgarium florum icones ad vivam veramque formam accuratissime delineatae, published in Arnhem and Utrecht in 1614. Taking the later arms as a point of reference and proceeding clockwise, the specimens could be read as carnations, almonds, olives, tulips, roses, hazelnuts, plums, peonies and marigolds. The plate from Hortus floridus depicting hazelnuts is illustrated here.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAYETTE BASKET FORM
The simplest layette baskets or luiermanden were made from wicker or reed. A miniature example of circa 1675 is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Obj. no. BK-NM-5783-54. Others were made in Delftware. One painted with a Circumcision scene is in the same collection, Obj. no. BK-NM-9504. Examples in beadwork are also known, but the most costly silver luiermanden are very rare. Listed below are the known surviving Dutch examples, the majority of which are rectangular. The English examples following mostly take the form of the present lot, being oval, some pierced, and with flat bracket handles.
DUTCH EXAMPLES
i) Oval, mark of Dirck or Nicolaas Loockmans, The Hague, 1643, 53 cm. long, Kunstmuseum, The Hague, Obj. no. 1001071, the handles and central chasing are thought to be later and this may have been a fruit or bread basket.
ii) Rectangular, mark of Hans Coenraet Brechtel, The Hague, 1645, The Inner Temple, London, the centre chased with the arms of Prince William II of Orange (1626-1650) and his wife Princess Mary (1631-1660), daughter of King Charles I.
iii) Rectangular, mark of Hans Coenraet Brechtel, The Hague, 1652, 64 cm. long, The Dutch Royal Collection, Obj. no. MU-4464, given by Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962) as a birthday gift to her mother in 1901, chased with putti and with monogram.
iv) Rectangular, mark of Gerloff Brouwer, Amsterdam, 1660, 63.5 cm. long, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Obj. no. BK-15753, the centre chased with an orchestra of putti after Pieter van Avont (1600-1652).
v) Rectangular, mark of Adriaen van Hoecke, The Hague, 1666, 72 cm. long, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Acc. no. 1982.617, the centre chased with Ceres and Bacchus offering gifts to Venus.
vi) Rectangular, mark of Lucas Luicksen, Deventer, circa 1675, 63.5 cm. long, The Wallace Collection, London, Inv. no. W163, the centre chased with the scene of Daphne fleeing from Apollo, after Paulus van Vianen (1570-1613).
ENGLISH EXAMPLES
i) Rectangular, London, 1660, mark PB crescent below, possibly for Peter Bettesworth, 40.5 cm. long, exhibited London, 29 Park Lane, The Loan Exhibition of Old English Plate, 1929, no. 171, p. XXIII, the centre chased with Juno in her chariot.
ii) Oval, London, 1660, maker's mark indistinct, 61 cm. wide, with four handles, The National Trust, Knole, Kent, the centre chased with the arms of the Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677), possibly for the birth of Cranfield Sackville, died 1 January 1660⁄1 aged 14 days.
iii) Rectangular, unmarked, Dutch or English, circa 1670, 63.6 cm. long, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Acc. no. Loan: Gilbert.619-208, the centre chased with a shepherd and shepherdess with goats.
iv) Oval, London, 1668, mark WW fleur-de-lys below, probably for William Wakefield, Earl of Swinton, illustrated in C. Oman, Caroline Silver, London, 1950, pl. 45, the centre chased with Lot and his daughters.
v) Oval, London, 1669, mark of Jacob Bodendick, 70.5 cm., The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Acc. no. 1971.640, the centre chased with Deanira and Nessus.
vi) Oval, London, 1669, mark AF, mullet and two pellets below, 71 cm., The Earl of Dudley; Christie's, London, 13 July 1938, lot 137, the centre chased with Melanger and Atalanta.
vii) Oval, unmarked, circa 1670, unmarked, with four handles, 67.3 cm. long, Sotheby's Parke Bernet, New York, 7 February 1980, lot 767.
viii) Oval, London, 1676, mark of Jacob Bodendick, 44.5 cm., Christie's, London, 31 March 1971, lot 124, the centre chased with Deanira and Nessus, lacking handles, possibly a display dish
ix) Oval, London, 1677, maker's mark TN and another, The Council of the Stock Exchange collection, London, illustrated in M. Clayton, The Collector's Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, 1985, p. 25, fig. 10, the centre chased with a reclining figure.
This impressive and richly chased layette basket is an extremely rare and very early example of a form more usually found in the Netherlands. Dated to 1657 by the inscription, this appears to be the earliest known English example. Of particular note is its presentation by a mother to her daughter, as recorded by the inscription on the reverse. It was more usual for the layette basket or luiermand, filled with linen and clothes for the newborn child, to be presented by the husband's family.
It this case Susanna Warton, née Poulett, received the gift from her mother, the wealthy Lady 'Paulet', the widow of John Poulett, 1st Baron Poulett (1585-1649), of Hinton St George, Somerset. By the time of the gift, Lady Poulett had remarried. Her second husband was the Royalist John Ashburnham (1603-1671), later groom of the bedchamber to King Charles II, however, she used the form of address she bore when married to her first husband, father to Susanna Warton. A portrait of Lady Poulett aged 22, by a follower of Robert Peake, shows her wearing an elaborate dress of silver and gold thread, strings of pearls and jewelled hair ornaments. It was recently gifted from the Berger Collection to the Denver Art Museum and is reproduced here. It is notable that the basket passed through the female line on three occasions throughout its history.
Susanna married the wealthy Beverley M.P. and Royalist officer Michael Warton in 1646. He was educated at Beverley Grammar School and at St John's College, Cambridge. He served in the Royalist army until he was defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. He was fined £1,600 on the estate of his father for delinquency. but succeeded to the estates of his grandfather in 1655. He and Susanna had seven children, four sons and three daughters. It is probable that this layette basket was a gift following the birth of their fourth son Charles, born in 1657. Michael Warton died in 1688 and an impressive monument to him and Susanna, who died in 1682, survives in Beverley Minster, now attributed to the sculptor William Stanton.
THE ICONIOGRAPHY OF THE WARTON LAYETTE BASKET
The present lot is set apart from other Dutch and English examples by the sophistication of its ornament. Instead of a single central scene or coat-of-arms found on other Dutch and English examples here a series of four stories taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses are displayed around the centre of the basket. They follow depictions of the tales engraved by the Florentine born painter and engraver Antonio Tempesta, "il Tempestino" (1555-1630), who worked extensively in Rome where he was closely associated with Flemish artists. An accomplished fresco painter, he is now chiefly remembered for his engravings, which include the 150 plates he created for The Metamorphoses of Ovid (Metamorphosean Sive Transformationum) published by the Dutchman Willem Jansz from 1606.
The scenes are arranged above and below the armorial cartouche.
The Abduction of Europa, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book II, (lower right).
Narcissus at the Fountain, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book III, (lower left).
Thisbe fleeing from the lioness at the spring, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book IV, (upper right).
The Death of Pyramus and Thisbe, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book IV, (upper left).
The overarching narrative could be read as a series of warnings about deception centred around love.
The Phoenician princess Europa deceived by Jupiter, who abducts her disguised as a bull.
Narcissus, vain and deceived by his own image, which he perceived as true love.
Thisbe flees from the lioness and Pyramus later seeing the bloodied veil as proof of Thisbe’s death, brings about the resulting tragedy, illustrating the perils of false evidence and the dangers of youthful passion and impetuosity.
These scenes are surrounded by nine botanical specimens. A number derive from an early florilegium, Crispin van de Pass's Hortus floridus in quo rariorum et minus vulgarium florum icones ad vivam veramque formam accuratissime delineatae, published in Arnhem and Utrecht in 1614. Taking the later arms as a point of reference and proceeding clockwise, the specimens could be read as carnations, almonds, olives, tulips, roses, hazelnuts, plums, peonies and marigolds. The plate from Hortus floridus depicting hazelnuts is illustrated here.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAYETTE BASKET FORM
The simplest layette baskets or luiermanden were made from wicker or reed. A miniature example of circa 1675 is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Obj. no. BK-NM-5783-54. Others were made in Delftware. One painted with a Circumcision scene is in the same collection, Obj. no. BK-NM-9504. Examples in beadwork are also known, but the most costly silver luiermanden are very rare. Listed below are the known surviving Dutch examples, the majority of which are rectangular. The English examples following mostly take the form of the present lot, being oval, some pierced, and with flat bracket handles.
DUTCH EXAMPLES
i) Oval, mark of Dirck or Nicolaas Loockmans, The Hague, 1643, 53 cm. long, Kunstmuseum, The Hague, Obj. no. 1001071, the handles and central chasing are thought to be later and this may have been a fruit or bread basket.
ii) Rectangular, mark of Hans Coenraet Brechtel, The Hague, 1645, The Inner Temple, London, the centre chased with the arms of Prince William II of Orange (1626-1650) and his wife Princess Mary (1631-1660), daughter of King Charles I.
iii) Rectangular, mark of Hans Coenraet Brechtel, The Hague, 1652, 64 cm. long, The Dutch Royal Collection, Obj. no. MU-4464, given by Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962) as a birthday gift to her mother in 1901, chased with putti and with monogram.
iv) Rectangular, mark of Gerloff Brouwer, Amsterdam, 1660, 63.5 cm. long, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Obj. no. BK-15753, the centre chased with an orchestra of putti after Pieter van Avont (1600-1652).
v) Rectangular, mark of Adriaen van Hoecke, The Hague, 1666, 72 cm. long, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Acc. no. 1982.617, the centre chased with Ceres and Bacchus offering gifts to Venus.
vi) Rectangular, mark of Lucas Luicksen, Deventer, circa 1675, 63.5 cm. long, The Wallace Collection, London, Inv. no. W163, the centre chased with the scene of Daphne fleeing from Apollo, after Paulus van Vianen (1570-1613).
ENGLISH EXAMPLES
i) Rectangular, London, 1660, mark PB crescent below, possibly for Peter Bettesworth, 40.5 cm. long, exhibited London, 29 Park Lane, The Loan Exhibition of Old English Plate, 1929, no. 171, p. XXIII, the centre chased with Juno in her chariot.
ii) Oval, London, 1660, maker's mark indistinct, 61 cm. wide, with four handles, The National Trust, Knole, Kent, the centre chased with the arms of the Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677), possibly for the birth of Cranfield Sackville, died 1 January 1660⁄1 aged 14 days.
iii) Rectangular, unmarked, Dutch or English, circa 1670, 63.6 cm. long, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Acc. no. Loan: Gilbert.619-208, the centre chased with a shepherd and shepherdess with goats.
iv) Oval, London, 1668, mark WW fleur-de-lys below, probably for William Wakefield, Earl of Swinton, illustrated in C. Oman, Caroline Silver, London, 1950, pl. 45, the centre chased with Lot and his daughters.
v) Oval, London, 1669, mark of Jacob Bodendick, 70.5 cm., The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Acc. no. 1971.640, the centre chased with Deanira and Nessus.
vi) Oval, London, 1669, mark AF, mullet and two pellets below, 71 cm., The Earl of Dudley; Christie's, London, 13 July 1938, lot 137, the centre chased with Melanger and Atalanta.
vii) Oval, unmarked, circa 1670, unmarked, with four handles, 67.3 cm. long, Sotheby's Parke Bernet, New York, 7 February 1980, lot 767.
viii) Oval, London, 1676, mark of Jacob Bodendick, 44.5 cm., Christie's, London, 31 March 1971, lot 124, the centre chased with Deanira and Nessus, lacking handles, possibly a display dish
ix) Oval, London, 1677, maker's mark TN and another, The Council of the Stock Exchange collection, London, illustrated in M. Clayton, The Collector's Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, 1985, p. 25, fig. 10, the centre chased with a reclining figure.