Silver Filigree at Lanhydrock, Cornwall 2.
I have already posted on the Lanhydrock filigree collection see -
https://antiqueeuropeanfiligree.blogspot.com/2023/03/english-collections-2-filigree-at.html
I recently had the opportunity to revisit Lanhydrock and to photograph some of the filigree collection.
Photographs by the author using an i phone.
Compare this casket with that in the previous post -
https://antiqueeuropeanfiligree.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-two-f-ries-museum-silver-filigree.html
Sotheby's Pair of German Jewelled Silver Gilt and Silver Filigree Caskets.
22 May 2019. Lot 335.
Very poor photograph from the catalogue.
11 cms wide.
The catalogue entry is non committal.
I think probably South German, 17th /18th century.
It would obviously be useful to see better photographs of these objects - the lids appear to be cast and chased.
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The Two 17th/18th Century Fries Museum Silver Filigree Caskets.
adapted as tea caddies in the late 18t century.
Dutch Late 17th/ Early 18th Century.
Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands. - From the Collection Royal Frisian Society.
and some further examples of converted silver filigree caskets.
Width: 10.9 cm height: 13.5 cm, length:
16.8 cms.
Bears the mark of Jan Buysen (1747 - 1813) of Amsterdam.
https://collectie.friesmuseum.nl/?diw-id=tresoar_friesmuseum_Z1939-257
For a brief biog of Buysen. see also https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/artists/358044?langen=
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NB the twisted wire elements on the corners.
For some possibly related caskets see my post - https://antiqueeuropeanfiligree.blogspot.com/2023/04/t-he-dullaert-art-and-antiques-17th.html
NB the three interior lidded canisters which were probably added in the late 18th century.
Museum object Number Z00943B
Width: 12.0 cm, height: 13.5 cm, length: 17.5 cm.
For a related casket see - https://antiqueeuropeanfiligree.blogspot.com/2023/06/17th18th-century-silver-filigree-casket_7.html
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I am very grateful to Ilse Stap of the Fries Museum for providing the high resolution detail images of these two caskets.
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Another 17th / 18th Silver Filigree Casket in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, USA. (below).
Adapted for use as a tea caddy by James Perry, London in the Late 18th Century.
Again it would be helpful to see the hinge mountings on the back.
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/53295
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The Two Silver Filigree Casket / Tea Caddies in Middelburg Town Hall Collection.
Middelberg, Zeeland, Netherlands.
If these two caddies are late 18th century then they would present us with some serious problems with dating other pieces of silver filigree - it is currently my firm belief that these two caskets are 17th/18th centurymand that they were adapted in the late 18th century.
If these caskets are late 18th Century and made in Middelburg it would throw into serious doubt the age of many pieces thought to be 17th Century. I have not yet located any other silver filigree objects made by Boshart.
Both of these caskets share features with those on the Khalili Silver Gilt Filigree Cabinet and other related caskets.
https://antiqueeuropeanfiligree.blogspot.com/2023/01/spectacular-and-large-silver-gilt.html
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The anomalies; -
The style is 17th Century, but the archives say late 18th century.
The quality is of the workmanship is first class.
Was Boshart working in the style of the 17th Century?
Note to self - we need to know more of his ancestors, relatives and apprenticeship.
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Hendrik Boshart (1732 - 1801).
Middelburg. Zeeland, Southern Holland.
1771.
Size - 17 x 17 x 12.5 cms.
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NB the hinge mountings which are closely related to the Khalili Cabinet and other filigree caskets.
see my previous post
https://antiqueeuropeanfiligree.blogspot.com/2023/01/spectacular-and-large-silver-gilt.html
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Size 12.5 x 10.5 x 13.5 cms.
I will contact the Middelberg Town Hall and ascertain whether there is any further history.
There are no obvious marks.
Images from the Zeeland Archives.
The text below has been copied and adapted from the website above.
Scarcity of gold and silverware.
Middelburg has always been rich in gold and silversmiths,
yet relatively little gold and silverware has been preserved. This is largely
due to the ‘ liberation ’ of the Republic of the seven united provinces by
France. The new state, the Batavian Republic, paid a high price.
France, for example, demanded compensation of one hundred
million guilders. Zeeland also had to make its contribution. In an attempt to
fill the empty treasury, the Zeeland rulers, the ‘ provisional representatives
of the people of Zeeland ’, decreed, at placard of May 7, 1795 that all
Zeelanders had to hand in his or her gold and silver possessions.
The Robbery at the Boshart Shop.
A few days later, on the night of May 11, 1795, the shop of
silver and goldsmith Hendrik Boshart in Middelburg was broken into. Hendrik
Boshart ( 1732-1801 ) lived and worked on the Krommeweele, corner
Penninghoeksingel, near the Seisbrug. 5 drawers and 15 boxes of gold, silver
and pearls were taken from the front shop, as well as two large, gilded silver
cups, five display cases with content and ‘ if it is not impossible to further
determine ’. A ‘ detection message ’ was printed, the copy below of which has
been preserved in the collection of the Zeeland Library.
Innumerable objects disappeared without a trace ... They
could no longer be returned. The ‘Prime suspect’ seems to be the shop owner
himself, yet it is not obvious to suspect Hendrik Boshart of the crime. Objects
for gold and silversmiths and cash holders were exempt from surrender –
provided that the goldsmiths could demonstrate that the gold or silver was in
their stock. In that case they had to re-mark the objects, namely with the
annual letter 1795.
The reference date for the surrender was 1 March 1795. All
gold and silver objects in possession on that date had to be returned or bought
off. Everyone was allowed to buy as much gold and silver as they wanted,
provided their value was reimbursed. When copied, an object was awarded the
annual mark 1795.
In addition to the objects present in gold and silversmiths,
there were other exceptions. Exempted were:
coins, commemorative medals and medals
silver spoons, forks and blades
gold and silver boxes
the fitting of books and furniture
gold and silver in use at the church service
Personal property carried on the body was also excluded from
the regulation. Examples include buckles, rings, head jewelry, tubes, snuff and
( bag ) tobacco boxes, watches and watch chains. If the value of these assets
exceeded the amount of 50 pounds in Flemish, the surplus had to be returned or
bought off.
Gold and silver of guilds
Societies and Guilds, and Churches were not
exempted. Like private individuals, they had to hand in their gold and silver
possessions.
Relatives of Boshart
Remarkable in the case of Hendrik Boshart is that he bought
his shop at the Krommeweele from a silversmith ( Johannes d'Hoij, 13 May 1771
for 500 pounds of Flemish ), and that after his death in 1801 his estate was
settled by three persons, including two silversmiths. These colleagues also
lived close by. For example, Willem Langebeke lived on the Seisdam and Cornelis
Groosteknetter in the Langeviele. The third person was his wife Maria Francina
de Baare, who remarried a year later to the aforementioned silversmith
Langebeke.
Sources
Bree, J. de, Zeeland silver ( Schiedam 1878 )
List of stolen gold [ ... ], printed by Hermanus Snel te
Middelburg, 1795 – Collection Zeeland Library
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Another 17th/18th Century Silver Filigree Casket.
Converted into a Tea Caddy in the late 18th century.
For sale by auction.
Lot 188. 13 Jun 2023.
Gros & Delettrez, Paris, France.
It would be useful to see details of the hinge mounts on the back of this casket.
Bonham's London, Lot 349, 20 July 2016.
An 18th century silver filigree casket and two Dutch tea caddies.
It appears to me that the clasp is a replacement and the locating slot on the front is an adaptation.
They say -
"The caddies by Reynier Brandt, Amsterdam, 1754, the casket possible Batavian, all three piece marked with the later Dutch 'I' mark"
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For further examples of earlier examples filigree objects with later adaptations see
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4260446
Knottenkistje Dutch Silver Filigree Marriage Casket.
17th Century.
Size 7.5 x 6.5 x 5.3 cms.
Partly gilded Friesland 17th century with special engraving on the bottom "Gerou Tot in Der Doodt Ano" with marriage symbols and an expectant couple described and depicted on pages 870 and 871 in the reference work "Fries goud en zilver" by Prof. R. ter Molen
Lot 3011. 5 September 2023.
https://www.veilinghuisdejager.nl/en/auctions/catalog/_159951
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Another very similar Casket.
Almost certainly from the same Dutch workshop.
The base is engraved with fruit and foliage ornaments centered
by a plaquette showing an elegant couple, inscribed Getrou tot Iin der dooet
Anno 16, apparently unmarked
8 cm. long;
Christies Lot 72. 17 May 2012.
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The Same Casket with Christies in 2006.
With a provenance of Christie's, Amsterdam, 16 November 1999, lot 638. Kenneth Davis (Works of Art) Ltd.
The base engraved with an elegantly dressed couple within
inscription Getrou tot Iin der dooet Anno 16
Christies 26 October 2006.
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Indian Silver Filigree Casket. Unusually with six compartments. I think Karimnagar probably Mid 19th Century. I can find no records of filig...
