A masterpiece

A masterpiece

To be admitted as a master in the craft guild required a test piece or masterpiece as a proof of skill. Within the guild of the gold- and silversmiths people were obliged, as was determined in an ordinance of 1544, to manufacture een gouden ring, een zegel en ‘t corpus van een croes ofte beecker, myt een band dairomme, wel kunstelick gedreuen (a gold ring, a seal and the body of a crucible or beaker surrounded with a band, which had to be crafted artfully), i.e. a band that forms the basis of a beaker with skillfully embossed and chased depictions and decorations.
Masterpieces were not made for commercial purposes and after completion were regularly melted or remained in the family of their creators. Because of this they have only been handed down sporadically. The present beaker is most probably the masterpiece crafted by the Frisian silversmith Jarich Gerrits van der Lely (circa 1602? Leeuwarden after 1668), with which he was admitted to the Leeuwarden guild. Rightfully so, since the figures of Saul, Peter and Paul almost stand out from the oval background medallions and are masterly embossed in high relief, according to the guild’s demands. Between and above the three medallions we see renaissance, mannerist masks that smoothly flow into the oval reserves surrounding the Biblical figures.
Since the commission for a masterpiece only concerned the body of a beaker (pl. 1), the band only was converted by Jarich Gerrits at a later time into a standing beaker. Since the piece was not sold by its creator, it remained unmarked.

pl. 1. Example of a test beaker without foot rim, by Johannes van der Lely (marked with a crowned lily), circa 1695, height 9 cm, private collection (image below: a photographic reconstruction, taken from Lelie in Zilver, Van der Lely, meesterzilversmeden te Leeuwarden, 1574-1788, Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, De Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 1989, p. 10).

Leeuwarden, center for silversmiths

Apart from Amsterdam, Haarlem, Den Haag and Utrecht, Leeuwarden was an important center for gold- and silversmithing during the 16th and 17th centuries. Particularly in the 17th century the demand increased considerably, mainly due to the growing economy.2 The mutual competition between the various makers will also have had a considerable effect. Although the Roman-Catholic church was no longer the main client, wealthy citizens, members of noble and patrician families and the Protestant Church commissioned numerous objects made in silver and gold. There was also still demand from the secret Catholic churches as well as staties (living room churches) for the production of liturgical vessels and Jarich Gerrits, himself a catholic, was approached for these commissions, according to the remaining church chandeliers and a chalice by him that have been handed down.

Jarich Gerrits, progenitor of five generations Van der Lely silversmiths

Obbe Clasen, born in 1577/78, was the son of the silversmith Claes Douwes and huis wife Saeck Obbedr.4 He was registered with the Leeuwarden guild in 1611 and a year later, in 1612, he took Jarich Gerrits, son of Gerrit Pieters and Trijntje Jarichs as an apprentice in his workshop.5 Since students often started their education around the age of ten, we may assume that Jarich Gerrits was born around 1602. Students had to attend for at least four consecutive years to train with the same teacher, before they were even allowed to register with the guild for their master test.6 Every year an amount had to be set aside to be able to raise sufficient capital for the acquisition of the necessary materials. As a result, mastery was certainly not for everyone, and most craftsmen only married after the test had been completed successfully and they had some financial space. Only a small percentage of the pupils of 17th century Leeuwarden gold- and silversmith ultimately were registered as independent master in the guild. Therefore, it seems very probable that after completing his training Jarich Gerrits remained with his teacher Obbe Clasen as an assistant or studio employee until the moment he had saved enough money. Here he will have become acquainted with Rintie (Rintje) Jans (died after 1671 or 1673), who also was a pupil of Obbe Clasen and became a master in 1646. 16 Years after Jarich Gerrits started his training at Obbe Clasen’s workshop, he passed his master’s test and was registered in the guild, when he was received master silversmith in 1628. Possibly in honour of his teacher, who had no sons himself, he adopted the lily as a maker’s mark, and, after his teacher’s decease he added ‘Van der Lely’ to his name, based on the mark he already used from 1651 onwards.

Jarich Gerrits van der Lely is the progenitor of a family spanning five generations of gold- and silversmiths, who all used the crowned lily as maker’s mark (pl. 3) well into the 18th century. In the year of his registry in the guild, 1628, he married Pytie Pyters, with whom he had four (or five ?) children. In the same year the St Dominic house church was founded, also called ‘t Clooster at the Bontepapesteeg in Leeuwarden. It was the only Dominic church in Frisia and Jarich, as a devoted catholic, was closely involved in the secret agreements that led to the realization of this secret church.
Between the year of his mastery (1628) and 1651 Jarich admitted five apprentices in his workshop, a.o. his two sons Tjeerd and Frederik Jarichs van der Lely, who were admitted as master silversmiths to the guild in respectively 1665 and 1669. The other three pupils Jan Hendrickx, Rijck Beernts and Wybbe Piers did not reach mastery in Leeuwarden. Jarich Gerrits van der Lely was an esteemed and acclaimed craftsman and held the position of judge in the Leeuwarden guild several times. His last signature we find under a guild decision of 1667 and he made up his will in the following year, in 1668, after which he must have died at an unknown time.

Sample prints

Jarich Gerrits must have already gained the necessary experience in the workshop of Obbe Clasen, before he started with the creation of his masterpiece. The legacy of his teacher is, however, very limited, which makes it difficult to establish to what extend he was influenced by the latter. Nevertheless the 1640 beaker by Obbe Clasen in the Fries Museum and the one from the same year by Jarich Gerrits show many similarities in shape and engraving.
For the oval, in high relief embossed medallions on the present beaker Jarich Gerrits used a print series representing The sinners of the Old and New Testament, that was created by the Leiden engraver Willem van Swanenburg (1580 Leiden 1612), after drawings by Abraham Bloemaert (1564 Gorinchem – Utrecht 1651), representing six Biblical figures, which depict the theme of despair, repentance and devotion.

Willem Isaacsz. van Swanenburg, after a design by Abraham Bloemaert, The penitent Paul, 1609 – 1611, engraving, 269 x 170 mm, Amsterdam, Rijkmuseum, inv. n° RP-P-1904-61.

Willem Isaacsz. van Swanenburg, after a design by Abraham Bloemaert, The penitent Peter, 1609 – 1611, engraving, 268 x 171 mm, Amsterdam, Rijkmuseum, inv. n° RP-P-1904-60.

Van Swanenburg compiled the six drawings by Bloemaert and regarded them as contrasting, however in composition related pairs: Peter and Paul, Zacchaeus and Mary Magdalen, and King Saul and the apostle Judas Iscariot. Under every figure is an inscription composed by Cornelis Gijbertsz. Plemp (1574 Amsterdam 1638) and Petrus Scriverius (1576 Amsterdam – Oudewater 1660), two famous Latinist poets. The depiction of sinners as a group was a rather unique iconographic theme, that conveyed a strong Counter-Reformation message in the promotion of the sacrament of penance that had been refuted by the Calvinists. This aligned with Bloemaert’s catholic belief and it is not unthinkable that the mutually catholic Jarich Gerrits was attracted to this iconography too and took the print series as an example for his masterpiece.
In addition, the mannerist proportions and contorted poses characteristic for Bloemaert were of great influence on the oeuvre of both Van Swanenburg and Jarich Gerrits. Every figure becomes monumental and is presented in a dramatic pose, and, in the case of the prints, the elements depicted in the background added to that. However, Jarich Gerrits isolated the figures and added no background details. Here and there he took an element from the background and moved that to the main scene, hence clarifying the story represented. This is how the history of the Conversion of St Paul is depicted in the print’s background, whereby a shine from heaven with the Latin translation of Christ’s words: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ arrives in a group of soldiers, whereby the saint falls from his horse. On the beaker this scene is reduced to the divine shine from heaven, touching the main figure directly.

Willem Isaacsz. van Swanenburg, after a design by Abraham Bloemaert, King Saul killing himself with a sword, 1611, copper engraving, 269 x 171 mm, Amsterdam, Rijkmuseum, inv. n° RP-P-OB-60.796.

In the representation in which King Saul throws himself in his sword, the terrified soldier in the background was left out in the beaker. The fluttering fabric, on the other hand, has more folds and therefore looks more mannerist dan its example in print. In the scene of the penitent Peter Jarich Gerrits concentrated himself on the main figure with his keys as attribute and the cockerel referring to his denial. The city in the background and the large tree that are visible in the print, are absent in the silver beaker. Also the silversmith slightly adjusted the viewing direction of the saint. There where Peter turns his gaze upwards in the print towards heaven, the saint in silver looks more to the right, as if he is aware of the monstrous masks outside the reserve in which he finds himself.

Mascarons

Above and between the oval reserves surrounding the figures, Jarich Gerrits applied the mascarons, or facial masks, often male figures with an open mouth, a moustache and heavy eyebrows. He probably based them on ornamental prints from the second half of the 16th and early 17th centuries. As architectural ornaments masks were already applied during classical antiquity, where they had an apotropaeic function and needed to ward off evil spirits. During the 16th-century Renaissance they were mainly regarded as decorative elements in architecture, but also in painting, sculpture and goldsmith’s art. The application of such mascarons came to a highlight during the mannerist and baroque architecture of the 17th and 18th century.

pl. 8, Harmen Jansz Muller, after a design by Jacob Floris, Cartouche with a mascaron with snakes as hair, 1564, copper engraving, 137 x 210 mm, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. n° RP-P-1952-397D

The masks formed the basis of kwab, also known as lobate or auricular style, This decorative style appeared in western Europe, but especially in the Netherlands, during the fist half of the 17th century. The lobate style is characterized through organic shapes, similar to the inside of a shell or a human ear. These elements were mixed with sea monters or mascarons. The flowing narative elements proved to be very suitable for the embossing and chasing of silverwork, such as a.o. pieces by the Amsterdam silversmith Johannes Lutma (circa 1584 Emden – Amsterdam, January 1669), as his production demonstrates. However, the auricular style also was applied in other disciplines such as furniture, picture frames, brass work, gravestones and sculpture.

Detail of an auricular ornament in a silver dish, by Johannes Lutma, Amsterdam, 1653, Stockholm, Hallwylska Museet, inv. n° XLII:K.C.a.05.

Provenance of the masterpiece

The present beaker remained, together with the masterpieces by Johannes van der Lely (master in 1695) and Gabynus van der Lely (master in 1731), and possibly that of Fredrik Sijlstra van der Lei (master in 1731), for generations in their family as proof of their skills. The daughter of Jarich Gerrits’ son, Frederik Jarichs van der Lely, named Johanna, was married to Abraham Bruinsma. The Bruinsma family was heir to some of the family heirlooms ‘waaronder uitmunt een zilveren, zoogenaamde Proefband, die later tot een beker veranderd is. Dit stuk van hooge kunstwaarde, is verdeeld in drie vakken, waartusschen Medusahoofden; op ieder vak komt een keurig gedreven beeld van 5 Ned. Duimen voor, voorstellende Saul, Petrus en Paulus.’15 (including an excellent silver, so-called proefband (test band), that was made into a beaker at a later stage. This piece of high artistic value, is divided in three sections with three heads of Medusa between. In each reserve is skillfully chased image of 5 Dutch thumbs, representing Saul, Peter and Paul).’ 16 There is no doubt whatsoever that it concerns the present piece. Before 1852 Abraham Bruinsma sold the beakers of both Jarich Gerrits as the one by Gabynus van der Lely to a wealthy family member, one J.J. Bruinsma, who, in turn, through art dealer Kalf in Amsterdam sold them to the Amsterdam collector Elias Fuld (1820 Frankfurt a/Main – Amsterdam 1888).

In 1855 the Jewish banker Elias Jacob Fuld, as a representative of the Rothschild family bank, came to Amsterdam.17 Together with the German immigrant Carl Wilhelm Ferdinand Becker he founded the firm Becker & Fuld, as a subsidiary of the Rothschild bank. Elias Fuld was, like Carl W.F. Becker, very successful in Amsterdam business life and he lived in a respectable area at the corner of Keizersgracht and Molenpad. From 1873 until his decease in 1888 he was a member of the Amsterdam city council and he was active in various foundations, associations, commissions, companies and societies. He was interested in Dutch silver and assembled an important and vast collection thereof, of which some of the highlights are now kept in the collections of the Rijksmuseum, the Centraal Museum, Utrecht and the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden.. As a collector and successful businessman he was invited to join the Koninklijke Oudheidkundig Genootschap (KOG, i.e. Royal Archaeological Society) that was founded in 1858 tot de bevordering van de kennis van het verleden door het aanleggen en onderhouden van verzamelingen op het gebied van oudheidkunde en geschiedenis (to promote the knowledge of the past by creating and maintaining collections in the field of archaeology and history). Through this membership he got involved with important exhibitions. In 1880 he lent 27 of his silver pieces to an exhibition Kunstvoorwerpen in vroegere eeuwen uit edele matalen vervaardigd (Art objects made from precious metals in earlier centuries) in Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam and in the catalogue of the exhibition Nationale Tentoonstelling van Oude en Nieuwe Kunstnijverheid in den Koekamp (National Exhibition of old and new decorative arts in the Koekamp) in The Hague in 1888 an odd 20 objects from his collection are mentioned, under which the present piece, described as ‘a silver tankard, representing Paul Peter and Saul, chased after drawings by Adr. Bloemaert’.18 After the decease of Elias Fuld the vast silver collection, under which the present beaker, remained in the Fuld family. A large part thereof can be followed through the various heirs, until 2002, when the last heirlooms appeared on the art market. In the standard work Merken van Friesche goud- en zilversmeden (Marks of Frisian Gold- and silversmiths) by Elias Voet, 1932, the beaker is mentioned in the possession of Mrs Milly Lessing-Fuld (1891-1993). Through her heirs this extraordinary masterpiece came into the possession of the current private collectors.

Finally – ‘craftsmanship is mastery

The masterpiece by Jarich Gerrits van der Lely is a unique object, that is a testament to his skills. With the ‘artfully chased’ Biblical depictions of King Saul, St Peter and St Paul as well as the fluent mannerist decorations, that point forward to the popular auricular style, this Frisian silversmith was received master in 1628. The detailed decorations in high relief were probably reached because of the use of very refined material. From a technical analysis of the alloy shows that he used a metal mixture with a higher silver percentage than that applied to coins, whereby the silver was more mellow and easier to work. A comparable alloy was determined in the works of the Utrecht silversmiths Adam van Vianen (1568 Utrecht 1627) and his brother Paulus van Vianen (circa 1570 Utrecht – Praag 1613), who also excelled in kunstig gedreven (artfully chased) silverwork and both had a major influence on the development of kwab (auricular or lobate style). As the ancestor of no fewer than five generations of silversmiths this object by Jarich Gerrits symbolises the starting signal of the Frisian dynasty of Van der Lely master silversmiths. That the cup remained in the Van der Lely family through inheritance and then at the extinction of the last descendant ended up in de collection of the 19th-century German-Jewish silver collector Elias Fuld in Amsterdam, makes the work extra special. Already in 1888 the object showed off at an exhibition of Oude en Nieuwe Kunstnijverheid (Ancient and Recent Decorative Arts) and now the object will melt the hearts of many art lovers…