Property of a Distinguished Dutch Collection
A rare Dutch Delft blue and white allegorical marriage tray, dated 1761
Lot Closed
June 9, 02:07 PM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 8,000 GBP
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Read more.Lot Details
Description
of square form with wave-edged canted corners, on four scroll feet, painted with a scene of Odysseus and Penelope embracing beneath a tented canopy in a formal garden landscape with two love birds in the foreground, above an inscription within a cartouche, celebrating the marriage of a couple in the city of Delft in 1761:
op't Huwelijk van
de Heer [DB] en de Juff [RVB]
te saamen in den Egt bevestigd
binnede Stad Delft
Anno 1761,
their names in monogram, the reverse inscribed with a verse:
Als Ulysses(en) doold twintig Jaar,
Loopt Penelopes eer Gevaar:
Dog Egte Lief’dens vasten band,
Houd, door Geduld, nogd(en) overhand.
and signed below W:M:K. fecit
24 cm., 9 ½ in. by 23.4 cm, 9 ¼ in.
By the mid-18th century, Delft chargers, plates, and more rarely plaques and trays, were widely given as gifts by family and guests, or commissioned by a couple themselves, to mark a marriage and commemorate a wedding. Marriage pieces typically included the names or initials of the bride and groom, the wedding date or year, and symbols of fidelity. These objects functioned as a public display of union and status and emphasised the role of marriage as a central social institution, tied to religion, property, and community. The present lot, of a rare form and very specific subject matter, was probably commissioned to commemorate a union between two notable Delft families and owning such a piece would have signalled taste, prosperity, and participation in global trade culture.