AN AMERICAN SILVER TANKARD, GERRIT ONCKELBAG, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1710

cover set with a 1697 coin and with engraved peak, handle applied at top with a lion and the lower terminal with a cherub head, also engraved HB(conjoined)/I+S, the front later engraved with Roosevelt arms in baroque cartouche.

Johannes Hardenbroek and Sara Van Laer, m. 1686, to their daughter
Catherina, m. 1713 Jacobus Roosevelt (1692-1776, founder of the Hyde Park branch), to their son
Isaac Roosevelt (1726-1794)
Jacobus Roosevelt III (1760-1847)
Isaac Daniel Roosevelt (1790-1863)
James Roosevelt (1828-1900)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945)
James Roosevelt (1907-1991), sold
Sotheby's New York, October 22, 1988, lot 86

New York, 1937: Silver by New York Makers, December 7, 1937-January 17, 1938, no. 222, illus.
SAM American Sampler 2002-2005
Seattle Art Museum, 1991-96

Homer Eaton Keyes, "The Distinctive Quality of Early New York Silver," The Magazine Antiques, May 1938, fig. 1

Some overall wear, especially to coin; as noted re: date of arms on front. Small fracture below thumbpiece and could use straightening, handle pushed in slightly at lower join, and minor dents to base band, otherwise good, important provenance and characteristic details
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This tankard, together with a sword by John Bailey that had been owned by Isaac Roosevelt, descended in the Hyde Park branch of the Roosevelt family until sold by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's eldest son.

Johannes Hardenbroek had arrived in New Amsterdam with his parents in 1661.  He appears on the list of Deacons and Elders of the Dutch Reformed Church in New York in 1703-04.  Nicholas Roosevelt, whose son would marry Hardenbroek's daughter, appears on the list in 1701.  Sara Van Laer was the daughter of Stoeffel Gerritszen Van Laer, who arrived in the colony in 1659, and his wife Cathrina Uijt den Hage, whom he married in the Dutch Reformed Church in 1660.

The engraving is almost identical to that on the tankard by Benjamin Wynkoop with the initials of Nicholas and Heyltie Roosevelt, owned by the Roosevelt Hospital (see Martha Gandy Fales, Early American Silver, 1973, cover).