PAIR OF DUTCH SILVER SAUCE BOATS

Pair of Dutch silver sauce boats

Johannes van der Toorn II

The Hague, 1790

913 grams in total; 21,7cm long, 11,1 cm wide 13,3 cm high

The sauce boats are raised on three scroll and Greek key -shaped feet that originate from a leaf ornament with berries. The body with broad lip-shaped spout is applied with laurel swags, suspending from flower heads. The high openwork handle with flower head is bordered with a pearl rim, as is the edge of the sauce boat. Fully hallmarked on the reverse and displaying assay stripes. Also struck with the control mark of 1807.  

Provenance:

The sauce boats appear in Frederik Muller auction catalogues in 1909 and 1929. Unfortunately, their provenance is not mentioned in 1909, but their provenance is mentioned in 1929. Ultimately, the provenance can also be traced back to the mid 20th century. The sauce boats have been part of the collection of the Stedelijk Museum (Suasso-Museum), as evidenced by the labels. This museum was closed in 1971. Various objects were then sold. The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam was founded after the death of Sophia Adriana Lopez Suasso in 1890. Sophia Lopez Suasso-de Bruijn (1816-1890) was a wealthy collector from Amsterdam. Upon her death, she bequeathed her possessions to the city of Amsterdam: a large collection of seventeenth and eighteenth-century plates from China and Europe, and thousands of items of clothing, paintings, watches and jewellery, furniture and books. A museum was to be built in her home, part of the bequest. In her will, Sophia had stipulated that she would donate her home on the Kloveniersburgwal, her collection and its contents to the city of Amsterdam on the condition that a museum would be built for her collection. The city accepted the bequest. Because the house on the Kloveniersburgwal was not suitable as a museum, the city built a new museum building in the Van Baerlestraat. In 1895 the museum was opened, it was also called the Suasso Museum and remained open until 1971. Part of the collection is now in the Amsterdam Museum. During the existence of the Stedelijk Museum, the collection was supplemented with objects that were loaned by various private individuals. This will also apply to the sauce boats.

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