Dutch bronze mortar

A mortar of this impressive size with indication of the town’s name and date was almost certainly made for a town pharmacy. The mortar is decorated with two borders with Renaissance ornaments and its patina is exceptionally fine.

A gun and bell foundry was active in Enkhuizen from 1613 until 1795. The so-called “giethuis” (casting house), one of the largest buildings in the town, was located at the end of the Botstraat, close to the Noorderpoort. The complex was torn down in 1819.

A comparable mortar, also by Everhardus Splinter but dated in 1636, was part of the collection of A. Spas, sold at auction by Eug. van Herck & Fils, Antwerp, 8 september 1926, lot 319.

Mortars are typically found in pharmacies. When they are made from bronze, they are called “vijzels” in Dutch, and when they are made from other materials they are called “mortieren”. The casting of a mortar is comparable to casting a church bell, always done “à cire perdue.” This is also known as the lost-wax process, in which molten metal is poured into a loam mold, and takes the shape of the wax model, which is lost when the metal is cast.

Traditionally there were two kinds of foundry casters. Mortars were made by gun and bell casters, using bronze, consisting of copper and tin, sometimes with some lead or zinc. “Geelgieters” (yellow casters) specialized in making candlesticks, chandeliers, hourglasses, lecterns and choir gates, using yellow brass, consisting of copper, lead and zinc.