Pair of Dutch silver sauce boats

The model of these sauce boats was developed in Paris around 1700. Characteristic for this early model are the pouring lips, intended to pour a sauce or gravy from both long sides of the boats. The two handles are placed on the narrow sides. Around the middle of the 18th century the general model of the sauce boat changed, with only a single handle placed opposite the spout.

Following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, many French Protestants fled to Holland and England, among other nations. Among them were excellent craftsmen, who were aware of the latest cultural fashions developed in Paris, the epicenter of style during the reign of Louis XIV. In order to attract their talent, they were frequently given certain privileges by the countries where they settled. Especially in London, their influence on the artistic milieu was so strong, that the term “the Huguenot style” was coined. One of these immigrant artisans was Isacq Samuel Busard, by whom marvelous pieces survive that had been commissioned by leading families. The international network in which these artists and patrons moved led to the dispersal of the French court style over much of Northwestern Europe. Some Huguenots remained in the Netherlands for only limited periods: for example, the celebrated silversmith Paul de Lamerie, who by 1703 was based in London, was born in Bois-le-Duc in 1688.

These sauce boats were formerly at Castle Rosendael. When Lubert Adolf Torck, who was married to Petronella Wilhelmina van Hoorn, died childless, the castle passed to his nephew Assueer Jan Torck (b. 1733; d. 1793), who was married to Eusebia Jacoba de Rode van Heeckeren (b. 1739; d. 1793). They were closely connected to the Stadtholderly court at The Hague, and when Stadtholder Prince Willem V visited Rosendael in 1766 he was lavishly entertained.

These sauce boats were made in 1735, before Torck acquired Castle Rosendael. They are likely to have been inherited from his uncle Torck-van Hoorn in 1764, or from his parents, Torck-van Wassenaer. Unfortunately, the sauce boats are not engraved with armorial bearings, which could have further elucidated their provenance. A nearly identical pair of sauce boats, made in 1725 by the Arnhem silversmith Jean Gray, does bear the arms of the Torck and De Rode van Heeckeren families. Jean Gray, who is documented in Arnhem from 1711, originally lived in Nantes.

Provenance: Baron and Baroness Torck- Van Heeckeren; Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt-Torck van Rosendael.