Dutch Silver Louis XIV tobacco jar

Amsterdam, 1732

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Origin:
Amsterdam
Date:
1732
Dimensions:
14 x 11,8 x 11,8 cm, 660 gram.
Master:
Jan Pont

Price on request

A very typical Dutch object is the tobacco jar, known as a “tabakspot”. There are no examples in Asian export porcelain, and they were not made and used outside the Dutch provinces – although very much so in the case of the Dutch. There are tobacco jars in Delft ceramic and in tin, but the most luxurious examples were made in silver, which served as symbols of status, wealth, and good taste.

This particularly heavy tobacco jar was made by the master silversmith Jan Pont, who was among the best in his profession. The smooth jar is lavishly decorated with ornaments in the style of Daniël Marot. These decorations were partly cast in molds, which were sometimes passed on to other silversmiths. Tobacco jars identical to those by Pont are known to exist, but those were made by his colleague Hendrik Swierink.

An extremely similar tobacco jar is shown in Tibout Regters’ 1747 portrait of Christiaan van Eeghen (b. 1700; d. 1747), a member of the leading VanEeghen family of traders. It is possible that this tobacco jar was indeed part of his collection.

Provenance:

W.J.R. Dreesmann, Amsterdam; Frederik Muller & Cie, 1960-1962.

Literature:

Hans Breet, De Dordtse Roos, zilversmeedkunst in Dordrecht, 2022.

Rudi Ekkart, Tibout Regters, 1710-1768, schilder van portretten en conversatiestukken, Leiden, 2006.

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