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Smeltzing, Jan (1656-1693)

Object 2012519

Dish

China

c.1700

Height 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter of rim 202 mm (7.95 inch), diameter of footring 111 mm (4.37 inch), weight 285 grams (10.05-ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring with a flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with Dutch houses and figures climbing haystacks and a tall ladder to reach the top of one of the houses, with an unruly crowd at the right near a cannon. On the rim four reserves, two are filled with floral sprays the other two with pa pao (Eight Precious Objects) symbols, on a diaper-pattern ground. On te reverse a continuous lotus scroll beneath four swastika emblems. Marked on the base with the six-character mark: Da Ming Cheng hua nian zhi, (Prepared during the Chenghua reign of the Great Ming Dynasty (1465-1487)), in a double circle, underglaze blue.

In the evening of August 28, 1690, several men gathered in the city hall of Rotterdam to celebrate the incorporation of some new members into their corps. As usual, these offered the men for their 'bienvenu' money for a hefty drink. Several men were sent out to buy wine. The ensign, a certain Cornelis Costerman, a wine trader in daily life, managed to obtain the festive drink in an advantageous manner by persuading wine trader Pieterse to deliver the wine without paying the wine excise duty.

After the clandestine result, the men were ambushed during transport by the wine import tenants, the Van der Steen brothers and their commissioners Cloot and Kerry.

A fight ensued in which Costerman drew the sword against Van der Steen. Suddenly it was noticed that Kerry was wounded. According to the official report, he died on the spot. At that time, Jacob van Zuylen van Nyevelt was the town bailiff.

According to public opinion, his reputation was not spotless. His too strict behavior was often disapproved.

Under threat of the rack, Costerman confessed to Van Zuylen - albeit unintentionally - guilty of manslaughter, a confession to which he later partly retracted.

The death sentence was imposed under the provisions of the 'placaat van Holland July 1678'.

A nervous executioner turned the execution into a horrible spectacle. The people, who considered Costerman innocent, were so excited by this that they vented their anger on the tenants' house – which also housed a porcelain trade shop. Everything was smashed to pieces. (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

ANTIEK II no 6 pp 271 277 dA

(Account of the event given by Pieter Joosten in Rotterdam in those turbulent days and illustrated with a sloppy wood engraving, not included in this sale/offer) (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

A few days later the bailiff returned to Rotterdam after a visit to The Hague. He was met by a roaring crowd, which was so pressing that the man could only with difficulty make his way to his home on the Leuvehaven. He then recruited the foot soldiers, who cleared the way and drove the civilians back over the Wijn- en Leuvebrug, after which these bridges were raised, so that people could no longer approach the house. Blood flowed during this skirmish, which caused even more anger. Everybody helped dragging the cannons away from the Bolwerk from the Westerhoofdpoort and placed them opposite the house of Van Zuylen van Nyevelt.

After a fierce bombardment, the bailiff had to flee with his friends, after which the house was plundered and demolished to the ground. (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

ANTIEK II no 6 pp 271 277 cA

(Source: an anonymous engraving in the Municipal Archives of Rotterdam) (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

Van Zuylen was charged, and the Court ordered an investigation into the cause of the irregularities and alleged misappropriations. The case, which previously did not look good, was withdrawn from the Court of Appeal and brought before the Supreme Court. Two years later, a general acquittal followed, and Rotterdam was sentenced to compensation.

After his rehabilitation, Van Zuylen van Nyevelt claimed damage of NLG 150,100, including NLG 3,600 to the porcelains. How did the bourgeoisie get rid of this debt? Amazingly simple the beer excise and land tax were increased. (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

After peace had returned, in pamphlets the accusations against the Bailiff really came loose. Most impressive, however, was a commemorative medal made by Jan Smeltzing, born August 3, 1658, a man of erudition and partly related to the Leiden patriciate through his wife Catharina Schrevelius. (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

ANTIEK II no 6 pp 271 277 eB

(Obverse of the commemorative medal of Jan Smeltzing, not included in this sale/offer) (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

The medallion with a diameter of 56 millimeters, made of gold, silver and pewter, is a masterpiece of medalists' art. Only by using a magnifying glass can one determine in what skillful manner the details have been worked out. As an example, I cite the rather macabre image on the front of the pedestal on which the cloth-draped head of the executed Costerman rests. (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

ANTIEK II no 6 pp 271 277 eA

(Back of the commemorative medal of Jan Smeltzing, not included in this sale/offer) (Kamp 1968, pp.271-277)

Identically shaped, sized and decorated dishes are in the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden; the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam; the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; the British museum; and Victoria and Albert Museum. One cup and saucer were formerly in the possession of H.E. Keyes. One dish added to the Johanneum in Dresden before 1721, when the Johanneum's collections were inventoried and marked, indicates a more than local interest in this new, reportorial type of export porcelain. (Corbeiller 1974, p.32)

For identically shaped, sized and decorated dishes, please see:

Condition: Firing flaws to the rim and footring and a restoration to the rim.

References:

Beurdeley 1962, Fig. 170

Kamp 1968, pp.271-277

Corbeiller 1974, Fig. 12

Price: Sold.