THE DUTCH HOME
Love of Porcelain—The Amsterdam Mart—Prices of China in 1615—Oriental
Wares before 1520—Luxury of the Dutch Colonists—Rich Burghers in
New Amsterdam—Inventories of Margarita van Varick and Jacob de
Lange—Dutch Merchants in the East—Foreign Views of Dutch Luxury—
Dutch Interiors after the Great and Little Masters—
House-furnishing by a young married couple—The Linen Chest—Clothes
Chests and Cupboards—The Great _Kas_—The Cabinet—The Toilet—
Table-Covers—Foot-warmers—Looking-glasses—Bedsteads—Tables and
Chairs—Woods—Kitchen Utensils—Silverware—Household Pets.
In the preceding chapter, we have seen the constantly increasing
importance of porcelain in the Dutch home. In England there was quite as
great a demand for this ware among the wealthy classes; but the London
East India Company could not supply the demand, and the reason is not
far to seek. The Dutch were more energetic, or, at least, more
successful in ousting and supplanting the Portuguese, and the Stores of
the Indies in Amsterdam became recognized as the headquarters of
distribution of Oriental ceramics. In all probability, the English
company was not able to import wares of such superior quality as were
the Dutch. The Dutch made themselves masters in the Eastern Seas, and
British trade had a hard uphill fight there for a century and a half.
The Dutch carried things with a very high hand, and the laws of neither
God nor man were respected on the course of Vanderdecken from Cape Verde
to Japan. The massacre of a few inoffensive English traders at Amboyna
aroused quite a coolness in England towards Holland, and caused a good
deal of embarrassment to the Government early in the reign of Charles I,
which was too busy with home affairs to insist on reparation. However,
the Dutch were only carrying on the traditions of “the spacious times of
great Elizabeth,” when the methods of the great navigators were frankly
piratical. England became well acquainted with Eastern wares when
Hawkins, Drake, or Cumberland sailed into Plymouth with the rich freight
of Portuguese carracks which they had waylaid around the Azores.
The Dutch love of porcelain was very real: it appears in many a diary,
letter and anecdote. In every home, the humble rectory and the house of
the rich burgher-master alike, the same desire to own porcelain is
found. When one Pastor Arnold Moonen was asked how much he would charge
for his translation of Cicero’s _Epistolæ ad familiares_, he answered:
“_Mijnheer! Ik mij in geenen staet bevindende om iet voor mijnen arbeit
te kunnen eischen, als diergelijken handel ongewoon, zal enelijk van
UEd. verzoeke te voldoen, de raet van die vrouwe volgen, die de Heer mij
tot een hulpe gegeven heeft. Deze eischt van mij een nooteboomen kabinet
met een stelsel in porselein, als zijn toebehooren, om daarop te setten,
zoo als de vrinden kunnen goetvinden._” (“Sir! not being in a position
to charge anything for my labour, as this is not an habitual thing, I
should take heed of my wife, whom the Lord hath given me for a helpmate.
She wishes to possess a nutwood cabinet with a set of porcelain to go
with it, and to place ornaments on the top, if the consistory will grant
this!”) Such a set of porcelain as the good lady required to decorate
the top and fill the shelves within, cost at that time as much as 300
double ducats (equal to about £136); but the ladies of that period had
desires for fine furniture, dress and fashion that their husbands were
often unable to gratify.
The best china-ware was obtainable in Amsterdam only, and English
travellers used to buy porcelain there, as they now go to Brussels or
Mechlin for lace or Cashmere for shawls. As late as the reign of Charles
II, Holland maintained her pre-eminence in this trade. In Henry Sidney’s
_Diary_, November 18, 1679 (on the eve of his departure for Holland) we
read: “My sister Sunderland spoke to me for a China cup.” Later he
notes: “I went to see the magazine, the East India Stores.”
We have already seen the prices of various kinds of porcelain in Holland
in 1653 and 1689. It may be interesting to compare these with English
prices earlier in the century. From the bill of lading of the _Java_
(1615) we gather that the prime cost of porcelain was: “Saucer dishes,
nearly 2_d._ a piece; flat sallet dishes, about 3½_d._; sallet cups,
3½_d._; posset dishes, 4_d._; small (quarter) basins, 1_s._ 9_d._;
larger (half) basins, 2_s._ 6_d._; largest (whole) basins, 5_s._”
This was evidently china-ware of the cheapest kind, and the prices show
that porcelain was now on the market in such quantities as to drive out
the old pewter plates and dishes from the homes of the middle classes as
well as the aristocracy. During the first quarter of the seventeenth
century, however, the Oriental wares to be found in opulent houses were
by no means confined to china-ware. The art furniture brought from the
East was varied and choice.
The inventory of a Dutch or English noble of wealth of that period shows
the same taste for Eastern fabrics, lacquer and porcelain, and evidences
the elegance that made Madame de Rambouillet famous in France. As an
example, let us take the Earl of Northampton, who was famous and
infamous in late Elizabethan and early Jacobean days. He died in 1619.
Among his possessions we find the following goods of Oriental
manufacture:
“A cupbord containynge seven parcels of purslane cups trimmed with
silver and guilte valued at £12; a field bedstead of China worke, black
and silver, branched with silver, with the Arms of the Earle of
Northampton upon the headpiece, the toppe and valance of purple velvett
striped downe with silver laces and knots of silver, the frindge blewe
silk and silver with 8 cuppes and plumes spangled suteable, the five
curtains of purple taffata with buttons and lace of silver, the
counterpoint of purple damaske suteable laced; one China cushen
imbrodred with birdes, beastes and flowers, the ground of white Grogeron
lined with yellow taffeta, 10_s._; thirteen yeardes and a quarter of
purple gold velvett, China with flower-de-luces and diamond work, £8
13_s._ 4_d._; a China striped quilt of beastes and antiques, the ground
whice calico frindged about with a straw coloured frindge, £5; another
China quilte stayned and spotted in colours £4; another China quilt
stitched in checquer work with yellow silke, the ground white, £4; and a
China carpett of several colours, the ground white and weaved in with
antiques of several colours lined with watchett taffata, £4.
“A China guilte cabonett upon a frame, £1 10_s._; a large square China
worke table and frame of black vernishe and gold, £6; one faire crimson
velvet chaire richlie imbosted with copper and spread eagles and blewe
and white flowers China worke, the frame painted with gold and my Lord’s
crest upon the same; one small table of China worke in golde and colours
with flies and wormes upon a pillar suitable, £1; a little gilded couch
carved and cutt, 15_s._; an ebony cabinett inlaid with mother-of-pearle,
13_s._; a very large bedstead with wreathed pillars ballastars for head,
side and feete, all coloured blacke and gold, £7; a foldinge Indian
screne, £3 4_s._”
The bonds between England and Holland were very close in Puritan days,
and the household belongings of the two countries, both in hall and
cottage, were practically identical. In Holland, the Puritans found a
refuge and congenial surroundings before sailing for the New World. The
homes of the prosperous burghers of New Amsterdam, now New York,
faithfully mirrored the comfort and taste of those of Amsterdam and The
Hague; and here we may pause a moment to examine a couple of inventories
of early dwellers in what is still the most important city in the
Western Hemisphere.
Mrs. Margarita van Varick died in 1696, and her bequests to her children
are eloquent testimony of the estimation in which she held her various
household goods. In her will she leaves: “In a great chest bound up in a
napkin for Johanna van Varick, a silver spice-box, a silver egg-dish, a
silver thimble, a silver wrought East India box, 18 pieces of silver
children’s toys, 11 pieces Arabian and Christian silver money, one gold
ring with seven diamonds, two gold drops for the ear, one gold Arabian
ducat, one Dutch Testament with gold clasps, one gold chain with a
locket with seven diamonds, one pearl necklace, one small silver knife
and fork, one small bundle beaten leaf gold, two gold pins headed with
pearls, one gold bodkin, and one looking-glass with gilt frame.
“In another napkin for Marinus van Varick, three silver wrought East
India cups, one ditto dish, three pieces of silver money, one medal, 20
pieces of silver children’s toys, one silver knife, one gold ring with a
table diamond, two gold rings, one gold ducat, one gold medal, and one
small gold box as big as a pea.
“In another napkin for Rudolphus van Varick, three silver wrought East
India boxes, one small ditto dish, one silver tumbler marked R. V., 17
pieces silver playthings or toys, 8 pieces of silver money, one silver
knife, one fork silver studded handle, one gold ring with three small
diamonds, one gold ring, one ducat, two gold buttons, one gilded medal,
and a gold piece the shape of a diamond.
“In another napkin for Cornelia van Varick, a silver wrought East India
trunk, a ditto box, a saltcellar, 28 silver playthings or toys, 20
silver pieces of money, a small mother-of-pearl box, a gold comb, a
Bible with gold clasps, a small bundle of leaf gold, a pair of diamond
pendants, two gold chains, two gold rings with a diamond in each, two
small gold rings, one pair crystal pendants edged with gold, one Arabian
ducat, and two gold pins.
“Also for Johanna, the biggest and finest Turkey-work carpet, a set of
white flowered muslin curtains, a chintz flowered carpet, an East India
cabinet with ebony foot wrought, the picture of Mrs. van Varick, the
picture of Johanna, three china pots, one feather bed, one bolster, two
cushions, one quilt, one white calico blanket.
“Also for Marinus, a Turkey-work carpet, a gold bell and chain, a blue
satin flowered carpet, a calico ditto, a silver-headed cane, a Moorish
tobacco-pipe, a calico nightgown, a hair brush, a red box, two East
India cabinets with brass handles, a feather bed, bolster, quilt, two
cushions and green blanket, a picture of J. Abramson, and a ‘large
picture of images, sheep and ships that hung above the chimney.’
“Also for Rudolphus, a small ebony trunk with silver handles, a picture
with a gilt frame, a cane with a silver head, a flowered carpet stitched
with gold, a calico carpet, and a large picture of himself.
“Also for Cornelia, the second finest Turkey-work carpet, two pictures
with glasses before them, a calico nightgown, a hair brush, a chintz
flowered carpet, a small black cabinet with silver hinges, the picture
of Cornelia Hester deceased, the picture of a flower pot, a china cup
bound with silver, a large looking-glass with ebony frame, two white
china cups with covers, a feather bed covered with checkered linen, a
bolster, three wadding cushions, two feather ditto, one quilt and a
homespun blanket.
“Also for Johanna and Cornelia, two glaasen cases with 39 pieces of
small china-ware, 11 Indian babyes, and 6 small and 6 larger china
dishes.
“Also for Marinus and Rudolphus, 23 pieces of china-ware.
“Also to be divided equally among them, 37 Dutch books 4º; and 46 ditto
8^{vo}; and 4 ditto folio; a chest with children’s babyes playthings and
toys; and 13 ebony chairs.”
Mrs. van Varick’s home in New Amsterdam did not suffer in comparison
with the rich Dutch houses in Holland. Her clothes, jewels and bequests
to her children prove that her life was one of ease, luxury and fashion.
Her house was not only furnished with every comfort known to the period,
but was filled with curios, treasures from the Far East, rich furniture,
and a fine collection of china and paintings. Her furniture included
fine and richly upholstered bedsteads, tables, chairs, cabinets, glass
cupboards for china, great _Kasten_, a handsome “painted wooden rack to
set china-ware in,” six looking-glasses, and ten Indian looking-glasses,
“two East India cane baskets with covers, one fine East India
dressing-basket, one round ditto, two wooden gilt East India trays,
lackered, and one round thing ditto.” Five brass hanging candlesticks
and handle candlesticks, a double brass ditto, snuffers and
extinguisher, a pair of brass standing candlesticks, and a standing
candlestick with two brass candlesticks to it, prove that the house did
not suffer for want of illumination. It was also bright with rich
curtains and cushions. Among these were six satin cushions with gold
flowers, a suit of serge bed-curtains and valance with silk fringe, six
scarlet serge bed-curtains with valance and silk fringe, a green serge
chimney cloth with fringe, two chimney cloths of flowered crimson gauge
and six window curtains of the same, a painted chimney cloth, a calico
curtain, a fine chintz carpet, many handsome Turkey-work carpets and
white flowered muslin curtains. She had fourteen East India pictures,
some with gilt and some with black frames, and twelve prints also in
black and gilt frames, two maps with black frames, and about twenty well
chosen paintings. Some of the subjects of these clearly show that they
were in the style of Jan Steen, Dou, etc. In addition to landscapes,
battles and fruit-pieces, the inventory notes “two pictures of ships
with black ebony frames,” “one picture of the Apostle,” “one large
flower pot,” “one with a rummer,” “one birdcage and purse, etc.,” “a
large horse battle,” and “a large picture of roots.”
The china exhibited in the cabinets and on the mantelpieces and
cupboards made a fine display; for in addition to the Oriental curios
and other pieces willed to her daughters the house contained: three
large china dishes, ten china dishes, four ditto (cracked), three
teapots, two china basins, one ditto (cracked), one smaller ditto, two
ditto (cracked), three fine china cups, one china jug, four china
saucers, six ditto smaller tea dishes, one ditto (cracked), six painted
tea ditto, four tea ditto, eight teacups, four ditto painted brown, six
smaller ditto, three ditto painted red and blue, two white East India
flower pots, one ditto (cracked), three ditto smaller, two ditto
(round), one lion, one china image, and a china ink-box and two
sand-boxes. Among her articles for the table she also owned three wooden
painted dishes and a wooden tray with feet; also “a thing to put spoons
in.” A parcel of toys and a collar for a dog are among the miscellaneous
articles.
Turning now to another Dutch house in New Amsterdam—that of the
barber-surgeon, Mr. Jacob de Lange, whose inventory was taken in 1685—we
find the rooms consisting of a foreroom, side chamber, chamber, kitchen,
shop and cellar. Mr. de Lange has a remarkable collection of porcelain
and pictures, a great deal of fine furniture, rich clothing, jewels and
East India cabinets, beautiful hangings, etc., etc.
Mr. de Lange’s furniture consists of twelve chairs upholstered with red
plush, six with green plush, eleven matted chairs, seven chairs with
wooden backs and a church chair. He has two “cann boards,” two small
“cloak boards,” a hat press, a clothes press, a square table, a round
table, a small round table, and an oak drawing-table, a small square
cabinet with brass hoops, one waxed East India small trunk, one square
black small sealing waxed trunk, one silver thread wrought small trunk,
and an ivory small trunk tipped with silver. He also owned an East India
rush case containing nineteen wine and beer glasses, and an East India
waxed cabinet with brass bands and hinges, containing gloves, ribbons,
laces, fourteen fans and seven purses in the first partition; laces,
buckles and ribbons in the second; cloth in the third; caps in the
fourth; fans, bands, scarfs, garters and girdles in the fifth; silk,
fringe and calico in the sixth; silk and materials for purses in the
seventh, and spectacles in the eighth.
The side chamber was furnished with eleven pictures, consisting of five
East India pictures with red frames, four landscapes, one evening and a
“small zea.” A looking-glass with a gilt frame also hung upon the wall.
There was an enormous amount of porcelain here. The chimney was adorned
with seven half-basins, two belly flagons, three white men, one sugar
pot, two small pots, six small porringers and a small goblet. On and in
the _kas_ were two great basins, one goblet, two pots, two flasks, four
drinking glasses, five _drillings_, six double butter dishes,
thirty-three butter dishes, two white teapots, seven small red teapots,
a hundred and twenty-seven teapots, one can with a silver joint, one
ditto with a joint, two flaskets, one barber’s basin, five small basins,
sixty-seven saucers, four salt-cellars, three small mustard pots, five
oil pots, one small pot, three small men, two small men, one basin, two
small cups, one small oil can, one ditto spice pot, five saucers, four
small men, one small dog, two small swans, one small duck, two tobacco
boxes, one sand-box, four small cans, one small spoon, six small flasks,
two small oil cans, one small chalice, and two fruit dishes. This room
contained an East India cupboard, ninety books, and a pair of blue
curtains and valance.
The “foreroom” contained a black nutwood chest with two black feet under
it, worth £2 10_s._, and some pieces of linen, £24 12_s._; a
looking-glass with a black frame, £1 5_s._; two curtains before the
glass windows; the family coat of arms in a black frame, £5 4_s._; and
the following paintings: “A great picture being a banquet with a black
list,” “one ditto something smaller,” “one ditto a bunch of grapes with
a pomegranate,” “one with apricocks,” “a small countrey,” “a Break of
Day,” “a small Winter,” “a Cobler” and “a portrait of my lord Speelman.”
The pictures in the chamber include “a great picture banquet, worth £3
5_s._; one ditto, £2 10_s._; one small ditto, £1 15_s._; one Abraham and
Hagar, £1 5_s._; four small countreys, £4; two small ditto, £1 12_s._;
one flower pot, one small ditto, one country people frolick, one
sea-strand, one portraiture, and a plucked cock torn, two small
countreys, one flower pot small, without a list, one small print broken,
and thirteen East India prints pasted upon paper.”
This room was well furnished. There were sixteen linen curtains before
the glass windows, a large and valuable _kas_ covered or veneered with
French nutwood, standing on two ball feet, worth £13; a great
looking-glass with a black frame, a white valance before the chimney,
“six cloths which they put on the shelves of the _kas_, one ditto with
lace, two small calico valances before the glass windows, one red
chimney cloth (probably placed over the white valance), two red striped
silk curtains and two valances of the same, two green silk curtains and
two embroidered valances, three grey striped silk chair cushions, four
pieces of tapestry to be thrown over chests, one bedstead with white
calico hangings and luxuriously supplied with cushions, and eight East
India spreads, besides other spreads of flowered calico, red calico, and
white calico in squares. There were five small East India boxes and a
great deal of linen, also one white box marked E. W.”
[Illustration:
PLATE XXXVI.—_The Oyster Feast, by Jan Steen. The Hague._
Figs. 35–36: CHAIRS (Seventeenth Century); Fig. 37: MARQUETRY DESIGNS
(Seventeenth Century).
]
Wherever the Dutch went, they lived not only in comfort, but in all the
elegance and even splendour that their means would allow. In the New or
the Old World, the merchant princes surrounded themselves with sumptuous
furniture of mahogany, ebony, marquetry, ivory, lacquer, teak and
sandal-wood, as well as porcelain, embroideries, rugs, screens and all
kinds of stamped metal and _bric-à-brac_.
In 1685, the Count de Forbin says that the General of the East India
Company at Batavia has a court quite royal in numbers and brilliance.
“On my arrival (at the palace), the usual guard,” he writes, “which is
very numerous, stood at arms, and, between two ranks of men, I was
introduced into a gallery adorned with the most beautiful Japanese
porcelains.”
Evelyn and other travellers are enthusiastic in their admiration of the
riches and luxury they witnessed in Holland, although, as we have seen,
England was not unfamiliar with Oriental art products. The Stuarts were
art connoisseurs of the first rank, and James II, to whom Macaulay
denies mental and aesthetic appreciation, was an intelligent collector.
The most brilliant figure in the Court of Louis XIV, the Marquis de
Dangeau, notes in his _Diary_ (January 8, 1689), on the arrival of the
fugitive Stuart: “The King of England found the apartments (of the
Dauphin) admirable, and talked like a connoisseur of all the pictures,
porcelains, crystals and other things that he saw there.”
One of the travellers who describes the Eastern goods seen in the shops
and houses of Amsterdam and other Dutch cities, Charles Patin, writes in
1690:
“I had a sight of all their curiosities and those of all sorts, and
among other divers paintings that we know, and others which are unknown
to us; as also Indian and Chinese pieces of an inestimable value. In
these last a curious eye may discover all the secret particulars of the
history, the manner of living, customs and religion of those countries,
and there are represented certain martyrs, who sacrifice their blood to
the transport of their zeal, if it may be allowed to make so bad an
application of that sacred name, which belongs only to the heroes of the
true religion.”
Wills and inventories are invaluable aids to the student of Dutch
furniture; but even more illuminating are the interiors painted by the
Great and Little Masters—Jan Steen, Metsu, Cocques, Teniers, Rembrandt,
Terburg, Don Weenix, Hoogstraten, Koedyck and a host of others. These
are valuable as showing not only individual pieces of furniture, but
also the general arrangement of rooms.
Plate XXVI, representing _The Sick Woman_, by Jan Steen, in the Rijks
Museum, shows a very simple room with bare floor and bare walls. At the
back of the room is an upholstered bed with long straight curtains, and
tester ornamented with fringe and surmounted with “_pommes_.” On the
wall hang a lute and a Frisian clock. The back of the chair is carved
with lions’ heads above the arms. The table is covered with a handsome
“carpet.”
[Illustration:
PLATE XXXVII.—_The Sick Lady, by Hoogstraten._
RIJKS MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM.
]
A similar bed stands in the right hand corner of the room, represented
in Plate XXXVII, also the picture of a _Sick Lady_, by S. van
Hoogstraten. The arrangement of this room is extremely interesting, as a
short flight of seven steps leads into a narrow passage and room above.
A round window hung with a curtain lights the passage-way above, which
contains a number of fine paintings and a low-backed chair with spirally
turned legs, the back and seat covered with velvet put on with
large-headed nails. A door leads into the room beyond, but all that we
can see of this is a marble mantelpiece with a handsome painting above
it, and heavy andirons. A large square armchair with spirally turned
legs stands on the left of the bed. The invalid is seated on a common
stiff chair of no decorative interest.
The obvious upper room was always a favourite feature of the houses in
the Low Countries. An interior balcony is shown in Plate XXXVIII. This
interior, painted by J. Koedyck about 1650, now in Brussels, is very
interesting. The ceiling is unusually high, and consists of heavy beams;
the windows are flush with the outside wall with deep interior recesses,
and beneath them is a long wooden bench rudely carved. The old woman
seated in a plain, two-backed, rush-bottomed chair seems to be dusting
the legs of a spinet. Another two-backed chair stands in front of the
bed, which from the positions of its pillows looks as if it might
consist of an upper and lower berth, as was and still is often the case
in the simpler homes in the Netherlands. Straight curtains hang from the
cornice, a warming-pan is seen on the right, while above the cornice of
the bed a child looks out of the shutters in the upper gallery. The
chimney-piece is without the usual funnel-shaped top, and is also
lacking in flat architectural ornamentation or a large painting. A
candlestick and a few plates are the sole ornaments. It is carved with
caryatids, however, and furnished with a chimney-cloth. Near the only
caryatid visible stands what seems to be a metal “blower”; but there is
probably no fire in the hearth, for the cat has found what she considers
the most comfortable spot in the room on the foot-warmer. The most
interesting piece of furniture in the room is the high-backed settle in
the space between the fireplace and the window. This is panelled, and a
little decoration occurs below the arms. Of course, the seat lifts up,
and the box is used as a receptacle for articles.
Plate XXVII, one of Jan Steen’s famous interiors, from the Rijks Museum,
has several interesting features: the architectural door and the high
chimney-piece with stove being the most curious. The bed is dome-shaped
and upholstered. A good type of chair stands in the foreground, and a
table, on which is a cloth with deep fringe. A beautifully painted
birdcage hangs from the ceiling.
[Illustration:
PLATE XXXVIII.—_Interior, by J. Koedyck, Brussels._
]
Plate XXXVI, known as the _Oyster Feast_, by Jan Steen, in The Hague,
shows an interesting room, which serves as hall, dining-room and
kitchen. A large curtain is looped over the balustrade, which runs
midway across the hall. This gallery leads from one of the upper
sleeping apartments to another. One large window, with four panes,
supplies the light. To the left of it is a bed, and next to it a
mantelpiece with marble columns. Near this a parrot is sitting in a
ring. Next comes the fireplace, where the oysters are being cooked.
Waffle-irons lean up against the handsome chair in the foreground.
Beneath the window a jovial man sits in a low-backed chair, near the
group playing tric-trac on the long table, over which hangs a landscape
in a handsome frame. Another table with a rich carpet is placed on the
extreme right, at which two persons are enjoying their oysters. A clock
hangs on the wall, and also a lute and birdcages. A large birdcage,
similar to the one in Plate XXVII, hangs before the window. A dog, a
kitten and playful children add a merry touch to the scene.
Plate XXXIX represents _The Music Lesson_, by Terburg, in the National
Gallery, London. Here we have an ordinary sitting or living-room of a
well-to-do household. The bed in the background resembles those in Plate
XXVI and Plate XXXVII. On the wall hangs a picture in a rich frame. The
fair musician sits on a low-backed chair with her foot on a foot-warmer.
The table is covered with a very handsome carpet. Upon it stands a
handsome candlestick.
Plate XLI, _The Breakfast_, by G. Metsu (1630–67) (Dresden Gallery),
shows us the interior of an inn, with comparatively little furniture.
The chair on which the woman is sitting is a good example of the period.
The table, on which a “_buire_” stands, is of the most primitive kind.
The birdcage hanging from the ceiling is similar to the one represented
in Plate XXVII.
Plate XLII, by Jan Steen, representing a jovial company, is chiefly
interesting for our purpose on account of the chair in which the host
sits, the tablecloth and the larder at the back of the room, on which
stand a mortar and pestle, a vase with flowers, a pot and two plates. In
the right-hand corner stands a bed, and from this hangs the legend on a
piece of paper: “As the old ones sing, so will the young ones pipe.”
Plate XL, by J. B. Weenix (1621–60), shows a simple interior from the
Brussels Museum—a lady at her toilet. The chair on which she sits is
very interesting, with its low back, carved top rail and spirally turned
stretchers. The “table carpet” is a superb Oriental rug, and the mirror
with its massive frame is a magnificent example of carving and gilding.
The candlestick is also massive. The windows, flush with the walls, are
set with small panes, and are furnished with a curtain.
A very interesting interior of the seventeenth century occurs in a
picture by G. Metsu in The Hague Gallery. In a room with a very fine
chimney-piece supported by marble pillars, and above which is a fine
picture and a beautiful chandelier, a lady is standing improvising upon
a lute. Another lady seated at a table is taking down the music, while a
man looks over her shoulder. The lady is seated upon a low-back leather
chair studded with heavy nails. Her foot rests upon a foot-warmer. The
table has heavy ball-feet connected with stretchers, and the heavy cloth
or carpet is pushed back carelessly. A tray or “standish,” holding the
ink bottles, etc., is carelessly placed upon the folds of the cover. The
lady holds a quill pen in her hand.
[Illustration:
PLATE XXXIX.—_The Music Lesson, by Terborch._
NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON.
]
No subject was more congenial to the Dutch painters than scenes of home
life and familiar interiors. Not only were Jan Steen, Teniers, Dou,
Metsu and others of like rank attracted to the home, but an army of
mediocre masters devoted their talents to this subject. If the works of
the “Little Masters” found their way into royal and princely
collections, the works of more obscure painters decorated the homes of
the citizens, country people and colonists. The stranger who visited the
Dutch cities was amazed at the many interiors and landscapes that were
exhibited in the booths, at the fairs, and under the verandahs in front
of the houses of the masters. These were often bought for a small sum by
travellers, who sold them in their own country at considerable profit.
When a bride went to her new home, she often found that it had been
furnished from top to bottom; but this was not always the case. As a
rule, wealthy burghers did not do this. The young wife, accompanied by
one or two of her near relatives and followed by a couple of servants
and a truckman, went about from shop to shop to select what she needed.
This was called “_ten huisraet vaeren_” (going furnishing), and De Vrij
devotes a chapter to this pleasant occupation under the title of “_De
vrou vaert ten huysraet_” (the wife goes out to furnish). In his time
the old simplicity had vanished in favour of a general luxury hardly
equalled to-day. De Vrij, therefore, allows his wealthy lady to purchase
“down beds, fine plush and wadded coverlids, costly hangings, large
Venetian mirrors, Indian crackle porcelain, lounging chairs, Turkish
carpets, Amsterdam gold leather, costly paintings, a silver service, a
_sacredaan_ cupboard, an ebony table, a curio cabinet, a napkin _kas_, a
large quantity of napkins, tablecloths and other fine household linen,
and a thousand other articles.”
One has only to glance at the contemporary inventories to realize the
wealth and luxury of the period. It is only in a few instances, such as
the old Castle of Develstein, when occupied by Cornelius van Beveren,
that the old simplicity rules; for the old grey town on the Merwede
(Dordrecht), although the richest and oldest, was not the most luxurious
in Holland. It conserved its own customs, while Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
Delft and other cities vied with The Hague.
One or two large chests always stood in the bedroom. In these linen and
clothing were kept. As a rule, the chest was of _sacredaan_, with brass
or silver mounts, and neatly lined inside with cloth.
Linen was also kept in the great _kasten_. These were ornately carved or
panelled, made of different woods, and often inlaid with
mother-of-pearl. Some of them cost as much as 1,000 fl. Rare porcelain
was always placed on the top of the _kas_.
The great linen chest or coffer, and the great cupboard in which
household linen and articles of clothing were kept, were among the most
important articles of furniture in a Dutch household. The chest was tall
and wide, and made, as a rule, of _lignum vitæ_, or _sacredaan_, or
other East India wood, frequently covered outside with leather and lined
inside with linen or some other textile. It was often mounted with brass
or silver, sometimes richly wrought.
The cupboard, or _kas_, was very broad and very tall, and was made of
oak, ebony, or walnut, and stood on four heavy balls, which were often
repeated on the four corners of the top, and are described by Van Nispen
as “guardians of the porcelain ornaments,” which adorned the top.
[Illustration:
PLATE XL.—_Interior, by J. B. Weenix, Brussels._
]
As many as ten or twelve each of chests and _kasten_ have been noticed
in old inventories in one dwelling, and they are described according to
the wood of which they are made, or the name of the room in which they
stood. Accordingly, we read of coffers and cupboards of oak,
_sacredaan_, cherry, and plum-tree wood, blue and red grained East India
wood, iron coffers, Prussia leather and lacquered coffers, the office
coffer, the office cupboard, the kitchen cupboard, the cupboard of the
green painted room, of the gold leather room, of the tapestry room,
etc., etc. Let us examine some of the cupboards in the home of Sara de
Roovere, second wife of Adriaan van Blyenborgh, Keeper of the Count’s
Mint, and known as a Latin poet. This home is in Dordrecht.
In the “gold leather room” stand several cupboards, some of which are of
rare wood and richly carved. These cupboards contain a rich store of
snow-white linen, damask tablecloths, napkins, bed-clothing, towels,
shirts, bibs, neckerchiefs, frills, handkerchiefs, etc., “saved from
grandmother’s time with economy, or inherited from great-aunt and kept
as precious treasures,” all for her own use, or as wedding gifts to her
children, Jacob, Adriaan, Charlotte, or Adriana. Like many another Dutch
lady, every penny won at play, every present, and everything that could
be saved from the household money, this thrifty housewife devoted to
increase the treasure. A great part of the day she spent with her
daughters in the front room (_voorhuis_), or with the maids in the
kitchen, at the spinning-wheel, the sewing-cushions, the work-table, or
the ironing-board. She considered it an honour to have a rich
_Linnenkast_, and she was proud of being called a “house jewel careful
of the third part” and deserving of the name, as she possessed
“mountains of her own make and foreign produced stuff.” Her inventory
shows that she possessed no less than twenty-four dozen chemises, forty
dozen tablecloths and napkins, and coffers full of uncut linen.
Some burghers’ wives had their linen made up by the seamstress.
In another cupboard, called the “scalloped,” owing to the many St.
James’ shells carved upon it, Joffer van Blyenborgh kept one of the most
costly articles of her attire—the breast or forepiece. These
breast-pieces, or stomachers, were worn on the corsage, to which they
were fastened by means of pretty silk cords. They were made of silk,
satin, or velvet, and often profusely decorated with pearls or jewels,
and sometimes cost as much as £10,000.
Vrouwe van Blyenborgh had coffers filled with petticoats of scarlet
cloth and also of wool cloth, coarse grey, black and white linen under
petticoats, jackets, hoop skirts, mantles and rain cloaks. Her cupboards
and coffers also included: rich robes of sarcenet and serge of fire
colour, rose colour and ground colour, covered with ribbons, bows,
galloons; bodices embroidered and trimmed with lace and fringe;
petticoats garnished with fringe of fire colour; grey cloth dresses
lined with blue serge; and Japanese night robes of dead leaf colour,
embellished with aurora hued flowers and lined with wadding. Neatly
folded among these rich articles were white satin robes lined with
amaranth taffeta, black velvet robes with cloth of silver, and
petticoats embroidered with golden flowers and lined with _taffeta
d’Avignon_. She also had some cloth of gold valued at £16 a yard.
[Illustration:
PLATE XLI.—_Breakfast, by G. Metsu, Dresden._
]
Dress and furniture became so extravagant during this period that the
stage ridiculed the lavish expenditure, and the other censor of public
morals—the pulpit—denounced the needless splendour as degrading before
God and men. The Dordrecht preacher, Joh. Becius, exclaimed: “Are the
pride and splendour of to-day more extreme than with the people of
Israel? Certainly not; but rather worse; for women go about, not only
with bare necks, but half-bared bosoms partly covered with a thin net or
cambric cloth—and in the robes and dresses they are more splendid than
the proud peacock, more changeable than the chameleon or the
weather-cock on the church steeple. They almost dance along the streets
dressed up as dolls for a _kermesse_; and these creatures, so gaily
attired, vie with each other to enter the Lord’s House where is preached
Christ born in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes.”
Among the other vanities carefully preserved in the drawers and on the
shelves were the fans, masks, lace and jewels; _châtelaines_, ribbons,
hats, bonnets and caps; silk, cloth and serge stockings richly
embroidered; fancy shoes and slippers with high heels, and leather and
silk gloves sweetly perfumed. Vrouwe van Blyenborgh had a number of
thin, beautiful, scented, leather gloves; a large stock of “shoework” of
silk, satin, gold and silver leather, and yellow, green and scarlet
stockings. We must not forget to mention the round silver mirrors
suspended from gold hooks at the belt, and the delicately painted
miniatures worn as lockets or breast-pins.
The great _kas_ was as conspicuous in the houses of the Dutch colonists
as it was at home. Every inventory of the prosperous burgher of New
Amsterdam mentions it, and it is highly appraised. To take a few
instances: “One great case covered with French nutwood and two black
knots (balls) under it, £13” (1685); “a cupboard or case of French
nutwood, £20” (1686); a white oak cupboard, £2 5_s._ (1688); a large
cupboard, £6 (1690); cupboard for clothes, a press and porcelain, £5;
and a “Holland cubbart furnished with earthenware and porcelain,” £15
(1692); a great black walnut cupboard, £10 (1702); a Dutch painted
cupboard, £1 (1702); a black walnut cupboard, £9 (1703); and a case of
nutwood, £10 (1712). The _kas_ was often a valued bequest: Mrs. van
Varick had one “great Dutch _kas_ that could not be removed from
Flatbush”; and, therefore, was sold for £25.
[Illustration:
PLATE XLII.—_Interior, by Jan Steen. The Hague._
]
In the rooms of the Castle of Develstein were standing mirrors and
mirrors in ebony, metal and crystal frames, on the walls; and in the
“_salon_” was a mirror of Venetian glass. In this room was seen the
“kingwood hall buffet,” where, on festive or ceremonial occasions, the
family silver and crystal were exhibited, such as silver plates, dishes,
spoons, knives, beakers, decanters and mugs, silver-mounted horns and
night cups—all engraved with the family arms, or with conventional
rhymes or mottoes. In the “salon” or “show salon” was placed the
“root-wood (root of the walnut tree) table,” formed like steps (a
survival of the _dressoir_), on which the rarest and finest porcelains
were shown. Here also was the richly carved walnut _kas_ containing a
rare display of fine china, while on the wall walnut racks, beautifully
carved and ornamented with gold, the handsomest plaques were arranged.
There was also a pewter table in this room, on which stood many pewter
dishes, cups, tankards, etc., engraved with the family arms; but most of
the pewter was kept in the pewter cupboards (_tinkasten_), in the pewter
room, or in rows upon the dresser in the kitchen, ready for immediate
use. Silver table-ware was not in general use, for pewter took its place
as an everyday article. Among the glassware shown in this room were
cordial, wine and beer glasses, chalices and loving-cups of white and
green glass, engraved with arms, ornaments, proverbs, and shell-like
Venetian glasses, supposed to be proof against poison.
Two interesting examples of _kasten_ are given on Plates XLIII and XLIV.
Plate XLIII represents a large Dutch _kas_, or _buffet à deux corps_,
from the Rijks Museum, Amsterdam. This magnificent specimen is of solid
ebony inlaid with ivory. Its grooved columns, panels and niches break up
the plain surface with much variety. It stands on eight bulb feet. It is
similar in shape to the English “court cupboard” of the same century.
Plate XLIV represents a large _armoire_, or kas, from the Cluny Museum,
Paris. This was made in Holland. The front is ornamented with three
pilasters with carved capitals, between which are the two doors or wings
decorated with carved panels. The cornice is ornamented with three
lions’ heads. Beneath the columns are drawers with simple knobs. This
piece of furniture stands on flattened bulb feet.
In the latter part of the seventeenth century, the cabinet was found in
every home of moderate wealth. In an inventory of 1679, “a root-wood
cabinet, with Japanese small dishes and ‘colossol’ (very large) pots
under its high feet” is mentioned. These cabinets stood on high legs,
sometimes with only one drawer underneath. They were frequently made of
rough pinewood painted red; but often they were very handsome (_see_
Plate XXXI). In the bedroom of Lady Reepmaker in the Castle of
Develstein there was a “cabinet-maker’s small cupboard to put dresses
in, one one-drawer cabinet on a high base, one hair-dressing table, one
ditto chair, one ditto mirror with ebony frame, one gold leather
comb-holder, and the ‘_nachtbouquet_’” (night bouquet), a piece of
furniture used by the upper classes after 1672, in which everything
relating to the toilet of the period was found, such as: a silver framed
mirror, powder boxes, silver trays, pin-books, patch-boxes, hair and
clothes brushes, and other small toilet articles, as well as silver
candlesticks, snuffers and snuffer-trays.
When a wealthy lady sat in front of her “dressing-cloth,” as her
dressing-table was familiarly called, she had before her an array of
bottles and boxes containing perfumes, powders, paints and beauty
patches, as well as a treasure-house of pearls, diamonds, rings and
bracelets set with glittering stones, ear-rings, necklaces, chains of
pearls, gold and silver pins, spangles, half-moons, so that she looked
like “a sun surrounded by suns,” or a “diamond surrounded by rubies.”
[Illustration:
PLATE XLIII.—_Kas of Ebony and Ivory._
RIJKS MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM.
]
Her innumerable toilet-boxes of tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl, her
silver and gold scent-boxes, her boxes of filigree, her ivory, ebony and
porcelain boxes and trays for her patches and cosmetics, her rich jewel
cases of gold, silver, tortoiseshell or ivory, lined with velvet, her
brushes and her shoe-horns, and her beautiful work-boxes supplied with
thimbles, bodkins, knitting-needles, hooks, scissors, and everything
that could be used for sewing and fancy needlework are displayed on her
toilet-table and in her cabinets.
The table-cover or “carpet” was a most important decorative feature of
the Dutch room. It was generally a handsome Oriental rug. This was
thrown over the dining-table, the ordinary table in the hall or kitchen
(_see_ Plate XXVII and Plate XXXVI), in the bedroom (_see_ Plate XXVI
and Plate XXXVII), and used also for the toilet-table (_see_ Plate XL).
Often it was ornamented with handsome fringe (_see_ Plate XXVI and Plate
XXVII). When an impromptu meal was served, it was the custom to cover
the handsome cloth with a white cloth, of which the Dutch housewife
always had a large supply (_see_ Plate XXXVI and Plate XLII). Four
exceptionally handsome table “carpets” appear in Plate XL, Plate XXXIX,
Plate XXVI and Plate XXXVII.
In nearly every Dutch interior one notes the presence of the foot-warmer
or foot-stove—a little wooden box with a perforated top and sometimes
perforated sides of wood or brass. In this, glowing embers were placed.
One of these is seen in Plate XXVI and another in Plate XXXVII, while in
Plate XXXVIII a cat is seen comfortably keeping itself warm. On Plate
XXXIX the lady playing the double-necked lute has her foot on one of
these universally used articles.
These foot-warmers that served as footstools, and were carried to
church, are described in Roemer Visscher’s _Sinnenpoppen_ (Animated
Dolls). He calls them “_mignon des dames_,” and says: “_Een stoef met
vier daer in, is een bemint juweel by onse Hollandsche vrouwen, bysonder
als de sneeuwvlocken vlieghen ende hagel ende rijp het lof van de boomen
jaeght._”
(“A stove with fire in it is a beloved jewel of our Dutch wives,
especially when the snowflakes are flying and the hail rattles.”)
The author of the Dutch _Mercurius_ calls it “a small wooden piece of
carpentry with four holes in the top.”
The “Looking-Glasse” that attracted Owen Feltham’s attention was a
luxury. The _spiegel-maker_ (mirror-maker) was only to be found in the
large cities. He was not allowed to make the frames, nor to gild them;
for this was the work of the Carpenters’ and Gilders’ Guild. The signs,
however, read—“_spyeghelwinckel_,” “_de nyeuwe spyeghelwinckel_,”
“_spyeghel-magazijn_,” “_allerley spyeghels groot en clijn_,” and “_de
Venetiaense spyeghelwinckel_.” (The “mirror shop,” “the new mirror
shop,” “mirror magazine,” “all kinds of mirrors, large and small,” and
“Venetian mirrors.”)
[Illustration:
PLATE XLIV.—_Dutch Kas._
CLUNY MUSEUM, PARIS.
]
The glass mirror was a novelty, for, until the seventeenth century,
polished metal was used; but at this period a method of silvering glass
with a mixture of quicksilver and pewter was invented in the celebrated
factory of Murano. The Venetians monopolized the trade until the end of
the century, when Abraham Thevart made mirrors (84 × 50 inches) in
Paris. Both Venetian and French mirrors adorned the reception rooms of
the rich _stadhouders_ and mayors of Holland, and hung above the
toilet-tables of ladies (_see_ Plate XL). The archives of the Castle of
Develstein mention: a “very large mirror from France,” “Venetian
mirrors,” “a small coarse mirror in a black frame,” “a fine Venetian
mirror in the Salon, with flowered crystal border”; “an Amsterdam mirror
of medium size,” and “one French mirror, large and beautiful.”
Mirrors were not only valued for their thick glass and fine silvering,
but on account of their choice frames. Inventories speak of scroll
frames, open-work frames, frames with lions or griffins supporting a
coat-of-arms, etc. Ladies also carried German and English mirrors
suspended from their waists, for the purpose of arranging their
coiffure, ruff, or patches.
The mirror, like other expensive luxuries, was often prohibited by the
clergy of the Protestant Church; and many a rich burgher was reprimanded
for spending so much money on mirrors, porcelain and furniture, and
giving so little to the Church.
The most beautiful mirrors were probably found in The Hague, where the
reception rooms and bedrooms were usually decorated in the “style Louis
XIV.” Some of these were of Venetian glass with beautiful crystal
borders and crystal lustres at the side. Frequently these were placed
above the richly carved mantelpiece.
The bedsteads, often richly carved, were of oak, walnut or _sacredaan_,
and were always hung with curtains. A deep valance often decorated the
base. The centre of the canopy was ornamented with the family
coat-of-arms, and each corner with a bouquet of many coloured plumes.
Sometimes the bedstead was on a platform, and the rich hangings were
supported by caryatides and the festoons of the canopy by carved cupids.
The bedsteads were high, and a ladder or steps was required to climb
into them. Little steps or foot benches stood in front of the bedstead
and were sometimes used for seats or tables, somewhat like the old
_escarbeau_ of Mediaeval days.
One species of bedstead was known as the “coach,” or “rolling coach.”
This was intended for children, and the name “coach” was extended to
include the children’s sleeping-place. Mention is made in a treasurer’s
account of Dordrecht (1586) of “three bedsteads with a coach
underneath,” which shows that the coach is the trundle or truckle bed.
Tables and chairs were found in every room. About 1640, the “drop-leaf”
or “hang-ear” tables came into use. They were usually made of solid
walnut- or _sacredaan_ wood.
The chairs had high curved, or leather, backs and low seats of leather,
on top of which were placed loose cushions or pillows, which were often
piled up so high on the seat that a child standing on tiptoe could not
see over the pillow on the seat of the chair. Chairs were also covered
with rich damask, serge and other woollen goods. In the old inventories
mention is made of “Prussia leather table chairs,” ebony carved chairs,
red cloth covered _sacredaan_ wood chairs with pillows of different
shapes, and of high-backed carved walnut table chairs.
[Illustration:
PLATE XLV.—_Flemish Chair._
CLUNY MUSEUM, PARIS.
]
Typical chairs are shown in Plates XXXIII and XXXIV from the Rijks
Museum. In the first there is a caned armchair on the left, an
upholstered armchair on the right, with turned legs and rails; and in
the middle a chair in the Marot style, with a mirror-shaped back, cane
panel, straight legs and crossed straining-rails. The example on the
extreme left of Plate XXXIV is an armchair of carved oak, with scrolled
arms and cane seat and back. It is similar to the one without arms from
Cluny in Plate XLV. A cane chair without arms appears in the centre, and
on the right an armchair with turned legs, carved top rail, and leather
back and seat. The Flemish chair on Plate XLV is constantly seen in the
rooms of the seventeenth century.
The chair on the left of Plate XXX in the Cluny Museum, called “Spanish
of the Seventeenth Century,” is a curious transitional piece. The high
back and seat are covered with Spanish leather put on with large-headed
nails. The pattern of the leather represents peacocks, flowers and human
figures. The ornamentation of the top rail consists of a leaf and
scrolls ending in sharp spikes at the corners, very much in the early
Regency style. On the rail below the seat is carved a heart-shaped
ornament. The front legs are cabriole, connected with stretchers and
ending in hoof feet. The back legs, also connected by stretchers, are
straight.
Other furniture included spinets and harpsichords, Friesland clocks,
table watches and pocket watches, which, when not in use, were placed in
little cases, as were the mirrors the ladies wore at their waists. Sand-
or hour-glasses were to be found especially in the kitchens, and the
table-bell, which had now supplanted the whistle as a call for the
servants.
The woods used for furniture were oak, walnut, cedar, olive, nutwood,
ebony (black, green and yellow); kingwood, from Brazil, a hard wood with
black veins on a chocolate ground; beef-wood, from New Holland, of a
pale red used for borders; _palissandre_, or violet wood, from Guiana,
for inlays on fine furniture; and, above all, _sacredaan_, or Java
mahogany, a very hard wood, sweet smelling and of a bright yellow or
pale orange colour. This was a favourite wood for chests, as the odour
served to protect furs and woollen stuffs from the attacks of moths,
etc.
The Dutch kitchen towards the end of the century was fully equipped with
all kinds of brushes, brooms, pots, pans and every utensil that was
necessary to effect the cleanliness and produce the good cheer so
necessary to every prosperous burgher. In 1680, a kitchen of a man of
moderate means in New Amsterdam contained the following:
£ _s._ _d._
Fourteen pewter dishes, little and great 3 5 0
Three ditto basons, one salt seller, one pye plate 0 9 0
Four chamber potts, one warming pan of brasse 0 15 0
Two pewter flagons, a little one and a greate one 0 5 7½
Two smoothing-irons, three pewter quart potts 0 7 6
Three pewter pint potts, 1½ pint pot and two muck potts 0 6 9
Four old pewter saucers and ½ doz. plates 0 6 0
Six dozen wooden trenchers, three tin cover lids 0 8 0
Two frying pans, five spitts, two dripin pans, iron and tin 1 2 6
One puding pan of tin, one greate brasse kettle, three iron 1 16 0
potts, one brasse skillett
Two copper saucepans, one little iron kettle 0 6 0
Two pair iron pott hookes, a jack with a w^t of 56 lbs. 1 14 0
Two pair andirons, one brasse ladle, one iron beefe forke 1 0 6
Two pair of tongs, one fire shovell, a long bar of iron 0 4 6
One iron chaine in the chimney and three pot hangers 0 15 6
One bellows, a board to whet knives upon 0 1 0
Two copper pots, two brass candlesticks, six tin 0 10 0
candlesticks
[Illustration:
PLATE XLVI.—_“Buire,” by Mosyn, Auricular Style._
]
Silverware was an important item in the possessions of the merchant
class as well as the nobility. In 1682, we find the following items in
the inventory of a prosperous butcher:
£ _s._ _d._
Twenty-two silver spoons, one silver forke, three silver 48 0 0
gobletts, one ditto tankard, one ditto mustard pot,
one ditto cup with two eares, five silver small
cuppes, one ditto, one goblet, two ditto salt sellars,
one ditto cup, two ditto saucers, one ditto cup, one
ditto spice box, a Cornelia tree cup with silver, two
ditto dishes, weight in all ten pounds
A silver girdle with hanging keys, one ditto with three 1 4 0
chaines with hookes, one gold bodkin, two silver
bodkins, “silver for my booke with a chaine,” silver
to a belt for a sworde
One silver hat band 0 13 6
One silver tumbler 1 0 0
One silver bell 0 18 0
One silver watch 1 0 0
Two pair silver buckles 0 8 0
Fourteen gold rings 10 7 6
One pair silver buttons, and one silver knife 0 12 0
No view of a Dutch interior of the seventeenth century would be complete
if it neglected to take into consideration the family pets. These are
very much in evidence in the pictures, by Dutch masters. These consist
of monkeys, parrots, peacocks, pheasants, cats and dogs.
The monkey is quite a privileged character. Sometimes he is perched on
the top of a spinet and sometimes on a _kas_ or a chimney-piece.
The masters of vessels that sailed the Eastern Seas, both English and
Dutch, were commissioned by nobles and potentates to bring home rare
animals. In 1609, for instance, the East India Company issued letters
for reserving “all strange fowls and beasts to be found there,” for the
Council. In 1623, we find a note that to the governor of the Company a
“Caccatoa” was sent from Batavia. The cockatoo is a familiar resident in
Dutch homes. He and other kinds of parrots, domiciled in wicker and wire
cages, are very much in evidence in the _genre_ pictures of the age. The
golden and silver pheasants were also privileged members of the
household, and were allowed the freedom of the hall. Sometimes we see
them perched on cornices, and sometimes strutting on the tiled floor.
The monkey, which played so important a part in the “_singerie_”
decoration of the late _Louis Quatorze_, _Régence_ and _Louis Quinze_
periods, was imported in considerable numbers. A gossipy journal—_Le
Courrier du temps_, conducted by Fouquet de Croissy who undertook to
tell the secret happenings in the court of every prince in Europe—
records the following item of news from Amsterdam, under date of
September 1, 1649:
“This week several ships have arrived here from the Indies. Among the
other riches with which the good agent was charged, he has brought a
dozen of the rarest and most beautiful monkeys that have ever been seen
in these parts. Cardinal Mazarin has sent for them to put them in his
wardrobe and anti-chambers to divert those who pay court to him and to
judge the affection they have for his service by the civility and good
treatment of the animals, the favourites of his Eminence, receive from
them.”