Sauskom met het gekroonde alliantiewapen Van Delen-Van Wijhe

About this artwork

jaarletter: gekroonde M

Art Historical Context

**Sauskom met het gekroonde alliantiewapen Van Delen-Van Wijhe** *Bernt Wolffsen, 1718–1719, engraving, 7.1 × 21 × 17.31 cm* This delicate engraving by Dutch artist Bernt Wolffsen captures a silver *sauskom*—a shallow sauce bowl or tureen—adorned with the crowned alliance coat of arms of the Van Delen and Van Wijhe families. Created in 1718–1719, it reflects the opulent world of early 18th-century Netherlands, where such vessels symbolized wealth and social alliances, often commissioned to mark marriages. The "gekroonde M" year letter etched into the design signifies its authenticity, a guild mark used by Dutch silversmiths (likely from Haarlem or Amsterdam) to denote the precise year of production, ensuring quality and provenance. Wolffsen, a skilled engraver known for his precise renderings of luxury objects, employed intaglio techniques to achieve intricate detail in the heraldic motifs. The fine lines evoke the gleam of polished silver, highlighting the bowl's elegant form and the intertwined family crests under a royal crown—a nod to burgher aspirations amid the Dutch Golden Age's lingering prosperity. Though small in scale, this print served as both artistic record and promotional tool for silversmiths, bridging craftsmanship and commerce. Today, it offers a window into personal histories woven into everyday elegance, reminding us how heraldry preserved legacies in metal and ink.