This remarkable tureen and platter were made in 1782 by the Mechelen silversmith Joannes Cornelius Hendrickx (1740-1811), who had an important list of (mostly local) clients. As one of the most talented silversmiths in Mechelen, he left us a number of impressive and varied decorative objects, but this tureen and its platter were considered as one of Hendrickx’s masterpieces. They also bear witness to the importance of Mechelen as a centre of silverware production.
The oval Louis XVI-style tureen in silver, silver gilt and bronze has four acanthus leaf shaped feet. It has a sumptuously decorated cover and rests on a round platter. It is decorated with fruit, threaded beads, garlands, interlacing and rosettes. The handles are decorated with plant motifs. Such neoclassical-style decorative features, and in particular the threaded beads and the rosettes, are characteristic of Hendrickx’s work. A putto, seated on the cover, dominates the ensemble. His right hand rests on a medallion bearing the coat of arms of the de Meester family and he is surrounded with embellishments featuring love, architecture, painting, music and literature. The platter is decorated with four gilded rosettes and edged with laurel leaves.
The work was commissioned by Pierre de Meester and it remained in his family prior to its purchase by the King Baudouin Foundation. In making this acquisition, the Foundation has enriched our public collections with an object of indisputable historic and artistic value.
Website DIVA – Museum of Silverwork, Jewellery and Diamonds, Antwerp
Further information about the Léon Courtin-Marcelle Bouché Fund
