Boatswain’s Call from the Wreck of the Dutch East India Company Ship Witte Leeuw, anonymous, c. 1600 - before 1613

silver (metal), h 29.5cm × w 12.8cm × d c.3cm More details

This pendant is not just an ornament: hold it upside down and the pointed tail becomes a toothpick. The adjacent boatswain’s call was worn by officers on a long cord as a symbol of their leadership. Men in the 16th and 17th centuries wore this kind of practical item also as a sign of wealth, class, and dignity.

Identification

Title(s)

Boatswain’s Call from the Wreck of the Dutch East India Company Ship Witte Leeuw
Boatswain's call from the wreck of the Dutch East Indiaman Witte Leeuw

Object type

Object number

NG-1977-201-W

Description

Bootsmansfluitje uit V.O.C.-schip de 'Witte Leeuw'. Zilveren bootsmansfluitje of sifflet met draagketting. Deze bootsmansfluit werd als teken van waardigheid door officieren aan een lange koord om de hals gedragen.

Creation

Artist

silversmith: anonymous

Place

Netherlands (possibly)

Dating

c. 1600 - before 1613

Material and Technique

Material

silver (metal)

Measurements

height 29.5 cm × width 12.8 cm × depth c. 3 cm

Subject

When

1600 - 1613

Where

Sint-Helena

Who

Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie

Acquisition and rights

Acquisition

purchase 27-Apr-1977

Copyright

Public domain

Relations

Portret van een Hollandse vlootvoogd

Documentation

Zeeslagen en zeehelden in de Gouden Eeuw, afb. 7
Op de zeef van de tijd : een geschiedenis van Nederland
De VOC in bedrijf 1602-1799, Harm Stevens
Focus Behaim globus, Gerhard Bott, dl. 2, p. 813, cat.nr. 4.41
Sifflet van zilver, Nederland(?), vóór 1613, Johannes Bastiaan Kist

Persistent URL

To refer to this object please use the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.365678

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