SOLD- Georgian Vivat Hanske In De Kelder Wine Glass Goblet c1750

Description

We have a superb Georgian Dutch Engraved Wine Goblet which dates to around 1750.

Large conical bowl above a teared inverted baluster stem above conical folded foot which has a rough snapped pontil. No chips cracks or restoration and measures 7 inches tall with a 3 3/8 inch bowl and foot.

We are all familiar with Vivat Hansie In De Kelder. but Hanske is a new variant. We would like to thank one of our Flemish customers Ralf for his input with regards to the languages and dialects.

Long Live little Hans in the cellar is a euphemism. Such glasses were distributed at social and family gatherings in Holland to announce the fact that the hostess was with child. We understand that this custom evolved from long held superstition that it was considered “unlucky” to make direct statements about the pending arrival of a child. The bowl is funnel or “trichter” shaped with a sold base over a teared baluster stem with a folded foot. We believe this dates from c1750 and probably a little earlier. The foot also has a collectors mark but we are unable to identify the collector (could be a museum mark). The engraving shows little jack filling a flagon from a cask. The engraving is detailed enough to be able to see the fluid gushing from the cask.

So why Hanske and not Hansie or Hansje as we have seen before….hand over to the man from Breda….

….”In official Dutch. the diminutive form of nouns is the suffix “je”. Therefore the name “Hans” becomes “Hansje”. You say that most often the text says “Hansie”. Perhaps at that time the letters “i” and “j” were still used interchangeably (or the “j” was not used at all). Another possibility is that “Hansie” reflects the pronunciation in the Northern Dutch dialects (provinces Friesland and Groningen). In the dialects of the Southern part of the Dutch language region. the diminutive is “ke”. So ” Little Hans” becomes “Hanske”. I therefore believe that “Hanske” is not a spelling mistake. but a reflection of the Southern tongue.

The engraving was most probably done in the Southern Netherlands. The Southern Netherlands roughly speaking means Flanders. Brussels (which was in those days Dutch-speaking). the Dutch provinces Noord Brabant and Limburg and the region Zeeuws Vlaanderen (the part of the Zeeland province South of the Schelde mound. which used to be a part of the County of Flanders). My colleagues. who come from different parts of the Netherlands have verified this.

In Flanders. another phrase was used: “Maeiken in ‘t schapraeiken”. Also. Hans is not a very common first name in Flanders. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the engraving was done in the Southern provinces of the Netherlands. for example in  Hertogenbosch. Breda (city where I live and work). or Maastricht. Still. Flanders. for example Antwerp. is not excluded. All this makes the glass more probably Dutch than German manufactured produced for export.

Ralf many thanks for the comprehensive epistle!

There is an example of the same “Hanske” engraved glass in the Rijksmuseum. The glass we present for sale has provenance. The same glass sold in Christies in May 2003
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=4083781

Christie advise us that it may then have resold in Christies in Amsterdam again in May 2007 http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=4902725

A different example is for sale at Venduehuis with a domed foot. http://www.venduehuis.com/online_catalogus/zoom2/73953