Images(8)

Two-handled Bowl

Dateca. 1696

Marked by Benjamin Wynkoop (1675 - 1751)

OriginAmerica, New York, New York City

MediumSilver

DimensionsOL (incl. handles): 5 5/8”

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2016-59

DescriptionTwo-handled bowl: Circular bowl with low integral foot and two twisted wire-work S-shaped handles. Body of bowl chased into six lobes, each centered by a chased leaf.
Label TextThe six-lobed brandywine bowl, or brandewijnskom, is a Dutch-derived form that was made exclusively in America by silversmiths working in New York. Larger examples were filled with raisins steeped in brandy and passed among family and friends at gatherings in commemoration of significant occasions such as births, marriages, and deaths. Dutch descriptions of the ceremony known as a kindermaal, in which women gathered to welcome the arrival of a healthy newborn, suggest brandywine bowls were often accompanied by a large silver spoon to serve the plumped raisins. Fewer than thirty American examples of this form in various sizes are known today, all of which feature double handles and six lobed panels.

This diminutive version bears the mark of Benjamin Wynkoop (1675-1751), who became a freeman of New York in 1698. Engraved with a monogram of a conjoined “VI” over “W” and “A”, this bowl was probably made for Warner Van Iveren (Yveren) and Anna Pruyn, who married on June 8, 1696, in Albany, New York. A related circa 1705 tankard by Benjamin Wynkoop is now in a private collection; bearing similar initials, it descended through the Pruyn family.

InscribedEngraved on one panel “VI” conjoined/"WA”
MarkingsMarked in center of bottom in relief “W*K/B” in a heart
ProvenanceProbably made for Warner Van Iveren and Anna Pruyn, who married on June 8, 1696, in Albany, New York. He was born in 1663 to Carsten Frederickse Van Iveren and Tryntje Warners Van Iveren.