A rare Dutch Delft cistern with cover

Origin:  Delft, ‘De Metaale Pot’ (The Metal Pot) pottery

Marked: LVE = Lambertus van Eenhoorn

Date: Circa 1710

Dimensions: Including cover height 35 cm, Diameter foot 11,5 cm

Literature: Jvr. Dr. C.H. de Jonge, Oud Nederlandsche Majolica en Delftsch aardewerk 1947.

A baluster-shaped samovar or coffee urn with a round body and narrow neck. The removable metal tap can be inserted in the mascheron near the base of the urn. The piece was not solely used to serve coffee, but also or brewing coffee. Boiling water was poured onto finely ground coffee, which was left to brew an the served. This is the reason why the tap was placed somewhat above the base of the urn, this way the coffee grounds would remain in the urn while pouring. The consumption of coffee became fashionable around 1690 and this urn is among the earliest documented examples.

This urn belonged to the collection of Dr. Jacob Meint Noothoven van Goor. He was born in Surabaya in 1897 and died in 1956 in Arnhem, where he pursued a successful career as a medical specialist. In addition he was a dedicated collector of old ceramics and a valued client of our firm. His name already occurs in the firm’s accounts from 1910 to 1920, when Stodel was still called Vecht & Co and was located on the Nieuwe Hoogstraat in Amsterdam. Noothoven van Goor published two important articles: ‘Nieuwe gegevens over het oud-hollandsch porselein’ (Oud Holland, nr. 60, 1943) and ‘De Arnhemse aardewerkfabriek, 1759-1773’ (Oud Holland, nr. 69, 1952).