SILVER TEA BOX By Wilhelm Snijder, Haarlem, circa 1690 Baluster-shaped, chased with six gadroons, the neck applied with foliate foliage, the lid also applied with flowers on a foliate background, the shoulder engraved with a female coat of arms in a lozenge. H. 11 cm (4 ¼ in.) Weight: 140 gr. Provenance: Christie's Amsterdam sale, 6 December 2000, lot 391. A silver tea-box, by Wilhelm Snijder, Haarlem, circa 1690 This tea-box bears witness to the skills of silversmiths in the Netherlands in the 17th century. The influence of the Baroque can be seen in a heightened sense of relief, reflected in the application of the auricular style. The use of amati (see Figs 1 and 2) on the lid also evokes other similar productions in Holland at the same period. (See detail of two tea chests in the collections of the Rikjsmuseum in Amsterdam: one in silver attributed to Jacques Chevalier, made in The Hague in 1695, and the second, in gilded silver, made in Amsterdam in 1677). The coat of arms is undoubtedly that of the Dedel family, an important family in this region, which included several politicians and notables, including Johan Dedel, burgomaster of The Hague, and Willem Gerrit Dedel, an officer in the VOC, the East India Company (see Fig 3). In this case, the coat of arms is inscribed in a lozenge, meaning that it belongs to a young unmarried woman from this family.