Gold Thread Manufacturing in the 17
th-Century Netherlands
Master Thesis Technical Art History
Marélise Pollard
July 2019 10781110
Tabel of contents
Abstract ... 3
English ... 3
Nederlands ... 4
1. Introduction ... 6
2. Typography and history of gold thread ... 9
3. Gold thread in the Netherlands ... 10
3.1. Immigrants ... 11
3.2. Dutch luxury culture ... 12
4. Sources regarding the manufacturing process ... 13
5. Manufacturing process: Input ... 18
5.1 Materials ... 19 5.2. Tools ... 22 5.2.1. Gilding tools ... 23 5.2.2. Drawing tools ... 24 5.2.3. Flattening tools ... 31 5.2.4. Spinning tools ... 32 5.2.5. Purchasing tools ... 32 5.3. Workers ... 33 5.4. Workshops ... 34
6. Manufacturing process: production ... 36
6.1. Gilding ... 36 6.2. Engrossing ... 36 6.3. Drawing ... 37 6.4. Flattening ... 40 6.5. Spinning ... 43 6.7. A Dutch alternative ... 44
7. Manufacturing process: Output ... 45
7.1. Selling gold thread ... 47
7.2. Regulations and fraud ... 48
7.3. Application of gold thread ... 50
8. Conclusion ... 52
9. Discussion ... 52
10. Acknowledgements ... 53
11. Bibliography ... 54
Abstract
English
This thesis aims to give an understanding of the manufacturing process of gold thread in the 17th century Netherlands. Although its gold work is outstanding, little research has been done into Dutch 17th century manufacturing processes. This has probably to do with the fact that contemporary Dutch sources are less accessible to non-native speakers. During the investigation, it was discovered that the books Mozaïze history der hebreeuwse kerke (1700) by Willem Goeree and Kabinet der natuurlyke historien, wetenschappen, konsten en handwerken
volume 2 (1719) by Willem van Ranouw contain information that provide new insights about
the manufacturing process of gold thread. Especially Ranouw gives an elaborate description of how the gold thread was made and what materials and tools were required.
There are three different types of metal thread: thin metal strips that are worked into the fabric or wound around a fibrous core, metal wires which are wound creating a spiral and membrane strips, consisting of gold leaf applied on leather, parchment, paper or animal gut that is wound around a fibrous core. Metal strips were made by hammering gold plate onto silver plate and cutting it into strips or by gilding a silver rod, drawing it through a drawplate and flattening it with a hammer or mill. Drawn gold thread gained popularity during the 16th century.
In the Netherlands gold thread production only started to emerge at the beginning of the 17th century. This development can be explained by an increasing stream of immigrant-craftsmen and a growing luxury culture. By analysing contemporary as well as modern sources this research has shown that the manufacturing process consisted of many different steps. The process can be divided into three elements: input, production and output. The input included natural resources, capital and labour. The natural resources consisted of gold, silver and silk. The Netherlands acquired gold and silver mainly through trade. Gold thread drawers purchased their metal at the exchange bank. Silk was imported from Italy, the Levant, France, Persia, China and Bengal.
The production process required many different tools from which some were made of very pure steel. Most workshops were located in the Jordaan. Contracts indicate that they could consist of varying structures. The production process was divided into four specializations: engrossing, drawing, flattening and spinning. Gold thread made of silvered and gilded copper was developed as an alternative to imported gold thread. Gold thread was sold by the workshops themselves or by mediating merchants. Embroiderers made use of different types of gold thread such as plate, wire check, bright check, rough purl and smooth purl wires, in order to create patterns and embellishments to adorn the Dutch 17th century luxury objects.
Nederlands
Het doel van deze thesis is om een beter begrip te krijgen van het vervaardigingsproces van gouddraad in het 17e-eeuwse Nederland. Ondanks de hoge kwaliteit van Nederlands goudwerk, is er maar weinig onderzoek gedaan naar het vervaardigingsproces in de 17e eeuw. Dit heeft waarschijnlijk te maken met het feit dat eigentijdse Nederlandse bronnen minder toegankelijk zijn voor anderstaligen. Tijdens het onderzoek werd ontdekt dat de boeken Mozaïze history der
hebreeuwse kerke (1700) van Willem Goeree en Kabinet der natuurlyke historien, wetenschappen, konsten en handwerken volume 2 (1719) van Willem van Ranouw informatie
bevatten die nieuwe inzichten geven over het vervaardigingsproces van gouddraad. Vooral Ranouw geeft een uitgebreide beschrijving over hoe het gouddraad gemaakt werd en welke materialen en gereedschappen er werden gebruikt.
Er zijn drie soorten metaaldraad: dunne metalen strips die in de stof verwerkt worden of om een vezelachtige kern gewikkeld zijn, metaaldraden die in een spiraal gedraaid zijn en membraan strips die uit bladgoud op leer, perkament, papier of darm bestaan en om een vezelachtige kern gewikkeld zijn. Metalen strips worden gemaakt door een plaat goud op een plaat zilver te hameren en deze in strips te snijden of door het vergulden van een zilveren staaf die vervolgens door een trekplaat getrokken wordt en plat gemaakt wordt met een hamer of pletmolen. Getrokken gouddraad werd populair gedurende de 16e eeuw.
Gouddraadproductie ontstond in Nederland pas aan het begin van de 17e eeuw. Deze ontwikkeling kan verklaard worden door een toenemende stroom aan immigranten ambachtslieden en een groeiende luxe cultuur. Uit de analyse van eigentijdse en modern bronnen blijkt dat het vervaardigingsproces uit veel verschillende stappen bestaat. Het proces kan verdeeld worden in drie elementen: invoer, productie en uitvoer. De invoer bestaat uit natuurlijke bronnen, kapitaal en arbeid. Goud, zilver en zijde behoren tot de natuurlijke bronnen. Nederland verkreeg goud en zilver door handel. Gouddraadtrekkers kochten het vervolgens bij de wisselbank. De zijde werd geïmporteerd vanuit Italië, de Levant, Frankrijk, Perzië, China en Bengalen. Verschillende soorten gereedschap, waarvan een aantal van zeer puur staal gemaakt waren, waren nodig voor het productieproces. De meeste werkplaatsen bevonden zich in de Jordaan. Uit contracten kan opgemaakt worden dat deze uit verschillende structuren konden bestaan. Het productieproces was verdeeld in vier specialisaties: grosseren, trekken, pletten en spinnen. Gouddraadtrekkers uit Dordrecht ontwikkelde draad dat werd gemaakt van verguld en verzilverd koper als een alternatief voor geïmporteerd gouddraad. Werkplaatsen verkochten hun gouddraad zelf of maakten gebruik van bemiddelende koopmannen. Borduurders gebruikten verschillende types gouddraad zoals plaat, rond draad, geplet draad en ronde en platte cantilles voor de versiering van 17e-eeuwse luxe objecten.
1. Introduction
This Dutch description of the gold thread drawer derives from a series of prints by Jan and Casper Luyken from het Menselijk Bedryf that was published in 1694 (figure 1). The moralist poem connects virtue to the durability of gold thread. It also refers to the occupation of the gold thread drawer that is depicted in the print: drawing the gold thread through narrow iron holes. Its lustre and durability turned gold thread into a beloved material used to create luxurious objects. Gold thread has been used for the decoration of textiles from ancient times to the present day. In the 17th century, gold thread was woven into luxurious textiles and used for passementerie and so-called gold work: the art of embroidery using metal threads. Astonishing examples of Dutch objects that are embellished with goldwork are well illustrated by Saskia de Bodt in op de Raempte off mette Brodse: Nederlands borduurwerk uit de
zeventiende eeuw (1987). Among them are an early 17th-century knife case, a bookbinding from
1615, a chasuble from 1671 and a pair of wedding gloves from 1622 (figures 2-5). Unfortunately, many other objects have been lost because the precious gold thread was often reused or molten down.1
1 The melting down of gold thread is mentioned by J. le Francq Berkhey, a Dutch doctor, poet and writer, when he writes about an old Dutch cloth that was bought by his grandfather from a family of noble birth: “Daar benevens heb ik zelve […] zeer konstig gewerkte Passementen en Knoopjes van Gouddraad gezien: welke Kleederen zeer lang onder ons bewaard geweest, dog, by zekere boedelscheiding onder myne Familie, tot gangbaar goud versmolten zyn. Dog al genoeg hier van.” (Besides I have seen […] very skillful passementerie and buttons from gold thread: which garments were kept among us for a long time, but at a property settlement in my family, were molten into gold as it was common. There was enough of it anyway.) J. le Francq Berkley, Natuurlyke Historie van Holland deel 3 (Amsterdam: Yntema en Tieboel, 1772) 507.
De Gouddraadtrecker Deugd houd Jeugd. ’t Vergulde silver draad, getoogen Door d’enge poort van eys’re Oogen verliest zijn goudts gedaante niet: Den Vroomen gaat door naauwe weege En houd zijn luister, eerst verkreegen, Tot door den Dood, en al’t verdriet.
The Gold thread drawer Virtue retains Youth
The Gilded silver thread, drawn Through the narrow gate of iron Eyes does not lose its appearance:
The devout goes through narrow ways And keeps its luster, once obtained, Until Death, and all the sorrows.
Figure 2: Knife case, Anonymous, c. 1600-1625, leather, purple velvet, gold and silver thread, pearls, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum ÓRijksmuseum.
Figure 3: Book binding, Anonymous, c. 1615-1620, gold and silver thread, pearls, The Hague: Koningklijke Bibliotheek ÓKoningklijke Bibliotheek.
Figure 4: Chasuble, Anonymous, 1671, red velvet and gold thread, Utrecht: Museum Catharijne Convent ÓMuseum Catharijne Convent.
Figure 5: Wedding gloves, Anonymous, c. 1622, wax leather, silk, gold thread, pearls, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum ÓRijksmuseum.
Gold thread consists of metal strips that were used either directly, or more often, spun around a textile thread, mostly silk. In the 17th century the metal strips consisted of gilded silver or sometimes copper. Because the metal strips were not completely made out of gold, the term “metal thread” would be more fitting. This thesis however, will use the term “gold thread” because contemporary Dutch literature always refers to “gouddraad” or “goutdraet” when talking about gilded silver or copper thread.
The gold threads are so fine that curators and restorers often are amazed by its extreme thinness. The question arises how such fine gold thread was actually made in the 17th century. Gold thread has been researched quite extensively over the years. A lot of research has already been done into the deterioration and cleaning methods of metal threads. For example, in
Gilded silver threads: corrosion and cleaning (2011), Ingrid Jiménez-Cosme and Jannen
Contreras-Vargas describe that gold thread that consist of gilded silver often suffers from corrosion due to silvers’ high sensitivity to sulphur. Conservation treatments to remove corrosion are classified as physical, using an abrasive, chemical, using acids and electrolytic techniques. Scientific analysis - in most cases SEM-EDX - is often applied in order to say something about characterization and deterioration of gold thread. Texts on conservation of gold thread sometimes dedicate a chapter to the manufacturing process in which general steps such as drawing, flattening and spinning are cited. Most publications then refer to publications by Márta Járó, who elaborately researched the production techniques of European metal thread. In Gold Embroidery and Fabrics in Europe: XI-XIV Centuries. She gives a typography of different kinds of gold threads and how they were made. She argues that publications on textile history contain little information on metal threads and that more rigorous research has been carried out on some specific finds. She states that comparative studies of the origins and techniques of the manufacturing of metal threads based on analytical data started only around 1980. These studies, however, are by no means sufficient to reconstruct all manufacturing techniques, nor do they establish where, when and how the making of the different kinds of metal thread started. Following Járó, Anna Karatzani presents a clear overview of different types of gold thread and the way they were produced in Metal Threads: the historic
development (2007). Sandra Savelli researched historical manufacturing methods of metal
thread in her master thesis Metal threads in 17th century textiles; Art-technological Research
and Characterization of Burgzand North 17 Metal Threads. Next to literature research, Savelli
performed scientific analysis on metal threads found on 17th century marine archaeological textile fragments in order to say something about its manufacturing process.
The existing scientific knowledge, however, lacks profound research into specific areas, traditions and workshop practices. The Dutch 17th century is a good example of such an unexposed area. Although its goldwork is outstanding, little research has been done into its gold thread manufacturing tradition. This has probably to do with the fact that contemporary Dutch sources are less accessible to non-native speakers. Only the publication by Marianne Eisma - Amsterdams goud en silverdraad (1999) discusses 17th and 18th century Amsterdam gold and silver thread manufacturers, using four advertisement prints. She tries to explain the prints using a publication from 1765: Amsterdam, zyne opkomst, aanwassen, geschiedenissen,
voorregten, koophandel, gebouwen, kerkenstaat, schoolen, schutterye, gilden en regeeringe by
Jan Wagenaar. Eisma, however, was not aware of some earlier writings that give a more elaborate description of the craft and therefore is not able to fully interpret the prints and the steps that were required to make gold thread. During the investigation, it was discovered that the books Mozaïze history der hebreeuwse kerke (1700) by Willem Goeree and Kabinet der
natuurlyke historien, wetenschappen, konsten en handwerken volume 2 (1719) by Willem van
Ranouw contain information about the production of gold thread.2 These sources have never been examined in context to gold thread manufacture before and are of great relevance as they add a substantial amount of new information to the existing knowledge.
Unlike previous research, this master thesis will give a comprehensive description of the 17th-century manufacturing process of gold thread in the Netherlands. The term “manufacturing” refers to the process that converts raw materials to a finished and saleable product. This process can be divided into three elements: input, production and output. Input covers the natural resources, capital (tools and workspace) and labour that is required for the production of gold thread. The production refers to the physical transformation of raw materials into the final product. The output includes the final product as well as its sale and application. To give a full understanding of this manufacturing tradition, this thesis will not only focus on how gold thread was produced in the 17th-century Netherlands, but also why it was produced. The structure of the thesis will be largely based on the three elements of the manufacturing process. This will be introduced with a typography and history of gold thread and by explaining the contribution of the 17th century Netherlands to the history of gold thread production.
This thesis originated from a personal interest in gilding techniques. Given this preference, the textiles conservation studio of the Rijksmuseum proposed to me to investigate the manufacturing of gold thread. Understanding the manufacturing process helps to better interpret artworks in a physical and (art) historical way. By studying sources such as historic descriptions, manuals, prints, contracts and notarial deeds as well as modern sources like gold work embroidery manuals and a still-working gold thread factory in Bedworth, the manufacturing process can be reconstructed. The above-mentioned pair of wedding gloves will be used as a reference in order to illustrate the process more extensively. These sources give a glimpse of the practices, workshops and craftspeople through which great works were created. To fill the gap in existing literature on manufacturing processes in the Netherlands, this thesis takes a more descriptive approach and focusses on artistic, historic and economic factors. By involving these different factors, the thesis takes on the multi-faceted approach that is characteristic for the study of technical art history.
2. Typography and history of gold thread
In general, there are three different types of metal thread: thin metal strips that are worked into the fabric or wound around a fibrous core, metal wires which are wound creating a spiral and membrane strips, consisting of gold leaf applied on leather, parchment, paper or animal gut that is wound around a fibrous core.
Although gold thread has been used since ancient times, its construction and composition changed during history. The earliest surviving gold thread, found in a Macedonian royal tomb in Vergina, was made of pure gold that was hammered into a thin foil and cut into strips of about 0.3-0.4 mm wide. The textile was dated from the 4th century BC.3 At some point the technique of winding the gold strip around a fibrous core was invented. This innovation marked the first major change in metal thread production. Although the exact date of this innovation is not known, it was already used during the late Roman period.4 This type of gold
3 M. Flury-Lemberg, Textile Conservation and Research (Bern: Abegg Stiftung, 1988), 224-26.
thread has been identified in Spain in a textile fragment, excavated at the ancient Roman necropolis of Cádiz.5 The textile belonged to a young woman and was found in a burial place that is dated to the Augustinian period, between the end of the 1st century BC and the beginning of the 1st AD. The spiralled strip was made of pure gold. It had a width of 0.2 mm and a thickness of 3.6 microns. The gold strip was twisted in a Z direction (right-hand spun) around a thread core, typical for the Northern Roman provinces.6
Gold thread consisting of gold strips that were spun around a fibrous core gained popularity over the single gold strips because it was easier to handle. The strips followed the shape of the organic yarns and became long and malleable enough to be woven into fabric or to be used for embroidery.7 The use of another type of gold thread, called membrane thread, began to spread in the 11th century. These flexible threads eased the weaving process, reduced the weight of the fabric and also decreased the cost.8 Because the membrane was gilded instead of a silver plate, less metal was needed.
Gold threads made from gilded silver strips wound around a fibrous core were already used during the 9th century and spread during the 12th and 13th century. There were two types of gilt strips: those that were made by hammering gold onto silver and cutting it into strips and those that were made by gilding a silver rod, drawing it through a drawplate and flattening it with a hammer or mill. The cut strips, also described as “or de Milan” or Milanese gold thread, were only gilded on the external surface and the drawn strips were gilded on all surfaces. Although archaeological findings prove that the first examples of drawn gold thread in European textiles date from the 9th to 10th century, it is not certain if this technique was already used by European gold thread manufacturers.9 Agnes Geijer suggests that these drawn wires were imported from Byzantium via Russia10 and also Járó claims that they might have been imported from the east.11
By the 16th century Milanese gold thread and membrane thread were used less frequently, as drawn gold thread had gained popularity. An elaborate description of drawing gold thread was provided by the Italian metallurgist Vannoccio Biringuccio in his manual on metal working The Pirotechnia (c. 1540).12 In the coming centuries drawn gold thread became the standard type of thread and even today it is still widely produced.
3. Gold thread in the Netherlands
As mentioned above, the making of spun gold thread already spread through Europe during the middle ages. In the Netherlands however, gold thread production only started to emerge
5 C.A. Giner, The Roman Textile industry and its influence (Oxbow Books, 2001) 77-83. 6 Wild, Textile Manufacture in the Northern Roman Provinces, 38.
7 Anna Karatzani, “Metal threads: the historic development,” in Textiles and Dress in Greece and the Roman East: a
Technological and Social Approach, ed. Tzachili, I & Zimi El (Athens: Ta pragmata Publications, 2012) 57.
8 Márta Járó, “Gold embroidery and fabrics in Europe: XI XIV centuries,” Gold Bulletin 23, no. 2 (June 1990): 51. 9 The threads were found in Birka. Karatzani, “Metal threads: the historic development,” 58.
10 Agnes Geijer, Cloth and clothing in Medieval Europe (Portsmouth: Heinemann Publishing, 1983) 89. 11 Járó 1990a, 43 Gold embroidery and fabrics in Europe XI-XIV centuries. Gold Bulletin, 23, 40-57.
12 Martha Gnudi and Cyril Smith, The Pirotechnia of Vannoccio Biringuccio: The Classic Sixteenth Century: Teatrise on Metals
at the beginning of the 17th century.13 Before gold thread manufacturing arose in the Netherlands, merchants imported it from other countries. In 1592 for example, merchant Guillame Janssen bought his gold thread from a merchant in Goch, Germany.14 The rise of Dutch gold thread production can be explained by two factors: the Netherlands underwent an increasing stream of immigrants-craftsmen and experienced a growing luxury culture.
3.1. Immigrants
From the late 16th century, tens of thousands of immigrants came to the Netherlands, in particular to Amsterdam. Between 1585 and 1632 the population increased from 30.000 to 120.000 people. Amsterdam was an attractive city because of its favourable economic climate and its tolerant approach towards other cultures and religions.15 Immigrants brought their professions with them. A very important specialization that was brought to Amsterdam with the Flemish immigrants was the silk and luxury textile industry. They produced luxurious silk fabrics, new kinds of woolen and linen fabrics, borat, kaffa, velour and passementerie work. Many of them settled in the Jordaan, a new neighbourhood that was built during the expansion of the city from 1609 to 1613. Especially the Bloemstraat and its side streets were inhabited by these luxury textile workers.16 It is likely that this growing industry of luxury textiles increased the demand for gold thread. This new market invited immigrant-craftsmen to establish a gold thread industry in the Netherlands.
Although there were some Dutch gold thread drawers like Harmen Outhuys (1593-1648),17 most gold thread drawers came from abroad. Unlike the luxury textile workers, they did not come from one specific region as a group, but they arrived individually from all over Europe. They brought their personal craftsmanship, talent and knowledge and introduced the craft to the Dutch people.18 Outhuys for example, had an English worker that had to draw 25 ounces of very fine silver thread every week. Some were even invited to come to the Netherlands.19 In 1613 the Italian wire drawer Jan Andrea Turato received 120 guilders from the city council of Amsterdam for advising the mayors how to establish the craft of making gold and silver thread in Amsterdam. During this time the city council aimed to solve unemployment by financially supporting the establishment of new enterprises. It is not sure if this plan ever materialized. Gold thread drawers in England stated, in a petition from 1661, that English drawers were invited to Holland to teach Dutch drawers how to make gold thread.20 In 1624 Pieter Lefebure and Carel Cotteman, two Flemish merchants who ran a gold thread drawing
13 Marianne Eisma, “Amsterdams goud en silverdraad,” Textilhistoriche bijdragen 39 (1999) 69.
14 Declaration November 7, 1592: concerning the underweight of a batch of gold and silver thread. Notarial Archive 42f. 113v. Notary L. Heylinck.
15 Hendrica Kuijpers, Migrantenstad: Immigratie en sociale verhoudingen in 17e-eeuws Amsterdam (Hilversum: Verloren,
2005) 9-15.
16 Kuijpers, Migrantenstad, 155.
17 Harmen Outhuys will be discussed more in the chapter about workshops and workmen. 18 Kuijpers, Migrantenstad, 215.
19 Eisma, “Amsterdams goud en silverdraad,”69.
20 The petition is addressed to the king, the lords spiritual and temporal and the commons assembled in parlement. The humble petition of many thousand hand-spiners of gold and silver thread in the behalf of themselves, and others that make a livelyhood in by making and vending gold and silver wyre, thread, lace, ribbons, buttons, hatbands, imbrodery, spangles, purles, Oaes, in London and suburbs. 1661.
company, hired Pierre Milbourgh, a gold thread drawer from Geneva.21 Other gold thread drawers that came from abroad were Abraham Asselijn, Jacob Mollet, Robert Piquart, Lambert Chaussi, Pierre de la Lee and Jean Misson. Like the luxury textile workers, the gold thread drawers settled in the Jordaan as will be discussed further in the chapter about workshops.
The gold thread drawing craft can be attributed to the so-called “new labor market”22, the new industries that arose due to the flourishing trading position of the Netherlands. Unlike the established professions, those of the new labour market were not controlled by guilds. A favourable economic climate, tolerant approach towards other cultures and religions as well as the absence of guild regulations made the gold thread craft attractive and accessible for immigrants.
3.2. Dutch luxury culture
The favourable Dutch economic climate during the 17th century can be attributed to the fact that the Netherlands was one of the leading trading powers in Europe. The Netherlands was a centre of European trade and most of the goods from America and Asia came in via Amsterdam.23 Most profits were gained, however, from trade with the Baltic Sea, where mostly Mediterranean products were exchanged for wood and grain. A growing trade position enabled the development of the industry and new branches of industries. By providing patents the States General deliberately developed domestic luxury industries. Merchants and manufacturers as well as craftsmen profited from new working possibilities. People with a tight budget could participate by joining an association. In this way they worked together and shared the profits.24 Especially immigrant-craftsmen helped to establish new luxury industries by bringing their knowledge and skill to the Republic. In this bustling and growing economy, the demand for luxury goods steadily increased, to the benefit of both the home market and international trade.25 A gift from the States General to the Sultan of Turkey in 1613 that consists of a collection of the best products of the Republic, gives an indication of the luxury goods that the Dutch were proud of. The list of gifts describes various luxurious textiles, furniture, earthenware, works of glass, tapestries, books, maps, tulips, engravings and more.
Although the Dutch 17th century is often considered to be sober and black, this did not mean that people actually refrained from all luxury.26 After the Reformation, within both Catholicism and Protestantism, individual freedom in dress was restricted, which is reflected in high-necked and stately clothing. The Catholics showed generally more splendour than the protestants, but also the protestants favoured some luxury on special occasions. By 1614 voices began to be raised in protest against the unsuitably frivolous and luxurious fashion. Pastor Jacobus Trigland devoted an entire sermon to the subject in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam on
21 Notarial deed from Januari 2, 1624 in which Pierre Mibourgh from Geneva is assigned to purchase tools in London. Not. Arch. 659. Not Jan Warnaertsz. Van Dillen II No. 906. P.517.
22 Kuijpers introduces the term “nieuwe arbeidsmarkt” (new labour market) in a chapter about the establishment of more than 30 guilds between 1500-1700. Migrantenstad – Immigratie en sociale verhoudingen in 17e eeuws Amsterdam. P 221. 23 J.L. Price, Nederlandse cultuur in de gouden eeuw (Utrecht: Het spectrum, 1976) 42.
24 Price, Nederlandse cultuur in de gouden eeuw, 46-47.
25 Johannes Pietsch and Anna Jolly, Netherlandish fashion in the 17th century (Riggisberg: Abegg-Stiftung, 2012) 21.
the 23rd of February. He berated the women who were so brazen as to come to the Lord’s Table “bedecked and bedizened with your embroidery most sumptuously wrought […] on which the gold and the pearls must lie thick.”27 The 17th century moralist Petrus Wittwrongel on the other hand wrote in his Oeconomia christiana ofte Christelicke huys-houdinge “not only are we allowed to furnish our dwellings with things that are needed, it is also allowed to strive for our comfort and the enjoyment of abundance.”28 Furnishing and dress had to be sober but not necessarily poor.
The craving for luxury in home furnishing and dress may have been considered a sin by most moralists, but as Rentgenier Ruttersma points out in his book Luxury in the Low Countries, things were different as far as important occasions within one’s life. Luxury goods were often highly decorated with expensive materials to very high standards. They functioned as markers of prosperity, devotion and status and as a medium to emphasize the importance people attached to God, the bible, the community, homely life, family relations, birth and marriage.29 A good example is the pair of wedding gloves from 1621 that was previously in the introduction. As Bianca du Mortier explains, motives like the peacock, the basket and the folded hands are inspired by love and marriage. The gloves can be interpreted as a token of wealth and status.30 In this display of riches, the abundance of gold thread is not at all misplaced.
4. Sources regarding the manufacturing process
Because the craft of making gold thread established itself in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century and most likely required time to develop, sources that give a description of the Dutch production process only started to appear at the end of the 17th century. The first description of the production process of gold thread derives from 1700 and can be found in the
Mosaize History der Hebreeuwse Kerke by Willem Goeree (1635-1711). Goeree, also known
under the pseudonym Simon Witgeest, was a writer, bookseller and publisher. He was especially known for his works on art and biblical history. The Mosaize History der Hebreeuwse
Kerke discusses the Jewish history based on a critical explanation on the Mosaic bible books. In
a chapter about Aron’s “Ephod” or “Schouder-kleed” (scapular), he presents two passages of the bible that mention gold thread. The first passage explains how gold thread is woven into the scapular.31 The book contains a print by Jan Luyken that depicts Aron fitting the vestment and illustrates the scapular from up close. It is decorated wonderfully with a floral pattern that is presented in a separate plane (fig.6). The second passage, Exodus 39: 2-3, gives the first known written record about the decoration of textiles with gold thread:
27 W.J. op ‘t Hof, Het gereformeerde piëtisme (Houten: Den Hertog, 2005).
28 “Niet alleen en moghen wij oock/ met alleen noodighen huys-raet onse wooningen stoffeeren: ende van alles/ wat soo in de keucken, ende de bysondere kameren, tot nootsaeckelick gebruyk […] vereyscht wert. Het is oock geoorloft, daer in ons gemack, ende het gerief tot overvloet te be-oogen”. P. Wissewrongel, Oeconomia christiana ofte Christelicke huys-houdinge (Asterdam, widow of Marten Jansz. Brant and Abraham van den Burgh: 1661) 145-147.
29 Rittersma, Luxury in the low countries, 139.
30 Bianca M. du Mortier, “De Handschoen in de huwelijkssymboliek van de 17e eeuw.” Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 32, no. 4 (1984) 197.
Figure 6: Fitting of Aron’s scapular, Jan Luyken, c. 1680-1700, copper engraving, Amsterdam: Joods Historisch Museum ÓJoods Historisch Museum.
32
According to Goeree, this text refers to an old technique of making flat gold thread or ‘Milanese gold thread’. This flat thread is used for making brocade cloth, gold cloth, passementerie, galons, lace, embroidery and buttons. He interprets the production process as: “Dungeslagen Plaaten, in Riemen gesneeden hadden, waar of Draaden gemaakt wierden” (thinly hammered plates, which they had cut into strips, that were made into threads).33
The technique of making these strips from gilded silver is well described by Theophilus Presbyter in his On Divers Arts from c. 1122. Much later, in 1540 the same process is presented by Vannoccio Biringuccio in his The Pirotechnia. First, as Biringuccio explains, a golden bar was hammered onto a silver bar of the same size (figure 7). For every pound of silver, a ducat of gold was needed. These were laid together and then put on a little furnace of charcoal. By blowing on it, the bars were soldered together and rubbed with a greased stick of well-dried elder. When the gold and silver were well soldered, the bar was beaten with a hammer with a
32 Goeree uses the term “Draad” (thread or wire) but translation. It can be: strands, wires or threads. Later it is then worked into the linen cloth. What is meant exactly by ‘work it in’ is not sure. If it refers to weaving or embroidery, most likely the spun thread was used but if not it could also be lose gold strips that were made seamlessly round by rolling the strips between two flat surfaces. Mary Brown, Goldwork Embroidery Mary Brown (Crookwell: Selly Milner Pubilshing, 2007) 61. 33 Willem Goeree, Mosaïze historie der Hebreeuwse kerke (Amsterdam: Willem en David Goeree, 1700) 222.
Zy rekten uyt de dunne Plaaten van Goud, en sneeden ’t tot Draaden, om te doen in ’t midden van ’t Heemels-Blaauw en in ’t midden des Purpers ende in ’t midden van ‘t Fijn Linnen van’t Alderkonstelijkste Werk. Willem Goeree
They did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into threads, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.
very flat head until it was as thin as desired. Theophilus also mentioned that these threads were used for weaving golden fringes.34
Figure 7: Men beating gold plate onto a silver plate with a hammer. The Pirotechnia by Biringuccio Óganoksin.com
Goeree compares this technique with the contemporary flat thread called “klinkant”, after the French term “clinquant”. He explains that instead of cutting a metal plate into strips, a very fine wire of silvered and gilded copper is drawn on a drawing bench and then flattened on a flattening mill. He continues with explaining that, in contrast to the gold threads for the scapular of Aron that consisted of pure gold, gold thread was made of copper, which was silvered and gilded.35 Although first silvered and then gilded copper wire was seen as false thread at the beginning of the 17th century, it became more accepted in the following centuries and nowadays it has even become the standard. Goeree gives a description of how the gold thread is gilded and drawn. These kinds of threads were used for making brocade cloth, gold cloth, passementerie, galons, buttons and more.36
In the 18th century, the craft of making gold thread was fully established in the Netherlands. This appears from a “placaat” (placard) that is published in 1776 from the States General:
“[…]en eindelyk het vertrouwen der buitenlanders op de deugtsaamheid der bovengemelde Hollandse Fabricqen, uit welkers hoofde verscheide considerable verzendingen van Goud- en Silverdraad van hier na de Oost en West zyn, en worden gedaan”37 (and finally the trust of
34Theophilus in the Chapter 77. Soldering Gold and Silver together. Theophilus, Presbyter. On Divers Arts. Translated by John
G. Hawthorne and Cyril Stanly Smith (New York: Dover publications, 1979) 156.
35 Goeree, Mosaïze historie der Hebreeuwse kerke, 223.
36 Toye Kenning & Spencer Ltd. use gilded and silvered copper because it is cheaper and stronger than gilded silver. 37 Resolutien van de Staten Generaal van Holland en Westvriesland (published in 1776) 838.
foreigners about the virtue of the above mentioned Dutch products, from which several considerable shipments of gold and silver thread from here to East and West are done) In the Age of the Enlightenment the book industry and interest for scientific literature and natural history increased. Together with the establishment of the craft, this resulted in an increasing number of writings about the production process of gold thread. A far more extensive description than the one of Goeree appears in 1719, when Willem van Ranouw (1670-1724) writes about the gold thread drawers and the making process of gold thread in his book Kabinet der natuurlyke historien, wetenschappen, konsten en handwerken, Volume 2. The book also contains a print by Jan Wandelaar (1690-1759) illustrating the workshop and its practices very meticulously (figure 8). All the tools are numbered and referred to from the text. Ranouw visited the workshop himself in order to get a good impression of the craft.
In 1726 De Koophandel van Amsterdam, naar alle gewesten des weerelds, bestaande in
een verhandelinge van de waaren en koopmanschappen Jacques Le Moine de L’Espine
dedicates a chapter to Lingotten (ingots), the basic material for the gold thread drawer38. He first explains how the gold thread drawer could purchase these ingots. This part is copied almost word for word by Egbert Buys for the term “Lingot or Lingotten” in his Nieuw en
volkomen woordenboek van konsten en weetenschappen from 1778. Le Moine de L’Estpine
continues with explaining how gold thread is made. Except from the first part about purchasing ingots, the text is most likely a summary from Ranouw’s description. Both texts relate the thickness of the thread in different stages to the thickness of a thin broomstick, a tobacco pipe and, at the final stage, thinner than a human hair. Although these terms could have been common use in the gold thread craft, Le Moine de L’Espine also follows the same structure and uses exactly the same names for the tools and processes.
The same applies for a chapter on gold thread drawers in Amsterdam, zyne opkomst,
aanwassen, geschiedenissen, voorregten, koophandel, gebouwen, kerkenstaat, schoolen, schutterye, gilden en regeeringe by Jan Wagenaar (1765). This chapter gives an even shorter
description of the craft but also uses the same terms and structure. Wagenaar however writes mostly about the 17th century, because the gold thread drawing business is in his times not as flourishing as it used to be.39
In 1778 Noël Chomel dedicates a small part on gold thread in his chapter “Nuttigheid en het gebruik des Gouds” (usefulness and the application of gold) in Algemeen
Huishoudelijk-, natuur-Huishoudelijk-, zedekunstig- en konstwoordenboek.40 He briefly explains that gold thread is made
from pure gold or gilded silver rods that are drawn into thread and then flattened. Although specific materials and tools are not mentioned, the procedure is similar to those of the previous writers.
38 Ingots in this case are silver rods that are purchased at the “Wisselbank” (Exchange Bank). The subject will be explained more the chapter about materials.
39 In the 18th century, some countries had put a restriction on wearing gold and silver fabrics and Amsterdam only had six or seven gold thread manufacturers left.
The writings by Goeree, Ranouw, Le Moine de L’Espine, Wagenaar and Chomel should not be interpreted as manuals but as descriptions of the gold thread craft. Only Ranouws text accompanied by Wandelaar’s Print is extensive enough to get a good idea of every single step required to make gold thread. More information about the manufacturing process can be extracted from contracts, ordonnances and notarial deeds from city archives. J.G. van Dillen has made a lot of Amsterdam sources accessible in his Bronnen tot de geschiedenis en het
bedrijfsleven en gildewezen van Amsterdam.
Next to written sources, images provide a lot of information about the gold thread craft as well. In 1694 Het Menselijk Bedryf was published in Amsterdam. This book contained more than 100 prints of different professions. The prints were made by Jan and his son Casper Luyken. The print of the gold thread drawer (1694) gives a good idea of the drawing procedure. Also an advertisement print from the workshop of Abraham van Wylick (1706) by Casper Luycken is very helpful in interpreting the craft (figure 9). Their prints were clearly known by the German publisher and engraver Christoph Weigel from Neurenberg. He copied at least 86 of their engravings. He also used some of their prints in his book Abbildung der
Gemein-Nüzlichen Haupt-Stände […] biss auf alle Künstler und Handwerker […].Between 1699 and 1711
Weigel published a book by Abraham a Sancta Clara called Etwas für Alle.41 He again used the prints of the Luykens and added some new ones, for instance a woman that is spinning gold thread. This print seems to be the only known image of spinning gold thread in the 17th century.
At last, modern sources can provide a better understanding of the gold thread manufacturing process. A good example is Toye Kenning & Spencer Ltd., a manufacturer of jewellery and clothing. When the Toyé family arrived in England in 1685 as Huguenot refugees, they continued their traditional family business of lace-making, weaving, embroidery and the making of gold and silver thread. The textile department, responsible for making several types of gold thread and its application, is located in Bedworth. Their equipment and tools are surprisingly similar to those of the 17th century. The most important difference is that the drawing procedure is powered by motor instead of by hand. The employees responsible for making gold thread are the people that are closest to the craftsmen of the 17th century. They are able to give an idea of how a technique or material works and especially why they were used. They can provide insight in the so-called tacit knowledge that often cannot be extracted from (contemporary) written sources.
Figure 8: Gold thread workshop, Jan Wandelaar, c. 1719, engraving Óarchive.com
Figure 9: Advertisement print of Abraham van Wylick, Caspar Luyken, 1706, etching, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum ÓRijksmuseum.
5. Manufacturing process: Input
Input, or factors of production, refers to what is required to produce output: the finished goods. The input includes three basic factors of production: labour, capital and natural resources. Labour consists of the human effort that assists in production. In this case it is the worker who applies his or her efforts, abilities and skill to produce. Capital can be interpreted as all the manmade resources used in the production process. This includes workshops, tools and equipment. The natural resources or materials are in this case mainly gold, silver and silk. In this chapter Amsterdam will be the main focus because its workshops and workers are well documented.
5.1 Materials
Figure 10: Electron microscopic image of a cross-section of round wire from BK-1978-48 Ó Rijksmuseum.
Figure 10 is an electron microscopic image of a cross-section of a round wire from the wedding gloves. It shows that the wire has a large silver core that is surrounded by a very thin layer of gold.42 The thin layer of gold (approximately 1.8 um) contrasts almost white against the grey silver. According to Ranouw, the gold used for gold thread had to be the purest and softest gold. In Europe gold and silver could be found in many places. There were mines in the Alpine and Spanish mountains, Colchos (centered in present-day western Georgia), Lorraine, Friburg and other places in France, Portugal, Poland, Italy and Saxony. Ranouw however, says that writing about gold mines in Europe is barely worth it as little work is done there anymore. The only noteworthy mines are in Hungary. Mine cities such as Schemnitz, Schremnitz, Nieufol, Koningsbergen, Libeten, Bochantz and Tiln delivered good quality gold, as well as silver. In general, the ore consisted of 7/8 part silver and 1/8 part gold. In the Netherlands however, silver and gold were not mined on a substantial scale but were obtained through trade.43 Precious metals, coins as well as bullion, can be considered one of the most important export products of the Netherlands.44 Many countries considered their gold and silver stock to be of
42 Sample number 7 derives from the wedding gloves BK-1978-48.
43 Willem van Ranouw. Kabinet der natuurlyke historien, wetenschappen, konsten en handwerken, Volume 2 (Amsterdam: Hendrik Slik, 1719) 177-182.
44 This is firmly argued by van Dillen and Mees and Schimmel in Geschiedkundig overzicht van het muntwezen in Nederland. The export of bullion was forbidden in the first half of the 17th century but already before the end of the 80 years war this
great importance for the power of the state, as it was a stable buffer. With a prevailing mercantile policy in mind, they forbade the export gold and silver to keep it in inland circulation. In contrast to neighbouring countries, the Netherlands did not have strict regulations against the export of money and precious metal. It was used to purchase goods from all over the world that were sold to third parties.
Silver was purchased from the Spanish who mined it in the Americas. Even during the 80 years war, trade between the Netherlands and Spain continued.45 Gold came in through the Dutch companies that traded with the Gold Coast on the Gulf of Guinea. In the beginning of the 17th century about 2000 pounds of fine bullion Guinea gold arrived in the Netherlands every year.46 Around 1620 there were about six Dutch companies trafficking with the Gold Coast. They were competing so fiercely that the price in copper goods and linen that the Dutch were paying to obtain gold from the Africans had risen steadily.47 In 1621 the WIC (West Indian Company) acquired the trade monopoly in the Gold Coast.48
Most precious metal was kept in the ‘Wisselbank’ (Exchange Bank). Here, foreign money of lesser value could be exchanged for high value money. Merchants were invited to bring their high value money to the bank because this enabled them to build up credit. The bank did not only exchange money and precious metal, it also took part in purchase and sale. The gold that was brought in from the Gold Coast by the WIC for example, was sold to the VOC (Dutch East India Company) with great profit. The VOC needed the precious metals to trade with Asia because it was almost the only product for which the Asians would trade their spices and other luxurious items. The bank had a great disposal of coins and raw precious metals.
In 1609 the first exchange bank was founded in Amsterdam, in 1615 a second bank opened in Middelburg and in 1635 a third one in Rotterdam. Especially the Amsterdam Bank was an important financial centre with a worldwide reputation. Every transaction above the 600 guilders in Amsterdam had to be paid through the Amsterdam Bank which made it the centre of the Amsterdam Trade. The gold and silver coins that were made by the bank were known for their good quality. When in 1621 the English government had the intention of shutting down the making, wearing and vending of gold thread because of its bad quality, the English gold thread drawers proposed to purchase good quality bullion in Holland and Spain. Because of the need for high quality metal, it is not surprising that the gold thread drawer got his silver at the exchange bank. An ordonnance from 1656 even mentions that the use of silver
changed. See J.G. van Dillen, “Amsterdam als wereldmarkt der edele metalen in de 17e en 18e eeuw,” De Economist 72, no. 1 (1923) 589.
45 Spain could not miss the trade and shipping from the Dutch. Often under different flags and names, false passports and mediating merchants from different nationalities. Silver also probably did not come in directly from Spain into the Dutch harbors but went to other harbors first. This can be indicated by a document at the States General from a merchant from Leiden who states that it is common to import Spanish silver through Hamburg. After the war, silver could came in directly from Spain.Van Dillen, “Amsterdam als wereldmarkt der edele metalen in de 17e en 18e eeuw,” 543-547.
46 Van Dillen, “Amsterdam als wereldmarkt der edele metalen in de 17e en 18e eeuw,” 546.
47 According to Samuel Blommaert, the private Guinea companies had, by 1620, been exchanging seventy to 80 pounds of copperware for every two ounces of Guinea gold. The West Indian Company (WIC) was able to exchange only 35 pounds of copper goods for every two ounces of gold. Jonathan I. Israel, Dutch Primacy in World Trade 1585-1740
from somewhere else was strictly forbidden.49 The gold thread drawer went to the “Kamer van de Heeren Commissarissen” (Chamber of the Gentlemen Commissioners) that informed him how much money he had to spend. The bank then exchanged the money for silver in the shape of ‘lingotten’ or ‘langotten’ (ingots). Such ingots had a weight of 18 pounds and the thickness of a thin broomstick. An advertisement print from Christaan Beuning from 1697 (figure 11) depicts the ingots as they are held and weighed by the men on the left. According to Wagenaar the ingots were made in four types of qualities: from 11 penningen and 23 grein (99,7 % silver), 11 penningen and 20 grein (98,6% silver), 11 penningen and 18 grein (97,9% silver) and 11 penningen and 16 grein (97,2% silver).50 The last type however, was not allowed to be used for gold thread. The essayeur of the bank tested the ingots and gave them marks. According to Jaques le Moin de L‘Espine the prices ranged from 24 gilders and 8 pennies to 23 gilders and 13,5 pennies (nowadays that would be approximately 280 euro per ingot).
The ingots were gilded with gold leaf. As gold leaf was often beaten from coins it is likely that the gold was purchased at the exchange bank too. The gold thread drawer could purchase the gold leaf (sometimes through merchants) at the gold beater or make it themselves. A contract from 1924 mentions that the merchants Pieter Lefebure and Carel Cotteman instructed the gold thread drawer Piere Milbough to go to London and buy two good mills to beat gold and silver leaf with. This suggests that the gold leaf was beaten at their own workshop. Aarnout Nulck also had his own gold leaf press.51
In the 17th century Netherlands, silk was the main material to be used as a core material. Its shine was an important feature as it enhanced the shine of the thin gold thread. As Sjoukje Colenbrander describes in her dissertation When Weaving Flourished: The Silk Industry in
Amsterdam and Haarlem, 1585-1750, the Republic was always entirely dependent on imports
for its supply of silk. There had been attempts to produce silk in the Netherlands, but they had always failed. Up to the beginning of the 17th century, silk yarn, the so-called thrown silk, was produced in Italy and the Levant. In the course of the 17th century, merchants began to import silk from France. The Persian market, which opened to the VOC in 1623, also delivered various types and qualities of silk. In the first half of the 17th century, the types of silk available were expanded by silks from China and Bengal. Silk that came in through individual merchants was sold with the help of brokers; silk that was transported by the VOC was auctioned in their various chambers.52 The next step was to have the threads dyed by the silk dyers. Silk that was used for gold thread was dyed yellow or orange-yellow. Because small parts of the silk yarn often remained visible after spinning the gold thread, the colour was of great importance for the appearance of the gold thread. Figure 12 illustrates the different appearance in colour when the gold is spun around yellow or orange yarn.
49 Ordonnance November 22, 1656: gold and silver thread drawers are only allowed to use gold and silver ingots that are purchased at the exchange bank. Keurboek N. f. 28. Gedrukt; Noordkerk p. 1093.
50 The alloy of silver was expressed in penningen. Pure silver consisted of 12 penningen. Every Penning was divided into 24 grein.
51 Inventory Februari 29, 1652: Aernout Nulck, gold thread drawer, living on the Nieuwe Leliestraat. An engrossing iron, another engrossing iron with 5 holes, an iron press with two shapes, to beat gold with. Notarial archive 2088. Notary Joh. Hellerus.
Figure 11: Advertisement print of Abraham van Wylick, Caspar Luyken, 1697, etching, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum ÓRijksmuseum.
Figure 12: two bobbins with spun gold thread. Left: spun on yellow core, right: spun on orange core, Bedworth: Toye Kenning & Spencer Ltd ÓMarélise Pollard.
5.2. Tools
During the gold thread production process many tools were required. All the tools that were needed for drawing and flattening gold thread are depicted by Wandelaar and described by Ranouw (figure 13). Most tools can be directly connected to the inventories of several drawers and flatteners that were active in the 17th century. This chapter provides an overview of the basic equipment needed for the manufacture of gold thread. The usage of these tools will be further explained in the chapter about the production process.
Figure 13: Gold thread workshop with red numbers, Jan Wandelaar, c. 1719, engraving Óarchive.com.
5.2.1. Gilding tools
Furnace
Function
Adhering the gold leaf to the silver was done by a process called diffusion bonding, wherein the atoms of two solid metallic surfaces intersperse. Extensive force and heat are required to bond the two metals. The heat was provided by a charcoal furnace.
Textual Evidence
A furnace is referred to by Goeree explaining the gilding process: “daar naa houden zy’t Zilver zoo lang in de Vlam van haaren Ooven, tot het by-naa Smelt” (then they keep the silver in the flame of the furnace, until it almost melts).53 Biringuccio prescribes a charcoal furnace. Hammers and gilding stones
Function
The extensive force that was needed in order to get a strong bond was achieved by hammering the gold leaf and polishing it with gilding stones. The hammer and gilding stones needed to be made of a hard, smooth material.
Textual evidence
Goeree mentiones that a hammer and bloodstone were used to polish the gold. Biringuccio also refers to a polished hammer and a bloodstone but also to a dry stick or chalcedony stone.
Documentary evidence
Gilding stones are mentioned in a notarial deed about the taxation by Erasmus Pietersz. and Jaques Moreau of flattening mills and other tools.54
5.2.2. Drawing tools
Engrossing mill
Function
The process of drawing gold thread to the desired thickness was called ‘grosseeren’ or engrossing. Gilded silver was first drawn by a “grosseermolen” engrossing mill. The mill was powered by a horse, by men or by a watermill. A turning mechanism was used to pull the thread through a drawplate with holes in it of diminishing size.
Textual sources
An engrossing mill that is powered by horse is mentioned by Ranouw.55 Wagenaar indicates that Amsterdam used to have a lot of engrossing mills before they went out of business in the 18th century. Only in Haarlem some engrossing mills were still used at the time of Wagenaar.
Visual evidence
Although the engrossing mill is not depicted by Wandelaar, it would probably have been similar to the mill in Biringuccio’s The Pirotechia (figure 14) or the 18th century mill in figure 15.
Figure 14: engrossing water mill to draw metal rods. Pyrotechnia by Biringuccio Ónotechmagazine.com.
54 Notarial deed June 7, 1630: Erasmus Pietersz. and Jaques Moreau valued two flattening mills and other tools among which gilding stones. The total value was 240 guilders. Notarial Archive 302 f. 342 v. Notary Fr. van Banchem.
Figure 15: Two types of engrossing mills. On the right the ingot is drawn to a thinner rod that is drawn even thinner on the engrossing mill on the left. Stiftung Waisenhaus. 18th century ÓChristel Köster.
Engrossing bench, engrossing rolls, drawplate, tongs
Function
After drawing the thread in the engrossing mill, the thread was drawn further on an engrossing bench. Two engrossing rolls were attached to the bench and in between a drawplate was clamped. The engrossing rolls were large wooden spools with handles attached to it that turned on a spindle. By turning the rolls, the thread was wound around the rolls after going through the drawplate. Tongs were used to draw the first part of the thread through the drawplate before it was attached to the engrossing roll.
Visual evidence
The engrossing bench and engrossing rolls (no. 11) are well visible in the print by Wandelaar (figure 16). The drawing tongs are indicated by no. 3 and 5. A very similar bench can be observed in Der Messing-Drahtzieher by Christoph Weigel (1698) in figure 17. Here the drawplate between the engrossing rolls is more visible.
Figure 16: the engrossing bench in the print by Wandelaar.
Figure 17: an engrossing bench in Der Messing-Drahtzieher, Christoph Weigel, 1698, Dresden: Deutsche Fotothek ÓDeutsche Fotothek.
Textual evidence
These tools are described extensively by Ranouw. He explains that one side of the bench was attached to the wall and that the other side rested on two strong legs. The “grosser-yzer” (engrossing iron or drawplate) had a width of three thumbs, a length of 3,5/4 thumbs and the thickness of a silver “Dukaton” (ca. 2 mm). The drawing plate was made from annealed iron or steel and had several holes in it with the shape of a cone. The size of the holes in the plate decreased in diameter.56
Documentary evidence
In 1635 Pieter Lefebure the younger goes bankrupt and leaves one engrossing bench with accessories.57 Among these accessories would probably have been drawing plates, engrossing rolls and tongs. Aernout Nulck left two engrossing irons of which one had five holes.
Drills, sharpening stones and oil stones
Function
The holes in the drawplate were made with an iron hand drill. The drills came in several sizes as the holes needed to be of different sizes too. The drill was kept in place with a “dwingertje”, a plate with a hole in it that was attached to the bench. The drills were sharpened on a sharpening stone, a large stone that was turned by a foot pedal. Sharpening a drill on this large stone, however, often left a burr or other imperfections. To get rid of these imperfections the sharpener used an oil stone.
Visual evidence
56 Ranouw, Kabinet der natuurlyke historien, 158.
57 Inventory January 31, 1635: Pieter Lefebure the younger left among others an engrossing bench, two other drawing benches with tools, 18 oil stones, 5 workbenches, 3 spinning wheels, 6 rocket rolls and 7 wooden rolls. Notarial archive 1041 f. 50 Notary J. van de Ven. Van Dillen III.
Wandelaar depicted a man that was drilling the holes (figure 18). He used his left hand to keep the drill in place and his chin on his hand to reinforce the drilling. He moved the bow with his right hand back and forth like playing the violin. Another man is sharpening the drills on the sharpening stone (no. 19 in figure 19). He uses his foot the push the pedal in order to turn the stone. The oil stone is indicated with number 33 and is lying on the drawing bench (figure 20).
Figure 18: a man drilling the holes in the drawing plate in the print by Wandelaar. Figure 19: a man sharpening the drills on a sharpening stone in the print by Wandelaar. Figure 20: the oil stone in the print by Wandelaar.
Textual evidence
According to Ranouw, a drawplate had twelve holes in it. From 1 to 12 the holes diminished in size.58 Every hole was made with different drills, beginning with a small one and widening the hole with bigger ones. The oil stone that was used for sharpening the drills was made of “toetsteen” (touchstone). 59 After some time, the rims of the holes in the plate became blunt too. The driller then used a hammer (no. 25) and a thumb iron (no. 26) to almost close the holes and drilled the holes again. When it was not possible anymore to sharpen the holes, the driller made twelve new holes in the same plate. This process was repeated until the plate was completely perforated.60
Documentary evidence
Pieter Lefebure was in possession of 18 oil stones. Although drills and sharpening stones are not specifically mentioned in his inventory, the presence of the oil stones suggest that the drills were sharpened in his workshop.
Drawing bench, drawing rolls and rocket rolls Function
58 Ranouw explains that the first hole had a thickness of the thinnest part of a tobacco pipe and that the smallest drill had the size of the invisible end of a sowing needle. Ranouw, Kabinet der natuurlyke historien, 155.
59 Here Ranouw probably refers to a black radiolarian chert (Hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of crystals of quartz) that is often called “touch stone, lyddite or basanite”. The stone originates from the remains of very small organisms, called radiolarians and is very hard which ensures that no scratches or stripes are left on the drill. The name touchstone was used because these stones were often used to test the purity of soft metals based on the colour that was left after scraping it on the stone.
Just like the engrossing bench, the drawing bench had two rolls attached to it. Instead of the engrossing roll, a drawing roll was used. This roll was much larger and was turned with a stick that was attached to the ceiling. Drawing rolls were also called drawing drums, turning rolls or wooden rolls. A rocket roll, also called bobbin, was placed on the drawing bench. From the rocket roll, the thread went through the drawplate and was wound around the drawing roll.
Visual evidence
The drawing bench is well visible in Het Menselijk Bedryf and in the print from Wandelaar (figure 21, 22). The drawing roll is indicated with number 17 and the rocket roll with number 14. In Het
Menselijk Bedryf the rocket roll is depicted on the left of the drawing table. Figure
23 shows that modern drawing rolls are very similar to 17th century drawing rolls. Instead of turning the roll with a stick that is attached to the ceiling, a motor powers the turning procedure.
Figure 21: a man drawing the gold thread with a drawing roll in Het Menselijk Bedryf by Luyken. Figure 22: a man drawin the gold thread with a drawing roll in the print by Wandelaar.
Figure 23: a modern drawing roll that is powered by motor, Bedworth: Toye Kenning & Spencer Ltd ÓMarélise Pollard.
Textual evidence
According to Ranouw, the wooden drawing roll has a large diameter. Due to its tenacity the roll can be turned in a very controlled way. The thread was wound off the rocket roll onto the drawing roll.
Documentary evidence
The inventory of Lefebure mentions 6 rocket rolls and 7 drawing rolls. A modern drawing roll can be seen in figure 23.
Spinning wheel
Function
“Afspinwielen” (spinning wheels) were specifically used for winding thread from one roll to the other without drawing it through a drawplate. After every time that the thread was drawn through the drawing plate, the thread was taken off the first roll and put on the initial roll. This procedure was necessary because the thread always had to pass the drawing plate in the same direction.61
Visual evidence
Wandelaar depicts a man handling the spinning wheel in the right corner of the workshop (figure 24). On the print of Van Luyken the wheel is placed more visible in the front (figure 25). The men use one hand to turn the spinning wheel and the other to spread the thread evenly onto the rocket roll. A similar procedure is performed on a more modern spinning wheel in the Toye Kenning & Spencer factory (figure 26). The thread is wound off the drawing roll onto a rocket roll. The employee uses a cloth to clean the thread.
Figure 24: Detail showing a man handling the spinning wheel, Jan Wandelaar, c. 1719, engraving Óarchive.com.
Figure 25: Detail of Advertisement print of Abraham van Wylick showing a man handling the spinning wheel, Caspar Luyken, 1706, etching, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum ÓRijksmuseum.
Figure 26: Employee of Toye Kenning & Spencer handling a modern spinning wheel. Bedworth: Toye Kenning & Spencer Ltd ÓMarélise Pollard.
Textual evidence
Ranouw describes that the winding of the thread is done by turning the wheel. A string connects the wheel with the roll which makes it spin at the same speed. The same wheel is used to wind gold thread on rocket rolls and bobbins.
Documentary evidence
Pieter Lefebure had three spinning wheels in his inventory and Abraham Asselijn had an unknown amount of spinning wheels.
5.2.3. Flattening tools
Flattening mill
Function
A flattening mill was used to make round thread flat by working the gold thread between two steel rollers that were turned with a handle.
Visual evidence
Figure 27 shows the flattening mill in the print of Wandelaar (no. 40) and in figure 28 a different type of flattening mill is depicted. The modern flattening mill in figure 29 is very similar to the one depicted by Wandelaar. Only the mill is not turned by hand but by motor.
Figure 27: a woman flattening the gold thread in the print by Wandelaar.
Figure 28: Detail from the Pletmoolenaar, Casper Luyken, before 1712, printed around 1750, engraving Óatlasenkaart.nl.
Figure 29: modern flattening mill. Bedworth: Toye Kenning & Spencer Ltd ÓMarélise Pollard.
Textual evidence
Ranouw explains that the flattening mill consisted of two steel rollers that were kept in place by a frame. The frame was made from iron which needed to be kept clean and pure. The rollers and the frame together are called the flattening mill. In order to get the rollers hard and shiny they had to be made from the purest steel that came from the same area as the drawing plates.62 The rollers had an outer layer of two thumb thick steel. The inside was filled with iron. To keep the steel shiny, clean and flat, they had to be polished regularly.
Documentary evidence
In 1630 Erasmus Pietersz. and Jaques Moreau valued two flattening mills.
5.2.4. Spinning tools
What tools were used in the 17th century Netherlands to spin the gold thread around a fibrous core is quite the mystery. The chapter in production process about spinning gold thread will go further into this problem.
5.2.5. Purchasing tools
As the gold thread craft was rather new in the 17th century, not all tools were directly available in the Netherlands. In January 1624 Lefebure and Cotteman both payed Piere Mibourch 50 pounds to purchase tools in England.63 That Mibourch was assigned to purchase materials in
62 Because the rollers required very pure steel, flattening mills were very expensive and could cost hundreds of guilders. Ranouw, Kabinet der natuurlyke historien, 176.
63 Contract from January 17, 1624 concerning the making of gold and silver thread. Notarial Archive 659 Notary J. Warnaertsz. Van Dillen II No.911 p.519 The other tools were provided by Mathyas Souherinck. Contract from January 20,
