height with cover 66.5 cm; beaker vase: height 47.2 cm
Institution
Groninger Museum
Description
This large garniture comprises three covered jars and two beaker vases. They are decorated in enamel colours with bamboo, flowering plants and a coat of arms with a seated squirrel eating a leaf. The same squirrel forms the finials on the covers of the jars.
Detailed description
The coat of arms belongs to Jan Albert Sichterman (1692-1764), a resident of Groningen who made his career serving the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was appointed director of the VOC settlement in Bengal, India, where he amassed a fortune conducting private trade. In 1745 he returned with his family to Groningen where they lived in an enormous house he had built on the Ossenmarkt. He brought a great deal of Oriental porcelain, lacquerware and curiosities with him, which he exhibited along with his extensive collection of paintings to invited guests. Besides this five-piece garniture, the Groninger Museum also has tableware decorated with his coat of arms in several variations.
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