The figures shown here are dressed in South German- style clothing and wear large, round, scalloped hats with the backs folded upwards. The man holds a bunch of grapes in his right hand, has a pouch hanging from one side of the cord around his waist and a sheathed sword from the other. The woman has a basket containing a bunch of grapes over her left arm. She also has a small purse and a knife in a scabbard. Both figures have a dynamic pose: the man stepping forward with his left leg, and the woman with her right, and they each hold a long staff. The figures stand on a round base with four lobes, sup- ported by four small frog-shaped feet. The raised central section of the base is divided into four compartments, each decorated with repoussé clusters of fruit. It is believed that both figures originally had supports on their backs to hold drinking glasses. To accommodate the glasses, the backs of their hats are folded upwards.

Showpieces

Freestanding silver figures were widely regarded as showpieces, demonstrating the craftsmanship of the silversmith and bringing their work into line with that of contemporary sculptors. The most famous examples were created by the Utrecht-born silversmiths Paulus and Adam van Vianen. Paulus became court goldsmith to Emperor Rudolf II in Prague in 1603, at a time when table ornaments in the form of Büttenmannen were particularly popular. Adam van Vianen, who remained in Utrecht, closely followed his younger brother’s artistic innovations and incorporated freestanding figures into several of his salt cellars, such as the Galatea salt of 1624. This piece, formerly part of the A. Aardewerk collection, is now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Adriaen de Grebber and his younger brother Jacob were clearly influenced by this international trend.

The Wine Month

The origin of these figures can be traced back to south- west Germany, where they were carved from walnut wood and decorated with silver mounts at the end of the Renaissance. A Büttenman, also known as a Büttenträger, Tanzenmann or Hottenmann, represents a man dressed in 16th-century costume carrying a Hotte - a basket used to transport freshly picked grapes from the vineyard during the grape harvest. The grape harvest was the highlight of the agricultural year and took place in October, celebrated as Wine Month.

Tribute

Büttenmannen can be interpreted as tributes to the harvest season and the hard work of the grape pickers, and more generally to the symbolism of the vineyard in a biblical context, as described in Matthew 20:1-16, in the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Although they all started working in the vineyard at different times, they all received the same wages at the end of the day. The workers who had toiled longer were angry that those who had only worked for one hour were paid the same. The overarching idea of the parable is that everyone enters the vineyard (faith) at different stages in their lives. In the kingdom of God they are all treated equally. The only reason they all receive the same reward is because of the generosity of the vineyard owner (God). And God is generous to all.

Holder

The Hotte on the back of the Büttenmann figures was originally designed to hold a wine glass. Of the twelve documented silver Büttenmann figures created by Adriaen de Grebber, only one pair has a silver basket on the back and only two pairs have a silver holder. The remaining nine pairs, including this one, have no holder. The painting shown below, Still Life with a Nautilus Cup from around 1645 and attributed to Gerrit Willemsz Heda features a Büttenman with a holder containing a glass. This figure also has the back of his hat folded up to give room to the glass. Both the Nautilus cup and the Büttenman in the painting were made in Amsterdam by Adriaen de Grebber’s brother, Jacob.

The Grebber Brothers

The Grebber brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, Nicolaes Adriaensz, and became silversmiths. Adriaen worked in Delft, while his brother Jacob worked in Amsterdam. Notably, they are the only silversmiths in the Netherlands known to have made these figures. Jacob de Grebber is accredited with four known pairs of figures, all with Amsterdam hallmarks. Adriaen made another twelve pairs of grape-pickers, including this one, all with Delft hallmarks.
These table ornaments were still highly prized in the 18th century, as can be seen from their inclusion in various estate inventories. While silver objects in such inventories were rarely attributed to their makers, between 1732 and 1762 thirteen of these silver figures are specifically mentioned as the work of Adriaen de Grebber. Several of these figures are now in museum collections, including the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and Museum Prinsenhof in Delft.

Adriaen Nicolaesz De Grebber

Adriaen, the maker of these figures, was the son of Nicolaes Adriaensz de Grebber and Maria Andries van Coolhem. Born in 1576 or 1577, he had three sisters and a younger brother, Jacob. Both brothers followed their father and became silversmiths. Adriaen began his apprenticeship in 1590 and, after eighteen years, was officially registered as a silversmith in the guild on 14 May 1608. During his career he served as a master-in-chief thirteen times. On 13 March 1621, the city’s marriage banns recorded: “Adriaen de Grebber, goldsmith of Delft, aged 44, and Cathalina Noirot of Bruges, aged 40, residing at Blauwburgwal.” The civil marriage was formalized on 20 March 1621 in Delft, where Adriaen was living in the Hippolytusbuurt. Later, he resided in Vlamingstraat. Adriaen Nicolaesz de Grebber was buried on 15 December 1658 in the Nieuwe Kerk.

Single Owned Before 1795

The number of figures now known, and the fact that they were all made by De Grebber in Delft, has raised questions about their authenticity in the past. Previously, the lack of detailed information about Delft hallmarks made it difficult to draw definitive conclusions on this matter. However, extensive research into Delft silver and its hallmarks has since been carried out. In 2020 Dr. P. Biesboer published the results in his book Delfts Zilver. This study not only documents the various figures created by De Grebber, but also provides a clear explanation of the date letter sequences and city assay marks used in Delft.

This research also lists the marks found on several of De Grebber’s figures, including those in the collection of Museum Het Prinsenhof in Delft. These findings have clarified the date letter sequence to which the Büttenmann figures belong, confirming that all known examples were made between 1623 and 1646. It has also been established that the pair shown here belonged to a noble family before 1795 and has remained in that family ever since.

One Pair Per Year

The book also includes images of marks on other objects fromthesameperiod,providingacomprehensiveoverview of the marks in use. Different stamps were used and the hallmarks were struck in different ways. In particular, the research shows that De Grebber generally made only one pair of Büttenmann figures per year, with the exception of 1628 and 1636, when he made two pairs.

Technical Analysis

A detailed analysis of the composition of the silver used in the various figures was carried out. For this pair, measurements were taken at twelve different points and the composition was found to be entirely consistent with silver produced in the first half of the 17th century and in line with the composition of other figures examined.

Marks

Both figures are fully marked on the base with the Delft city assay mark, the date letter B for 1635 and the maker’s mark ADG combined, for Adriaen de Grebber. They are also marked on the underside of the foot rim with the Gothic letter E (Belgian tax mark for foreign works from 1830 onwards) and on one foot with the crowned O (Dutch tax mark from the 19th century).