This charming small drinking horn is dated 1593. It is one of the very few surviving guild objects from the sixteenth century and the earliest known object associated with a fishmongers’ guild in the Netherlands. It was made as a showpiece for one of the most influential guilds of the city of Dordrecht, the Great Fishmongers’ Guild. Only eleven objects from Dordrecht guilds are known today; of these, just four — including this horn — date from the sixteenth century.
The horn itself is made from cattle horn and fitted with silver mounts. Along the upper rim runs a plain silver drinking lip with a fine cable border, above which the names of the guild deacons and the date, 1593, are engraved. Around the centre of the horn is a band with a double cable border, between which the names of the wardens are inscribed. Attached to this band are two cast griffin legs, allowing the horn to stand upright. The tip is capped with a silver mount in the form of a griffin’s head with a bell suspended beneath it. The neck of this mount is engraved with a scale pattern, framed by a cable border. All silver elements are finished with a serrated edge engraved with foliate ornament.
A Showpiece
The horn is not only dated but also hallmarked with the date letter for 1593. Dutch silver from this period is exceptionally rare. The economic prosperity of the Dutch Republic had yet to begin; the VOC would not be founded for several years, and the so-called pre-companies were undertaking their first exploratory voyages to the East with mixed success. Drinking horns with silver mounts were a favoured form of showpiece for guilds in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They were used during ceremonial meals and served to express the status and cohesion of the guild board. Very few guild horns have survived, and almost all known examples are now held in museum collections. This horn is a rare exception.
Power
From the Middle Ages until the end of the eighteenth century, guilds were urban organisations of people practising the same trade or craft. They functioned as corporate bodies representing shared professional interests and were responsible for maintaining standards of quality, overseeing training and providing social support for their members.
The fishmongers of Dordrecht had been united in the Great Fishmongers’ Guild since 1464. Its establishment served both the city authorities and the lord of the land: it offered protection against outside traders and brought order to the sale of fish. The fishmongers belonged to the urban elite. Not all guilds enjoyed the same status; together with the butchers and the wine merchants, this guild formed the city’s economic and political upper stratum. These guilds supplied members of the city government and possessed the financial means to commission costly guild objects.
By the end of the sixteenth century, the guilds had reached the height of their influence. Once revenues from confiscated church property had been exhausted, the city government became increasingly dependent on tolls, levies and taxes. New taxes could not be introduced without the consent of the guilds. The support of these organisations, which included the most prominent inhabitants of the city, was therefore indispensable.
Deacons
The Great Fishmongers’ Guild numbered approximately fifty members and owned substantial property. Its guild house, the Crimpert Salm on Visstraat, is still regarded as one of the finest buildings in the city. Only men who were not sworn members of another guild were eligible for admission.
Engraved around the drinking lip of this horn are the names of the four guild deacons: François Clemensz Rassteu, Maerten Aertsz Scoudt, Wouter Jansz Duynen and Jan Jaspersz Coninck. Smaller guilds generally had only three deacons. On the band around the centre of the horn are the names of the two wardens, Arian Ariensz Back and Arien Cornz Roerom, who acted as intermediaries between the guild and the city government. In 1593 they commissioned and paid for this horn, which was passed from hand to hand during festive meals, such as the annual guild banquet held in honour of the guild’s patron saint, St Andrew. The bell at the tip could be rung when the horn needed to be refilled.
Second Horn
A second, later drinking horn belonging to the Dordrecht fishmongers’ guild is preserved in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Belgium in Brussels. Made in 1610, it also bears the engraved names of François Clemensz Rassteu, Jan Jaspersz Coninck and Wouter Jansz van Duynen, who were still members of the guild board seventeen years later. This second horn is larger than the example of 1593. Possibly for that reason, a cautionary inscription was added to the rim in 1612: “…dat uit den Horen met vrede ende maticheit soude worden gedroncken “ - that one should drink from the horn in peace and with moderation.
Herring Trade
Dordrecht’s position on the water largely determined its economic life. Salmon, sturgeon and shad were caught in the surrounding rivers. In addition, the city already occupied an important position in the herring trade in the Middle Ages, centred on the processing and commercial distribution of herring. The fish were mainly caught off the Dutch North Sea coast and played a crucial role in both food supply and commerce.
Fish Market
The sale of fish was concentrated on the Groote Vischmarkt. In 1595 new stone fish stalls were built on the Visbrug “ter commoditeit ende gerieff van de Gemeene Vischcoopers” - for the convenience and benefit of the common fishmongers. The fifty covered market stalls were larger than those found in other cities, where women often dominated fish selling. In Dordrecht, however, the fish market was a male domain, supervised by a bailiff. Women sold fish door to door and were known as ommeloopsters.
In addition to the Groote Vischmarkt, the city also had a farmers’ fish market and a river fish market. Fishmongers were not permitted to operate more than one stall within the city.
Kapoenen
The guild’s principal income derived from its holdings of land, houses and pandponden, a form of tax on real estate. In addition, new members paid an entrance fee, apprentices paid a training fee, and an examination fee was required when taking the master’s examination. Other contributions were made to the altar, for the funeral pall used at the burial of guild members, and for the kapoenen, charitable payments for the support of the poor. Fines imposed for breaches of guild regulations also formed an important source of revenue.
The Oldest City of Holland
Dordrecht originated around the year 1000 and is first mentioned around 1120 in connection with the battle of Thuredrech, named after the small river Thure between the Merwede and the Dubbel. By around 1195 the name appears as Durdreth. The city already possessed town privileges, which were confirmed in 1220 by Count William I. Dordrecht is therefore regarded as the oldest city of Holland.
Thanks to its location at a crossroads of rivers and its easy access from the North Sea, Dordrecht developed into an important centre of trade. The Counts of Holland, who resided there from 1203 onwards, levied tolls in the city. In 1299 Dordrecht was granted staple rights, requiring goods passing through to be unloaded and offered for sale there. Trade in wine, timber, grain and wool brought the city great prosperity in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
