These confectionary vases that he made in 1786 stand on a round base with a plain vertical plinth. They are decorated with beaded borders and engraved and pierced with a latticework of flowers over which cast garlands are attached with medallions hanging from bows. Each vase has upturned scroll acanthus twin handles. The round pull off covers each have an acorn finial.

Simons made the large basket to accompany the vases; the arched sides of the basket are similarly engraved and pierced with latticework and flowers. The sides of the basket are also completely engraved on the inside. Like the vases it has beaded borders at the top and bottom. In the centre these are interrupted by large, cast ornaments with floral and leaf motifs.

The upswept, loop-shaped handles with beaded borders decreasing in size are eye-catching features. These two handles, like those of the vases, are attached to the side of the basket with a large acanthus leaf motif.

Confit Vases

This type of vases are referred to as confit or sugar vases in English silver and were used to present various kinds of confectionary. In the Netherlands these were often marrons-glacés —candied chestnuts— and they are therefore commonly described as chestnut vases. However, candied cubes of pineapple and other sugared fruits were also served from the vases. The name confit vases would therefore be more appropriate. They were placed on the table for dessert along with the dessert or biscuit boxes from which oublies (rolled wafers) and fried rusks were served. The earliest known pair of confit or chestnut vases was made in Amsterdam and dates from 1783. This pair from The Hague was made three years later.

Dessert Basket

The earliest known Dutch silver basket dates from 1747. The oval shape with slightly curved, raised sides is typically Dutch. In 18th-century inventories, large baskets like this are described as bread baskets or bread bins. The design of this basket differs from the usual silver baskets made in the Netherlands in the 18th century. It seems to have been inspired by English fashion.

In Europe, apart from the Netherlands, silver baskets were only made in England. However, the English versions are rounder and have a hinged handle instead of hand grips. In England, Robert Adam and his brother James where one of the most important British architects working in the Neoclassical style. They published their design drawings in Works in Architecture from 1773 onwards. This set of a revolution in style known as the Adams style. François Simons was apparently well aware of the work of the Adams brothers and, like some of his fellow silversmiths in The Hague, turned more and more to English design towards the end of the 1780s. As early as 1789, for example, Simons had made a cake basket with a swing handle in the English style. The large basket shown here, made three years earlier, may have been used to contain bread, but as it was clearly made to accompany the confit vases, it is most likely that it was used for dessert, to serve puffs.

Luxury

Because sugar was so expensive, confectionery was mainly reserved for royal households and for other affluent people. It was a luxury product coming from plantations in the European colonies. Its extravagance was enhanced by the additional import duty that most cities levied on it, which increased the price considerably. Over the course of the 18th century, however, sugar became more widely available. As a result, candying and preserving fruit in sugar syrup became increasingly popular. Cookbooks of the time contain many recipes for candying and preserving. Even in the mid-19th century, when cane sugar was no longer the main source of sugar in continental Europe, it was still considered an item of luxury.

Confit Cellar

Queen Mary, the wife of King William III, was a great lover of confectionary. At Het Loo Palace she had her own confit cellar where she made jams, jellies and sugared flowers. The cellar is next to the shell grotto, near the exit to the palace gardens. In addition to making confectionaries, she prepared dairy products and arranged bouquets in Delft blue vases.

François Simons

François Marcus Simons was born in The Hague on 2 September 1750, the son of Marcus François Simons and Maria Emilia Palairet. He married Johanna Dina Nieuwenhuysen in 1781. After her demise, he married her sister Hermina Johanna in 1794. François died at Hofsingel in 1828, aged 77. He was a prolific silversmith and several of his pieces are in museum collections. The largest is the 24-piece service he made in 1803-04 for I.J.A. Gogel, a pioneering economist, who in 1802 was instrumental in the raising of a State-backed loan to solve the country’s financial problems. His work was regularly followed, including by the Rotterdam silversmith Rudolf Sondag.

Marks

Hallmarked on the outside of the base and at the bottom of the basket with the city assay mark of The Hague, the Dutch lion, the date letter P for 1786 and Q for 1787 on the basket and the maker’s mark F.S for Francois Simons.