Part 6

A small crane is often seen attached to the back of the fireplace. A kettle or pot rests upon it, which might, if desired, be swung over or away from the fire. The specimen here reproduced (page 136) is from Leeuwarden. It has one simple movement, that of swinging backwards and forwards. The curved arm is made of brass, and shaped to resemble a fish. Out of the mouth comes the iron kettle-holder with a small chain affixed, handy for drawing it to and fro. Allied to the crane, and used for a similar purpose, is the hanger that was suspended from the flue. The two specimens appearing on page 139 are from Middelburg, and both are constructed of iron. They can be made to hang high or low, one by means of a ratchet, and the other by a catch, which fits into pierced holes and is shown in detail.

The set of fire-irons, also from Middelburg (page 139), furnishes admirable examples of useful objects, suitably adorned. The plate to which the fire-irons hang, with scallop-like indentations at its upper edge, is enriched with incised decoration, depicting a ship, trees, birds, letters, and the date of 1787. The tongs at the extreme left are so fashioned that one arm, being hollow, may be used as a blowpipe. Next in order is a ladle adapted for scooping up ashes from the hearth. Upon the flat handle is further incised ornamentation, based upon floral motives. The central object is a blowpipe, and a second pair of tongs completes the set. With the exception of some of the ends and terminations, which are of brass, these implements are made of iron, brightly polished.

In the glazed tiles, inseparably associated with Delft and other places in Holland, the Dutch had admirable material for interior decoration. Some tiles were pure white; others had conventional floral forms painted upon them. Many, again, were decorated with devices derived from scriptural, nautical, rural, historical, and classical sources. Units such as these, beautiful in themselves, were capable of giving lively and gay effects when arranged together. How satisfactorily they were used will have been already observed in the fireplaces previously described.

But, apart from giving value to fireplaces, they were employed in other ways. Notable rooms are to be seen whose good appearance depends primarily upon the skilful manipulation of tiles. Two such are illustrated, one in colour (opposite). They are from Hindeloopen, and are now in the Frisian Museum at Leeuwarden. The original woodwork of the coloured drawing belongs to the seventeenth century. The back of the fireplace, as well as the walls surrounding it, is faced entirely with tiles from floor to ceiling. Those towards the floor have blue and white patterns upon them; above, and in the window recess, they are white but for the narrow blue borders round the angles. These tiles were made at Makkum. Upon the floor are glazed quarries of red and black, laid in alternate colours. The room of the other illustration (page 137) dates from the eighteenth century. It has similar tiles on the walls and quarries on the floor. Floors were also laid with other coloured quarries, blue and green and yellow; while in larger houses stone and marble were employed with pleasing results.

Panelling was by no means infrequently applied to interior walls. It was often marked by elaboration rather than simplicity, although there are not wanting examples of rooms wainscoted with plain framed woodwork divided into panels by stiles and rails. Of ornamental panels there are certain definite kinds. Characteristic are those adorned with linen-fold patterns. Another design that was favoured is shown in the illustration taken from Zwolle (page 138), where carved vine ornaments appear between two curved and moulded scrolls set back to back. This particular example is attributed to the beginning of the sixteenth century. At a later date round-headed arches and pilasters were introduced, such as those exemplified from Leiden on this page, as well as carved friezes and moulded cornices. It is remarkable to note the great similarity between the development of panelling in Holland and in England. The earlier patterns employed in both countries are practically identical, while Dutch seventeenth-century woodwork bears great resemblance to that of our Jacobean period.

Wooden doors harmonised with the wainscot of the walls. They were divided into panels and often richly carved. Doorways were given importance by the pilasters and cornices that surrounded them. The door from Groningen (below) furnishes a seventeenth-century specimen, elaborately carved with forms peculiar to the time.

The metal fittings attached to doors--locks, bolts, hinges, handles, and the like--are of good design and workmanship. Two lock-plates (page 143), from the Rijks Museum at Amsterdam, belong to the sixteenth century. They are both made of iron. One, bearing the date of 1587, is decorated with projecting ornaments; the other is adorned with applied metalwork, pierced and carved. Further examples of iron door-furniture, simply but effectively treated, are illustrated by the handle from Middelburg and the bolt from Dordrecht (page 143).

A feature common to Dutch rooms is the small cupboard in the wall, wherein many and sundry articles were stored. The recess is sometimes merely covered by a curtain that may be drawn to and fro, such as can be seen at the left hand of the window in the coloured reproduction from Leeuwarden given here. But generally a wooden door was fitted to the opening. Some of these doors, with one or two panels, are quite plainly made. Others, highly decorated with carvings and metalwork, furnish examples of beautiful craftsmanship. Two are here illustrated (pages 143 and 144), which show how well and cunningly artificers in wood and metal exercised their skill. Both are of sixteenth-century workmanship, and are now in the Rijks Museum. Apart from the good wood-carving, the ironwork on each is notable. The three hinges, attached to the larger door, all have peculiarly graceful branched terminations; while the hinge of the second example is pierced and engraved with a floral pattern. The lock-plates, also, are admirably devised.

The further illustration of a Hindeloopen room from Leeuwarden (page 141) is especially interesting, for around the walls are cupboard-like apartments that afforded accommodation for sleeping. They are closed by wooden doors which have open-work panels at their heads to permit the passage of air. The beds, resembling a ship's berths, are reached by flights of steps, two of which will be seen in the reproduction. These steps are movable and curiously shaped and painted, as is demonstrated by the flight in the foreground with its side boards made to imitate birds and flowers. Other old Dutch interiors--cheerful with coloured plates, tiles and quarries, shining brass and carved woodwork--furnish instances of this particular disposition of sleeping accommodation.

The old furniture was of a kind that well harmonised with the fitted woodwork and other decorations of the rooms. It is not unusual to find pieces of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries amid surroundings similar to those for which they were originally intended. The rooms at Dordrecht (page 128) and Groningen (page 135) both have suitable furniture that valuably contributes to the success of the schemes. All is more or less directly useful; rooms were not crowded with objects that were neither utilitarian nor good to look upon. Most commonly occurring are chairs and tables, chests and cabinets. The earlier oak work was jointed and pegged together. It was very solidly made and ornamented in a reasonable way. Some of the large cabinets offer splendid examples of skilful handiwork, and an elaborate specimen, from Haarlem, appears on page 145. Two characteristic tables are also illustrated, one from Edam (page 145) and one from Amsterdam (page 146). In the eighteenth century it became the fashion in certain parts of Holland to heavily paint fitted and movable furniture with coloured patterns, the natural beauty of the wood being thus obscured. All kinds of objects were ornamented, and in a somewhat amateurish way. The favoured motifs were floral scrolls, little flowers, birds and animals, scriptural scenes, with pastoral and sea views.

Brass was much used in the making of domestic utensils. Familiar objects for many purposes were fashioned of this material. Brightly polished and shining, they were quite in accord with the prevailing gayness of the rooms and well harmonised with the fitted woodwork, furniture, tiles and other metalwork. Fireplaces were adorned with sundry articles of brass, some being purely ornamental, others achieving some useful mission. The brass chimney-crane (page 136) belongs to this latter class, as does the fire-side set reproduced on page 147. The latter is a particularly handy contrivance, for, being movable, it can be transferred from room to room. The stand takes the form of a baluster stem which rests upon an ornamental basic tripod; it is surmounted by a circular attachment that supports the kettle. Upon three curved arms, branching outwardly, the brush and tongs and shovel are hooked. This set is of eighteenth-century workmanship. The stand is 1 foot 11-1/2 inches high, the tongs 23 inches long, the brush 21 inches long, and the shovel 23 inches long. An example of the portable foot-warmers for placing on the floor in front of chairs, such as have been already mentioned, is here illustrated (page 148). It is made of brass and has eight sides. Each upright side decorated with repoussé work, circular bosses alternating with panels of flowers. The slightly curved top has a medallion in the centre, engraved with the letters and date "i. w. hm. 1733." It is surrounded with floral scrolls, geometrically arranged, and between the patterns are pierced holes through which the heat is distributed.

The candlestick (page 148), also of brass, belongs to the eighteenth century. It has two curved brackets which are adjustable, as will be seen by the hinged attachments in the illustration. The height is 18-1/4 inches and the width, from bracket to bracket, is 12-1/8 inches. Another old-fashioned object used for lighting is the brass lantern with arched top (page 148). All the three windows are surrounded by a border of floral openwork, very finely pierced with a pattern common to the eighteenth century. The fourth side, forming the back, has a panel in the centre.

The cover of the warming-pan, given on page 147, furnishes an excellent specimen of perforated and engraved brasswork. The central figures represent Venus and Cupid, while interwoven with the strap and foliated ornaments are grotesque figures, beasts and birds. Each little part of the design is engraved, and around the outer margin of the pan is a Dutch inscription which embodies the date of 1602. Further well-executed piercing and engraving, but of a later date than the above, appear on the tea-caddy here illustrated (page 148). This latter object is 6 inches high and 4 inches wide. The pastille-burner (page 148) is made wholly of brass. Upon the baluster stem and circular base are rococo designs beaten-up in relief. Made of wickerwork, the coffer reproduced on page 147 is adorned with handsomely shaped and perforated brass mounts that extend around it.

The corridor at Hoorn (page 149) belongs to the seventeenth century. It has a timber roof springing from the two side-walls in the form of a barrel-vault. Upon the concave surface are longitudinal and transverse ribs whose intersections are emphasised by carved bosses. The vault is supported at each side by decorated wooden brackets. Another detail associated with a place of access is the wrought-iron railing from Zierikzee (page 146).

And lastly, three typical village interiors are given. Two, from Volendam (above) and Marken (page 151), have simple fireplaces faced with ordinary blue and white Dutch tiles. Another shows a room in a wooden house at Marken (page 152), the timbering of the walls being visible.

But it is the old towns of Holland, rather than the villages, that hold the charms for those who sojourn in that fascinating country; towns rich in associations that unbrokenly date back to a buried and untraceable antiquity. In them history has been made. There stand the old and sober gabled buildings, silent monuments to the thoughts, ideals and ambitions of those who built them. And, clustering around the market-places where life yet centres as it did in days gone by, or reflected in still waters, the houses keep their secrets well.

Sydney R. Jones.

NOTE

[1] "Biographical Sketches of Dutch Architects."--MSS. by J. B. Weenink.

End of Project Gutenberg's Old Houses in Holland, by Sydney R. Jones