Page 14 - Women Collectors and the Rise of the Porcelain Cabinet (Collecting history in Europe)

Fig. 8 equipment. The criterion that determined whether the qualifi cation ‘even if they are made of silver or
Lacquer panels from an item counted as Gerade was whether it had been porcelain’ indicates that other silver and porcelain
Henriette Amalie von Nassau-
Diez (1666–1726)’s lacquer personally used by the woman, had been in her care, objects were subject to the rules of female inheritance.
room, from the Stadholder’s or had been necessary for her work. Things needed
residence in Leeuwarden.
China, c.1695, limewood for the continued running of the household such The inheritance of porcelain through the female
and coromandel lacquer. as beds, washing utensils, cutlery and tableware line can be illustrated by the example of the House
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, were excepted, as these could also be of use to a of Hesse-Kassel. The inventory of the estate
inv. no. BK-16709
male heir. Furthermore, it was repeatedly stated of Landgravine Maria Amalia of Hesse-Kassel
that certain objects (e.g. bench and chair cushions, (1653–1711), wife of Landgrave Charles I, which
curtains and carpets), which had been purchased was drawn up in 1712, states that at the time of her
to decorate the home, were not part of the Gerade. It death she owned over 2,600 pieces of mainly East
could therefore be concluded that porcelain vessels – Asian porcelain. In addition, she owned numerous
since they could either be classifi ed as tableware or as other Asian luxury items, such as lacquer, Japanese
decorative objects – were not included in the female paintings and soapstone fi gures. This made the
line of inheritance. Indeed, it is stated under the Landgravine the ‘owner of one of the largest and
headings Caffeekanne (coffee pot) and Chokoladenkanne most signifi cant collections of East Asian objects in
(chocolate pot) that these pots ‘even if they are made Europe’. Hardly anything is known about where
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of silver or porcelain (…) belong to the household or how the collection was presented, but it is safe
contents, but certainly not to the Gerade’ . However, to assume that a large number of different cabinets
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184 CHINESE AND JAP ANESE P ORCELAIN FOR THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE

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