Cleveland Museum of Art

Nautilus Cup

Cornelis Jansz van der Burch

Date

1607

Medium

Silver-gilt, nautilus shell

Culture

Netherlands, Holland, Delft

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Nautilus shells were brought to the Netherlands from Indonesia. Skilled Dutch silversmiths mounted them in silver, creating luxurious vessels that were sought after by wealthy collectors. Early Dutch nautilus cups are mainly associated with the city of Delft, although only a few other examples made in Delft are known from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. They feature the dramatic motif of a sea monster’s head. The nautilus is a marine mollusk that swims by expelling water from its shell using jet propulsion.

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