Tinderbox with engraved scenes borrowed from seafaring
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
Silver snuffbox, oval with engraved figurative scenes accompanied by inscriptions. On the lid, the departure of a sailor; to the left, mourning women, a maid, and a boy with a dog; the sailor, hat in hand, stands beside a symbolic female figure with an anchor and a falcon; to the right, a seascape with sailing ships and a rowboat. Inscription: WHEN I SET SAIL FROM THE LAND, I ALWAYS HOPE IN GOD, ETC. On the bottom, the engraved scene of the return with the inscription: NO SAILOR OR TRADER IS WELCOME HOME AGAIN, UNLESS HE BRINGS HIS WIFE WITH A FULL HOUSE. On the raised rim: NO ONE IS HAPPY BEFORE HIS DEATH, WHETHER THE PROFIT IS SMALL OR GREAT, FOR CRESUS, RICH AND HIGHLY EXALTED, MUST STILL LEAVE IN POVERTY... THE... LIFE. Furthermore, a rebus: SELDEN TIJD (an hourglass) ZONDER STRIJT. Marks inside on the bottom: crowned coat of arms of Amsterdam; jrl. G = 1769; mt. man with crown and scepter for Jacobus King.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description
