Schaal in de vorm van een schelp, liggend in een houder bestaande uit drie horens c. 1614 - 1654

Hendrik van der Borcht II made this drawing of a shell-shaped bowl, resting in a holder consisting of three horns, likely in the mid-17th century in the Netherlands. Van der Borcht's detailed rendering of this luxury object speaks to the culture of collecting and display that was burgeoning in the Dutch Golden Age. Aristocrats and wealthy merchants filled their homes with curiosities, natural specimens, and artworks to demonstrate their refined taste and worldliness. This drawing may have served as a design for a silversmith or as a record of a prized possession. The shell form itself carries cultural weight, evoking classical antiquity and the natural world, both highly valued during this period. The horns, symbols of abundance and power, further enhance the object's prestige. To understand the full context of this drawing, researchers might consult inventories of 17th-century Dutch collections, design books for metalwork, and studies of the social history of collecting. This drawing serves as a portal into a world of wealth, taste, and the cultural significance of objects.