Plaat gedecoreerd met gedreven bloemslingers en putti 1690

Curator: Let’s have a look at this Baroque plate. Made around 1690, it’s described as decorated with driven flower garlands and putti and signed by Claes Baardt. Editor: It's beautiful. There is something so intriguing about it... A silver or pewter surface covered in detailed relief work. All of that density swirling outwards from the plate's centre. It seems so tactile. Curator: Tactility certainly plays a large part, particularly in its original context. Objects like this were proudly displayed to signal taste and wealth within powerful social circles, embodying the aesthetics of baroque splendor and demonstrating an embrace of ornate and extravagant decor. Editor: Yes, it is an object for display, though imagine the craftwork that went into this! Think about the skills involved: the metalwork and design… the laboring hands carving into what must be a very difficult material. Each curve, flower, insect, angel... Such artistry. Curator: These intricate details point to the rising merchant class that was seeking to emulate the lifestyle of aristocracy by acquiring expensive objects of display, like this one, in the domestic setting. Editor: I am particularly taken by the plate's depiction of flora and fauna: Dragonflies and butterflies flutter about amidst floral arrangements. Was such decoration unusual for this time? Curator: Not at all. The combination reflects the wider European fascination with nature and the use of allegory during this era, though its creator, Baardt, would have probably been part of merchant or artisan guilds with increasingly structured production lines and specialist labor. Editor: The plate definitely sparks many different dialogues around skill, and consumption, even today! Curator: Indeed, looking at it now helps us understand not only artistic ingenuity, but also shifting social dynamics of the time.