Tobacco box
Not on view
Oval box; its lid shows a landscape scene with two men shaking hands; one of them is reclining. At the left the personification of fortune can be seen, standing on a globe and holding a billowing sail. Inscribed below: Soo lang t' fortuijn u dient sal u geen vrint onbreken (As long as fortune is with you, you won't lack friends).
The underside carries another outdoor scene. A distressed-looking man, his head in his hand, is seated next to a tree. His friend and the figure of fortune are shown leaving him. Inscribed below: Maar als t' fortuijn eens keert dan is u vrint geweken (But when fortune turns around your friend will be gone).
With lined rims, molded edges, and plain sides. A tobacco box with the same inscription but with slightly different illustrations is in the collection of Het Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, Arnhem. A similar text was used as a porch inscription in Gronichem (Gorinchem); see Hieronymus Sweerts, Koddige en ernstige opschriften op luyffins, wagens, glazrn, uythangborden, en andere taferelen (Amsterdam, 1682-90) II, p. 113.
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