Work

Historical narratives: Was Dutch admiral Piet Heyn’s silver basin made from ``treasure fleet'' silver?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: According to folklore, a basin was made from silver of the 1628 Spanish treasure fleet. Both historical and analytical research has been undertaken to establish if this is true. The basin’s chemistry has been compared to contemporary silver objects from European and the American sources. It is concluded that the basin is produced from silver of both European and Mexican origin, comparable to silver prevalent in The Netherlands in the 17th century. Although part of the silver could originate from the treasure fleet, the most probable conclusion is that an American provenance is false and was invented to give more significance to the basin.

Source: Journal of Cultural Heritage

DOI: 10.1016/j.culher.2025.05.002

Authors: Joosje van Bennekom, Jan Pelsdonk, Paolo d’Imporzano, Stephanie Archangel, Dirk Jan Biemond, Robert van Langh, Gareth R. Davies

Institutions: Rijksmuseum, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,380

OpenAlex ID: W4410700516

FWCI: 4.011

Cites: 21

Cited by: 1

Related to: 10