Letter Pouch from Constantinople

Letter pouch of Cornelis Calkoen, Dutch ambassador to Constantinople, made in 1727. Letter pouch of Cornelis Calkoen, Dutch ambassador to Constantinople, made in 1727. Courtesy Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, acc. no. NG-2011-25.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam recently acquired an embroidered letter pouch (acc. no. NG-2011-25) that belonged to the Dutch ambassador to Istanbul (Constantinople), Cornelis Calkoen (1696-1764).

After his studies in Leiden University and an administrative function elsewhere, he was about thirty years old when he was appointed ambassador and sent to Constantinople, where his family had for a long time built up considerable interests. There he ordered two letter pouches, one of them being illustrated here. It is made of silk, floss silk, gold and silver thread and measures 21 x 11.5 cm. The reverse of the pouch has the embroidered text: Constantinopoli A: 1727.

Source (retrieved 30 April 2016).

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam online catalogue (retrieved 21 june 2016).

WV

Last modified on Monday, 03 October 2016 17:55