Willem Jacobszoon van Heemskerk

This typically Dutch decorative form of calligraphy on glass originated in the 17th century. Van Heemskerk came from a patrician family from Leiden and he held various administrative positions. It was only much later in life that he ventured into glass engraving, and he never worked commercially. Well-balanced spatial compositions covering the entire surface of the glass are typical of Van Heemskerk’s work. Some of the mottoes he engraved on the glass came from the Bible or his contemporaries, others he devised himself. Their themes of piety, temperance, harmony and fidelity were very much in line with his faith as a Remonstrant, a Protestant group. Van Heemskerk sometimes used his engravings to tell personal stories, as in the case of the dish he gave to his son as a wedding gift.