Featured COA on Dutch? Cannon needs ID pls

Last March a friend asked me to ID the COA on this cute little "family" cannon. I think it is probably a Dutch cannon because the dolphins are in the Dutch style of the period. The date is accurate I'm pretty sure, although I'm surprised the high-quality piece isn't signed. The carriage is all fairly new, I think. I know the small v in the initials is Von or Van, either a common element in Dutch names. The orig owner would be a nobleman of one rank or another, to have been able to afford such a cannon. The family cannons were always made in even multiples so there were at least 2 of these, and perhaps up to 12. Barrel is bronze and 28 in. Long.

 

Very nice!

 

BTW, just looked up "Dutch Heraldic Crowns" and the orig owner was a Baron as indicated by the 7 pearls.

More pix

 

Many Dutch merchants would be rich enough to afford such things. Also the Dutch have a long tradition of republicanism making nobility not such as big deal as the English and French made it.
Although mounted on a field carriage, could a few of these have adorned some merchant ship on naval carriages, they'd not be much cop in a battle but they'd scare of weakly armed pirates, I imagine.

The I in the initials is probably a J.

 

This type are almost always personal cannons kept on the owners estate presumably to fire in celebration. Dutch ship cannons (most I've seen were owned by the VOC) tended to be larger bore, plainer outside design, generally more rugged and more lethal than this fancy little one.

 

Found references to one "Jr. Adriaen van Foreest" born in 1653, lived in Delft, but no idea if this person had anything to do with the cannon. If I'm reading things correctly, there's only one noble family in the Netherlands matching the "...v.F" on the cannon and it is van Foreest

 

That's super cool!

 

One of the problems with collecting antique cannons must be the lack of people to talk about them with.

Oh, and the weight and expense of course.

 

The cannon people do have more specialized forums and I post only on those when there's zero hope anyone here could contribute. This question is here, on one cannon forum, and it also went to the Library of Congress where I've had good luck with Heraldry. I have higher hopes for a heraldry answer here than on the cannon forum because folks here are much better at web research. I've been very surprised at some of the info people here have come up with just using words and the web, and lacking much if any knowledge of the specialized areas.

 

Dba

 

Possible progress: was reading up on Dutch nobility and learned that the prefix "Jonkheer" is used by one large segment of the Dutch barony, somewhat similar to "Sir" for titled Englishmen, but with much different background too complex to explain here.

That prefix may fit the first letter of the engraved name initials, possibly making the rest easier to fit to the manageable list of Dutch baron names on the web. What's left is R. v. F. Engraved below a shield bearing what, a stylized "S" which may represent the actual family name. ????

 

I thought it looked like a stylized Plume (and somewhat of an S)

 

Thanks. Another clue is the hatching pattern of the COA. The hatching pattern of surfaces represents various colors.

On the shield, the smooth surface represents silver or white color, whereas the vertical and horizontal line crosshatch on the "S" represents black. So a black S on a silver or white shield. In Heraldese, black=sable; white or silver = argent.

 

Very interesting stuff.

 

FASCINATING stuff!!!! But better than that.....THAT is one CUTIE PIE of a Cannon!!!!!!!!

 

Found a genealogical site in Netherlands that has all the info on the van Foreest family, assuming that may include the person who owned the cannon. Here's some info on the most likely candidate, in that he was alive in 1694 when the cannon was cast, and his initials although not an exact match to the I.R.v. F. on the cannon, are close. He was also an important person, apparently a member of the Hoorn Chamber (branch) of the Dutch East India Company. This should be the url for the page with this info:

Bookmark url://www.regionaalarchiefalkmaar.nl/collecties/archieven/archieven/ead/index/eadid/79.005

III.T MR JACOB VAN FOREEST (1640-1708) IX 2
N.B. Secretaris van Gecommitteerde Raden van West-Friesland en het Noorderkwartier, eerst naast, en in 1676 als opvolger van zijn vader Dirk van Foreest. Burgemeester, vroedschap en schepen van Hoorn. Hoofdingeland van de Heerhugowaard, de Schermeer, de Beemster en van de Purmer. Bewindhebber van de Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie kamer Hoorn. Raad en rekenmeester der domeinen van Holland en West-Friesland?? (Zie RdBew 122) Gehuwd 1671 met Maria Sweerts (1649-1720). Hij is de samensteller van het geslachtsregister Van Foreest en van het Register der Bewijzen daarop (inv.nrs 12 en 13-15).

 

Remember that back in that time a capital I was used in place of a J. The second letter should be his father's name.

 

Could have been this one too but the initials don't match as well. It looks like many members of the Van Foreest family were involved in the VOC for many years.

III.U DIRK VAN FOREEST (1676-1717) X 1
N.B. Secretaris van Gecommitteerde Raden van West-Friesland en het Noorderkwartier, eerst naast, en in 1708 als opvolger van zijn vader Jacob van Foreest. Burgemeester, vroedschap en schepen van Hoorn. Hoofdingeland van de Heerhugowaard, de Purmer en de Schermeer. Bewindhebber van de Verenigde Oost-Indische en de West-Indische Compagnie kamers Hoorn. Hoofdingeland van het Hoogheemraadschap van de Uitwaterende Sluizen in Kennemerland en West-Friesland voor het geslacht van Oudshoorn. Gehuwd 1700 met Eva Maria de Groot, (1677-1706).

 

That Jacon Van Foreest's father, according to that Dutch paragraph, was Dirk Van Foreest.

"N.B. Secretary Committed Councils of West Friesland and the Northern Quarter, next to first, and in 1676 as a successor to his father Dirk van Foreest. Mayor, city council and ships of Hoorn. Header country Heerhugowaard, the Schermeer, the Beemster and the Purmer. Government Governor of the Dutch East India Company Room Horn. Counsel and accountant of the areas of Holland and West Friesland ?? (See RdBew 122) Married in 1671 with Maria Swerts (1649-1720). He is the compiler of the genealogy of Foreest and the Register of certificates thereon (nos 12 and 13-15)."

There were several van Foreest back when as well as ships such as the Huis Van Foreest. Probably the most notable van Foreest in Dutch history was the physician Pieter van Foreest / Petrus Forestus (1521-1597) known as the "Dutch Hippocratus."

--- Susan

 

Thanks, we need to find what if any connection exists between the Foreest family and the black "S" on white shield. That's the only way to be sure we've ID'd the original owner. So need to decode

S, sable, on escutcheon, argent

Or whatever the proper heraldic description would be.