Thomas Hees and his Servant Thomas and Nephews Jan and Andries Hees

Michiel van Musscher (1645–1705), oil on canvas, 1687

Thomas Hees worked as a diplomat in Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli (shown on the map in the book). There, he negotiated the release of Dutch sailors who had been conscripted as slaves. At the same time, he bought the African young man standing behind him, Thomas. He is 17, shoeless, and has an iron band around his neck: a reference to slavery and ownership.

Artwork typepainting
Object numberSK-C-1215
Dimensionsheight 76 cm x width 63 cm
Physical characteristicsolieverf op doek

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Thomas Hees and his Servant Thomas and Nephews Jan and Andries Hees

Identification

Title(s)
- Thomas Hees and his Servant Thomas and Nephews Jan and Andries Hees
- Portrait of Thomas Hees (b. 1634/35), resident and commissioner of the states general to the governments of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, with his nephews Jan (b. 1670/71) and Andries (b. 1662/63) Hees and a servant
- Thomas Hees with his Nephews Jan and Andries Hees and a Servant
Former title
Thomas Hees with his Nephews Jan and Andries Hees and a Servant
Object type
Object number
SK-C-1215
Inscriptions / marks
- inscription: ‘Erentfeste, Vrome, onse Lieve Getrouwe Thomas Hees Resident en Commissaris wegens haer Ho: Mo: aende Regeringen van Algier, Tunis ende Tripolis. Algier’
- inscription: ‘Thomas Hees 52 jaar, Jan Hees 16 jaar, Andries Hees 24 jaar en Thomas de neger 17 jaar.’
- signature and date: ‘Michiel van Musscher Pinxit Anno MDCLXXXVII.’
Description
Thomas Hees worked as a diplomat in Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli (shown on the map in the book). There, he negotiated the release of Dutch sailors who had been conscripted as slaves. At the same time, he bought the African young man standing behind him, Thomas. He is 17, shoeless, and has an iron band around his neck: a reference to slavery and ownership.
Catalogue reference
Bronnen voor de geschiedenis van de levantsche handel XXXIV, 1917 (rijksgeschiedenispublicatiën), deel 34 V 0186.

Creation

Creation
painter: Michiel van Musscher
Dating
1687
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Material and technique

Physcial description
olieverf op doek
Material
Dimensions
height 76 cm x width 63 cm

This work is about

Person
Subject
Place

Acquisition and rights

Credit line
On loan from the Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis
Ownership
Copyright
Public domain

Documentation

- Bronnen voor de geschiedenis van de levantsche handel XXXIV, 1917 (rijksgeschiedenispublicatiën), deel 34 V 0186.
- B. Naderzad. 'Louis XIV, la Boullaye et l'exotisme Persan', Gazette des Beaux Arts 79 (1972), p. 37, afb. 11.
- Bulletin Nederlands Oudheidkundig Bond 1914, p. 246
- Spiegel Historiael 24 (1989) nr. 2, p. 69, 72.
- W.H. Vroom, 'Amsterdam in het Rijksmuseum', Ons Amsterdam 24 (1972), p. 179.
- http://www.hees1.humanities.uva.nl/ (Website gemaakt door Anna Lakmaker en Anna de Wilde, in het kader van de werkgroep 'Tussen moslims en christenslaven: de Nederlandse ambassadeur Thomas Hees in zeventiende-eeuws Algiers', onderdeel van de Master Geschiedenis aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam.)
- Documentatiemap Schilderijen: aantekeningen R. van Luttervelt (voor 1963), beschrijving historisch kader een aan artikel uit het Bulletin van den Nederlandsche Oudheidkundigen Bond: aanwinsten van het Mauritshuis.
- Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum (1999) nr. 2/3, p. 157-158, afb.