Bonebakker Key of Amsterdam Collection
-
Bonebakker Key of Amsterdam Collection
The key of Amsterdam is a symbol of power & faith and a signature motive in the Bonebakker Collection.
The collection is based on the keys to the city of Amsterdam and were designed and created in 1806 by Adrianus Bonebakker, the founder of the Bonebakker jewellery house.
When in 1813, King William I (William Frederick, Prince of Orange Nassau) attends Amsterdam for his inauguration as the first, real king of the independent Kingdom of the Netherlands, he is offered the set of keys originally made for Louis Napoleon*.
It is this key, dating back to 1806, that still has a prominent place in Bonebakker’s jewellery collection today.
AN IMPORTANT SYMBOL FOR THE OLDEST JEWELLER IN THE NETHERLANDS
Today, the key represents a symbolic welcome in Amsterdam, in addition to the usual symbolism of the awakening of power, knowledge, new ideas and the mysteries of the heart.
The jewelry is designed with great attention to detail and created in Bonebakker’s atelier in Amsterdam.
*In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte appoints his brother Louis Napoleon as king of the Netherlands. The new king is full of good intentions for ‘his’ Holland and Adrianus Bonebakker designs and creates a set of keys to the city of Amsterdam, which are then officially handed to the beloved king by the Stadhouder (Governor) of Amsterdam.
After Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte has relieved Louis of his duties in The Netherlands, the emperor incorporates the country into his French empire and Bonebakker & Bennewitz also make a set of symbolic keys to the city of Amsterdam for him. These are handed to the emperor at the Muiderpoort city gate.
The keys are now exhibited in the Amsterdam Museum. In the museum you will also find a recently restored painting by Van Bree showing the scene where Napoleon is handed the keys by the governor of Amsterdam.