Presentation plate

This plate made of engraved pewter measures 29 cm in diameter. It was presumably made by Johann Philipp Volckmar, one of the few pewterers in Siegen in the second half of the 18th century. Several works by him can be found in the Siegerlandmuseum’s collection, including two communion pots. The recessed centre of the plate is engraved with an ornament consisting of a six-part rosette surrounded by six intersecting semicircles, each with a flower inside. Engraved on the rim of the plate is the following: I DON’T THINK MUCH OF PRETENCE, I AM AN ENEMY OF FALSEHOOD. HE WHO VALUES HONESTY IS MY BEST FRIEND – AND I SAY THAT IN THE YEAR 1778 I-H-ST-ET-A-M-ST. The rim of the plate is decorated with a narrow border. The Siegen city archives contain a reference to a meeting of the museum administration in August 1908, in which the purchase of new objects, presumably offered to the museum by private individuals, antique dealers or institutions, is discussed. It also refers to two pewter plates by Volckmar. The plate could therefore serve as an example of the various ways in which objects found their way into the museum.