The day that the Keukenhof opened the spring season on the 23th of April, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam added three Tulipa’s to it’s collection in the museum shop. Tulipa feels at ease in this beautiful museum, amongst the tulips still lifes of Jacob Marrel and Maria Sibylla Merian, famous painters in the 17th century. Painted flower still lifes became an increasingly important genre, but collecting precious and valuable tulips was also a trend during the Golden Age. The Dutch spoke of a Tulpomania around 1637, a time in which people bought tulip bulbs for 4000 guilders, the same prize as a canal house. Tulips stayed popular and became a national symbol till today. House of Hermeta Holland added a special and sparkling Tulipa to this. The design hook with a stem and leaf of aluminium and a mouth blown flower of Bohemian crystal glass is a true addition to the Rijksmuseum shop.
(l) Tulipa red. Photographer: Johannes van Camp; art director: Carina Riezebos
(r) ‘Tulp, twee takken mirte en twee schelpen’, Maria Sibylla Merian, 1700, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam