Ostend 1710, Solid Silver, Trowel For Laying The Foundation Stone Of The Town Hall.

Trowel. Used on the occasion of the laying of the first stone of the (old) town hall of Ostend (1709) and offered at the time by the mayor, the aldermen, the treasurer, the clerk and the resident to the guild of masons of the city of Ostend. Engraved on the front with the coat of arms of the city of Ostend and bearing the inscription 'Den 8 July / 1710' and on the back with the names of the donors. Hallmarks: census hallmark (1832) for works prior to the independence of Belgium on the front and unidentified maker's hallmark on the back. Attached: the engraving with a view of the town hall of Ostend anno 1711. The city of Ostend decided to build a new town hall at the beginning of the eighteenth century after the destruction caused by the war of succession of Spain which eventually brought the southern Netherlands under the domination of the Austrian Habsburgs. This magnificent Town Hall will serve for two centuries until 1895, the year during which it was profoundly transformed (see postcard). Finally the building was completely destroyed by a bombing in 1940. All that remains is a beautiful engraving and a pretty silver shovel.....