Fireplace Plaque Bearing The Van Der Reest Family Coat Of Arms (81x73 Cm)

A 17th-century fireplace plaque bearing the coat of arms of the van der Reest family of Brussels, who inherited the lineage of the Sweerts family through the marriage of Marcus van der Reest to Emerentiane Pasternaken, daughter of Augustin and Julienne Sweerts.
The Reets family was established as early as 1369 by Nicolas, followed by Guillaume in 1385 in Mechelen, a stone’s throw from Brussels.

All the Lignagers of Brussels and their descendants enjoyed a “sui generis” legal status that conferred upon them, in Brussels, significant legal privileges and, in fact, great prestige.

Plaque found in Vaas in the Sarthe department.
It weighs 120 kg.

Coat of arms: Argent, a fess azure, accompanied in chief by a lion gules, armed and langued or, rising from the fess, and in base by a six-pointed star or. Distinction: One fleur-de-lis in the chief and two in the base.

Regarding this distinction, we have been unable to attribute it, given that "very often, members of lineages modified and personalized their coats of arms (up until the 18th century) either by adding elements, changing a color, quartering with the arms of their lineage ancestors, or using a franc-quartier, etc. This use of variations was necessary because, due to the lineage system itself, there were many members of the magistracy who bore the same surname, and these variations were therefore necessary to identify each person’s decisions without confusing them with another family member.”

Our latest photo: A similar plaque, without a brisure, featuring an unidentified coat of arms, published by Henri CARPENTIER, *Plaques de cheminées*, Volume 1, F. DE NOBELE, Paris, 1912, p. 344, no. 961.

Sources:
- *Nobiliaire des Pays-Bas et du comté de Bourgogne*, M. DE VEGIANO, Sr. DHOVEl, 1865, Vol. 2, p. 1622.
- Bulletin of the Mechelen Archaeological, Literary, and Artistic Society, 1901, Volume 11, p. 64.
- HONORARY AND NOBLE TITLES IN THE DUCHY OF BRABANT.
The History of the Brabant Nobility, detailing the establishment of estates, seigneuries, and the names of titled individuals and families, 1705, end of Part II.
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