Cornelis Hayes or Heys was a Flemish jeweller who settled in London in 1524.

Career and works

In 1524 uncut diamonds from the wreck of the ''Martyn'' at Chichester were brought to Hayes by the wife of Arnold Stotlz, a brewer of Portsmouth. Hayes reported this to the authorities. In January 1527 Hayes supplied a jewel with 19 diamonds "set in trueloves of gold", love knots, possibly for

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

to wear on Valentine's day. Hayes made gilt pommels with roses and royal ciphers for a bed that Henry VIII used while hunting. He sold 19 diamonds to Henry VIII for the head dress of Anne Boleyn in December 1530, and, on another occasion a gold girdle and an emerald ring. He also made spangles, a variety of

sequin A sequin () is a small, typically shiny, generally disk-shaped ornament. Sequins are also referred to as paillettes, spangles, or ''diamanté'' (also spelled ''diamante''). Although the words sequins, paillettes, lentejuelas, and spangles can ...

for embroidery for the costumes of the royal guard. In 1531 he was allowed to expand his workshop with six foreign apprentices and 12 journeymen. Hayes repaired a

sceptre A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The '' Was'' and other ...

for the Coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533, and in 1534 made a silver cradle, apparently for her second pregnancy. Figures of Adam and Eve were painted by Hans Holbein the younger, Hayes moulded apples in relief. Hayes converted the arms of Cardinal Wolsey on gilt plate to Henry's royal arms, and restored enamel work. Hayes exchanged a gilt pomegranate, an emblem of Catherine of Aragon, on the cover of a salt from the queen's pantry for a rose. He twice repaired a table salt from the royal pantry originally made for Richard III that had a figure of a "Morion", a representation of an African man holding the covered salt dish, which was vulnerable to damage. The account notes, "a salte of golde with a cover called the Murrion whereof the murrion hede was broken in the necke that holdeth up the salte", and "the leggs of the murrion was broken". Richard III had pledged the Murrion salt to Richard Gardiner for a loan, redeemed by Henry VII. In February 1535

Ralph Sadler Sir Ralph Sadler or Sadleir PC, Knight banneret (1507 – 30 March 1587) was an English statesman, who served Henry VIII as Privy Councillor, Secretary of State and ambassador to Scotland. Sadler went on to serve Edward VI. Having signed the d ...

and Stephen Vaughan made an inventory of jewels supplied by Hayes to Henry VIII, which includes 60 great pearls and 440 lesser pearls, with a ''crapault'' or

toadstone The toadstone, also known as bufonite (from Latin , "toad"), is a mythical stone or gem that was thought to be found in the head of a toad. It was supposed to be an antidote to poison and in this it is like batrachite, supposedly formed in the ...

, prized as an antidote to poison. Hayes and the Welsh goldsmith Morgan Phelippe ''alias'' Wolf provided silver plate for the entourage of

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke o ...

. Hayes was appointed her household goldsmith. "Cornellys Harys" supplied silver plate to Princess Mary in 1544. Hayes made a "laire" or water pot in 1537 with a monogram of "H" and "J" for

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...

, engraved with a scene of Lucretia killing herself, and a pair of gilt bottles featuring dragons. These pieces were recorded in the inventory of Elizabeth I. Hayes may have realised designs for jewelry drawn by Hans Holbein. He lived in the parish of

All-Hallows-the-Great All-Hallows-the-Great was a church in the City of London, located on what is now Upper Thames Street, first mentioned in 1235. Destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, the church was rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. All-Ha ...

. His workmen or servants in 1541 included, Lambert Wolf, John Pynne, John Barnett or Barnard, and Sympson Gladbeck. He married Anne, the widow of Oliver Claymound. He bequeathed his properties outside England, "beyond sea", to his friends the glazier Galyon Hone and the goldsmith Paul Fryling, who were to serve as overseers of his will.

Kremlin water pots

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

gave two great water pots that Hayes had made to

Juan Fernández de Velasco y Tovar, 5th Duke of Frías Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías ( – 15 March 1613) was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat. Biography Juan Fernández de Velasco was the son of Íñigo Fernández de Velasco; and of Maria Angela de Aragón y Guzmán El Bueno. He i ...

Constable of Castile Constable of Castile ( es, Condestable de Castilla) was a title created by John I, King of Castile in 1382, to substitute the title ''Alférez Mayor del Reino''. The constable was the second person in power in the kingdom, after the King, and hi ...

, in 1604. Drawings were made of these treasures, and water pots made by William Jefferies in 1605 acquired by the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

, Michael of Russia, from Fabian Smith ''alias'' Ulyanov in 1629 may be replicas of Hayes' work. These pots are in the Kremlin Armoury Museum. Some replicas of the silver plate were made in 1608 and the Auditor

Francis Gofton Sir Francis Gofton (died 1628) was an English courtier and administrator. He was an auditor of royal accounts and jewels, Chief Auditor of the Imprest from 1597 and Auditor of Mint from August 1603. Gofton acquired the manor of Heathrow, and house ...

supervised the commission with instructions for the Privy Council of England. The Kremlin pots have dragon spouts and snake handles, as did another pot listed in Elizabeth's inventory, and two such pots appear in an inventory of 1607 drawn up by the goldsmith John Williams.Arthur Collins, ''Jewels and Plate of Elizabeth I'' (London, 1955), p. 487 no. 1078: Natalie Siselia, ''English Silver Treasures from the Kremlin'' (London, 1991), pp. 121, 158: Olga Dmitrieva & Natalya Abramova, ''Britannia & Muscovy: English Silver at the Court of the Tsars'' (Yale, 2006), p. 43.

References

External links

Technical description of a locket with the initials of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Cornelis English goldsmiths Court of Henry VIII Material culture of royal courts