Diederik Lodewijk Bennewitz (20 July 1764 – 21 September 1826), also referred to as Dirk Lodewijk Bennewitz, was a Dutch

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary gre ...

and

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewellery, jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stonesetting, stone sett ...

Biography

Bennewitz was born in

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river above the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In re ...

in 1764 (near Hanover), born as the son of the Master Armourer (sword maker) Johann Ludewich Bennewitz (1734–1789) and Maria Margaretha Wingendorff (1727–1812). Bennewitz left Germany to move to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, where he started working for Cornelis Leonard Diemont. He completed his Master’s in silversmithing in 1785 after two years. He married Dorothea Korff (1765–1842) in Amsterdam during that same year. According to Van Benthem, Bennewitz had built up an excellent reputation as a silversmith. He had been asked to represent the Amsterdam Guild in The Hague on several occasions. He took over the company, together with Adrianus Bonebakker, in 1802, from the by then deceased brothers Jacob and Jan Hendrik Peirolet.

Bennewitz & Bonebakker

Bennewitz was tasked with managing the workshop within the Bennewitz and Bonebakker company. Bonebakker took responsibility for the business side of things. Prestigious assignments during this period included, for example, the ones commissioned by the City of Amsterdam to produce the so-called city keys. Bennewitz produced these keys to the City of Amsterdam in 1806, to be offered to King Lodewijk Napoleon as he entered the city. Circumstances dictated this didn’t actually happen until 1808. The same set of keys were used in 1813 during King Willem I’s entry. Bennewitz produced a second of keys to Amsterdam in 1811, which were handed to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

during his visit to Amsterdam. The second set wasn’t actually paid for by Amsterdam until four years later. The original keys now form part of the

Amsterdam Museum The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the building the Ams ...

’s collection. The company was commissioned by the City of Amsterdam to produce Prince Willem (later King

Willem II Willem II may refer to: People * William II, Prince of Orange (1626–1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands * William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands Other uses * Willem II (football club), a Du ...

) and Anna Paulowna’s wedding gift in 1816. This gift consisted of a 419-piece dinner service, an important part of which can still be admired in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Bennewitz & Zonen

Once Bennewitz and Bonebakker had parted ways in 1821, Bennewitz continued his activities under the ''Bennewitz & Zonen'' name. Bonebakker continued his company under the As Bonebakker & Zoon name. His widow took over the reins of the company following Bennewitz’s death in 1826, with her son George Bennewitz and her son-in-law Anthonie Knottenbelt both helping her to run the business. Bennewitz’s other sons, Dirk Lodewijk jr., Jacobus and Pieter, who were also all silversmiths, had already died by then. Much of Bennewitz’s work forms part of the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Sted ...

Amsterdam’s museum collection.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennewitz, Diederik Lodewijk 1764 births 1826 deaths Dutch silversmiths Dutch goldsmiths Dutch jewellers People from Rinteln