A captain proud of his ship

The Cornelia en Maria was a Dutch ship that was engaged in the Baltic trade. In 1760 the ship was lost in a storm near Landskrona in Sweden with a cargo of timber from Frederikshavn (present-day Hamina in Finland) destined for Amsterdam. The vessel interesting since it is depicted on a tile-image in the house of its captain, Tade Hans Bandiks (1724-1808) from the island of Hooge in Germany. Due to the large maritime economy of the Netherlands in this period, it was not uncommon for foreigners to be employed in Dutch shipping.

The island of Hooge had a tradition of using painted tiles in houses. In the the Königspesel ('King's Parlour') on Hooge's main terp (an artificial mound used to protect houses or villages from the sea), there is a tile tableau depicting three ships. It was created in 1766 by the Dutch artist Pals Kartsen from Harlingen and was commissioned by Bandiks. It depicts the ships he commanded: the Cornelia en Maria and the ship he commanded since 1761, the Anna Maria. The tableau mentions the loss of the Cornelia en Maria in 1760.

The epigraph reads 'Tot Hiertoe Heeft Ons den Heer Geholpen Anno 1766', praising God that no bereavement has come upon the Bandiks household so far.

Daniel Zwick

The Cornelia and Maria (left) and the Anna Maria (centre) depicted on the tile tableau from Hooge.

Judging from the image and the trade route, it is possible that the Cornelia en Maria was a so-called fluyt.

The wreck has not been located.

• Dekker, P. (1971).
  Friese schepentableaus in Sleeswijk-Holstein.
  Zeewesen, 60.
  pp 26-31.