A PAIR OF DUTCH BRONZE SALUTING CANNON

Cornelis Ouderogge (1599-1672) and his brother Dirk (after 1600-1649) continued the Rotterdam iron foundry of their father Jan Cornelisz. Ouderogge (1573/4-1625) after his death, producing cannon and church bells. The foundry cast both salute cannon and large cannon for military use, the latter were placed on the ships of the admirality and on town walls; some of his cannons were still in use during the 19th Century to defend the walls of the city of Rotterdam.
Typical decorative elements for Ouderogge which can be seen on the present pair of cannon are the pineaple bosses issuing from a pentagonal acanthus terminal on a punched ground. A virtually idenical cannon with different cartouche and signed C.OVDEROGGE.FECIT ROTTERDAM is in the Boymans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam. Although this is a very early cannon for Ouderogge, a ships cannon from the wreck of the Eendracht was excavated from the sea in 2009, signed Ouderogge and dated 1631, now in the Marine Depot in Lelystad.