Featured durch speculaas cookie molds

These two molds are in a friend’s possession and I am attempting to find the history of them. They are Dutch Speculaas cookie molds and have the artist's name imprinted on each side as to what we think is B.W. Siemons Amsterdam. I am familiar with wooden speculaas planks and molds but these appear to be plaster or clay. I am running in circles. I am most curious as to why these are not wooden but still quite old and antique.

 

u don't give the size.....
& they look to involved for cookies........but wdik...??

 

Ginger, I, too, am curious about why these are ceramic and not wood.

At this point, I truly wish I spoke Dutch, as just about everything I could find is in that language, and the translations to English make little sense to me.

(That said: can you help @Any Jewelry ??? )

I found a tiny bit of info about BW Siemons. They were located at 27
Utrechtschestraat in Amsterdam at least from about 1898 until 1913, but beyond that, I don't know. It is possible that this was a Jewish business among several others on that street, but I don't know for certain.

I did find a postcard from BW Siemons, said to be ca.1909, but I can't confirm that date:


This is the maker's mark I found for the company, shown on a WOODEN mold:

from:
https://haffmansantiek.nl/houten-speculaasplank-ca-1900.html?___store=en&___from_store=en

Is the mark on your friend's molds similar?

I do wish I could help more, but that's all I've got!

 

I think @Any Jewelry will be able to help...

She gave me a recipe for Rondels

 

Very nice, ginger.
Two very traditional motifs, the man with his dog and the woman with her parrot (that is what the bird is supposed to be). The parrot, like the speculaas spices, came from the Dutch East Indies.

Many Dutch speculaas molds look like this.

I have never seen that either, and can't find any info on it.

Yes, it is listed on a site about Jewish Amsterdam, they mention the date 1909. The surname is quite common for both Jewish and non-Jewish families here, although it is usually spelt Simons.
Siemons was a shop selling metalware, bakery goods, shop inventories, but also kitchen utensils, pots, pans, etc. So the mark is a shop mark, rather than a maker's mark.
Given the metalware thing, could the molds be metal with a ceramic coating? Maybe an innovative thing that didn't catch on?

Here is their ad for non-flaking, poison free enamel pans. Moreover, they sold complete fine quality kitchen sets for reasonable prices!


https://www.joodsamsterdam.nl/utrechtsestraat/

 

Have you tried it yet? Was your family impressed by your home made rondos?

 

Maybe they can tell you more at the Dutch bakery museum in Hattem, here is their e-mail address:
info@bakkerijmuseum.nl


https://www.bakkerijmuseum.nl/het-museum

Here is another one, in Luyksgestel, I know they have a collection of all kinds of molds:
https://www.bakkerij-museum.nl/

e-mail:
info@bakkerij-museum.nl

 

Thank you, everyone!

 

Not yet, @Any Jewelry
I blew it out on cornflakes cookies at Christmas .
I also need to go out to the Holland American Market for marzipan.
Definitely will do soon

 

While we're waiting, enjoy, everyone:

 

I’m thinking those were made for decorative wall hanging only.......the real molds I THINK ARE made of wood and carved in the NEGATIVE so they can be pressed into the dough.....at least that’s my two cents worth!!!!!

 

These are carved in the negative. Optical illusion maybe? The dough is pressed in the mold.

 

Probably AJ, they so looked like they were in the "positive"!!!!! Thanks!!! And one of my nieces has a pair (not so ornate though!) that I think are also wood, that are about two and a half feet tall, and are hanging on a wall!!! I have no clue where she got them except she also loves antiques!!!

 

Sounds beautiful! I only know them in wood as well, but someone could have experimented with other materials. Only to find out people preferred the wooden ones.

 

The motifs are old and very popular. In the 19th century hard wax copies of beautiful molds were sold for use and decoration. Some copies were made of resin or other composites. In the 1970s these were very collectible and used as wall decoration. My guess is that you items were copies of some beautiful old mold from perhaps as early as the 1700s. But as the motif is very traditional and popular, it could be a copy from a later mold with the same image. If you look at “speculaas molds” on eBay for example, you will see many similar molds.