Cornelis Hayes or Heys (died 1547) was a Flemish jeweller who settled in London in 1524.Timothy Schroder, A Marvel to Behold: Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII (Woodbridge, 2020), pp. 243-4.

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.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), pp. 336-7.

In January 1527 Hayes supplied a jewel with 19 diamonds "set in trueloves of gold", love knots, possibly for Anne Boleyn to wear on Valentine's day.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), p. 236.

Goldsmiths who supplied plate to Henry VIII, especially for the distribution of New Year's Day gifts to courtiers, include Hayes, Robert Amadas, William Davy, John Freman, Nicholas Trapp, and Morgan Wolf.Maria Hayward, "Gift Giving at the Court of Henry VIII", Antiquaries Journal, 85 (2005), p. 133. Hayes gave Henry VIII a pair of gloves "garnished with gold" and two small fresh unsalted surgeons for New Year's Day 1529.Maria Hayward, "Gift Giving at the Court of Henry VIII", Antiquaries Journal, 85 (2005), p. 168.

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, an emerald ring, and a jewel featuring a Catherine wheel set with thirteen diamonds.Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), pp. 251–253. He also made spangles, a variety of sequin for embroidery for the costumes of the royal guard.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), pp. 156, 181, 188, 278, 335. In 1531 he was allowed to expand his workshop with six foreign apprentices and 12 journeymen.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), p. 335: James Gairdner, Letters and Papers, vol. 5 (London, 1880), no. 278 (8).

Hayes repaired a sceptre for the Coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533,Nicola Tallis, All The Queen's Jewels, 1445–1548: Power, Majesty and Display (Routledge, 2023), p. 172: Arthur Collins, Jewels and Plate of Elizabeth I (London, 1955), pp. 14, 268. and in 1534 made a silver cradle, apparently for her second pregnancy.Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), pp. 191, 232. Figures of Adam and Eve were painted by Hans Holbein the younger, Hayes moulded apples in relief.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), pp. 198, 313: Timothy Schroder, A Marvel to Behold: Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII (Woodbridge, 2020), pp. 184-5: Franny Moyle, The King's Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein (London, 2021).Nicola Tallis, All The Queen's Jewels, 1445–1548: Power, Majesty and Display (Routledge, 2023), p. 173.

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.Arthur Collins, Jewels and Plate of Elizabeth I (London, 1955), p. 290 no. 84: Letters and Papers, 7 (London, 1883), no. 10, TNA SP2 (P).

In February 1535 Ralph Sadler 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, prized as an antidote to poison.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), p. 119: Letters and Papers, 8 (London, 1885), no. 206.

Hayes and the Welsh goldsmith Morgan Phelippe alias Wolf provided silver plate for the entourage of Anne of Cleves. Hayes was appointed her household goldsmith.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), pp. 156, 306. "Cornellys Harys" supplied silver plate to Princess Mary in 1543 and 1544, some to serve as New Year's Day gifts.Frederic Madden, Privy Purse Expenses of Princess Mary (London, 1831), pp, 100, 152.

Hayes made a "laire" or water pot in 1537 with a monogram of "H" and "J" for Jane Seymour, 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.Arthur Collins, Jewels and Plate of Elizabeth I (London, 1955), pp. 302 no. 132, 408 no. 697.

Hayes may have realised designs for jewelry drawn by Hans Holbein.Ann Rosalind Jones & Peter Stallybrass, Renaissance Clothing and the Materials of Memory (Cambridge, 2000), p. 41.

He lived in the parish of All-Hallows-the-Great. His workmen or servants in 1541 included, Lambert Wolf, John Pynne, John Barnett or Barnard, and Sympson Gladbeck.Kirk & Kirk, Register of Aliens, 1523-1571 (Aberdeen, 1900), pp. 65, 92.

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 gave two great water pots that Hayes had made to Juan Fernández de Velasco y Tovar, 5th Duke of Frías, Constable of Castile, in 1604.Arthur Collins, Jewels and Plate of Elizabeth I (London, 1955), p. 486 no. 1077. Drawings were made of these treasures, and water pots made by William Jefferies in 1605 acquired by the Tsar, Michael of Russia, from Fabian Smith alias Ulyanov in 1629 may be replicas of Hayes's work. These pots are in the Kremlin Armoury Museum.Timothy Schroder, A Marvel to Behold: Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII (Woodbridge, 2020), pp. 243–4: Kremlin Armoury MZ 642, 643.

Some replicas of the silver plate were made in 1608 and the Auditor Francis Gofton supervised the commission with instructions for the Privy Council of England.HMC 9 Manuscripts of the Marquess of Salisbury, vol. 20 (London, 1968), pp. 82-3.

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