Letter biscuits

In 17th-century banqueting still-life paintings from the Low Countries, you often see beautifully formed letter biscuits. They are usually depicted in a light and darker reddish colour. Gold and silver leaf was often laid on these biscuits for the artist to play with. The letters lie there, as part of an array of festive treats, fruits and nuts, their gilding glistening and luring us into the painting. Peter Binoit (1590–1632) painted what is the most enticing heap of lette