# Bust of Piet Heyn

- By: Hendrick de Keyser (II) (Amsterdam, 1613–1665)
- Date: 1636
- Medium: terracotta (clay material)
- Classification: figure
- Dimensions: height 80 cm x width 38 cm x depth 34 cm
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/BK-NM-2865-1--c7c2c78143110c25e37fe677724d83fc)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/ARnmM/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Piet Heyn became a seaman at a young age. When he was fifteen years old, he was taken prisoner by the Spanish and made to serve two years as a galley slave. After his release, Heyn pursued a career in the merchant marine: he held high-ranking positions in the Dutch West India Company. In 1628 he captured a Spanish treasure fleet (known as the ‘Silver Fleet’) off the coast of Cuba. A year later he perished at sea.