Uit Verre Streken / From Distant Shores - March 2023 - Zebregs&Röell

Uit verre streken Guus Röell & Dickie Zebregs

GUUS RÖELL & DICKIE ZEBREGS

Uit verre streken from distant shores

Colonial Art and Antiques, Exotica, Natural History and Scientific Taxidermy.

The Age of European Exploration, 17th - 19th century

Amsterdam & Maastricht, March 2023

Published by

Guus Röell and Dickie Zebregs March 2023 Maastricht 6211 LN, Tongersestraat 2 guus.roell@xs4all.nl tel. +31 653211649 (by appointment only) Amsterdam 1017DP, Keizersgracht 541-543 dickie@zebregsroell.com tel. +31 620743671 (by appointment only) Cover The Deshima cabinet, no. 45 Photography Michiel Stokmans Design A10design Printed by Pietermans Drukkerij, Lanaken, Belgium More images and further readings can be found at www.zebregsroell.com This catalogue and previous ones can be viewed at www.guusroell.com

Europe, the Americas and Africa

‘Het Oranjekabinet’

1 A magnificent and important Dutch marquetry cabinet on stand, by Jan van Mekeren (1658-1733) possibly made for William and Mary of England to commemorate their 10 year marriage anniversary Amsterdam, circa 1687 The oak cabinet, from top to bottom, is decorated with ‘arabesque’ or ‘seaweed’ marquetry in Turkish walnut (Juglans regia) on a holly (Ilex aquifolium) font, surrounded by a kingwood (Dalbergia cearensis) border.

H. 209 x W. 178 x D. 67 cm Provenance: King William & Queen Mary of England or their very close circle, thence by descent (possibly) Noble collection, England

The stellar feature of this cabinet is the fine marquetry, which shows scrolling vines, plants, and fruits, clearly recognizable but all in the same style. The design was not chosen randomly for it is full of symbolism specific for the marriage between William of Orange and Mary Stuart. The letters M and W can be found above each other on each side of the cabinet with vines and leaves forming a heart in between, praised on each side by a narcissus (a spring flower symbol of new beginnings). Further, the wellknown symbols for the House of Orange recognizable to many in the Netherlands have prominent places on the cabinet, such as the Appeltjes van Oranje which are oranges and their blossom (recognizable because it is the only plant bearing fruit and blossom at the same time); roses for England, olive branches, a symbol of peace and stability (a result of the alliance between England and Holland); thistles (the symbol of the House of Stuart, and Scotland); mistletoe, growing in pairs of branches and leaves (stands for being a couple) and is evergreen (for eternity); hazelnuts for fertility; and sunflowers for transitoriness and kinship.

There is even more iconography, but intended for a specific spectator, possibly even William and Mary only. The eagles, which stand for sharp insight and high ideals, are picking at wheat which could stand for life after death, reminding the spectator that however high your ideals are, there is an end to life. Furthermore, at the top center of the doors a heart-shape within two laurel wreaths can be seen – which could stand for the victory of love – the result of the marital alliance. The acorns (fruits of the endurance and power) in combination with blackberries are reminding the spectator that there is always a limit to power.

The daffodils beneath M love W at each side of the cabinet contribute to the exciting possibility of the royal provenance of this cabinet as they also are a symbol of ten years of marriage. Could this cabinet have been a gift by Mary to William to decorate Huis Honselaarsdijk when they celebrated their anniversary in 1687? This certainly matches the presumed date of this cabinet.

Now the most important feature of the cabinet is something never seen on Dutch period furniture before. It is probably something that – if not mentioned here - many would not even notice. When taking a few steps back, the scrolling vines, plants and flowers will combine and reveal a ferocious but proud Dutch crowned lion’s head on each door glaring back at the spectator.

It could be that this hidden symbolism was made for someone supporting William of Orange, which wasn’t always appreciated during his reign with Mary in England.

Maybe it is hidden in our eyes, but was it meant to be hidden? Sources prove that myths and symbolism were part of education and common knowledge and could easily be read – at least amongst the educated upper-class around William & Mary.

Another argument for the symbolism being not hidden is a bureau in the Royal Collection Trust, which was delivered by Gerrit Jensen (in who’s studio Van Mekeren worked) in 1690 to William & Mary. The decoration there carries the same symbolism and design as on the present cabinet, the only difference being a clear monogram with a crown above. The fact that the symbolic flora is just as present on the Jensen

cabinet, but without a monogram, show that they weren’t meant to be ‘hidden’ on both these pieces of furniture.

All these symbols together with the lion and eagles are seen in the portrait of the young William III by Jan Davidsz de Heem and Jan Vermeer van Utrecht and an engraving by Pieter van Gunst after Jean Henri Brandon and Van Mekeren (?) seems to have used this image for the decoration of this cabinet. Probably even more plants with their meanings could be identified, as well as combinations that were intended to be made, wich could reveal even more spectator-specific meanings. Unfortunately, much of the meaning of symbols of the 17th century and earlier has been lost or is not yet studied.

Two other cabinets like the present one are known; one can be dated – perhaps only a few months – earlier by style and the other one slightly later. It looks like Van Mekeren struggled with some difficulties he encountered while making this cabinet.

But that would be most strange for a master kistemaker who was able to create such complex furniture. The most noteworthy of all faults can be seen on the sides of the cabinet. On the side of the doors, the marquetry is cut off by the plain veneer border which makes it asymmetrical. The reason is that while designing the side the door breaking the frame when opened wasn’t taken into consideration. This points to the possibility of Van Mekeren using a design. Looking for a design one can now consult the Decorative Art Fund collection of the Rijksmuseum. A specific design for this cabinet is not present, but they all point towards Daniël Marot (1660/1661-1752), the personal designer for Mary and her close circle. Could it be that Marot answered her wishes and designed this cabinet? It would show that Van Mekeren – who didn’t solve the problem – did not struggle in designing, but rather struggled with the design of the cabinet. Marot and Mary, closely in contact with each other, would be aware of the symbolism, which in a similar way can be found in the famous ‘Amalia Cabinet’ by Willem de Rots dating from circa 1652-1657, ordered by Amalia van Solms and now in the Rijksmuseum (BK-2005-19). Perhaps Mary was inspired by this cabinet when she saw it in the Netherlands. We can for certain say that Marot knew the cabinet, since was a nephew of Willem de Rots.

It seem we can only conclude that this cabinet was ordered by Mary, for William or by the couple together – or at least by someone in their very close circle.

For further reading and additional photo’s visit: www.zebregsroell.com/oranjekabinet

2 A magnificent ebony, pen- engraved mother-of-pearl inlaid baleen veneered, collector’s cabinet attributed to Herman Doomer (1595-1650) and Jean Bellekin (c. 1597 - 1636) Northern-Netherlands, probably Amsterdam, circa 1640-1650 The ebony cabinet with four faun-like termini at the corners, with a lid with mirrors and two doors. Behind the doors, drawers and in the middle an interior behind a painting depicting Judith slaying Holofernes. At the bottom a retractable whale bone inlaid games-board. The drawers and the inside of the lid and doors are all decorated with a slat of uncoloured whale baleen, inlaid with finely engraved mother-of-pearl, silver thread and lacquer with precious materials, depicting birds of prey, a hunting man with dogs and deer, and two flower bouquets. The cabinet has a multitude of secret drawers and compartments.

W. 61 cm x D. 38.5 x H. 50 cm (closed) Provenance: Private collection, France

The attribution of this cabinet to Herman Doomer and Jan Bellekin was made by observing the high-quality carving and engravings and comparing the different attributed works of art by these artists in museums and literature. Prof. dr. Reinier Baarssen, Emeritus Curator Decorative Arts and Furniture at the Rijksmuseum, stated in his Herman Doomer, Ebony Worker in Amsterdam in Burlington Magazine in 1996 that only four cabinets and a picture frame can be attributed to Doomer. He eliminates the possibility that smaller ebony cabinets, like the one present, cannot be attributed to Doomer since they lack the quality of the museum cabinets. However, in the meantime, The Metropolitan Museum acquired a small kunstkabinet firmly attributed to the ebonist. Iskander Breebaart & Gert van Gergen state in “Pressed baleen and fan-shaped ripple mouldings by Herman Doomer” in: Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation, Amsterdam, 9-10 November 2012, pp. 62-74, that the ripple mouldings (ribbed frames around panels) in cabinets by Doomer should always end in a perfect corner, keeping the length of it in mind before carving. When studied, indeed, all corners are perfectly executed in the cabinets now attributed to Doomer in institutional collections - and most importantly in the cabinet presented here too. Moreover, when studying over a hundred kunstkabinetjes with robbelijsten, it can be stated that almost no corner is perfect with other ebony workers than Doomer.

Van Seters, in Oud-Nederlandse Parelmoerkunst in Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 1958, states that Jean Bellekin created a chessboard dated 1622, which is now in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg. The engravings and the board were signed by him, but Bellekin was not able to work with ebony due to the Guild restrictions. Van Seters states that another ebonist/frame-maker named Deutgens must have made the board for Bellekin, for he worked for paerlemoersneyder Van Rijswijck too, and some signed Bellekin pearl-shell engravings were in Deutgens’ estate when he died. However, in Doomer’s estate, there was even more work by Bellekin. The (unsigned) cabinet present has identically engraved mother-of-pearl figures to those on the signed chessboard, indicating that Jean Bellekin, almost without doubt, must have made these. This supports the attribution of this chessboard to Doomer.

The overall ebony veneered cabinet has four ebony termini in the form of a faun-like figure at the corners. Behind the two doors centrally a copper fall-front, on which an oil painting depicting Judith slaying Holofernes is painted, reveals an interior which can be taken out, revealing another hidden interior with drawers. Two drawers flank this centre on each side. Above is a false drawer, which can be lifted to reveal a secret drawer when the top lid, with three panels with mirrors on the inside, is open. The large drawer at the bottom is placed above a retractable whale bone or marine ivory games board.

The front of each drawer, the inside of the doors and the inside of the lid are decorated with slats of uncoloured whale baleen, inlaid with finely engraved motherof-pearl, silver thread and a sort of lacquer.

The cabinet is unconventional in its decoration in many aspects. The use of unworked baleen and whale bone or ivory is unique too, since it was a relatively affordable material not regarded as very precious. It has inlays with birds of prey and a hunter with dogs and prey deer, next to a painting of Judith slaying Holofernes. It is possible that this cabinet was ordered by a Catholic merchant in the whale hunt industry, who, as a private trader, was battling the cartel of the Noordsche Compagnie. The struggle between Judith and Holofernes – amongst Catholics widely known as the equivalent of David and Goliath – might have been the perfect choice for a cabinet ordered at the height of the ‘battle’ for the whaling industry.

For more images and further reading on the attribution, visit: www.zebregsroell.com/ herman-doomer

3 Cornelis Liefrinck (Leiden c. 1581 – after 1652) Departure of Puritans from Delft harbour to join the ‘Mayflower’ to the New World, 1620 Oil on oak panel (single sheet) H. 44.7 x W. 58.1 cm Provenance: The Duke of Marlborough Collection, Blenheim Palace (according to a label on the reverse); Collection of the Anglo-American painter George Henry Boughton (1833-1905), London/New York, by 1895; (presumably) by descent to his wife Katherine Louise Boughton née Cullen (1845-1919); Collection of the ambassador James John Van Alen (1848-1923), Newport, Rhode Island; by descent to his wife Margaret Louise Van Alen Bruguière née Post (1876-1969); her deceased sale, Christie’s London, 5 December 1969, lot 61 (as Flemish School 17th century); Bought by the consortium of dealers Herbert Terry-Engell, London (advertised in Apollo, May 1970), Hermann Abels, Cologne, and Evert Douwes, Amsterdam (as by Adam van Breen and as depicting the Pilgrim Fathers with the Mayflower); Purchased from the latter, 26 October 1972, by a Swiss private collector Literature: - Not in the Blenheim Palace collection catalogue of 1862 (by George Scharf) - Harper’s Weekly, Vol. XXXIX, no. 1994 (March 9, 1895), p. 228 (ill.)

- Joseph Dillaway Sawyer and William Elliot Griffis, History of the Pilgrims and Puritans. Their ancestry and descendants, basis of Americanization, New York 1922, ill. p. 248 (as the Departure of the Speedwell from Delfshaven) - Albert Eekhof, ‘The latest Discoveries about the History of the Pilgrim Fathers’, in: Lectures on Holland for American Students, Leiden 1924, pp. 85-100 - F. Ziner, The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, New York 1961, p. 53 - L.W. Cowie, The Pilgrim Fathers, London 1970, pp. 50-51 (as the Departure of the Speedwell from Delfshaven), pp. 50-51 & cover (ill.)

- Nick Bunker, Making haste from Babylon. The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World. A new History, New York, 2010, cover (ill.)

- Laura Hamilton Waxman, Why did the Pilgrims come to the New World? And other Questions about the Plymouth Colony, Minneapolis, 2010, p. 15 (ill.)

Otto Nelemans, Lost in interpretation. De zoektocht naar een verloren titel van een schilderij van Adam Willaerts (1577-1664), Utrecht, 2020, p. 17, fig. 19 (as by Adam van Breen) Exhibited: Terry-Engell Gallery, London, Twenty-Five important Dutch and Flemish Master Paintings, no. 2 (as by Adam van Breen and with ‘illegible signature) - Abels Gemälde-Galerie, Cologne, Niederländische Gemälde von 1540-1700, 15 April – 31 May 1972, ill. cat. p. 7 (as by Adam van Breen and reported as being signed)

The present picture is part of the collective memory of all those interested in the early history of the United States, as it is reproduced in many publications dealing with the Pilgrim Fathers and their exodus to the New World. In 1608, a group of about hundred deeply religious Calvinists, refusing to subordinate themselves to the ordinance of the Anglican church, set sail from Nottinghamshire to escape persecution under James I. Their leader, the elderman William Brewster, chose to set course to the Dutch Republic, known for its religious tolerance. After a short stay in Amsterdam they settled in the city of Leiden, where they moved into some small houses, also known as the Wevershuisjes, close to the Pieterskerk church. Even though they were allowed to have their own sermons and to live life according to their principals, the group were weighed down by poor poverty. Besides, their leaders feared assimilation with lesser orthodox puritans within the Leiden community.

From 1617 the idea emerged to emigrate to the ‘New World’. Here they would eventually start a society in compliance with their strict interpretation of the Bible.

The ship ‘Speedwell’ was equipped to transport a selection of members from the group, and the departure took place from Delfshaven as soon as July 1620. The painting shows the ship and its passengers in advance of their long journey, probably at the very moment they took off for a Day of Solemn Humiliation, of fasting and Bible lecture. In all their actions, the colonists coordinated with God to be assured of His approval.

The intention for the ‘Speedwell’ had been to join the ship ‘Mayflower’ off the coast of Southampton, from where the two ships with pilgrims would continue in convoy.

Unfortunately, the ‘Speedwell’ proved unfit for the transatlantic journey as it leaked.

Therefore, the crew of the Dutch ship went on board of the ‘Mayflower’. After some detours the puritans arrived in Massachusetts where they established Plymouth Colony. At the very beginning the inexperienced settlers met with the friendliness of the local native Americans, who supported them in their basic needs.

Until this day the story of the Pilgrim Fathers is a central theme in the history and culture of the United Sates. It has been calculated that there may be as many as 35 million living descendants of the Pilgrims worldwide. The settlers in Plymouth Colony are credited with organizing the first Thanksgiving Day, which would have derived from the October 3rd-celebrations in Leiden, honouring the Relief of the city from the Spanish siege.

A citizen of Leiden and later bailiff of the neighbouring village of Rijnsburg, the painter Cornelis Liefrinck lived in the Mandemakerssteeg, not far from the Pieterskerk.

He was the son of a painter-cartographer from Antwerp, Hans Liefrinck II, a specialist in the maritime genre, who must have been Adam Willaerts master during the latter’s sojourn in Leiden. As Otto Nelemans has observed, the figure of the markententser walking a dog in the left foreground of our picture, also appears in Willaerts’ painting of ‘The Departure of the Pilgrim Fathers from Delfshaven’ in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (access.no. 2020.408).

Cornelis Liefrinck, in turn, may be credited for being Willem van de Velde the Elder’s master. The Van de Velde family inhabited a house in the very same alley as the Liefrinck’s did. Apart from that, in 1621, the young Willem and his father joined their neighbour as a representative of the city’s militia on a mission to Grave in Brabant. The operation is the subject of a series of three etchings by Liefrinck junior, dating from 1622. The idiosyncratic rendering of the masts in one of these prints is remarkably equal to our picture. The staffage - most particularly the dog - compares well to Liefrinck’s signed picture in the Lakenhal, Leiden (inv.no. S 3533).

4 A beautiful Portuguese chased silver oval dish Inscribed with possibly the maker’s initials AMB, 2nd quarter 18th century Chased all-over with scrolling motifs of acanthus leaves and bunches of grapes, in the heightened oval centre of the plate an exotic bird with spread wings sitting on a branch holding a vine in his beak.

L. 38.5 x H. 3 cm Weight 590 grams

The Baroque-style with Italian influence was prevalent during the reign of João V, the Great-hearted, o Magnânimo, also known as the Portuguese Sun King, Rei-Sol Português. His long reign, from 1706 until 1750, was a time of relative tranquillity and prosperity due to an influx of gold and silver from Brazil. Portuguese silver from the 18th century was seldomly marked and if it was, only with town marks, mostly with L for Lisbon or P for Porto. So far only the initials AM and TC are known and are unidentified maker’s marks.

5.

A Kayapó Amazon Indigenous feather men’s headdress Brazil, Mato Grosso, Tapirapé, collected in the 1950s-1960s H. 70 cm The base of the headdress is an open-topped hourglass-shaped cap made of woven raffia. The lower ring is covered with white feather down, above which a band of Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) down feathers is knotted on a string that covers the quills of a black-green iridescent row of a Penelope bird or Spix’s guan (Penelope jacquacu) feathers trimmed at the upper edge, above which one row of cropped white Jabiru stork (Jabiru mycteria) feathers towers. Finally, the ensemble is finished with a wreath of vibrant red and blue tail-feathers from the Scarlet macaw and Yellow-breasted blue macaw (Ara ararauna).

Literature: - Gisela Völger & Ursula Dyckerhoff et al., Federarbeiten der Indianer Südamerikas aus der Studiensammlung Horst Antes, Oktagon Verlag, Stuttgart, 1995, no. 199 (comparable)

6.

Two splendid small Kayapo Amazon Indigenous feather male àkkàkry-re headdresses Brazil, Pará, collected in the 1950s-1960s These small headdresses, which male dancers would wear during ritual and ceremony, have feathers that are used in variants determined by a specific ritual privilege. They both mostly consist of cotton string and green Amazon Parrot (Psittacidae spp.) feathers. One has a row of Sunbittern (Eurypyga helias) feathers to the sides of three centrally placed long Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) wing feathers at the top. The other has a row of cropped Yellow-breasted Blue Macaw (Ara ararauna) with centrally two yellow and a macaw feathers.

H. 94 cm & H. 101 cm (incl. cotton strings) Provenance: Collection of an anthropologist, Ireland (collected in the 1950s-1960s) Literature: - Gisela Völger & Ursula Dyckerhoff et al., Federarbeiten der Indianer Südamerikas aus der Studiensammlung Horst Antes, Oktagon Verlag, Stuttgart, 1995, p. 228-229 - Gustaaf Verswijver, Kaiapo Amazonia: the art of body decoration, SnoeckDecaju & Zoon, Ghent, 1992, p. 169

The Kayapo are linguistically and culturally counted among the Ge peoples, who once settled large parts of central and eastern Brazil but are traditionally seminomads. Now they no longer

build their villages in remote clearings near small rivers, but on the large navigable rivers near government stations with schools, medical care, shops, and an airport. However, the men still occasionally venture on larger hunting trips. The Kayapo are passionate makers, and users, of feather headdresses. They keep thirty-five species of birds as pets, which they collect with blunt arrows without injuring them.

Because the birds as a result of loss of habitat are become scarcer the Kayapo now replace the valuable feathers in headdresses that are intended for sale (the Brazilian government has allowed them to do this since the early 1970s), with feathers that are more common and less important to them.

Wearing feather headdresses is associated with privileges that were bestowed upon a man throughout his life. The composition, simple or detailed, as well as the form of the feather headdress, are determined exclusively by individually granted privileges. This way, leaders, elders, chiefs, and shamans are distinguished from other members of society.

7 A Rikbaktsa Amazon indigenous feather and hair headdress Brazil, Mato Grosso, Rio Juruena & Rio Sangue, collected in the 1950s-1960s H. 65 cm (incl. stand)

8 A superb jewelled gem-set repoussé silver Ottoman miquelet flintlock rifle Ottoman Empire, Turkey, 19th century The octagonal watered steel 8-faceted barrel is damascened at the muzzle and breech with gold arabesques, with a lock with similar gold decoration and dated 1038AH (1628 CE). The full stock is entirely covered in silver repoussé with floral scrolls, showing traces of gilding, decorated with two crescent moon appliques and centrally a star applique inset with cabochon-cut rubies and emeralds.

L. 107.5 cm / L. 72.3 cm (barrel) Provenance: - Collection William Randolph Hearst, New York - Private collection, New York - Auction Parke-Bernet Galleries Inc., New York, 25 November 1953, lot 27 (ill.)

- Private collection, United States

A famous related example is the bejewelled gun, wrongly attributed as being made for Ottoman sultan Mahmud I (r. 1730-1754) in the collection of The Walters Art

Museum in Baltimore (access.no. 51.84). The Baltimore gun, however, conceals compartments for a dazzlingly adorned dagger, like the one included with this gun, and set of writing instruments. But to get to these, one has to open the hinged door bearing the diamond-encrusted insignia or tugra of Mahmud I and the date AH 1145 (1732/33 CE). This date, as well as the date on the gun, should probably not be read as the year when it was made, but rather as a tribute to the past. in some cultures, it is very normal to honour previous rulers or periods by using their name or insignia on art. The Ottoman empire evolved around the capital and only provided for its royal court located there. The Sultans on their turn were able to gift local rulers, such as the Khedive of Egypt, a local Shah or the Dey of Algiers or Tunis, with these exuberant gifts. Only few of them have survived the test of time, since after the Ottoman empire fell, it was more attractive to choose silver or gold coins than a silver or gold gun.

Most of them, therefore, were melted down.

Another closely related gun, a miquelet pistol, can be found in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum in New York (access no. 23.232.9), and an 18th century one can be found in: Robert Elgood, The Arms of Greece and Her Balkan Neighbours in the Ottoman Period, Thames and Hudson, 2009, p. 34 (ill.).

The headband is made of cotton fabric, densely covered with small tufts of feathers that were incorporated during weaving, with 21 long threads with continuing tufts and feather bundles at the ends. On the band, the tufts of feathers are placed in a banded arrangement, with black Hokko bird or Great curassow (Crax rubra) feathers alternated with feathers of the Scarlet macaw (Ara macao) and the Ariel toucan (Ramphastos ariel).

Placed below the 21 threads are 29 long Scarlet macaw and Yellowbreasted blue macaw (Ara ararauna) tail feathers, each with a bunch of colourful feathers tied to the tips. Locks of black human hair are suspended from the sides of the band at the ears of the wearer.

Provenance: - Collection of an anthropologist, Ireland (collected in the 1950s-1960s) - Private collection, the Netherlands Literature: - Gisela Völger & Ursula Dyckerhoff et al., Federarbeiten der Indianer Südamerikas aus der Studiensammlung Horst Antes, Oktagon Verlag, Stuttgart, 1995, no. 223 - Real Jardín Botánico, Arte Plumario de Brasil, Instituto de Cooperación Iberoamericana, Comisión Quinto Centenario, 1988, p. 10, fig. 215

Rikbaktsa people live in the continuous Indigenous Lands Erikbaktsa (1968), Japuíra (1986) and Do Escondido (1998), in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Mato Grosso, and around Rio Juruena & Rio Sangue.

Since the 17th century Rikbaktsa lands have been visited by Europeans, and both have always been hostile towards each other. By repute, the Rikbaktsa always were at war with the neighbouring tribes, being known as fierce warriors. Ages of European oppression and exploitation diminished the population numbers, but in the 1970s there was a change in the approach of the missionaries towards the Indigenous, recognizing their right to their own culture. Since the end of the 1970s the Rikbaktsa have struggled to regain control over part of their traditional lands. In 1985 they managed to recover the area known as Japuíra and continued their effort to get back the Escondido region, which was finally demarcated in 1998. However, it is still occupied by miners, timber companies and colonization companies.

Part of the revenue will be donated to the Rikbaktsa for conservation and protection of their rightful lands.

9 A Yoruba carved wooden ‘colon’ door Nigeria, Yoruba tribe, early 20th century H. 118 x W. 61 cm

Depicted on the door is an English military man on horseback with four Yoruba soldiers with guns over their shoulders. The Yorubas worked with a wide array of materials in their art including; bronze, leather, terracotta, ivory, textiles, copper, stone, carved wood, brass, ceramics and glass.

A unique feature of Yoruba art is its striking realism that, unlike most African art, chose to create human images that are based on reality, rather than the divine or spiritual.

10 Charles Henry Joseph Cordier (1827-1905) ‘African Venus’ (c. 1851) Bronze, H. 12.2 cm ‘Saïd Abdallah of the Mayac Tribe, Kingdom of Darfur’ (1848) Bronze, H. 12 cm Charles Cordier’s career as a sculptor really took off in 1848 after completing a portrait bust of Seïd Enkess, a freed enslaved African, who became a professional model in Paris. Cordier exhibited the bust under the title Saïd Abdallah of the Mayac Tribe, Kingdom of Darfur. This marked the beginning of his ethnographic work, which ultimately made him famous.

Provenance: William and Marijke Bevan Collection, Uckfield, England.

Exhibition: The present two heads were included in the travelling exhibition Facing the Other: Charles Cordier (1827-1905), Ethnographic Sculptor, Musés d’Orsay, Paris 2004, Musée National des Beauxarts du Québec & Dahesh Museum of Art, New York, and are described and illustrated in the accompanying exhibition catalogue by Laure de Margerie, Maria Vigli, Eduard Papet & Christine Barthe, on p. 75, ill. 92 & 93.

In 1851 Cordier exhibited at the London Crystal Palace Great Exhibition. Here, Queen Victoria acquired the bust of Saïd and the bust of the African Venus as gifts for Prince Albert. In the same year Cordier received a commission from the French state to make bronze busts of Saïd and African Venus for the anthropology room at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.

In 1856 a grant enabled Cordier to leave on a mission to Algeria to study the various types of people from the standpoint of art. He was less interested in the European ‘classical’ Venus than in the African Venus and became the most important ethnographic and anthropological sculptor of the nineteenth century.

11 Johan Christiaan Alexander Willem Mulder (1895-1988) ‘African women’ Signed and dated JMulder 1955 lower right Oil on board, H. 60 x W. 44.6 cm The work presented here is part of the ‘Africanist’ tradition.

Till the end of the 19th century, Africa was a no-go-area for white people as it was considered far too dangerous.

Only after the ‘discovery’ of and the subsequent scramble for Africa by Europe, the ‘Black Continent’ was safe enough for European artists.

12 Dominique van den Bossche (18541906) ‘Fille Sanco, 1905’ ​ Signed, titled and dated on the front side Terracotta, H. 30 cm Depicted is a girl, with a striking hairstyle and adorned with jewels, from the Sange or Songe tribe, a Bantu ethnic group from the Central Democratic Republic of Congo, former Belgian Congo. Many artists went to Africa funded by the government to depict its people.

13 Charles H.D. Boland de Spa (1850-after 1903) ‘The Lion Family’ Signed Charles Boland lower right Oil on canvas, H. 75.5 x W. 108.5 cm Charles Boland was a Belgian painter, best known for his paintings of animals, particularly dogs. He studied at the Antwerp Academy. In 1878 he participated in the ‘Prix de Rome’ and in 1883 he was one of the founders of the Antwerp Society of Arts, Union Artistique des Jeunes better known as the society ‘Als ik Kan’.

14 A traditional Ashanti Chief’s velvet and giltwood Leopard crown Ghana, early 20th century Diam. 17 cm (crown) H. 27 cm (incl. stand)

15 An Ashanti Chief’s ceremonial gold and gilt-metal crown and sash Ghana, early 20th century Diam. 20 cm (crown) L. 128 cm (sash) H. 102 cm (incl. stand)

16 A splendid Bouelé Chief’s gilt-wood crown and sceptre in the form of a Pith helmet and pipe Ivory coast, late 19th/early 20th century H. 13 x L. 33.5 x D. 26 cm (crown) L. 14 cm (sceptre) H. 51 cm (incl. stand) Provenance: Private collection, Paris

The sash, in gold and gilt-metal on velvet, is completely of traditional Ashanti form. The filigree crown however in our opinion shows clear influence from the Art Nouveau styles in vogue in Europe in the early 20th century.

Rivalry between the Ashanti Kings or Chiefs was, and still is, common in the region. A chief, who before flaunted with a traditional crown, clearly thought the ‘fashionable’ Pith helmet of a European colonialist or visitor would outshine the crown of his neighbouring competitor. Certainly, this gilt wood version, together with a sceptre in the form of a European pipe, did the job. Nowadays, Bouelé people are still seen wearing fashionable designer brand sunglasses, purses, or other accessories, all made of gilt wood.

17 Ngombé (1942-1990) ‘Kneeling woman’ Signed and dated Ngombé ‘74 lower centre Oil on canvas H. 91 x W. 56.5 cm Provenance: Collection of Baron Powis de Tenbossche (1924-1999), Woluwe-Saint-Pierre

In 1944 the Belgian Jean Powis de Tenbossche joined the Resistance in Bruges and became a member of the Jerôme group, which was led by Willy Bruynseraede.

After the War he became a military officer and left for Congo, where he stayed until after the independence. He became colonel and advisor to President Mobuto and remained loyal to him until the regime was overthrown in 1997. Powis was a Knight in the Order of Malta and Lieutenant-colonel in the Belgian army. In 1985 he was elevated a Baron and took the motto “Doe wel en zie niet om”, which translates to ‘Do good and don’t look back’.

Powis presumably received this painting from President Mobuto as a token of his gratitude.

Ngombé is one of the most famous painters of the Congo School. He developed a scratchy style, and his art presents beautiful characters with ancestral tributes. The women painted by him, “generous in their forms, have facial expressions charged with an angelic innocence, a touching slow rhythm and seem to possess a wisdom beyond our comprehension.”

Indian Ocean

18 Quirijn Maurits Rudolph Verhuell (1787-1860) ‘Two Gentleman in the Mauritius landscape, with Port Louis beyond’ Signed on the mount lower left Watercolour and gouache on paper H. 26.5 x W. 35.1 cm In 1819 Verhuell was in Mauritius on his way back to Holland from the Dutch East Indies, where he had been sent in 1815 to help restore the Dutch government after the British rule under Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles of the Dutch East Indies during the French occupation of Holland. The present watercolour and a very similar one in the Maritiem Museum Rotterdam (inv. no. P2161-96) were probably both painted in Holland after sketches Verhuell drew on Mauritius. Paul et Virginie by J.H. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, set on the island of Mauritius, was one of Verhuell’s favourite novels and he wanted to visit and make drawings of the places described in the novel. In his memoir Herinnering aan een reis naar Oost-Indië (1835) he describes the view that can be seen in the present painting and how it reminded him of the unhappy love story of Paul et Virginie.

19 A terracotta sculpture of a dodo 20th century, sculpted by Carlo Bellini for a terracotta factory in Tuscany H. 49 x L. 62 x D. 42 cm As no complete dodo specimens exist, its external appearance, such as plumage and colouration, is hard to determine. Illustrations and written accounts of encounters with the dodo between its discovery and its extinction (1598–1662) are the primary evidence for its appearance. According to most representations, the dodo had greyish or brownish plumage, with lighter primary feathers and a tuft of curly light feathers high on its rear end. The head was grey, the beak green, black and yellow, and the legs were stout and yellowish, with black claws. A study of the few remaining feathers on the Oxford specimen’s head showed that they were pennaceous rather than plumaceous (downy) and most similar to those of other pigeons.

20 A unique and important Persian export lacquer Chinoiserie box for the Dutch market depicting Leiden cloth-traders Persia (Iran), Qajar, 19th century H. 7.6 x W. 28.8 x D. 25.5 cm This simple, rectangular lacquer box offers a most curious mixture of cultural influences that skilfully masks its likely point of origin. The dichromatic composition in black and gold immediately strikes us as being East-Asian, especially when discovering the distinctly Chinese landscapes and junks – with a single Dutch 17thcentury VOC three-master - on the sides of the box. However, careful inspection reveals that all the motifs are oil painted rather than using the East-Asian technique of sprinkling gold powder into unhardened lacquer, ruling out China or Japan. Further studying the beautifully spirit-varnished lid, we can distinguish four unmistakably European traders who are in conclave about a large batch of neatly folded cloth. Are we then looking at a European-made Chinoiserie lacquer box?

Chinoiserie designs did occur in European lacquer workshops in the 19th century (the Adt factory in Saarbrücken and Forbach is known to have produced such items) influences of Islamic/Persian lacquerware were limited to early Venetian lacquer of the 16th and very early 17th century, which this box certainly isn’t, ruling out European lacquer.

The truth appears to lie in the geographical middle, as the medallions surrounding the central motif portray lions, deer, and oxen that echo the Islamic tradition of decorating in the Middle East and India. Occidentalism is a characteristic feature of Persian lacquer in the 19th century. The Persian lacquer painters even copied Russian lacquers very carefully and on a high artistic level.

The confoundingly accurate mixture of styles and the undeniable quality of the decorations appear to point towards the Persian lacquer workshops of the 19th century. The artisan who produced the piece must have had access to a variety of

lacquerware imports from the Far East, for he successfully managed to incorporate several distinct cultural tropes into a wellbalanced composition that would have tricked even the most experienced collectors of its age.

It is possibly a unique feature that somebody deliberately made a combination of three distinct lacquer cultures within a single item. Clearly, the person who commissioned the box was keenly aware of such cultural differences and perhaps even a collector of the lacquers of the world. All motifs are painted in a truly convincing manner, and display none of the ‘clumsiness’ that is often seen when artisans try to copy motifs from foreign cultures. Especially the Chinese ‘Cantonese’ motifs are so bafflingly well done, that they might have even fooled some of the most respected connoisseurs in the field.

The decoration seems to be referring to the (Dutch) cloth-trade and seems to be a free interpretation of an 18th century engraved label on packages of bales of Leiden fabric.

The position, but especially the hands of the left figure in the back is exactly the same as on the copper plate, as well as other features, amongst which the cartouche, that recognizable. The copper plate for this engraving is in the collection of Museum de Lakenhal in Leiden (inv. no. 11056). This design can also be found on Chinese export porcelain, possibly ordered by a cloth-trader, dating from circa 1750 of which few pieces are known but a drainer was sold by us to the Lakenhal Museum but is not registered yet.

Perhaps a 19th century Dutch dealer in Eastern textiles or rugs - a collector of lacquerware as well - ordered this box? We can only say with certainty that the collector must have been as eccentric and worldly as the box itself.

In the collection of the Museum für Lackkunst in Munster is a small oval Persian box depicting a monk in a comparable golden ornamental frame, which dates from the late 19th century.

21 A rare Portuguese-Sinhalese openwork ivory and ebony casket with silver mounts Sri Lanka, 1st half 17th century H. 10 x W. 23.2 x D. 16 cm The ebony box with ivory borders and silver hinges, lock plate and corner mounts, is entirely covered with open work ivory panels. This type of work was typically done during the Portuguese period on Sri Lanka.

The ivory decoration on the front, back and both sides consists of branches springing from vases and ending in flower bases from which women appear. The mythical climbing vines ending in the appearance of a woman are a very commen element in Kandyan design and known as nãri-latã-vẹla “in all wise of perfect beauty, glorious in grace.” Like most other mythical things the Nãri-latã-vẹla is supposed to grow in the himalayas where has been known to shake the resolution of hermits. The central decoration of the woman on top of the elephant holding flowers in both hands may be associated with the goddess Śrĩ (Laksmĩ) the consort of Vishnu, the feminine beauty personified and goddess of fortune.

A similar box in the collection of the National Museum of Colombo is illustrated in Portugal e Ceilão, Pedro Dias, Lisboa 2006, p.179.

22 A small Indian armorial palempore for the European market Coromandel Coast, possibly Pulicat, 1st half 18th century Mordant-dyed and resist-dyed in red, blue and black, wadded with cotton and quilted. On a field of sprigged floral pattern, in the four corners vases with a bunch of flowers and in the centre a coat-of-arms under ducal crowns.

H. 137 x W. 105 cm This type of sprigged floral pattern was particularly popular in France, where imitations, called paillaca, were made in the mid-18th century. The coat-of-arms of the French lineage Honoré (Bouche-du-Rhône, Provence) is very similar, d’azur à la bande d’argent accompagnée d’un soleil rayonmant et d’un lion rampant d’or. The problem however is that the sun and lion have been switched around and the colours of the lion and sun are not gold but white for silver. However the gold colour may have been faded. Another resemblant coat-of-arms is that of the Sicilian noble lineage Amato (Palermo, Merssina, dukes of Caccamo, princes of Galati, etc.) The coat-ofarms described in Italian: D’azzuro alla banda d’oro e dun leone d’oro passante accompagnata all’angolo destro da una cometa d’oro e nell’angolo destro della punta da una stella della stesso d’azzuro. Again, the colours are not right and the star accompanying the lion is lacking in the palempore. The ducal crown however better fits the noble Italian Amato lineage than the bourgeois French Honoré family. So, it is not certain which of the two families is represented on the palempore although the Italian Amato family seem a bit more likely. A third possibility is the Portuguese monastry of Santo Tirso.

Disappointingly, again the colours of the lion and sun are gold, the diagonal band has become two silver and a blue waved bands and the lion is holding a staff.

Besides the crown has is a silver mural crown with three towers. Also lacking is the white listel with the caption in capital letters: “FREGUESIA DE SANTO TIRSO.” So none of these three coats of arms completely fits the one on the palempore. Local craftsmen (or women) in India may have misunderstood the European coat-of-arms.

ARTMORIAL Zebregs & Röell Fine Art Keizersgracht 543 1017 DP Amsterdam

Den Haag, 1 februari 2023 Betreft: wapen (palempore) Geachte heer Röell, beste Guus, In antwoord op uw vraag d.d. 6 januari jl. inzake een wapen (afb. 1) op een vroeg 18e-eeuwse palempore kan ik u als volgt mededelen. Qua stijl komt het wapen op mij op het eerste zicht over als zijnde Frans of Italiaans; Spaans lijkt het mij niet, Portugees zou kúnnen.

Honoré

Amato

afb. 1

Frequesia de Santo Tirso

Ik heb diverse bronnen geraadpleegd, maar kan het wapen helaas niet met absolute zekerheid identificeren. Sterk gelijkend is het wapen van een Frans geslacht Honoré (Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence): ‘d’azur à la bande d’argent accompagnée d’un soleil rayonnant et d’un lion rampant d’or’ (in azuur een

Witte de Withstraat 42 A NL - 2518 CV Den Haag T +31 (0)6 28978290

Trade Register No 67228917 IBAN: NL50INGB0007518754 BIC: INGBNL2A

23 A splendid Dutch-colonial Sinhalese ebony two-door cabinet with silver mounts Sri Lanka, Kandy, 2nd half 17th century, the mounts later The cabinet with a central drawer with hidden compartment and the top drawer divided into four compartments. The surface carved all-over with scrolling plants issuing fleshy lotus palmettes, and in addition the exterior of the doors with a pair of kinnaris, the top with a seated deity encircled by birds, the back with a central lotus rosette flanked by quadrupeds and birds, and lastly the sides with a serapendiya, bordered by narrow diaper kundi rakkan bands.

H. 29 x W. 32.5 x D. 23 cm The richly decorated panels carved in differing degrees of relief reveal the skill of the Sinhalese craftsmen and the scrolls issuing a richness of flowers and fruits are indicative of the island’s vegetal abundance. Their stylization is result of a

cross-fertilization of Dutch and Sinhalese decorative elements that appear on furniture, textiles and silver that later appeared across the Asian VOC territories. The mythical kinnaris, serapendiya and the kundi rakkan banding are typical forms of Sinhalese ornamentation, but not often seen on furniture for the Dutch. (Mediaeval Sinhalese Art, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Pantheon Books 1908).

For cabinets of similar form and decoration see: Furniture from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India during the Dutch period, Jan Veenendaal, 1985 pl.25, 29 and 58.

Comparable Sinhalese furniture and objects with related carved decoration can be found in the Royal Collection Trust (21610, 21611), the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (1993.29) and the British Museum (1943.0712.4).

Provenance: Private collection, United Kingdom Peter Lang, United Kingdom

24 A Mughal painting of a ‘Lion at rest’ North India, early 19th century Watercolour on paper, H. 46.5 x W. 68 cm The present painting is a large copy after the famous miniature painting (20.3 x 15.2 cm) in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. This ‘Lion at rest’ is an early work by Ustad Mansur (act. 1590-16230), an important miniature painter of animals and birds in the period of Emperor Akbar’s (1565-1605) and Emperor Jahhangir’s (1605-1624) reign. Emperor Jahangir is known to have commissioned his favourite artist Mansur to realistically portray the flora and animal world throughout his empire.

The lion hunt was a Royal Pursuit also known as Shikar. It’s a metaphor of imperial authority and demonstration of the martial prowess of the Emperor during periods of peace, equating the practice of the Royal Hunt to that of a battle.

25 A portrait of the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great North India, early 19th century Opaque gouache and gold on paper, H. 57.5 x W. 42 cm The portrait is that of the 19th Mughal Emperor, Akbar, who is also known as Akbar Shah II, who reigned from 1806 to 1837. During his reign, the Mughal Empire collapsed to the increasing influence of the British East India Company. Akbar never was a mighty Emperor, since he had no effective power beyond the walls of his lavish residence in Delhi, the famous Red Fort.

26 An Anglo-Indian colonial envelope and dressing box in the form of a miniature wardrobe India, Hoshiapur, late 19th century H. 66.5 x W. 34.5 x D. 18 cm H. 99 cm (with mirror extracted) With a label at the back reading: “L. Khanaya Lal Brij Lal, Ivory, Brass, Wood Work, Manufacturers, P.O. Hooshiapur”. It was unusual in India for craftsmen to apply labels with their names to their furniture and Khanaya Lal Brij Lal was one of the few makers known to do so.

The wardrobe consists of a base with two hinged doors beneath two stepped tiers, from the top tier a toilet mirror can be pulled out. The front and sides are decorated with inlaid birds and vases with flowers. Behind the doors are four graduated compartments for papers and envelopes over a drawer. The inside is also decorated with vases, flowers and scrolling vines.

Hoshiapur in Punjab was annexed by the British East India Company in 1849. Only after 1870 European-style furniture was made, using local decorative techniques. The character of the designs is Islamic-Persian. The marriage of inlays and European-style furniture was due to W. Goldstream, Deputy Commissioner of Hoshiapur District from 1880 until 1883.

27 A Dutch-colonial Sri Lankan nedun wood and Indian padouk miniature chest of drawers with silver mounts Sri Lanka, 18th century H. 27.5 x W. 39 x D. 26 cm Apart from being a highly decorative object and a status symbol, these miniature pieces of furniture also functioned as collector’s items. Just like the dollhouses were for rich women in Amsterdam, but for rich women of Dutch or mixed descent in the colonies. They could store all kind of small precious things in such miniature furniture, but also use it to play with or show of with during teatime. Arguably also men used them, but as document boxes, since some of these miniature chests of drawers in the top drawer have partitions for writing materials, such as pens, inkpots, paper, and other utensils.

These miniatures were small and precious enough to have been transported to Europe, where practically all of them turn up. Very few of them resurface in Indonesia or Sri Lanka.

28 A Dutch-colonial five-foot amboyna wood VOC chest with brass mounts Batavia (Jakarta) or Sri Lanka, 18th century H. 80.5 (including bun-feet) x W. 153 x D. 64.5 cm

29 A Dutch-colonial Sri Lankan coromandel wood miniature chest of drawers with silver mounts Sri Lanka, 18th century H. 35 x W. 48 x D. 32 cm

30 A Dutch-colonial Sri Lankan coromandel wood document box with silver mounts Probably Galle, 18th century H. 19 x W. 49 x D. 33 cm

The chest with waving sides and front has applied silver escutcheons and loop handles on the sides, with two elaborate hinges on the inside of the lid. Coromandel wood is renowned for its beautiful strikes of deep black and brown, a feature accentuated the waving design created by the craftsman who created this fine box.

31 A fine Sri Lankan mãrã or East Indian walnut ‘Burgomaster’ chair Galle district, late 18th or early 19th century H. 82.5 x W. 76 x D. 66 cm This Rococo-style burgomaster chair became very popular, first with the Dutch from the third quarter of the 18th century. Later with the English, after they had taken over Sri Lanka from the Dutch in the early 19th century. The popularity of this type of chair with the English could perhaps also be ascribed to the wrongly held view among early 19th century English antiques dealers. They thought that the round chair was an early English form, dating from the William and Mary period.

Indonesian Archipelago

32 An extremely rare and magnificent ancient Hindu-Javanese gold ceremonial dagger or keris hilt or finial Indonesia, Central Java, Central Javanese period, 2nd half CE 9th century The finial made from three parts of which only the larger bottom part is detachable.

It has a hole to the bottom and traces of clay to the inside. Formed as a slightly bent spire sprouting from lotus leaves, the sides of the bottom part with stylized flowers alternating with masks, above which smooth surfaced gold alternating with stylized floral motifs ending in a circle of stretched tips. In this circle the top finial, which is bent slightly more, is placed made out of rows of flowers going upwards, to the inside of the curve a deity can be seen coming out of a hole. The top ending in a beautifully sculpted ornamental curl.

H. 14.7 x W. 7.8 x D. 8.1 cm Weight 126.2 grams Provenance: Collection of a notable from the Hague, who stayed in the former Dutch East Indies around circa 1900; thence by descent - Purchased from the above by a distinguished Dutch collector (name is known with us), between 1970 and 1980 This object is registered at the Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art in Amsterdam.

We are grateful to the Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art in Amsterdam and Mr. Jaap Polak for their assistance in determining the specifics and date of this finial, This gold finial was bought in central Java, Yogyakarta, by a notable Dutch man staying in Indonesia around 1900. Reputedly, it was found in two pieces (the bottom and top part which are separately cast) by locals. After an upstream downpour and subsequent mudslide, they scrambled for the local river bend renowned for the ancient gold jewellery washing ashore during the monsoon. The large bottom part, the top part, and the tip found by three different locals were sold separately. The Dutch collector who collected them in Indonesia was called ‘Guus Geluk’, or Gladstone Glander, by his family and descendants. The family-legend tells he coincidentally bought the three pieces in between buying groceries, to find out several years later that these three pieces – randomly displayed amongst the rest of his collection - fitted together and were a single finial.

Literature: Jan Fontein, The Sculpture of Indonesia, National Gallery of Art Washington, 1990, p. 108 (comparable) Jaap Polak, Ancient Indonesian Gold, C. Zwartenkot Art Books, Leiden, 2022 (compare flower motif)

Only a few of these mysterious objects are known. Amongst them a top part of a finial, near identical to the present one, in The Metropolitan Museum New York (acc. no. 1998.544.56) and some in the National Gallery in Jakarta (all registered at the Documentation Centre). Some argue that it is the finial of a royal umbrella, but we, as do others, suggest that it is the hilt of a ceremonial dagger or sword of which the iron blade has long been disintegrated in the soil. We however, as opposed to for instance the Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art, would like to argue that the form of the present-day keris hilt surely points out the real use of these gold finials. It strongly resembles the bent curve, openwork, and abstract appearance of some types of keris handles. Although the sheer size of this handle (and the blade it has carried) does not comply with today’s keris on Java, it does with the daggers of the Balinese. Logically, the ancient Hindu culture of Bali - from which we can presume it is more like Hindu-Javanese culture than Javanese culture nowadays – would give

us the answer. The hilt would be filled with clay, and although the gold is quite strong without this sturdy core, it would not be suitable for an umbrella.

The decoration would prevent one to be able to hold it up for a longer time and more importantly, the pressure on the gold created by the umbrella itself would be too high causing it to break or bend. Furthermore, this particular would not do well as finial of a larger sword.

The weight of the sword would make the finial prone to get damaged. Therefore, one could suggest this finial mostly had a ceremonial function. A king wearing a dagger adorned with such an exuberant hilt was so rich, he did not need to fight. Not handled in battle, tucked in a sarong, or placed in a stand when not used, the handle would be safe from potiential harm.

The keris’ history is generally traced through the study of carvings and basrelief panels found in Java, Indonesia.

Some of the most famous renderings of a dagger or early keris appear on the bas-reliefs of Borobudur (825 CE) and Prambanan temple (850 CE), originated from Hindu-Buddhist Mataram Kingdom of Central Java. The term keris was mentioned in several ancient Javanese inscriptions, including the Humanding inscription (707 Saka or 875 CE), Jurungan inscription and Haliwangbang inscription (708 Saka or 876 CE), Taji inscription (823 Saka or 901 CE), Poh inscription (827 Saka or 905 CE), and Rukam inscription (829 Saka or 907 CE).

33 A rare ancient Hindu-Javanese gold fan or fly-whisk finial Indonesia, Central Java, Central Javanese period, Mataram Kingdom, circa 9th-10th century H. 14.7 x W. 7.8 x D. 8.1 cm Weight 12.5 grams This object is registered at the Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art in Amsterdam.

Provenance: Private collection, the Netherlands

34 A Buginese gold and buffalo horn Royal badek dagger Indonesia, Sulawesi, 1st half 18th century L. 54 cm The solid gold scabbard is inscribed with a magic square, as well as inscribed in Arabic: La ilaha illallah Mohammed ur rasul Allah (which translates to: Bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).

Provenance: Private collection, the Netherlands

35 A pair of Indonesian ebony door-panels with bold carvings of leaves and flowers in half-relief Indonesia, Batavia (Jakarta), 1680-1700 H. 89.5 x W. 56.8 cm (each) From about 1680 a new style of ebony carving, in large floral shapes, developed in Batavia. Based on Dutch prints such as in the Florilega (1612) by E. Sweerts and the tulip-plates in De Blomhof (1614) by Crispijn de Passe de Jonge. Carving in ebony was mostly done by (enslaved) Tamil woodcarvers imported to Batavia from the Coromandel Coast or Sri Lanka. The present panels, which are probably salvaged cabinet-doors, are exceptionally beautiful examples of this new style.

36 A Dutch-colonial Indonesian small Albizia adoratissima, Nangka and Ambalo wood Lady’s tambour bureau with brass mounts Batavia (Jakarta) or Palembang, late 18th century H. 129.5 x W. 70 x D. 39 cm The tambour desk or bureau à cilindre came into fashion in the Dutch East Indies of the late 18th century, when French forms prevailed in the Netherlands. The carvings on the apron and the stiles on the sides and at the top of the central stile are typical Indonesian designs. This small piece of furniture is not a miniature but was probably used as a regular bureau-cabinet by colonial society women of Indonesian-European descent. They usually are smaller than European women and often didn’t use chairs but sat or kneeled, and even slept on the floor for coolness. Earlier that century Dutch-colonial Indonesian and Cape Dutch bureaus were based on English Georgian models with plain sloping fall fronts.

A similar, but large sized example of a tambour desk is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (inv. BK-2002-16).

37 A splendid and heavy Dutch-colonial silver filigree salver Indonesia, Batavia (Jakarta) or possibly Padang, West Sumatra, 2nd half 17th century Diam. 22.9 cm Weight 551 grams This filigree-work was probably done by Chinese masters working in Southeast Asia.

Because in style it is very similar to the famous filigree writing box with the arms of Stadholder William III (dated before 1689) which was collected by Tsar Peter the Great, now in the Hermitage Museum St. Petersburg. Indonesia is the most likely place for this salver to have been made. In the second half of the seventeenth century silver filigree came into fashion at the European courts. Much of it was imported by the VOC in Amsterdam where Amalia van Solms, her grandson William III and representatives of many royal and noble houses such as Louis XIV, Peter the Great, the German Electors and the Danish Kings greedily collected filigree from the East.

38 A fine Balinese gold offering dish or Bokor Indonesia, Bali, early 20th century With an inscription in Balinese at the bottom reading: Made by Pan Tanasih, goldsmith at Bratan, Singaradja.

Diam. 12.2 cm Weight 148.3 grams Provenance: Gifted to a Dutch Diplomat at the end of his career in Indonesia in the early 20th century; thence by descent

A bokor is a round bowl with a low flaring rim, usually of silver, but in palaces gold bokor were not uncommon. They are still widely used in Bali, now mostly made of much cheaper aluminium. They are commonly used as a base for large offerings (banten gebogan), tall, tower-shaped arrangements of fruits and cakes, carried to the temple and presented to gods and deified ancestors. A bokor is also used as a container for smaller offerings and gifts brought to places where a ritual is being held.

Sometimes a bokor functions as a tray for the various boxes and containers of a betel or sirih set. The upright rim of this bokor is decorated with three bands of repoussé ornamentation. On the broad central band four groups of demonic kala faces alternate with groups of oval-shaped motifs.

For a comparable bowl, looted by Dutch troops from the palace of Klungkung, after the so-called Puputan on 28 April 1908, in the collection the Museum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden (RV-3600-98), see: Natascha Reichle et al., Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance, San Francisco, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2010, p. 197 (ill.).

39 Edward Proudfoot Montagu (1791-1862) ‘The representation of HMS Caroline Cap(tain) P(eter) Rainer attacking a Dutch Squadron in Batavia Roads on the 18th of October 1806’ Signed with initials E.P.M. and dated 1824 Watercolour on paper, H. 29 x W. 43 cm On the 26th of July and the 18th of October 1806, British frigates had been sent on reconnaissance missions to Java and Batavia. The mission by the 36-gun HMS Caroline captained by Peter Rainer succeeded in capturing the Dutch frigate Maria Riggersbergen and destroying some smaller vessels.

These missions preceded the raid on Batavia of 27 November 1806, when a large British naval force destroyed the Dutch squadron based in Batavia, which posed a threat to British shipping in the Strait of Malacca. The British admiral in command Sir Edward Pellew led the force of four ships of line to Batavia in search of the Dutch squadron. However, the largest Dutch ships had already sailed eastwards, and Pellew only discovered the frigate Phoenix and several smaller vessels which he destroyed. Unaware of the whereabouts of the main Dutch squadron he returned to his base at Madras for the winter.

However, the next year Pellew destroyed most of the Dutch warships in the Asia and by the time Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles attacked and occupied Java in 1811, all Dutch warships in the Dutch East Indies had been destroyed by the British.

Edward Proudfoot Montagu (1791-1862) entered the British Navy in February 1805 and sailed to the East Indies where he joined the successful mission on board HMS Caroline against the Dutch. After his return from the voyage to the East Indies in the night of 28 February 1809, he had the misfortune to be captured off the port of Toulon by the French frigates Pénélope and Pauline. After four years of captivity, he was back in the Navy until October 1814. In 1817 he married Mary Anne Everard (1799-1859) and together they had ten sons and three daughters. The present watercolour was signed and dated by Montagu only eighteen years after the event it depicts.

40 Willem Gerard Hofker (1902-1981) ‘Raksahsa’s’ Signed and dated Bali 1938 upper left and signed, dated, and titled on the reverse Executed in June-September 1938, and in the original artist’s frame Oil on canvas, H. 38 x W. 27 cm Provenance: From the collection of dr. Jan Willem de Stoppelaar (1895-1956), who was an indologist and an administrative official in Java. He served at the B.B. (Binnenlands Bestuur, the Domestic Administration of the Dutch East Indies) at several posts in Central- and East-Java, a.o. Surabaya, Banyuwangi, and Semarang.

In 1928, he was appointed Assistant-Resident in Semarang; later on, he was transferred to West-Java. De Stoppelaar was Assistant-Resident in Garut when Willem and Maria Hofker travelled through West-Java.

Possibly, they got acquainted with de Stoppelaar while visiting Garut, April 1938.

Willem Hofker (1902-1981) never had any ambition to visit the former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Until 1938, apart from an occasional study trip to Paris, he had never even travelled outside the Netherlands. But when he did, from 1938 until 1946, Hofker arguably created his most powerful body of work. A commission to portray the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina marked the starting point of his pivotal journey to the Dutch East Indies. The KPM (Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij) requested him to travel - initially for only five months - through the Dutch colony and draw his impressions, which could be used by the KPM as promotional material.

After having attended the presentation of the Queen’s portrait at the KPM Headquarters in Batavia (Jakarta), Willem and Maria Hofker visited Buitenzorg (Bogor), Bandung, and Garut, from February to June 1938. On the 12th of June, they arrived in Bali and there was one major challenge: finding Balinese models. Willem Hofker was a shy, introverted type, and without having a substantial network in Bali (yet), Willem and Maria were left to their own devices in this respect. And even when arrangements were made with a Balinese beauty to come and pose, sometimes they simply failed to show up. This didn’t keep Hofker from working though, for in the first months of their stay, Hofker regularly drew and painted Balinese architecture. Many years later, he wrote: “In a society where (quite rightly) no one has time to model (always hurrying!) [...] a figure painter is then forced to turn to still lifes, which is also a distinguished task.”

Just like still-lifes, architecture is always ‘readily available’ and in the Netherlands, Hofker reverted to Amsterdam canal houses, whereas in Bali, temples and palaces were abundantly present and waiting to be portrayed. The reinvented passion proved to be prolific, since after only four months in Bali, Hofker had already produced 85 conté drawings and 15 oil paintings. Promoting Bali as a travel destination, the KPM issued a set of twelve reproductions of Hofker’s conté drawings in early 1940. On one of these, a drawing of Pura Kehen, the accompanying text says: “The enormous number of temples found in Bali is explained by the fact that each “dessa” (village)

has three or four public temples, viz. a main one dedicated to various generally recognized and to local deities, the deads’ temple on or near the grave-yard or cremation place, one on the beach consecrated to the marine deity and one on the slopes or on the top of a mountain dedicated to the mountain deity.” From the above, one can distract that defining which exact temple was depicted by Hofker in ‘Raksahsa’s’ is impossible. We can conclude, however, that the painting must have been executed sometime between June and September 1938, and that it was probably made in (or near) one of the South-Balinese villages of Denpasar, Klandis Kedaton, or Pagan.

Taking a closer look at the present painting, we clearly see the two statues taking centre stage in the composition. Hofker consciously zoomed in, leaving out the contour of the whole temple gate, in order to put all focus on the two fearsome characters. There is a nice contrast between the off-white andesite statues, and the temple walls, typically constructed from red clay bricks. Through the opened doors we catch a glimpse of the beautiful weather. Not used (or able) to sit in the tropical sun for hours, Hofker smartly chose the right time of day to paint. He was clearly charmed by the quietude, the patina of the ancient moss-grown temple gate, and the frozen postures of the two Raksasa’s.

Raksasa, meaning ‘giant’ or ‘gigantic’, but the more apt and specific description of this monstrous character is Dvarapala, which literally means ‘doorkeeper’. The aesthetics of the Balinese Raksasa statues are derived from Dvarapala statues, which have been found in Javanese 8th-century Buddhist temple complexes. Their main purpose is to ward off evil spirits. What is essential in Balinese culture is the coexistence of right and wrong - positive complementing negative. Balancing these opposites, leading to a neutral outcome, is of utmost importance. In this case, balance also means symmetry; the statues are very similar, but not exactly the same.

Hofker must have had a special appreciation for Balinese architecture, and especially this painting, since he completed it with a self-designed frame, which he then decorated using his signature spattering technique.

Attesting to this appreciation, between 1946 and 1950, Hofker made nine etchings with Balinese themes, based on original drawings and oil paintings. The largest of these nine, is an etching depicting a split temple gate, with two Dvarapala prominently featured in the middle of the composition. One could argue that it is a monochrome echo of the present ‘Raksahsa’s’ from 1938. This way, we have come full circle; arguably one of Hofker’s first Balinese compositions, the 1938 painting ‘Raksahsa’s’, and one of the last, the 1949 etching of ‘Poera Batoe Karoe’, are very similar. But not exactly the same. They complement each other, creating a perfect balance.

We are thankful to Gianni Orsini for writing this catalogue entry

China & Japan

41 A charming carved gilt wood Chinese export mirror frame with a watch-stand Canton, Qing Dynasty, early 19th century H. 65 x W. 34.5 cm At the top of the frame two angels are supporting a circle in which a watch is intended to be placed at night. In the left and right uprights two European figures are carved, holding vases with a large flower, standing on Chinese Foo-dogs.

42 Piers Secunda (b. 1976) ‘Painting of a Wuhan Mountain’ Sculpted industrial floor paint H. 144 x W. 68 x D. 44 cm Piers Secunda has been making objects out of commercial floor paint for 25 years now, rejecting the limitations of ‘painting’ imposed by the canvas. In the tradition of his studio practice the present Wuhan Mountain is made of commercial floor paint; hence the title ‘Painting of a Wuhan Mountain’.

On a journey to China he was inspired by the fine ivory carvings produced in Canton, but also by the Wuhan landscape and its famous mountain temples. Scholars from the earliest Chinese dynasties walked through the landscape and when they came home, they painted the landscapes from their mind. This resulted in dreamy compositions with misty mountains and mysterious temples. Piers did just the same, but with industrial floor paint, sculptural techniques and on a monumental scale.

43 An important Chinese export porcelain VOC dish Canton, Yongzheng period, circa 1730 Diam. 23 cm Executed in rose-pink, yellow, and soft blue-green enamels, this design follows in almost every aspect a silver ducatoon of 1728, with even the rim of the plate imitating the ribbed milling of the coin. On a shield is a crowned rampant lion, holding in his left paw a bunch of seven arrows symbolising the seven provinces of the United Netherlands, and in his right paw a sword is shown supported by two crowned rampant lions. Below the shield is the monogram of the VOC, the Dutch East India Company, above the date 1728 and around it the heraldic motto of the Dutch Republic CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCUNT (by unity small things grow).

The first ducatoon, or zilveren rijder, on which the design of this plate was based, arrived in Canton on the 2nd of August 1729 with the Coxhorn, the first VOC ship to sail straight to Canton and not by way of Batavia. It arrived back in Amsterdam in 1730 with the ordered porcelain in this design. This is an early example of Chine de Commande porcelain and although the Cantonese artists had a zilveren rijder as example, they didn’t really understand the design, giving the lions grimacing human faces and cape-like manes. They also didn’t understand the Latin letters, since the R ends in a truncated fashion, the V is an inverted A and the E looks more like a Chinese character. For a cup and saucer with the same design see: Uit Verre Streken, June 2017, no. 49.

44 A Japanese carved elmwood (keyaki) okimono of a Dutchman Nagasaki, Edo period first half 19th century H. 35.5 cm Standing straight against a stack of blocks on a platform, the Dutchman with long hair wears a hat and a short coat over a button-up waistcoat, knickerbockers, beeches, and shoes.

He is holding a pipe in his right hand and has his left hand in his pocket.

These figures of ‘exotic foreigners’ were mainly made for the Japanese market as examples of foreign figures and were probably not commissioned by the Dutch.

THE DESHIMA CABINET 45 A highly important Japanese export lacquer cabinet for the Dutch market with gilt copper mounts Edo period, circa 1660-1680 H. 88 x W. 100.5 x D. 54 cm

The sides and front of the rectangular two-door cabinet are embellished in gold and silver hiramaki-e and takamaki-e on a black roiro lacquer ground with a continuous design. The two doors depict a long procession of numerous figures traveling on foot and on horseback along buildings and a pagoda into a mountainous landscape. This is the annual court journey, Hofreis, of the Dutch from Nagasaki to the Shogun’s court in Edo. Three of the horseback riders are dressed as Dutch merchants and a fourth figure, probably het Opperhoofd, is seen inside a palanquin, norimon. Just about to cross over the bridge, two men are carrying a cabinet like the present one.

Many Japanese figures on either side of the procession are engaged in various activities; some play musical instruments on board of small boats, others are fishing; figures inside buildings are depicted playing go, and farmers to the side are tending to their rice paddocks. The upper part of the right door depicts a large mansion, probably the local daimyo’s castle, with men kneeling before a man in the central courtyard.

The court journey fits in with the foreign policy of the shogunate which accorded a role to the VOC alongside China, Korea, and the Ryukyu Islands who also had to pay tribute. However, the VOC employees were traders, having a low status in Japan’s social hierarchy, they were received with less deference than were the state-embassies from Korea and the Ryukyu Islands. Nevertheless, the contacts with the Dutch were

a very welcome source of information to the Shogun about Europe and European science and technology.

The left side of the cabinet depicts, in mirror image, a rare view of the artificial fanshaped Deshima Island, the trading post for the Dutch in Japan. The island, where the Dutch flag flies, is surrounded by small Japanese boats and an anchored three-masted fluyt (cargo ship), flying Dutch flags, with on the stern the VOC monogram. On the bottom right a busy street of Nagasaki is shown, bordered by shops and leading up to the stone bridge. On the island the trees are beautifully painted, two cows can be seen, and the flagpole, all in very fine detail.

Dutchmen and enslaved Malay are visible outside the buildings and two Japanese figures, probably guards, sit in a small hut in the centre.

A maximum of fifteen to twenty Dutch men lived on the island at any time and soldiers or women were not allowed. Restrictions on Deshima were tight, and the merchants were only allowed to leave the island by special permission. The Opperhoofd had to be replaced every year and each new Opperhoofd had to make a court journey, to pay tribute, present gifts, and to obtain permission to kMargaret Barclay eep on trading. In the distance many birds flying above the hills and a four-story pagoda, can be seen. The right side of the cabinet is painted with further horse riders and their retinue journeying through mountains.

The pair of doors to the front open to reveal ten rectangular drawers. The drawers are decorated with scenes of birds in flight and landscapes with trees and plants. The reverse of the left door with two thatched buildings, one with a ladder, underneath a camelia tree with large blooms; the right door with a three-story pagoda nestled among trees and both doors with a flying phoenix, ho-oo bird.

The cabinet, with elaborately engraved gilt copper mounts, hinges, lock plates and brass handles, is raised on a 18th century English japanned wood stand.

A pair of large cabinets (H. 109 x W. 117 x D. 73 cm) with eighteen drawers behind the front doors, instead of the ten in the present cabinet, is in the Dutch Royal Collection presently in palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague (access no. HtB 01190).

These two beautiful cabinets, among the largest known, can be dated around 16601680. The subject of the decorations on these cabinets is the same as on the present cabinet; the procession of the Dutch, with the Opperhoofd in a sedan chair, norimon, carried by four bearers, the scribe, or head secretary, and the trading post physician, accompanied by a large entourage of Japanese officials and servants, leaving Deshima Island on the court journey to the Shogun in Edo. The Royal pair of cabinets depict the procession of the Dutch in mirror image; one showing the departure of the procession from Deshima Island going from left to right, the other the same procession going from right to left.

These two cabinets were first inventoried in 1684, when they belonged to Princess Albertina Agnes (1634-1696), daughter of Stadtholder Frederik Hendrik (1584-1647) and Amalia van Solms (1602-1675) and were part of the furnishings of Albertina’s castle Oranienstein in Dietz, Germany.

This pair, which must have been very expensive, was probably a gift by the VOC to her mother Amalia - although no sources prove this.

However, it would be unlikely for the VOC to present the sixth daughter of Amalia, who lived in Germany with such an exuberant gift. It is known that the VOC gifted Amalia about 20 years earlier a bed of state fence in fine lacquer, of which in 2021 we discovered one intact baluster (now in the Rijksmuseum, object no. BK-2021-18). Albertina Agnes in 1652 married her second cousin Willem Frederik van Nassau-Dietz, Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe, and the ancestor of the present Dutch Royal family.

A fourth cabinet depicting Deshima and the procession of the Dutch on their court journey to Edo is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon (inv. 3550-6) and was

exhibited in the exhibition ‘Asia in Amsterdam, the culture of luxury in the Golden Age’ in the Rijksmuseum, 17 October 2015 – 17 January 2016, and in the Peabody Essex Museum, 27 February – 5 June 2016 (cat.no. 9 in the exhibition catalogue, edited by Karina H. Corrigan, Jan van Campen, and Femke Diericks with Janet C. Blyberg, for the exhibitions in the Rijksmuseum and the Peabody Essex Museum).

This cabinet is not covered in black lacquer, but in transparent lacquer with gold and silver hiramaki-e and takamaki-e lacquer, gold foil and copper mounts, and is dated between 1665 and 1685. The landscape on the doors is dominated by Mount Fuji in silver maki-e, which in its original non-oxidized state would clearly have shown the snow-clad mountain top. On the right side of the cabinet there is the procession of the Dutch on their annual court journey to pay their respect to the Shogun in Edo. The left side of the cabinet shows the Dutch trading post on Deshima in the port of Nagasaki.

The present cabinet and the one in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon must have been ordered by or for a high-ranking VOC official at about the same time the two cabinets in the Royal Collection were commissioned, most likely by the Amsterdam VOC Chamber.

The present cabinet is slightly smaller than both the Royal pair of cabinets and the Musée des Beaux-Arts one, but arguably is finer in detail.

Provenance: English private collection formerly at Cliff Avenue, Cromer, Norfolk, since the 1950s and thence by descent.

By repute purchased by the family from Margaret Jane Barclay (1861-1958) of Herne Close, Cromer, together with the entire contents of her house. An album with watercolours by Margaret Barclay was found in the cabinet.

Margaret’s ancestor James Barclay (1708-1766), established Barclay’s banking dynasty. It is likely that the cabinet was purchased by Margaret’s father, Joseph Gurney Barclay (1816-1898), who built Herne Close as a holiday house and furnished it. Joseph was one of the wealthiest members of the Barclay family, leaving many properties and a fortune to his children after his death.

46 A highly refined Japanese Namban lacquer coffer with copper mounts for the European market Momoyama period, late 16th /early 17th century Cedarwood, urushi lacquer, mother of pearl, gold and silver maki-e H. 30,5 x W. 43 x D. 24,2 cm A medium sized Namban coffer with domed lid, delicately inlaid with mother-ofpearl and abundantly covered in gold and silver hira-maki-e. Particularly noteworthy are the two pearl sparrows decorating the lid, and the swirling bands of golden arabesques that show the steady hand of an experienced painter. Most importantly though, the whole coffer remains in a remarkably pristine condition; a rarity amongst export lacquer belonging to the eventful era that marks the transition from Momoyama into Edo. Furthermore, the original fittings include a lock with a trick mechanism that makes it just a bit harder for an unwanted visitor to lay hands on the coffer’s contents.

47 Small lacquer box with shagreen inlays and references to poetry in hira-maki-e Early Edo period, second half of the 17th century H. 8,7 x W. 13 x D. 11,3 cm Despite its modest size, this charming box features a richness in inlay materials and quality in maki-e that is most rare amongst export lacquer from the seventeenth century. The viewer is first struck by the pristine white ray skin inlays or samegawa ground, which is further enriched by small cherry blossom cut-outs of ivory, and gold and silver sheet metal. The wind-swept petals surround a total of five cartouches with exquisite hira-maki-e scenes on solemn black backgrounds. Several of the motifs are instantly recognizable, such as the flower cart that is taken straight from the Tale of Genji, as well as the chrysanthemums growing through the ‘Eastern Fence’ in the famous poem by Tao Qian. Such profoundly Asian cultural references would have hardly rang a bell amongst the European clientele. Yet, the undeniable quality of the piece suggests that it was destined for a European nobleman or -lady; a suspicion further reinforced by the application of metal fittings of the type favored by early French collectors of Japanese lacquer.

48 A splendid Japanese export lacquer box shaped like a folded letter, fitted with Louis XIV ormolu mounts Edo period, second half of the 17th century H. 9.5 x W. 17.5 x D. 11.2 cm (box) H. 1.3 x W. 17.1 x D. 10 cm (tray) Worth mentioning is the fact that the work remains in excellent condition, with even the tin and silver inlays of flower petals showing no signs of oxidation. Also notable is the nashiji interior of the box, which comes complete with a removable tray that carries a hira-maki-e design of chrysanthemums that likewise incorporates high-relief appliqués in solid silver and 13-carat gold.

The angled design of this splendid Japanese lacquer box is modelled after a musubibumi, a rolled up and folded letter that typically carried written contents expressing romantic interest. On top of the partially nahiji-sprinkled lid, we see a blossoming camellia in bold taka-maki-e that is further enriched by carved mother-of-pearl and - most uncommon - green lacquer. The fact that two distinct colours of flower have merged into a single bonsai, further emphasizes the profoundly romantic and feminine nature of the box. Similarly proportioned ‘folded letter’ boxes can be found in the collections of the National Museum of Denmark (EAc.65, 68, 93), and the Musée National des Châteux de Versailles et de Trianon (Kopplin, p. 160). Items from the former location originate from the 17th century collection of Frederik III, whereas the latter box can be confidently linked to the collection of Marie Antoinette by appearing in two royal inventories dating from the late 18th century.

The lower section of the box reveals a more generic landscape scene in maki-e that appears to bear little iconographic relationship with the lid. Judging from the stylistic characteristics of the trees, houses, and foliage though, it becomes evident that the piece belongs to a group of items that can be found in the collections of Versailles (Kopplin, p. 92), and Burghley House (JWA09002, 09045, 09064). It therefore

undoubtedly originated from the same Kyoto-based workshop that produced ordermade lacquer boxes of the highest quality for the European royals. As early as 1642, we find orders within the archives of the Dutch East India Company asking for small, but ‘extraordinary rare and costly’ lacquerware boxes that could be transported to Europe inside larger chests and cabinets (Canepa, p. 377). Many of these ended up in France, the country with some of the most avid lacquer collectors of the era. The fact that this particular work has been fitted with 18th century ormolu mounts that are virtually identical to those seen in lacquer from the Adolphe Thiers collection of the Musée du Louvre (TH405), strengthens the suspicion that it belonged to a French collector, and possibly even Marie Antoinette herself.

Literature: Boyer, Martha. Japanese Export Lacquer from the seventeenth century in the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen 1959. (pl, XXXVII; p. 25) Canepa, Teresa. Silk, Porcelain and Lacquer: China and Japan and their trade with Western Europe and the New World 1500-1644. Paul Holberton Publishing, 2016.

Kopplin, Monika. Japanische Lacke: die Sammlung der Köningin Marie-Antoinette. Münster, 2001.

Kyoto National Museum (KNM). Export lacquer: Reflection of the West in Black and Gold Maki-e. Kyoto National Museum, 2008. (p. 113, 115, 186, 188, 192-194) Lacambre, Geneviève. L’Or de Japon, laques anciens des collections publiques françaises. IAC Edictions, 2010. Catalogue no. 26.

49 A Japanese lacquer small X-frame folding stool, kyũsõdai Japan, Kyoto, the Sengoku period, late 16th century Black and gold lacquer, hiramaki-e decorated in the pictorial style with grape vine and clematis flowers and leaves, in the kodaiji maki-e style with engraved silver knobs with mitsudomoe, whirling motives and a silk textile woven in kinran (gold leaf on paper) with a design of cherry blossom and a kago, palanquin, with alternating green and gold bands. The textile 17th or 18th century.

H: 29.8 x W: 41.2 x D: 32.1 cm.

Stools like the present one were used by high ranking military when campaigning (see chapter page). In the collection of the National Museum of World Cultures in Leiden there is such a folding stool in black lacquer, without any decoration, which clearly had been used in the field. In full armour it may be difficult to sit on the ground and therefore high ranking military officers had small folding stools to sit on when discussing tactics in the field. The present stool, very smartly decorated in maki-e, with a beautiful fabric and has silver knobs with a mon, a family symbol.

The mon belongs to the Kuroda clan. It is thought to have originated from a personal episode in Josui Kuroda or Yoshitaka’s life. Yoshitaka (1546-1604) a son of Mototaka (1524-1585) who served Norimoto Kodera, the lord of Okujo Castle, adopted the Kodera family name and took as his residence Himeji castle. His son, Yoshitaka, became a senior vassal of the Kodera clan and a famous military commander. His clan’s crest is thought to have originated from a personal episode in Yoshitaka’s life.

In 1576 or 1578 he was held hostage in a damp dungeon and was able to endure thanks to a wisteria growing near to his cell. After his release he chose the flower as part of his family crest together with the crest of the Kodera clan, the clan into which his father had been adopted. Yoshitaka connected the Kodera clan with Nobunaga who campaigned to unify Japan, and with his successor Hideyoshi (1537-1598) who

succeeded in unifying Japan and became its first de-facto ruler. To protect the unity of Japan Hideyoshi prohibited Christianity but he didn’t do very much to enforce the prohibition. Yoshitaka, although a converted Roman Catholic with the baptismal name of ‘Dom Simeon’, served Hideyoshi in many military campaigns (his conversion to Christianity must have been a very short one). After Hideyoshi’s death Yoshitaka reverted his name to Kuroda and supported Ieyasu who became the first Tokugawa Shõgun after the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. For his support in combat Yoshitaka was rewarded with a transfer to the Fukuoka Domain. Later, in 1638 the Kuroda clan took part in the suppression of the (Christian) Shimabara Rebellion on the side of the Tokugawa shogunate, which marked the final oppression of Christianity in Japan. The present military stool, kyũsõdai, clearly never was used by Yoshitaka in the field. May we speculate that the stool was a gift by Tokugawa Ieyasu to Yoshitaka for his support in combat?

Provenance: the famous V.W.S. Collection (1918-1974), an important French private collection of Chinese and Japanese art.

50 A rare Japanese export lacquer medical instrument box Edo-period, 1650-1700 L. 19 x W. 6 x H. 8.5 cm This unconventionally shaped lacquer box, decorated in the pictorial-style, reveals a highly specialist functionality. The cylinder-shaped container with a variety of compartments, drawers, all the original brass ware and a nashiji interior, once contained a set of medical instruments for bleeding and cupping. The originally Chinese procedure of attaching heated glass cups to the body to cure patients of ‘imbalanced humours’ gathered great interest from European physicians stationed in Japan and other Asian trade posts. Bleeding, or bloodletting, on the other hand was an ancient European approach to healing, that was introduced in Asia by Christian missionaries.

We know only a few boxes of these kind, which serve as a symbol of medical knowledge exchange, exist. One of them, a transitional style one the whereabouts of which are unknown. A second one, in the pictorial-style, lacking the brass ware interior was auctioned at Christie’s in 1996 (both llustrated in ,Oliver Impey & Christiaan Jörg, Japanese Export Lacquer 1580-1850, Hotei Publishing, Leiden, 2005, p. 115). The present one is similar in decoration to the one sold at Christie’s but has the rare interior with all the original brass fittings.

51 A Japanese Nagasaki export lacquer box with mother-of-pearl depiction of the Amsterdam ‘Trippenhuis’ Edo-period, circa 1830 H. 12.5 x W. 24 x D. 15 cm The house depicted on the lid is Het Trippenhuis, a neo-classical mansion on the Kloveniersburgwal in Amsterdam, based on a print ‘Gezicht op Klovenierswal ‘t Huis van de Heer Burgemeester Trip; en St Anthoniswaag’ from circa 1750, after a painting

by Gerrit Adriaensz Berkheyde dated 1685.

Het Trippenhuis was built in 1660-1662 for the wealthy Amsterdam arms-dealers Louis and Hendrik Trip, by architect Justus Vingboons, who behind a single facade built two houses.

In 1812, Het Koninklijk Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letterkunde en Schoone Kunsten, established by King Louis Napoleon in 1808, moved into the house. After 1815, when the Netherlands were ruled by King William I, the name was changed to Het Koninklijk-Nederlands Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letterkunde en Schoone Kunsten, the predecessor of the Rijksmuseum. The famous painting De Nachtwacht

by Rembrandt hung there until it was moved to the new Rijksmuseum in 1885. The present box probably was ordered by someone connected to, or was a gift intended for, the institute.

52 A Japanese export Nagasaki lacquer tobacco box with the portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte Edo-period, circa 1810 The box in black lacquer on copper, the lid decorated with a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte in gold hiramaki-e and nashiji. It has mother-of-pearl inlaid flowers in the four corners inside a similar inlaid border. The sides of the box are likewise decorated with gold lacquer flowers.

H. 2.4 x W. 15.2 x D. 11.3 cm Who could have ordered this box? The most likely candidate seems to be Herman Willem Daendels (1762-1818). A revolutionary who sided with the Dutch Patriots in 1785, fighting the Orange Stadtholder William V. After the Prussian army came in to support William V, Daendels fled to France because of a death sentence, where he closely witnessed the French Revolution. He returned to the Netherlands in 1794 as a general in the French army under general Pichegru and as commander of the Batavian Legion. In 1806 Napoleon sent his brother Louis Napoleon to rule the kingdom of Holland as a monarch. In 1807 Daendels was appointed as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, where he arrived in 1808. There, Daendels did everything he could to prevent the English from occupying the colony. After Napoleon had dismissed his brother as King of Holland in 1810 and incorporated the Netherlands into France, Daendels returned to Holland and moved to Paris where Napoleon appointed him

in 1811 as Divisional General and Commander of the 26th Division of the Grande Armée. Daendels joined Napoleon on his campaign to Moscow and fought in many battles including the Battle of Berezina. After the fall of Napoleon I, King William I of the Netherlands banned Daendels by appointing him Governor-General of the Dutch Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) where he died of malaria in 1818.

In 1809, when Daendels was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, two Dutch ships, the Rebecca and De Goede Trouw sailed from Batavia to Deshima. The Rebecca, with Hendrik Tilenius Kruithoff, the intended successor of Opperhoofd Doeff in Japan, was taken by the English navy. De Goede Trouw, with the Royalist Blomhoff aboard, therefore was the only and last Dutch ship to reach Deshima until 1817. If Daendels indeed ordered this box than it must have been ordered and collected for him in Deshima by the captain or an officer aboard De Goede Trouw.

53 A collection of nine Japanese export lacquer portrait medallions Edo period, late 18th/early 19th century Approx. H. 14.1 x W. 9.2 cm (each) A vogue for collecting portrait medallions of famous historical figures developed in the late 18th century. In England in the 1770s Josiah Wedgwood exploited this with the production of ceramic medallions in both blue jasper and black basalt. Possibly in response to this fashion portrait medallions in black and gold lacquer on copper were

ordered in Japan by Johan Frederik Baron van Reede tot de Parkeler, Opperhoofd in Deshima in 1786 and 1788-89 and J.A. Stutzer, a Swedish medical doctor who served in Deshima in 1787-88. Many of these portraits were copied from engravings of famous people from the early Middle Ages to the middle of the 18th-century published in L’Europe Illustré, a six volume work compiled by Dreux du Radier and published in Paris between 1755 and 1765. Besides the name of the famous person written in Roman capitals around the rim of the plaque, the caption to the original engraving is transcribed by the Japanese artisan on the reverse, sometimes resulting in crooked French.

Portrait of Mademoiselle Le Gras The reverse inscribed Fondatrice, et premiere Super.e de la charité, Servante des pauvres Malades.

Décédee à Paris. Le 15 Mars 1660, agée de 68 ans

Provenance: The Soame Jenyns Collection For more information on Roger Soame Jenys (1904-1976) and his collection of Japanese and Chinese art see: Uit Verre Streken, June 2019, no. 56.

Portrait of Conrad III The reverse inscribed: Commence à regner le 1er Avril 1139.

Mort le 15. Fevrier1152.

Conrad III (1093 1152) was the first king of Germany of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty, styled himself as ‘King of the Romans’ and joined the Second Crusade in 1146.

Portrait of Frederic II The reverse inscribed: Roi de Prusse et Electeur de Brandenburg Frederic II is better known as Frederic the Great because of his achievements during his reign (1740 -1786) over Prussia, including many military victories and his patronage of the Arts and Enlightenment in Prussia.

Portrait of Henri de Lorraine The reverse inscribed: Duc de Guise, dit le Balafré. Né le 31 décemb. 1550, Tué à Blois le 3 octobre 1588 Henri de Lorraine became the acknowledged chief of the catholic party and the Holy League against the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion and favourite of Maria de Medici.

When he became to popular with the population of Paris, King Henri III had him murdered.

Portrait of Oliver Cromwell The reverse inscribed: né en 1603 mort a Londres le 13 Septembre 1668 Oliver Cromwell was the leader of the armies of Parliament of England against the Roman Catholic King Charles I during the English Civil War and subsequently ruler of the British Isles as Lord Protector from 1653 till his death in 1658. The dates of his birth and death on the medallion are incorrect.

Portrait of Marie Francois Arrouet The reverse inscribed: De Voltaire Né à Paris en 1694 Known under his pseudonym Voltaire he is one of the greatest of all French writers, a crusader against tyranny, bigotry and cruelty in his often witty and satirical writings.

Portrait of Frederic III The reverse inscribed: Couronné Empereur à Bonn en 1314 Called Frederick the Fair of Habsburg was also elected King of the Romans, at the same time Louis IV was.

After several years of bloody wars Louis in 1322 defeated Frederick in the battle of Mühldorf. However, beings friends since their youth Louis and Frederick agreed to rule the Empire jointly.

Portrait of Joseph II Empereur The reverse inscribed: Roi de Romains le 18 Août 1765, Né à Vienne le 13 Mars 1741.

With his coat-of-arms.

Joseph II was ruler over the Austrian Habsburg dominions, first together with his mother Maria Theresa and from 1780 till his death in 1790 as sole ruler.

Portrait of Anne-Marie Louise d’Orleans The reverse inscribed: Duchesse de Montpensier, Neé 29 mai, 1627. Mort à Paris le 5 avril 1693 She was known as ‘La Grande Mademoiselle.’ After a string of proposals among others by Charles II of England, Alfonso VI of Portugal and Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy, she died unmarried and childless.

54 A Japanese lacquer sword-stand or katana-kake Late Edo period, 1st half 19th century H. 43.3 x W. 42 x D. 23.5 cm

The stand has a brown lacquer ground decorated in maki-e. The upper section of the rack shows mountainous landscapes in taka-maki-e with flying black and gold cranes. This scene is most likely a reference to the well-known poem by Minatomo no Yorimasa, which reads: ‘From the beach of Sumiyoshi, gazing through the pine trees at the ocean, the moon casts a shadow over Awaji island.’

The sides and the back of the rack show conspicuously positioned motifs that appear to be a phoenix coat, a braided basket at the foot of a tree, an udewa fan, and a drifting boat in a landscape of cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, and confederate roses.

The drawer fronts in the lower section show charming decorations of a variety of musical instruments and courtly accessories, like folding fans, combs and a ladies toiletry box or tebako, maybe not what one would expect on a sword rack. The rear of the rack consists partially of flush carvings showing typically Chinese motifs, such as a shishi lion and peonies.

The entire rack shows a high degree of craftsmanship, mixed with a confusing array of classical motifs that is typical of the late Edo period.

55 A Japanese export lacquer tripod table with feet shaped as bats Nagasaki, 1850-1860 H. 73 x diam. 108 cm The six-lobbed top is decorated with reverse-painted mother-of-pearl in a sprawling motif of plum blossom, bamboo, and peonies, surrounded by fluttering sparrows enhanced by details in maki-e.

The table, made to appeal a foreign audience, incorporates a curious mixture of seasonal references. In addition to the decoration of foliage from late winter and spring, the column is decorated with grapes, as well as a rabbit pounding rice, both Japanese motifs for autumn and the month September. The feet, shaped as bats that almost appear to wake up from hibernation, are a symbol of luck and happiness in Japan.

The present flamboyant Nagasaki-style table is depicted in the Asada workshop drawings of 1856. These drawings, titled Aogai makie hiinagata hikae (memorandum of designs for lacquer with inlaid pearl shell) are a unique documentation of Nagasaki

lacquerware. They show a range of designs for the fashion of furniture and smaller items for export from the late Edo period. The Asada drawings can be found in The Nagasaki City Museum. Other pieces from the same design papers are in the collections of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem and in the Tokyo Museum of Natural History. (Japanese Export Lacquer 1580-1850, Oliver Impey and Christiaan Jörg, Hotei Publishing 2005, p. 267 and 273).

The table appears to be the same as the one exhibited at the Gallery of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour on Pall Mall, London, in 1854, which is shown in an engraving of exhibited Japanese furniture in the Illustrated London News of 2 February 1854.

A similar table with legs shaped as butterflies is in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum (inv. E62273).

56 A Japanese export lacquer tripod table with feet shaped as bats Nagasaki, 1850s Wood, urushi lacquer, mother of pearl, gold powder H. 73 cm x W. 123,7 cm This table is a clear contemporary of the similarly proportioned ‘batfoot’ table in catalogue no. 48, albeit with a bolder and much more colourful design. The hexagonal top is geometrically divided into six sections through bands of white mother of pearl; forming three folding fan motifs on the corners in addition to highly contrasting pictorial segments that run into the centre of the table. One of these shows a variety of island-based buildings that are connected to the mainland through

a roofed wooden bridge. They appear to be public houses; perhaps hot-springs where the many colourfully dressed guests enjoy their leisure time amidst the pink cherry blossoms that form a stark contrast against the black lacquer background. The second segment shows a more classical, peafowl motif in aogai or ‘blue mother of pearl’ on a dark red ground. Both connect to the final segment, which is made up of sprinkled wisterias, cherry blossoms, and boldly protruding peonies in taka-maki-e on a surface of bright vermillion. Together, the skilfully composed images form a somewhat eclectic, yet pleasingly bright aesthetic whole that invokes an intense sense of celebration.

Together with item no. 48, the table forms a pair that can be clearly identified in the aforementioned Asada papers. Judging from the quality of the pearl and maki-e decorations, which are clearly on par with those of its contemporary that was displayed in London in 1854, this particular table was assumedly also intended to be a showcase of ‘Nagasaki Raden’ export ware.

57 A Japanese lacquer box covered with Japanese gilt-leather paper imitating Dutch gilt leather, or kinkarakawakami Probably Tokyo, Meiji period, circa 1880 The black lacquered box is covered with Japanese gilt-leather paper imitating Dutch real gilt-leather, in the Louis XIV/Marot style, painted in blue and gold on a fine relief ground.

H. 10.5 x L. 38.9 x D. 25.2 cm Room decoration with gilt leather hangings was popular in the Netherlands from the mid 17th till the early 18th century. Gilt leather in fact was not gilt, but leather partly painted in one or more colours. It was also partly faced with tinfoil glazed with markedly yellow varnish, which imparted a golden look to the tinfoil. The leather was embossed by being pressed into a carved wooden mould with a pattern. Gilt leather was first produced by the Islamic people, mainly in Spain during the Islamic period.

By the 17th century the centre of production had moved to the Netherlands, with Malines and Amsterdam being particularly famous for their gilt leathers.

Since the first half of the 17th century Dutch gilt leather was exported, not only to Northern Europe, but in small quantities to China and Japan too, mainly as gifts by the VOC to Asian rulers. Dutch gilt leather became a status symbol in Japan. It was used for purses, tobacco pouches, pipe cases, small bags and boxes, and even for folding-screens. After a while the Japanese started to copy Dutch gilt leather.

However, leather workers belonged to the lowest class in Japanese society and leather was forbidden in or even near Buddhist’s temples. Therefore, Horiki Chujiro started in 1684 to produce paper imitations of gilt leather in Ise, which became popular with visiting pilgrims because they could take these ‘gilt paper’ pouches into the temple. After several attempts were carried out resulting in a variety of leather imitations it was only around 1870 that the Takeya firm in Tokyo managed to produce good looking embossed paper wall hangings in the Dutch 17th and 18th century style. These Japanese paper wall hangings were awarded prices in the World Exhibitions in Europe and the United States and were supplied, among others, to Buckingham Palace and Paleis Het Loo. In the late 19th century, Japanese gilt lacquered paper was imitated again in European paper production. Particularly in Britain, being an excellent example of cultural exchange between the Asia and the Europe.

A very similar fragment of Japanese gilt paper from the late 19th century is in the collection of Het Haags Gemeentemuseum (Frits Scholten ed., Goudleer, kinkarakawa, de geschiedenis van het Nederlandse goudleer en zijn invloed in Japan, Waanders, Zwolle, 1989, ill. 55).

58 A Japanese blue and white porcelain dish with initials ‘HP’ Arita, Edo period, circa 1660-1690 Diam. 23 cm Initials bearing Arita bottles dating from about 1680 to 1710 are known, either indicating the name of a Dutch person or indicating the content of the bottle. Jan Veenendaal is researching these bottles and argues that initials with single or double dots in between stand for names of (high ranking) Dutch VOC officials, and those without any interrupting dots for the contents of the bottles. So for example I:V:H stands for Joan van Hoorn and I.C for Johannes Camphuys (both were GovernorGeneral for the VOC). FW, without any dots, stands for Fransche Wijn (French wine), RW for Rijnlandsche Wijn and JOK probably for Jenever Oranda Kapitan (Gin for the Dutch Opperhoofd on Deshima). The only dishes with initials known so far are those with the VOC monogram in the centre, referring to the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie.

Since there are no dots between the H and P, these initials presumably indicate the ‘content’ of the dish. Jan Veenendaal suggests HP stands for Hoender Pastei (chicken pastry), a popular dish in the Netherlands as well as on board of the VOC ships.

Petronella van Hoorn, sailing aboard the Sandenberg of the retourvloot (homeward bound fleet) from Batavia of 1709 commanded by her father Joan van Hoorn, wrote letters to her grandfather Willem van Outhoorn about life on board, including the meals served. She also wrote Mond Provisie Boek, a book of appetizing recipes eaten

by the higher-ranking officers on board VOC ships such as rolpens (spiced meat in tripe), sardines from Macassar, pickled fish, chicken, pumpkin with onions, green beans with fried bacon and sausages. Helena Swellengrebel described meals too. In her detailed diary of life on board of the retourvloot from the Cape of Good Hope, commanded by her father Hendrik Swellengrebel in 1750, she wrote down the meals eaten by the officers on board. This included stuffed goose, roasted pig and chicken pastry. Chicken pastry was a popular recipe in the Netherlands and is depicted in several ‘banketjes’, as 17th century Dutch still life paintings used to be called.

59 A Japanese Imari double-gourdshaped R(hineland) W(ine) bottle Arita, late 17th /early 18th century H. 25 x diam. 12 cm The bottle is decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with peonies, chrysanthemums and two flying birds. On the lower gourd a circle with the letters RW, in gold over a red ribbon, without dots, which most probably stands for ‘Rijnlandsche Wijn’. Doublegourd bottles decorated in blue and white are not uncommon, but Imari decorated bottles of this shape are extremely rare.

60 A rare bone netsuke of a Dutchman with a cockerel Edo period, 18th century H. 9.7 cm Carved from a slender section of bone, most likely a walrus baculum, the Dutchman, with two asymmetrical himotoshi to the back, has an elongated body following the natural orientation of the material and is dressed in a Chinese robe with wave border. He is wearing a European hat, his face has a grotesque expression, and he is holding a long-tailed rooster (onagadori) in his arms. The details are all finely carved and well preserved, and the bone has an appealing dark patina.

Cock fights were a favourite pastime for the Dutch in Deshima during the long waits between the departures and arrivals of ships, which only took place once a year.

61 A Japanese boxwood netsuke of a Dutchman as a barber Showa-period, 20th century, signed underneath with a two-character signature Masakatsu H. 9.8 cm

The tall Dutchman wearing a large hat is holding a big barber’s knife in his left hand and a napkin in his right hand. Dressed in a long coat incised with scrolls.

Unlike the Japanese who have little beard growth, the Dutch had to shave daily, which was a remarkable feature from Japanese perspective.

62 A superb Japanese ivory netsuke of a Dutchman carrying a boar slung over his shoulder Edo period, 18th century H. 9.2 cm The proudly standing Dutchman, wearing a European hat and lozenge wig, carries the legs of the boar on his shoulder, the fur of the limp animal neatly incised. The Dutchman’s coat is finely spotted and engraved with crashing wave design. The two himotoshi, one larger and one smaller, are placed at an angle at the back.

The Dutchmen were not allowed to leave Deshima so hunting was out of the question. However, Dutchmen carrying their hunting spoils over their shoulders is a recurring theme with netsukes of Dutchmen. Maybe this representation refers to the meat-eating habit of the Dutchmen or it could derive from the image of Christ the Good Shepherd carrying a lamb over his shoulder, even though Christian imagery, when recognised, was strictly forbidden in Japan.

63 A Kawabaran woodblock print depicting two camels with their ‘exotic’ caretakers Nagasaki, by Kataoka Harukyu, dated Bunsei 10, the year of the pig, 1827, published in Osaka by Kinokuniya Woodblock print, H. 29 x W. 42 cm A kawaraban was a pamphlet that was more or less illegally distributed. Depicted here are two camels. Blomhoff, the Opperhoofd or Chief Merchant of the Dutch settlement at Deshima, had ordered and transported to Japan to perform shows all over Japan as a financial support for his Japanese wife and child in their costs of living after his departure to his home country in 1823. The camels coming from Harusha (Arabia), arrived in a Dutch ship in the sixth month of Bunsei 4, 1821. This ship, the Fortitudo, was painted by Kawahara Keiga in July 1821 in the Bay of Nagasaki (see: Uit Verre Streken, November 2022, no. 52). The text gives a lot of information about the two camels, such as sizes, their diet, and much more. Also, a description of their wonderful performances is present. In addition, it mentions that camels are effective as spirit animals; camel urine supposedly is a life-saving elixir and if you hang this

print in a child’s room, children’s illness will be lightened, and thunder will be avoided.

The text also announces the camels’ spectacular show to be seen at the famous Miidra Temple on the shore of the Biwa Lake in the Õmi Province. In 1821 the eightyear-old male and seven-year-old female travelled from Nagasaki to Osaka where they could be admired in 1823 and to Edo, in Nishi Ryõgoku, in 1824. In 1827 both camels were apparently still alive, but during a trip to the north one of them died.

The camel-show with ‘exotically’ dressed Japanese escorts, probably to increase the spectacle, was immensely popular in Japan. They were often painted, drawn, and described, and turned out to provide a perfect financial security to Blomhoff’s Japanese wife and child.

64 A Japanese two-fold Namban screen Early Edo period, 17th century The screen depicts a bridge with a red-haired European man and two ladies, of which one is playing the lute. Two fishing foreigners are depicted next to the bridge.

Furthermore, two small boats are moored near the bridge, with two more beyond.

Flowering Japanese cherry trees, associated with music making, and a willow tree, associated with the ‘adult entertainment’ districts, both frame the picture beneath golden clouds.

H. 97.7 x W. 115.8 cm This is a rather untypical Namban screen since inside it has a silk brocade border. For another Japanese painting showing a European woman playing the lute see pl. 132 in: N.H.N. Mody, A Collection of Nagasaki Colour Prints and Paintings, Volume II. Jesuits established seminarios in various parts of Japan in the second half of the 16th century. Not only for educating future clergymen but for instructing students to paint religious pictures in a more European style too. A lot of such religious paintings were produced, until shogun Tokagawa Iemitsu banned Christianity in 1639 and expelled the Portuguese and Spanish. The development of Christian art in the European manner halted completely and most of the existing religious works were destroyed.

Fortunately, some secular Namban paintings escaped this iconoclasm, like the one presented.

65 A large exceptional Japanese ema, or painted wood wishing board, depicting a ship Edo period, 19th century H. 65 x W. 87 cm

An ema is a votive plaque people hang in a ‘dedication area’, at a Shinto shrine, with their wish to the gods. Wishes usually would revolve around health, love, career, prosperity, and academic achievement, but in this case a wish for a safe sea voyage.

The present ema probably is a copy, depicting a red-seal, Shuyin-sen, ship at the beginning of the Edo period dedicated by its owner Suetsugu Heizou to the Kiyomizu-tera temple. A red-seal ship was officially approved by de Edo bakufu government to engage in international trading.

Many Japanese men, including one foreigner (nanban-jin), probably a foreign navigator, are seated on open deck. Under a roof the captain of the ship Hamada Yahyoe is depicted, who played an important role in the so-called Taiwan Incident of 1628 (for more information on the Taiwan Incident see: Uit Verre Streken, November 2021, no. 44). Behind the foreigner and at the rear end of the ship several females can be seen. The Japanese characters seem to read hõkai, meaning ‘donated and hung’, indicating that this ema was a gift to a Shinto temple.

At the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto, there is an ema dated from the beginning of the Edo-period dedicated by Sueyoshi Sonzaemon of Osaka, who had received a red-seal letter allowing him to sail to Luzon and engage in overseas trade with a large red-seal merchant ship in three consecutive years from Kanei 9 (1632) to 11. A similar early Edo period ema is dedicated to the Kumata Shrine in Osaka. There are more identical ema in other temples and shrines, wishing for safe sea journeys too. They were reproduced or repainted till the end of the Edo period.