Uit Verre Streken / From Distant Shores - November 2023, Zebregs&Röell by zebregsroell

Uit verre streken Guus Röell & Dickie Zebregs

Guus Röell & Dickie Zebregs

Uit verre streken from distant shores

“We sell Stories, not Fairytales”

Amsterdam & Maastricht, November 2023

Colonial and Cross-cultural Art and Antiques from the Age of European Exploration 16th - 19th century

Published by Guus Röell and Dickie Zebregs Amsterdam 1017DP, Keizersgracht 541-543 dickie@zebregsroell.com tel. +31 620743671 Monday – Friday 10-17 and Saturday 12-17 Maastricht 6211 LN, Tongersestraat 2 guus.roell@xs4all.nl tel. +31 653211649 (by appointment only) Cover 18 Inlaid walrus ivory and blue glass Ottoman knife 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 2

Europe, the Americas and Africa

1 A cased taxidermy Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) by Rowland Ward (1848-1912) London, circa 1890 H. 58 x W. 121 x D. 60 cm Provenance: Collection of Eton College Museum, Berkshire (until 1998)

The secretive Eurasian lynx is one of the widest-ranging cats in the world, being found in the forests of Western Europe, Russia and central Asia. The lynx has a prominent role in Greek, Norse, and North American mythology and is known in some Native American traditions as a ‘ Keeper of Secrets”. It is also believed to have supernatural eyesight capable of seeing even through solid objects.

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2 A cased taxidermy Gyr falcon (Falco rusticollis) by Rowland Ward (1848-1912) London, circa 1925 H. 73 x W. 53 x D. 33 cm Provenance Captain Vivian Hewitt (1888-1965), aviator, ornithologist and conservationist

Arab traders likely introduced falconry to the west before the fall of the Roman Empire. In Europe, the sport became known as ‘Hawking’. The aristocracy established a pecking order, of who was allowed which bird of prey for hawking, noted in ‘Book of Saint Albans in 1486’. Only the king was entitled to a gyrfalcon, the world’s most exotic raptor, brought by traders from frozen Nordic cliffs. 5

3 A pair of Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) by Rowland Ward (1848-1912) London, circa 1925 H. 92.5 x W. 91.5 x D. 51 cm Provenance: Collection of Captain Vivian Hewitt (1888-1965)

Vivian Hewitt (1888–1965) was a pioneering Welsh aviator who, on 26 April 1912, successfully completed a flight between Holyhead and Phoenix Park, Dublin. Although widely feted as the first man to cross the Irish Sea in an aeroplane, the feat had in fact, been achieved by Denys Corbett Wilson four days prior, who flew from Goodwick in Pembrokeshire to Enniscorthy. Hewitt was also a distinguished ornithologist and established a bird sanctuary at his home of Bryn Aber at Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey, which is now managed by the North Wales Wildlife Trust.

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4 A pair of Lady Amherst pheasants (Chrysolophus amherstiae) by Rowland Ward (18481912) London, circa 1931 H. 91.5 x W. 66 x D. 39 cm Provenance: Collection Emma Hawkins, London

The Lady Amherst’s pheasant is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. The Genus name comes from the Ancient Greek chrusolophos or ‘with golden crest’. In 1828, Sarah Amherst sent the first specimen of the bird to London, hence the charming name of the species. 7

5 A magnificent pair of cased taxidermy Colobus monkeys (Colobus satanas) by Rowland Ward (1848-1912) London, circa 1929 H. 182.5 x W. 137 x D. 63 cm Provenance: Collection Emma Hawkins, London

The colobus is the most arboreal of all the African Monkeys, rarely descending to the ground, living in territorial troops of five to ten with a dominant male. They appear to only have four fingers, as the thumb is so small it is almost invisible. This is believed to have evolved because they only eat leaves, unlike other primates who specialize in eating fruit or insects that require more dexterity.

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6 A Dutch painting depicting exotic birds The Netherlands, 18th-century Oil on vellum, H. 33.3 x W. 46.5 cm The birds depicted together make it a rather random collection. The Northern red cardinal, male and female, are quite obvious, and the larger bird could be a Monal pheasant – but on stilt legs. At the top left is an Amazon parrot species, and furthermore, two pigeons can be seen. It is not quite clear which birds the flying ones are. One of them could be a lark or a woodnymph hummingbird. Because depictions of birds were made with stuffed birds as models, or drawn in aviaries, combinations of birds from all over the world can occur in early paintings. 9

7 Nicolas II Huet (1770-1830) Anteater (Tamadua tetradactyla) Signed Huet fils and dated 1806 lower left and numbered 1/3 lower right Watercolour on paper, H. 17.3 x W. 23.4 cm

Nicolas Huet the Younger, also known as Nicolas Huet II or Nicolas Huet le Jeune, was a French natural history illustrator active from 1788 to 1827. He came from a family of skilled painters and engravers, including his father, Jean-Baptiste Huet and grandfather, Nicolas Huet the Elder. He had two brothers, François Huet and Jean-Baptiste Huet II, who were also involved in art. Nicolas Huet served as a lieutenant in the Battle of Jemappes in 1792 and participated in Napoleon’s scientific and artistic expedition to Egypt from 1798 to 1801, where he contributed illustrations to the government’s report. He gained a reputation as a talented watercolourist and engraver, particularly known for depicting natural history subjects. In 1804, he was appointed as the painter for the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle and Empress Joséphine’s menagerie, where he portrayed various animals, birds, and plants. Huet created a series of 246 animal drawings on vellum for the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle’s library, which were later published as the Collection de mammifères du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle in 1808. 10

8 A tortoiseshell on gold veneered strongbox or coffre fort Probably Southern-Netherlands or France, late 17th/early 18th-century H. 19.5 x W. 31.5 x D. 25 cm

This strongbox is listed in the Rothschild Archive, London, Manuscript: 000/174/C/3, Christie, Manson & Woods Probate Valuation of ‘The Estate of Alfred C. de Rothschild, Esq. C.V.O. Deceased, Halton House Tring’. 1918. Listed as ‘An old French coffre fort overlaid with tortoiseshell and mounted with brass bands terminating in fleur de lys, £10.0.0.’

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Provenance: - Alfred de Rothschild (1842-1918) the Library, Halton House, Buckinghamshire - Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942) - Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009)

9 A rare Dutch East India Company ‘VOC’ cannon Amsterdam, signed by Pieter Seest, dated 1764 and with Amsterdam town mark The bronze 1/2-pounder was made for 17-calibre length, and has a later wood gun carriage. The cannon bears a large VOC monogram and the A for the East India Company Chamber of Amsterdam. L. 80 cm, Provenance: Collection H.L.Visser, the Netherlands Literature: R. Roth, The Visser Collection - Arms of the Netherlands, in the collection of H.L. Visser, vol II, Zwolle, 1996, cat. no. C37, pp. 138-139 (ill.)

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Before the start of the Eighty Years War in 1568, ordinance manufacture was in the Southern Netherlands, particularly in Mechelen, and the Northern Provinces only had a tradition of church bell casting, not of gun founding. However, thanks to migration out of the Southern Netherlands due to Spanish religious intolerance, a large section of the population that had embraced the Protestant faith, including many wealthy entrepreneurs and skilled craftsmen, fled to the North. Cut off from the traditional supply of ordinance, the North, with the help of immigrants from the South, developed their own ordinance. Already by the early 17th-century, Dutch arms and ammunition were major export products to the rest of Europe and abroad. This was fuelled by the expansion of maritime trade through the East and West India Companies, who needed to arm their vast shipping fleets. A religious refugee from the bishopric of Liège, Louis de Geer, together with Walloon iron workers, initiated copper and iron mining and established the Finspång gun foundry in Sweden. Together with Elias Trip, his brother-in-law, a prominent Dutch merchant of guns and financier of the foundry in Sweden, he made Holland the military arsenal of the world, exporting military equipment to most countries in Europe and further afield. Most guns were made of iron because they were cheaper. However, since iron affects the compasses aboard ships, bronze guns were placed near the helm. 13

10 Reinier Nooms, called ‘Zeeman’ (1623/24-1664) A Mediterranean bay and anchorage with arriving and anchored ships Signed R.Zeeman, in the lower centre on the ship Oil on canvas, H. 41.5 x W. 67 cm

Reinier Nooms was a famous Dutch maritime painter known for his highly detailed paintings and etchings of ships. He often signed his works as ‘Zeemam’. After spending a rough and drunken life as a zeeman, he started painting, drawing and etching from about 1639. It is not known how he acquired his skills as an artist, but his knowledge of ships acquired as a sailor is evident from his work and served as an example of how to depict ships to many other artists. A favourite subject of his paintings was Dutch victory in sea battles against Spain and England. For instance, he painted the Amalia, the flagship of Admiral Maarten Harpertz. Tromp, before the Battle of the Downs in 1639. A vast Spanish fleet was decisively defeated, confirming the Dutch dominance of the sea lanes. This painting is shown in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (no. BHC0274). Another famous painting by Nooms depicts the Battle of Leghorn (Livorno), 1653, during the first Anglo-Dutch War. Commodore Johan van Galen defeated an English fleet under Captain Henry Appleton and gave the Dutch command of the Mediterranean. This painting is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum (object no. SK-A-294). 14

During 1661-1663, Nooms journeyed along the coast of North Africa with Michiel de Ruyter. Then and there, the present painting or its preliminary sketches were made. Nooms published his engravings, covering all types of 17th-century Dutch ships from East Indiamen to tow barges, in several series titled Verscheijde Schepen en Gesichten van Amstelredam, which are both artistic and ship’s historical, a true milestone.

11 A mahogany, ebony and oak Dutch miniature cabinet with a watch stand and silver pocket watch Holland, 2nd half 18th-century H. 92 x W. 62 x D. 36 cm The form and proportions of this miniature cabinet are based on Dutch Rococo models of cabinets popular around the third quarter of the 18th-century. The beautifully carved gable’s top has been creatively adapted to house a silver pocket watch. The silver case is hallmarked for London and dated 1773. The watch itself is engraved ‘JnWood, Grantham 550’, and the outer case has an attached label reading ‘G. Morton, Watch & Clockmaker, Dunbar’ and is engraved at the back of the case with the initials JR, possibly the owner’s initials. The top drawer has an arrangement to hold an inkpot and writing materials. Behind the doors, there is a ‘secret’ compartment. Together with the watch stand, this suggests the miniature cabinet was intended to be used on a gentleman’s writing table. 16

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12 Johannes Petrus van Horstok (1745-1825) Portrait of a Dutch Naval Officer Signed and dated 1814 Oil on Panel, H. 20.8 x W. 15.4 cm The portrayed possibly is Engelbertus Batavus van den Bosch (Brussels 1789 - Batavia 1851). Van den Bosch became lieutenant in 1814, which is the same rank the sitter has in this portrait. In 1825 he became captain and was sent to the ‘West Indies’ or Caribbean. After his return, he was promoted to admiral and adjutant of Prince Frederik (1797-1881), the second son of King William I of the Netherlands. In 1844 he was the commander of a fleet in a punitive expedition against the rulers of Bali. After his return, he served a short while as Minister of Colonies but soon returned to the former Dutch East Indies as commander of the navy. He died unmarried in Surabaya in 1851, received a state burial and was buried in Buitenzorg (Bogor). Van Horstok worked in Alkmaar and Haarlem, not far from the Dutch naval base at Den Helder. 17

13 A Dutch Chinoiserie pinewood polychrome lacquered cabinet on stand Holland, late 17th-century, with some later overpaintings H. 218 x W. 140 x D. 56 cm Provenance: Collection Oprah Winfrey, Fisher Island, Miami

At the end of the 17th-century, European lacquer art, as an attempt to imitate imported Japanese and Chinese lacquer art, started in Holland and England but rapidly spread to other European countries. If European lacquer art sought to imitate East Asian lacquer art, this was not very successful. First of all, the essential raw material for East-Asian lacquer work, the resin of the Rhus verniciflua tree, did not exist in Europe and raw lacquer could not be exported to Europe because it did not survive the long sea journey. Once dried, it is impossible to dissolve. This meant that European lacquer workers had to work with inadequate materials. However, they quickly learned to develop suitable substitutes: spirit-lacquer/ varnish and, even better, linseed oil-lacquer. Secondly, the Chinese and particularly the Japanese decorations were not well understood, so European lacquer workers developed their own decoration style, combining elements of Asian and European decorative styles, which also had to be adapted to the form of European furniture, such as the presented Dutch-shaped cabinet. This cabinet is an excellent example of highquality lacquer work in the Netherlands in the late 17th-century. In the 18th-century, lacquerwork was made successfully in several European workshops. Even in the 19thcentury, this type of cabinet was still fashionable, so they were often restored (read: overpainted). Fortunately, this cabinet only has some small 19th-century additions to the decoration. Source: Monika Kopplin, European Lacquer, Hirmer Verlag, Munich, 2010

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14 Eduard Charlemont (1842-1906) Allegories of Africa and America Allegory of Africa, signed and dated Ed. Charlemont 1872 lower left Oil on canvas, H. 153 x W. 153 cm (each) Provenance: - Collection Andrew Lloyd-Webber, United Kingdom - Auction, Sotheby’s Billinghurst, 15 september 1999, lot 775 - Private collection, Switzerland

The first work shows the allegory of the continent Africa The symbolic representation shows Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa, respectively represented by the Arab/Egyptian woman and the Black woman. The allegory is further elaborated by well-known African flora and fauna. The second work depicts America. It shows an indigenous woman representing the traditional inhabitants. She seems North American and is flanked by a woman of European descent. It seems the lady is wearing a traditional South American dress and holds a gold and silver vase – possibly referring to Spanish colonialism and the run for gold. Both paintings, therefore, could represent the continents and their norths and souths.

15 A group of four Meissen porcelain sculptures depicting the four Continents, originally commissioned by Tsarina Elisabeth Petrowna (1709-1762) The original sculptures where commissioned by the Tsarina in 1745. These copies from the 2nd half 19th-century, are each marked with the Meissen two crossed swords in underglaze blue.

‘Europa’ H. 25 x W. 23 cm

‘Asia’ H. 31 x W. 23 cm 22

‘America’ H. 29 x W. 26 cm

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‘Africa’ H. 28.5 x W. 23 cm

16 Étienne Parrocel, called ‘Le Romain’ (1696-1775) ‘An African Uhlan Warrior of the French Volontaires des Saxe regiment’ Signed in brown ink Parrocel verso Pen in brown and watercolour on paper, with fleur-de-Lys (1720s), H. 31.9 x W. 22.7 cm Maurice de Saxe, famous French marshal in the War of the Austrian Succession, had a regiment of which he was particularly proud, called the Volontaires de Saxe, composed of Africans, Turkish, Tartars, and Romanians. One brigade consisted of men of colour from Guinea, Senegal, Congo, Santo Domingo, Arabia, and Pondicherry. They were mounted on white horses and under the immediate charge of one Jean Hitton, a sousbrigadier who claimed to be the son of an African king. This brigade fought in all the war campaigns directed by Maurice and, afterwards, from 1748 until his death in 1750, was stationed with him at Chambord. The men of colour were allowed to freely marry white French women - or their own women who, by this time, had rejoined the men. Despite the Marshal’s request in his will that the brigade be kept intact and pass under 23

the control of his nephew, the government broke it up, distributing the people of colour as kettle-drummers among the various cavalry regiments. Les Volontaires du Maréchal de Saxe were a renowned military unit consisting of dragoons and uhlans (lancers). The troops were organised and dressed according to the white gaze and ideas of the field marshal. In the present drawing, the result can be seen; an orientalising costume. Troops of lancers from the unit, composed of black men, guarded the Château de Chambord, which was the Marchal’s residence. The corps fought in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) and in the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763). Source: Shelby T. McCloy, ‘Negroes and Mulattoes in Eighteenth-Century France’, in: The Journal of Negro History, Vol. XXX no. 3 (July 1945), pp. 283-84

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17 Gustave Vanaise (1854-1902) Portrait of a man in green gown (circa 1886) Signed lower right Oil on canvas, H. 46 x W. 38 cm Vanaise started taking lessons at the Ghent Art Academy from a young age. Initially, his father only allowed him to spend part of his time on drawing lessons so that he could learn the baking trade for the rest of the time. Vanaise Sr. envisioned a future for him as a pastry chef. Later, he was allowed to focus entirely on his education at the Academy, where he took lessons from, among others, Théodore-Joseph Canneel. In 1887, he undertook a study trip to Spain in the company of artist Jules Lambeaux. The present portrait can be compared to a painting by the hand of the artist in Museum M in Louvain, Belgium. It is likely the depicted man was one of the models travelling around Europe making a living out of being portrayed to cater to the demand for ‘Oriental’ portraits. However, Vanaise was able to depict the portrayed without any ‘oriental’ attributes, which makes it a simple but strong portrait. 25

18 A superb inlaid walrus ivory and blue glass Ottoman knife Ottoman Empire, Turkey, probably Constantinople (Istanbul), late 17th/early 18th-century The hilt is formed of faceted blue glass, while the blade of steel exhibits faux-watering and is inset with beads of coral at three equidistant slots just beneath the spine. The surface of the blade has also been etched over the greater part of its length with an inscription on one face with a part of the Nada ‘Ali quatrain and on the other with “… Muluk (?) sultan malik tahir (?)” (“… of Kings (?), Sultan Malik Tahir (?)”) among vine tendrils that exhibit remnants of the original gilding. Gilt stellar motifs also line the spine of the blade. The scabbard is inset with a generous array of khatamkari roundels depicting celestial motifs with gems, mother-of-pearl and various metals. The craftsman has expended great efforts to ensure almost no space is left unfilled, inviting the spectator to inspect the scabbard’s surface as one might survey a busy night-sky. L. 19.7 cm Provenance: With Runjeet Singh, London

This remarkable knife brilliantly exemplifies the artistry so often applied to exceptional pieces of arms and armour, its scabbard proficiently decorated throughout with roundels in a dazzling array of colours and patterns. Remarkably, the side of the scabbard shows a zig-zag motif, to some immediately recognizable from Japanese Namban export lacquer ordered by the Portuguese. This lacquerware was not intended for the Portuguese market only and was often given as diplomatic gifts to different courts – also to the Ottoman court. The resemblance is so uncanny that it is tempting to suggest that the craftsman took inspiration from such a piece. After all, it is widely known that at the Ottoman court, too, Chinoiserie was in fashion. A very comparable knife and scabbard can be found in the Schatzkammer of the Bavarian Palace in Munich (inv.no. 1235 or 1819/20). It probably entered the collection through the Pfälzer Wittelsbacher line, who in the 16th and 17th centuries were known to collect Ottoman artefacts, as Turquerie, also known as Turkomania, was in vogue. 27

19 A collection of narwhal tusk Inuit hunting harpoons Kalaalit Nunaat (Greenland) or Canadian Arctic, 18th-19th-century All with a deep patina and smooth touch and old repairs, some with old collection numbers and some harpoons with a curve. As narwhal tusks are naturally never curved, it points at wear by centuries of use. At first sight, it seems that these harpoons would not be sharp enough to puncture the thick skin of any polar animal. However, when held in hand, all have a perfect balance, and it becomes clear they - utilized by an experienced hunter - are remarkably efficient. L. 136 cm (the longest)

Provenance: - Charles Edwards, London (1960s) - Colin Gross, London (c. 1999) - Finch & Co, London (2008) - Private collection, Belgium

20 A pigmented wood Tlingit Potlach carving of a wolf chasing to bear cubs up a tree Alaska, Tlingit, 2nd half 19th-century

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Depicting a dynamic scene of a wolf chasing two bear cubs as they scramble up a tree for safety. It is made of pigmented wood, with the colours of red, blue, white and black. H. 34.5 cm The Tlingit people divide themselves into two distinct motives, the Raven (Yéil) and the Eagle/Wolf (Ch’aak’/Ghooch). These motives are based on family lines with specific rules not to marry someone from the opposite moiety. A ritual ceremony in these societies is the potlatch. The word potlatch means ‘to give’. Potlatches mark important occasions, involving gift-giving, feasting and cultural performances. The ceremony is mostly characterized by families handing out gifts to each other. However, unlike in European society where receiving many gifts shows one’s popularity, the one giving away the most valuable and multitudinous gift gains the most respect in Tlingit society. A potlach gift like the one presented here took a lot of effort and time to carve. Source: Sergei Kan. ‘The 19th-century Tlingit Potlach: A New Perspective’ in: American Ethnologist, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1986, p. 191-212 Provenance: Collection Rick Ege, Saint Louis The Flury collection, Seattle The Mackley collection, Hershey

21 A pigmented wood Tsimshian Chief’s ceremonial ‘Raven’ rattle Canada, British Columbia, circa 1860-1880 L. 29.5 cm This finely detailed rattle, crafted from pigmented wood in red and black, was made by the Tsimshian, an indigenous group of people with roots in the north-western region of British Columbia, Canada. It was a matrilineal society, in which children would inherit their lineage or clan affiliation from their mothers. There were four lineages: Raven, Wolf, Eagle, and Fireweed. Their society was divided in three main classes: nobles, commoners, and slaves. The nobility included the immediate family of the chief. Raven rattles are a unique kind of ceremonial instrument, shaken rhythmically to accompany ritual performances of chiefs. The composition exists of a raven with a human figure on his back. Incorporated in the raven’s tail is another bird’s head which holds a frog in his beak. The tongue of the frog makes contact with the human figure. This union forms the bridge through which the magic force flows. The belly of the raven has the structure of a face. The use of black and red decoration and rows of dashing are typical of the mid 19th-century. The raven, a central figure in Tsimshian mythology, holds a position of great importance. It is believed to bring light and life into the world, symbolized by the small ball held in the mouth of the raven. It is believed to be a bridge between the human and spiritual world. Power in Tsimshian society was derived from encounters between the ancestors and spiritual beings that controlled all resources. It has been suggested that the raven/ human imagery of these rattles illustrates Raven the Creator’s own self-creation. Nassshaki-yeil (Raven-at-the-head-of-the-Nass) was the keeper of all the light in the world and was often depicted as a huge bird with a completely recurved beak. Raven entered the body of the daughter of Nass-shaki-yeil by disguising himself as a hemlock needle in her drinking water and was reborn as her raven/human child. The raven child later stole the light from his grandfather and released it to the world. Nass-shaki-yeil is a highranking crest of the Gaanax.ádi Tlingit (as well as certain Tsimshian-speaking groups), and it may be that this important mythological figure is represented by the formline face with a recurved beak seen on the back of nearly all raven rattles. A similar rattle can be found in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, on permanent view in Gallery 681.(access.no. 89.4.2161) Source: Steven C. Brown. Native Visions: Evolution in Northwest Coast Art from the 18th through the Twentieth-century, University of Washington Press, 1998 Provenance: Private collection, Brussels Collection Lemaire, Amsterdam (c. 1990) Collection Pelt, the Netherlands

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22 A Lakota warrior’s feather headdress North or South Dakota, United States of America, circa 1910-1930 H. 201 cm (incl. standard)

The feathers belong to the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and are decorated at the end with dyed red horsehair (Equus caballus). The top of the cap is ornamented with bells and fur that are visible between the feathers above the beaded band. A multicoloured beaded band featuring geometric patterns reminiscent of the shape of tepees unfolds at the forehead. The beads came from exchanges with American traders. Furthermore, the headdress has side pendants made of strips of coloured fabric. At the back of the headdress, under the central feather, a beautiful decorative element can be seen: a braided and dyed porcupine quill and a set of brown eagle feathers. This type of eagle feather headdress was the most important and imposing symbol of prestige for the warriors of the Plains. Only prominent warriors earned the right to wear a full-feather headdress. According to the Lakota, the eagle is the symbol of sacred warrior power. More specifically, the eagle is considered the ‘master of the sky and the birds’, and its feathers are symbols of bravery and wisdom. The down feathers, undulating with the slightest breath of air, were seen as a tool of communication with the spirit world. The making of a headdress gave rise to numerous ceremonies and songs celebrating the valour of the warrior for whom the headdress was intended. During the making of the headdress, each time a feather was added, one of the great feats of arms of the warrior was recalled. As such, once the headdress is finished, it constitutes a trophy recalling the many victories of the warrior and, more broadly, of the whole tribe. Within the tribe, only the chiefs and a limited number of men were authorized to wear a war cap. The wearing of the headdress was absolute proof of bravery in battle, and all members of the tribe owed respect to whoever wore it. Today, native leaders present feather headdresses to government officials and politicians to signify a diplomatic relationship. This headdress was probably brought to Europe by a Lakota tribesman. Several groups of Lakota travelled Europe to perform and showcase their culture. During the expositions, they were often placed in a village-like setting where spectators could view them like in a zoo. A comparable headdress can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (on loan from the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown). Sources: - Marc Petit, Mémoires Indiennes, Champollion Museum, Figeac, 2011 - Steve Friesen, Lakota Performers in Europe: Their Culture and the Artifacts They Left Behind, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2017

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This ritual headdress consists of an assembly of 28 eagle feathers attached to a leather and felt hat using pieces of red fabric from uniforms of the American army or long strips of fabric of English origin exchanged at trading posts.

23 Augustin Brunias (1730-1796) ‘Gentleman from the Bahamas’ Apparently unsigned Oil on canvas, approx. 70 x 58 cm (incl. frame) Provenance: The Ondaatje Collection, United Kingdom

Who the depicted Gentleman is remains unknown, but it is almost certainly a plantation owner who had himself depicted arriving with a tent boat and his mixed-race enslaved people. Such a portrait would make a perfect souvenir to take home to England to show one’s accomplishments in the Caribbean.

24 A Spanish-colonial silver-mounted tortoiseshell casket South or Central America, late 16th/early 17th-century H. 15.2 x W. 25.1 x D. 12 cm Until recently, these caskets were often classified as Spanish or Portuguese, but it has become clear that they were produced over a very wide geographic area under European patronage in workshops in India, Sri Lanka, Batavia, China, the Caribbean, Central and South America in the 17th and 18th-centuries. Distinguishing regional characteristics are generally only found in the type of decoration of the mounts. In this case, it seems that the masks from which the handles are suspended and the engravings on the further mounts point towards the Americas. 35

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Aesthetically pleasing, yet not without political intent, Brunias’ paintings served as a form of propaganda. Promoting Young’s imperialist mission, he promoted the West Indies as a ‘thriving colonial economy’, a place of opportunity where the generations of deported African peoples were not resisting their enslavement. By depicting an entirely new geographical setting unknown to British audiences, Brunias tapped into the nation’s projected fantasies of the ‘exotic’, while portraying the ‘West Indies’ as a (largely fictionalised) tropical, harmonious land of abundance and prosperity.

25 An inlaid Vice-Regal Mexican coffer with elaborate silver mounts Mexico, Spanish colonial, late 17th-century H. 33 x W. 40 x D. 27 cm The interior is lacquered, with the inside of the domed lid decorated with the IHS insignia, for the Jesuits in Mexico. This coffer was possibly used as a reliquary casket in one of Mexico’s many churches or monasteries. Provenance: Noble collection, Spain

26 A commemorative plantation glass with an engraved text reading ‘Het Welvaaren van de Plantagie Wayamoe’ with a silver foot German glass, Dutch wheel-engraved, mid-18th-century, the silver marked for Dutch small silverworks, 835/1000 (after 1-10-1955) and an unknown maker’s mark Hv/dE H. 18.3 cm The plantation Wayamoe or Wajambo was owned by Willem Bedloo (1734- 1785), who also owned plantation Hagenbosch and was married to Anna Maria de Nijs (1749-1781). The couple was Reformed and belonged to the white upper layer of the 36

Plantation Wayamoe was situated north of the Perica, Heelkavink and Wayamoe creeks. It was measured on February 8th, 1730, at the request of the owner after he had bought 43 Surinam acres from the neighbouring plantation Meulwijk. After that, the Wayamoe plantation measured 1146 Surinam acres (492,78 hectares = c. 1218 acres). The area of the Perica Creek in the Marowijne District in Surinam was cultivated in the early 18th-century.

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Surinamese population. Both-came from families that had held prominent positions in the colony as plantation owners for generations. Van Bedloo was a member of the Court of Police, and the unpaid position gave him a lot of influence. Henriëtte Wilhelmina was born on June 20, 1778 in Paramaribo. The family must have lived alternately in Paramaribo and on the Wajambo plantation because twin girls were born there on September 15, 1781, Carolina Aleta and Elisabeth. But disaster struck, as the mother died on 18 September 1781 on the plantation. Soon two deaths would follow; father Willem Bedloo on October 24, 1784; and Grandmother Alida Maria Coetzee-Wossink, but a year older than her son-in-law, on 14 November 1785. Of the eight children of the couple, four probably died prematurely and four left for the Netherlands at the end of the 18th-century: Sara, her sisters Henriëtte and Elisabeth, and brother Eberhardus. They were the heirs of their great-grandmother’s plantations and of their father’s plantations, Wayamoe and Hagenbosch. The Surinam affairs were handled by an administrator, who received a percentage of the proceeds. Although the economic climate in Suriname had deteriorated in the last quarter of the 18thcentury, the plantations still yielded a lot. All married at a young age, and Bedloo girls apparently were sought-after as financially attractive marriage partners.

Sources: - R. Grimbergen, ‘Bedloo’s erven in Lisse’ in: Oud Lisse Nieuwsblad 20, no. 1, 2021 - Nationaal Archief, Map of Plantation Wayamoe by Jan Freuytenier, access.no. 4.VEL [1584/1865]

27 Nicolaas Johannes Piscator (Claes Jansz. Visscher de Jongere 1586-1652) The capture of Olinda de Pernambuco by admiral Hendrik Cornelisz.Loncq, in Febr. 1630, and a sugar mill and the various stages of sugar production by enslaved Africans, circa 1632 Engraving with later hand-colouring, 36 x 68.5 cm Claes Jansz Visscher, born and died in Amsterdam, was a Dutch Golden Age draughtsman, engraver, mapmaker and publisher, who learned the art of etching and publishing from his father and himself was the founder of the very successful Visscher family map making and publishing businesses in its time, passing it on to his son and grandson. 38

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Hendrik Loncq (1568-1634) was one of the Dutch 17th century sea heroes. With his ship the ‘Witte Leeuw’, a 320 ton merchant ship armed for war, he was the first Dutch sea captain to reach North America in 1606 where he captured two French ships in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, pillaging them for cannons, ammunition and furs. In 1628 he was made admiral for the Dutch West Indies Company (WIC). Privatering Spanish ships was the main business of the WIC. In 1628 Loncq and Piet Hein conquered the Spanish treasure fleet. This allowed the WIC to attempt to conquer Portuguese Brazil. In February 1630 admiral Loncq succeeded in conquering Recife and Olinda with a fleet of 67 ships and over 7000 men. For a short period Brazil was a successful colony of the WIC, producing mainly sugar. In 1653 however the WIC lost its Brazilian colony again to the Portuguese.

28 José Moreno Carbonero (1858-1942) Study of a Guarani man, Argentina, circa 1922 Oil on canvas, H. 32.2 x W. 26 cm

At the beginning of the 20th-century, the Argentine government was preparing to celebrate the May Revolution, which started on May 18, 1810, and led to the independence of Argentina. The municipality of Buenos Aires, joining in the celebration, commissioned a historical painting dedicated to the founding of the capital from José Moreno Carbonero. Under time pressure, Moreno Carbonero produced a work with which he was dissatisfied and criticized when he arrived in Argentina in 1910. For this reason, in 1922, he asked for the work to be returned to him to correct it. He studied the city’s history, the site and the event depicted in situ and made substantial changes to make the painting more historically accurate. The definitive work, wholly reworked, was placed in the municipal palace in 1924. It can still be admired in its original place. The city of Buenos Aires was founded on June 11, 1580, by Juan de Garay under the name of the ‘Santissima Trinidad y Puerto de Sant Maria del Buen Ayre’. In Moreno Carbonero’s painting, Juan de Garay, in the centre of the composition, raises his sword before the foundation pillar. On the right, the notary Pedro de Xeres signs the foundation act; on the left, the friar Juan de Rivadeneira raises the cross, and the alderman Don Pedro de Quirós carries the royal standard. All around, men in arms can be seen, as well as representatives of the native people from the area, including a man from the Guarani ethnic group. The present painting is a preparatory sketch of the head of this figure.

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Moreno Carbonero was born, brought up and studied in Malaga, Spain. In 1875, after a two-year stay in Morocco, he moved to Paris on a grant from the Malaga Provincial Council. He joined the studio of Jean-Léon Gérôme. A regular visitor, the famous art dealer Adolphe Goupil commissioned his first works, mainly small genre subject paintings. Between 1881 and 1884, Moreno Carbonero lived in Rome before moving to Madrid. There, he achieved his first success with his painting The Conversion of the Duke of Gandia, which is now in the Prado Museum. From then on, the artist specialized in history paintings, often on a large scale; the best example is The Entry of Roger de Flor into Constantinople, painted for the Madrid Senate in 1888, which hasn’t moved ever since. Besides being a historical painter, the artist was also a portraitist, painting elegant portraits of Madrid’s high society (see, for instance, Purificacion Fontan, Marquise del Pazo de la Merced, 1908, Prado Museum, Madrid).

29 A pair of stinkwood and leather-strip Cape Dutch ‘riempie’ chairs South-western Cape, circa 1700-1750 H. 98.5 x W. 51.7 x D. 41.3 cm (each) The chairs in the so-called Transitional Tulbagh style characterise - as perhaps no other locally made chairs - a Cape vernacular. The prototype of this chair is the caned highback chair of the William and Mary period (1690-1705), which was much simplified at the Cape during the first half of the 18th-century, becoming a plain country chair with thronging for the seats. The square, upright structure of the chairs is characteristic, with only the shaped crest rail relieving the overall unadorned appearance. This outline was retained as a decorative feature on the backs of settees and chairs until the late 18thcentury.

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30 A Kingdom of Benin ‘prestige’ chair Late 19th/early 20th-century On a square base, each foot in the shape of a bird eating a snake, the arm-rests in the form of leopards, the back open-worked. Overall a nice dark patina, carved from one piece of wood. H. 71 x W. 55.5 x D. 51 cm Provenance: Jonathan Hope, bought the chair in the 1980s from John Hewett in the Grosvenor House Antique Fair.

The leopards as armrests are classical royal Benin style. Benin kings are often referred to as ‘leopards of the house’. The supports in the form of powerful birds with snakes in their beaks derive from symbols of kingship. In an engraving of the royal palace in Benin City published in 1668 in Olfert Dapper’s book “Naukeurige Beschrijvinge der Afrikaansche Gewesten”, enormous metal birds with outstretched wings poised on the main turrets of the palace and giant brass serpents zigzagging down the turrets, are shown. 43

31 A rare Cape Dutch-colonial stinkwood and yellowwood armoire South Africa, South-western Cape, circa 1780-1790 H. 251.5 x W. 171 x D. 69.5 cm Provenance: - Private collection, South Africa - Sale, Stephan Welz & Co., Cape Town, 21 October 2008, lot 541 - Private collection, United Kingdom

Due to the strong French presence at the Cape during the second half of the 18thcentury, these cabinets have become known as armoires at the Cape, although the model is very much Dutch. The cabinets are often made of a combination of indigenous (such as yellowwood, Podocarpus latifolius and, stinkwood, Ocotea bullata) and exotic timbers. They are characterised by a bold moulded cornice and elaborate carved key-blocks, feet and base apron. Besides their height, the proportions of Cape cabinets are perceived as immense, which made them sought-after status symbols in upper-middle-class households at the Cape in the relatively prosperous second half of the 18th-century. But in a society where status, practicality and commercial necessity overlapped, these cabinets also served at times as repositories for stock-in-trade. Often, women managed retail businesses from home, and the present rather simple cabinet may have functioned as a store of merchandise in the voorkamer.

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32 Reize in de binnenlanden van Afrika, langs Kaap de Goede Hoop, in de jaaren MDCCLXXX tot MDCCLXXXV by François Levaillant (1753-1824) Dutch translation from French by J.D.Pasteur, published by Honkoop and Allart, Leiden/ Amsterdam, 1791-1798 (5 volumes)

François Levaillant was a French author, explorer, naturalist, zoological collector, travel writer and noted ornithologist. In Surinam where he grew up, he developed an interest in the local fauna. In 1763 his family returned to France, where in 1773 he married Suzanne de Noor and after a short career in the army, worked with an apothecary, Becoeur, who had developed an arsenic-based soap to preserve birds, and in 1777 became a trader in taxidermy in Paris. In 1780, at the age of 27, he went to the Cape, sponsored by Jacob Temminck, with the understanding that he would strengthen Temminck’s natural history collection. There, Levaillant made three journeys into the hinterland of the Cape, collecting and describing over two thousand specimens of birds, insects, mammals and plants, which he took back to Europe, establishing his reputation within the scientific community. He published Voyage dans l’intérieur de l’Afrique (1790) and Seconde voyage dans l’intérieur de l’Afrique (1796), both of which were best-sellers across Europe. After this success he also published Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d’Afrique (1796-1808), and Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis with famous drawings by Jacques Barraband. 46

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Levaillant had collected the skins of the birds, which were stuffed and illustrated by Barraband and others, and was a famous collector of taxidermy, bringing the first giraffe skeleton to France. He sold a significant collection of African birds, insects and mammals to the Natural Museum in Paris, and a large collection of bird skins sent to Jacob Temminck is now in the collection of Museum Naturalis in Leiden. Levaillant shared Rousseau’s idea of the ‘Noble Savage’, even naming one of his sons Jean-Jacques Rousseau Levaillant. He described the African people with sympathy and called his “Hottentot” companion, Kees, his brother, sharing his food and drinks with him, and considered him “...more loyal than many civilized humans.” He also depicted and described the beauty of a young Gonaqua girl, naming her Narina after a flower, and his description of their flirtation influenced early novels of the relationships with indigenous people before such sympathetic relationships became less socially acceptable in later colonial times.

33 After François Levaillant (Paramaribo 1753 - La Noue, France, 1824) ‘Een Hottentot, zyn vrou, Narina van Afrika’ Watercolour on paper, H. 14 x W. 22 cm 48

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34 A rare pair of Royal camel-guns or ‘zamburak’, formerly belonging to Maharaja Bahadur Singh of Ajmer (1857-1903) Rajasthan, Ajmer, dated Samvat 1952 (1895 CE) Each cannon in polychrome wood and koftgari gold steel, inscribed ‘Maharaj Shri Bahadur Singh Ji, Rajasthan Masuda Samvat 1952’. L. 116 cm (each, excl. stand) A zanburak, pronounced zamburak, is known in Arabic, Persian and Turkish as wasp, bee or hornet. ‘Zambur’ means hornet, and ‘ak’ is the diminutive - so ‘little wasp’. These swivel guns were carried by camels and were used by the Persians in the 18thcentury until their demise in 1849. In battle, the animals would be restrained on their knees and loaded as bombardiers, after which the weapons would be fired from atop their backs. Zamburaks were the Indian response to European horse artillery. However, the zamburaks were less mobile and thus less manoeuvrable than horse artillery. An Ottoman example of one of these guns mounted on a camel is illustrated by Marsigli in L’Etat militaire de l’Empire Ottoman in 1732. During the Sikh Wars (1846-1847 & 1848-1849), the speed of movement of the European horse artillery made the zamburaks useless. They were too slow, and their power was inadequate. They couldn’t catch up with the European horse artillery. That doesn’t, however, make them less impressive and frightening. Provenance: - Maharaja Rao Saheb Bahadur Singh, Thakur of Masuda (reigned 1863-1903) - Noble family, Saudi Arabia - With Peter Finer, London - Collection Davinder Toor, London Sources: - Roy Kaushik, ‘Military Synthesis in South Asia: Armies, Warfare and Indian Society, c. 1740-1849’, in: The Journal of Military History, Volume 69, no. 3, 2005, p. 662 - Robert Elgood, Firearms of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait, I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, 1995, p. 137-139

35 A Mughal silver and silver-gilt enamelled peacock feather fan, or morchal India, probably Deccan, 2nd half 17th-century L. 121 cm (overall) / L. 17.5 x Diam. 5.5 cm (handle) A famous Hyderabad painting from the early 18thcentury showing Alivardi Khan with attendants in a garden helps with dating and attributing this fan to a place of manufacture. The ruler is fanned by two attendants bearing morchals with the same proportions, ridged handles with knops, and nonflaring cups, as seen in our morchal. This painting is illustrated in Stuart Cary Welch, India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, 1985, p. 326, no. 221. Two Golconda paintings of circa 1687 in the David Collection, Copenhagen, show the durbar and procession of the self-important Dutchman, Cornelis van den Bogaerde, portraying himself in the style of a local ruler fanned by morchals. These fascinating paintings are illustrated in Navina Najat Haidar and Marika Sardar, Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy, 2015, pp. 322-323, cat. nos. 194 and 195. In the same volume, the authors illustrate two early 18thcentury Hyderabad procession paintings, p. 248, figs. 77 and 78, where the palanquins are attended by morchal bearers on the march. Provenance: - The Stuart Cary Welch Collection - HH Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani - With Simon Ray, London Exhibited: Glory and Prosperity: Metalwork of the Islamic World, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard Art Museums, 2 February - 21 July, 2002. Literature: Melanie Michailidis, Glory and Prosperity: Metalwork of the Islamic World, Harvard Art Museums, 2002

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36 An extremely rare Sinhalese Dutch-colonial and Nguyen imperial revolving matchlock gun with a five-shot cylinder Mid 17th-century, Sri Lanka, possibly adapted in Tonkin (Vietnam), Nguyen dynasty, mid 17th-century The cylinder is made for five shots, which could be pre-primed and pre-loaded. All iron parts are decorated with gold and silver overlay, the barrel showing designs of dragons among foliage and a series of cross-shaped designs. The cylinder is decorated in the same manner, with dragons and in addition auspicious symbols such as flowers and flaming jewels. The front and back of the cylinder and the underside of the barrel have plain silver overlay. L. 156 cm Provenance: - Private collection, France (collected in French Indo-China in the early 20th-century); thence by descent - Private collection, Israel - Private collection, United States

This unique revolving gun exhibits features suggestive of Dutch craftsmanship, particularly evident in its matchlock mechanism. The silver overlay technique, applied over a two-directional crosshatched background, is reminiscent of methods used in India, China, and Vietnam but not in Japan or Tibet. The dragon designs bear semblance to artworks from the old Nguyen capital of Hue in Tonkin, likely from the mid 17thcentury, coinciding with the Dutch presence in Vietnam. The gun’s stock design can be traced to Sri Lanka, a known production hub of high-quality weapons during the Dutch era. This firearm is believed to have been a prestigious gift, possibly crafted in the Dutch VOC post of Sri Lanka and later decorated with Nguyen imperial designs, either from provided templates or locally. Historically, the Dutch VOC was deeply interested in Northern Vietnam during the early 17th-century due to its lucrative silk trade. The gun likely dates to the height of this trade, supported by carbon-dating results pointing to the 1630s and 40s. Only one other gun of this kind is known to exist, originating from a French estate linked to Vietnam’s colonial period. This particular gun was auctioned in Italy in 2016 and is now owned by an Israeli collector. For more information and images, visit: www.zebregsroell.com/sinhalese-revolving-gun

37 A Dutch-colonial ebony and bone arm-chair with low relief carving Sri Lanka or Coromandel Coast, circa 1650 H. 74 x W. 54 x D. 47.5 cm / H. 35.5 cm (seat height) This chair is an exceptional fine example of shallow carving of flowers and curling leaves, and open carving of the Hamsa pũṭṭuva ‘sacred goose or swan’ a Singhalese ornament of Hinduism, in poetry standing for beautiful girls and the breast of women. This type of chair belongs to the earliest chairs imported into Batavia while all efforts were still focussed on building the city and there not yet was a furniture industry in Batavia.

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38 A pair of Dutch-colonial red lacquered high-back side chairs Probably Sri Lanka, 18th-century H. 99 x W. 54.4 x D. 50 cm The carving in the crest of the chairs represents the Garuda, the eagle of Vishnu. Similar chairs can be found in the Wolvendaal Church in Colombo. The wood is probably Bädidel wood or Breadfruit (Artocarpus Nobilis). However, the red lacquer may have been applied in Batavia after a VOC official stationed in Sri Lanka moved there.

39 A superb Dutch-colonial coromandel wood cabinet on stand Sri Lanka, 2nd half 18th-century H. 216 x W. 142 x D. 65 cm Sri Lanka had a wealth of attractive and durable timbers used extensively in the 17th, 18th and 19th-centuries for furniture making. These included coromandel, ebony, satinwood, rosewood, amboyna, and nedun. The availability of these timbers is one 58

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of the reasons why Sri Lankan workshops reached the highest level of craftsmanship, arguably, in the world. Under Dutch influence in the 17th and 18th-centuries, the level was maintained well into the 19th-century under the British. This cabinet is an exceptional example of Dutch-Ceylonese furniture, displaying the unusual pattern of the coromandel wood to its full beauty. 59

40 An Indo-Portuguese colonial tortoiseshell veneered wooden casket with silver mounts India, probably made in Gujarat, late 17th/early 18th-century H. 14 x W. 19.6 x D. 10.5 cm Often, caskets like the one present are attributed to Goa in India, the most important Portuguese trade post in Asia. However, no sources are known that speak of any artisans or the production of luxury goods on a large scale in the city. This means that it is more likely that Portuguese merchants would travel to places like Gujarat to place orders or that Indian merchants would visit Goa.

41 An Indian colonial tortoiseshell veneered teak portable two-door cabinet Mughal India, Gujarat, 2nd half 17th-century H. 22.4 x W. 30.3 x D. 26.8 cm The finely tortoiseshell and bone veneered cabinet has six drawers behind two doors. Originally ordered by the Portuguese and made after German, Augsburg and Nuremberg 16th and early 17th-century models, this type of cabinet became very sought after not only in Europe but also with the high-society and nobility in India itself.

42 A silver mounted Bezoar stone Probably India, 17th-century Diam. approx. 7 cm A bezoar is a mass of undigested material, often hair and plant fibre, trapped in the gastrointestinal system of many animals and even humans. The present bezoar is probably from a horse’s or camel’s stomach. Bezoar stones were believed to have the power of a universal antidote against any poison. The word bezoar comes from the Persian pãd-zahr, which literally means ‘antidote’. Although it certainly is not an antidote to any poison, it does seem to be an antidote to an arsenic-laced solution. In early modern times, bezoar stones were important and valuable objects in cabinets of curiosity and kunstkammers.

43 A superb Indian part-gilt silver-clad ceremonial sceptre or mace with a tiger’s head Northern India or Deccan, late 19th-century L. approx. 82 cm (excl. stand) Provenance: Private collection, United Kingdom

This remarkable gilt-silver soonta (ceremonial sceptre) also known as choba (ceremonial mace) with a tiger›s head, stands out as an unparalleled example. It has a wooden base, clad with thick sheet part-gilt silver and has fine details such as teeth and a curling tongue. Especially with the inlaid glass eyes, in combination with the grand sculptural design, it would have been integral to an Indian maharaja’s attire, known as lawajama in North India and biruthus in South India, as referenced by Jackson & Jaffer. They would symbolise authority, power, and sometimes an attribute of various deities, particularly those associated with strength or combat. For instance, the Hindu god Hanuman, 62

known for his immense strength, is often depicted holding a mace (chob or gada in Sanskrit). Similarly, the god Vishnu and his avatar Krishna are also frequently depicted with a mace among their other attributes.

For a very comparable piece, but with an elephant’s head, see the collection of the Indian Museum, Kolkata (access.no. R.10208/S.4596). For other less similar examples, see the V&A Museum London (access.no. 889-1874 & IM.49-1928). Sources: - A. Jackson & A. Jaffer, Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts, London, V&A Publishing, 1999 - Christiane Terlinden Serra, Mughal Silver Magnificence: 16th-19th-century, Brussels, 1987, p. 64

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Courtiers would raise these sceptres wrapped in rich brocades, with the head visible, during processions, signalling their association with the monarch. Alongside fly-whisks and standards, they were indispensable in ceremonial parades, underscoring the ruler’s prestige. Terlinden notes that a soonta berdar was tasked with-carrying the sceptre. These individuals, proficient in courtly manners, played key roles during audiences, from managing entrances to introducing guests. Their esteemed position often earned them generous rewards, including land grants. See for a depiction of sceptres in use the top right of a painting in the collection of the V&A, titled Processional scene with Amar Singh, ruler of Thanjavur (Tanjore), and Sarabhoji, from circa 1797 (access.no. IM.10-1938)

44 A Dutch-colonial ebony two-door cabinet with silver mounts Coromandel Coast, probably Masulipatnam, circa 1650-1680, the silver later H. 64.5 x W. 75 x D. 46 cm Cabinets from the Coromandel Coast usually don’t have mounts, whereas those from Batavia (Jakarta) do. During the restoration of this cabinet, we found the oxidation of silver in the wood. It is, therefore, safe to assume that the cabinet was adorned with silver mounts in the more mundane city of Batavia. Its owner - likely a high-ranking VOC official - was probably restationed and sent to Batavia, which was not uncommon.

45 A Anglo-Indian box with silver mounts Coromandel Coast, Vizagapatam, 1st half 18th-century H. 11 x W. 31.2 x D. 22.7 cm

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46 A series of ten miniature paintings depicting animals India, early 20th-century Gouache on paper, 38 x 33 cm (each) The paintings depict several charmingly painted animals, such as the white-bellied heron, a male and female barasingha deer, an European rabbit introduced by the British, a Tibetan fox, a water buffalo, a Striped rabbit, an Asiatic lion, two Indian hares and a Langur. 65

47 Attributed to William Daniell (1769-1837) Portrait of a Maratha chief Apparently unsigned Oil on canvas, H. 74.3 x W. 61.3 cm Provenance: - The Saracen’s Head Inn, Highworth, Oxfordshire, now Arkell’s Brewery (by repute) - Auction Messrs Dore, Smith and Radway, 23 February 1881 - Private collection, United Kingdom; thence by descent

The sitter in the present portrait is wearing a turban that is tied in the Mahratta style (as opposed to those in the Punjabi style, which is tied much tighter). While the clothing is too plain to be that of a prince, who would also have been adorned with expensive jewellery, the colour and decoration of his turban suggest a high caste, perhaps that of a nobleman or minister. Courtiers wearing similar costumes can be seen in the Peshwa of the Mahratta Empire’s entourage in Thomas Daniell’s 1805 painting based on the drawings that James Wales made in Poona in 1795, A representation of the delivery of the Ratified Treaty of 1790 by Sir Charles Warre Malet Bt. to his Highness Souae Madarow Narrain Peshwa. The Maratha Empire, and later the Maratha Confederation, originated as a Hindu Empire in Western India and the Deccan Plateau in the 17th-century and dominated much of the Indian subcontinent in the second half of the 18th-century, ending the Mughal control over most of India. After three AngloMaratha Wars, with the defeat of Peshwa Bajirao II in 1818, the British East India Company seized control over most of the Indian. 66

48 An Indian miniature painting depicting a prince spying on maidens bathing in a lotus pond Punjab, early 19th-century Opaque watercolour and gold on paper, H. 3.8 x W. 16.2 cm (image) / H. 28.3 x W. 21.6 cm (folio) The prince and his courtier are curiously attended by some cows, alluding to depictions of a popular episode from the story of Krishna’s youthful years when he stole the clothes of the gopis, female cowherds who had left their clothes on the Yamuna river bank while bathing. Krishna, high up in a tree with the stolen clothes, dares the gopis to come out of the water and beg for their clothes with arms raised in supplication, revealing themselves fully before their god. However, stealing clothes is only for the Gods, so the prince in the present painting doesn’t even dare look. 68

49 An engraving of ‘The Hooded Dodo, Raphus cucullatus’ From Encyclopedia Londinensis, published in 1802 Coloured copperplate engraving, H. 19 x W. 11.6 cm

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The dodo, or walghvoghel (wallow or loathsome bird), the name given by Dutch sailers who in 1598 were the first to mention this flightless bird on the island of Mauritius, didn’t long survive the arrival of humans. Having no predators on Mauritius, the dodo was flightless and not shy, so itself and its nest were easy prey for sailers, and the rats, pigs, dogs and cats introduced by the Dutch who occupied the island, because of the precious ebony trees growing there. After the arrival of the Dutch the island, entirely covered in forest, was quickly deforestated, destroying the habitat of the dodo and many other indigenous species, contributing to their extinction. The last accepted sighting of a dodo in Mauritius was in 1662.

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50 A superb Indonesian royal Cirebon gold keris dagger North-west Java, Sultanate of Cirebon, 19th-century With a Dapur Bima Rangsang, and Pamor Adeg Sapu (literally translating to broom hair), the wrangka Prahu Kandas and hilt Nunggak Semi with hidden patra or hidden faces and a mendak meniran, all in pure high-grade gold. L. 52.5 cm Provenance: - Presented by the Sultan Anon VIII Raja Dulkarnain to Colonial Minister of Internal Affairs Mr. J.M. van Vleuten of the Former Dutch East Indies - Private collection, the Hague

51 An Indonesian ambergris and gold perfume pendant in the form of a mangosteen fruit Indonesia, probably 18th-century

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L. 3.5 x diam. 2.5 cm Weight 18.66 grams Ambergris, or Ambar in Indonesian, is often dubbed the ‘gold of the sea’. It is a rare and precious substance with a history as intriguing as its aroma. Originating from the intestines of sperm whales, it forms when the whale’s digestive system produces a secretion to envelop and protect its intestines from the sharp beaks of consumed squid. Over time, this substance hardens and is either expelled by the whale or becomes part of its remains when it dies. Historically, ambergris was highly coveted by ancient civilizations. The Egyptians burned it as incense, while the Chinese cherished it for its medicinal properties. In medieval Europe, it was used both as a fragrance and as a flavouring agent for food and drinks. Its unique musky and earthy scent made it a key ingredient in high-end perfumes, a use that continues to this day. The allure of ambergris is matched only by its rarity. Since it’s found floating in tropical waters or washed ashore, its discovery is often accidental. The unpredictable nature of its occurrence has made it a valuable commodity, being worth more than gold.

52 A rare Indonesian tortoiseshell sirih casket with gold mounts Batavia (Jakarta), 18th-century, apparently unmarked H. 5 x W. 18 x D. 13 cm Before settling down to business in the former Dutch East Indies, sirih had to be offered in the most exquisite boxes of gold, silver, inlaid with precious stones, ivory, or tortoiseshell. The costliness of one’s sirih box displayed one’s fortunes. Sirih or Betel boxes with gold mounts are rare because the gold was often melted down in times of dire need. This particular box belonged to an Indonesian owner because it has a fob lock. Steeling in Indonesian culture means the one who got caught would have to live with one hand or not continue living at all. So, a lock was not needed. However, having a European ‘lock’ in your betel box was rather fashionable.

53 A Dutch-colonial Indonesian silver filigree sirih box Probably Sumatra, Padang, 18th-century

Due to the form of this box, together with the date, the most likely place of production of this large-size box is West Sumatra. To be exact, the area around Padang, which has been a centre of silver and gold filigreework since at least the 18th-century and still exists today. Tourists can buy silver trinkets such as miniature pieces of furniture, model houses and jewellery in the village of Kota Gadang near Bukittinggi, a former Dutch military outpost previously known as Fort de Kock. This ‘West Coast work’ is mentioned in many Dutch East Indies and Dutch probate inventories in the 18th-century.

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H. 8.4 x W. 22.5 x D. 15.3 cm Weight 1700 grams

54 A large Dutch-colonial Indonesian silver tray Marked with the town mark of Batavia (Jakarta) and maker’s mark K with a dot above (unidentified maker, act. c. 1700-1728), a third assay mark meaning that it was made before 1730, and a later Dutch silver-tax mark, in use from 1893 till 1905 L. 51.5 cm / Weight 1751 grams

Although several works of outstanding quality bear this same mark of a K with dot, nothing is known about this silversmith but that he was active in Batavia between 1700 and 1728. For a silver salver commemorating “Jonge Juffrouw Mariamagdalena Westpalm, 17th October 1728”, see pp. 18-19 in: Guus Röell & Dickie Zebregs, Schenkpirings, social media in silver, Amsterdam-Maastricht, August, 2021.

At the reverse is an engraved inscription reading: Presented to THE LADY VIOLET MANNERS on the occasion of her marriage by the PARISHIONERS of great and little ROWSLEY as a mark of esteem and affection, Feb. 1st 1911. Percy Webster silversmith.

55 A pair of padouk and cane Dutch-colonial Indonesian round-back chairs Batavia (Jakarta), 3rd quarter 18th-century Approx. H. 88 x W. 65 x D. 60 cm Armchairs in the French Rococo taste were popular with the Dutch in Batavia in the second half of the 18th-century, perhaps because, like the burgomaster chairs, they allowed European men and women to air their armpits in the hot tropical climate. These round-back chairs in long rows on the open verandas of large colonial houses in Indonesia are often depicted in paintings and later in photos from the colonial era.

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This tray is recorded among the many wedding presents given on the occasion of the marriage at St. Margaret, Westminster, of Violet Manners, second daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, with the Hon. Hugo Charteris, oldest son of Lord and Lady Elcho and grandson of Francis Richard Chateris 10th Earl of Wemyss.

56 Ernst Agerbeek (1903-1945) A Peranakan man in interior, eating rice with tea and opium on the side Signed and dated E Agerbeek 1927 Oil on canvas, 50 x 35 cm Only little is known about the half-Dutch/half-Indonesian painter Ernst Agerbeek. He is best known for his paintings of the Chinese in Indonesia, the Peranakan community. The only information on him is based on his oeuvre and primary sources such as birth and immigration. He was born in the Netherlands and was trained as an artist in Brussels. In the early 1920s, he went to Indonesia, where he became drawing teacher at a school and member of the Vereeniging van Beeldende Kunstenaars in Batavia. During the Japanese occupation during WO II, he escaped imprisonment in a Japanese camp for he was half Indonesian. However, in 1945, disaster struck. At 42, Agerbeek was executed by the Japanese after the accusation of being part of the resistance. So far, only about 20 paintings by his hand are known. 78

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57 Ernst Agerbeek (1903-1945) Young Dayak girl performing the hornbill dance (circa 1927) Signed lower right Watercolour, pastels and gold on paper, H. 57 x W. 43 cm In 1927 Ernst Agerbeek joined an expedition of the Geographucal Society of the Dutch East Indies to Borneo, Kalimantan, where he saw this dance and probably made this painting. The Dayak people are renowned for their singing and dancing, and their most famous dance is the hornbil dance where the dancer is adorned with hornbill feathers. In their animist religion the hornbill is associated with the spirit world.

58 A Dutch-colonial Indonesian carved hatrack Batavia (Jakarta), circa 1680-1700 H. 54.8 x W. 106.5 cm The half-relief bold carvings of flowers to the left and right have two boys with bows and arrows shooting at snakes. In the middle, two more boys can be seen, holding ears of wheat, and between them, a wreath over a portrait of a European lady inside a circle.

H. 67.5 x W. 63 x D. 39 cm The tambour desk or bureau à cilindre came into fashion in the Netherlands and former Dutch East Indies in the second half of the 18th-century. The taste for French designs came to prevail, replacing the earlier English Georgian models of desks with plain sloping fronts. Miniature furniture, exact copies after full-size examples such as the tambour desk in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, were very popular among the IndoDutch ladies in the Dutch East Indies in the 18th-century. Source: Titus Eliëns, Domestic interiors at the Cape and Batavia 1602-1795, Zwolle, 2002, pp. 106-107

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59 A Dutch-colonial Indonesian sapan and tamarind wood miniature tambour desk with brass mounts Batavia (Jakarta), late 18th-century

60 Auguste de Molins (1821-1890) An Indonesian market Signed and dated 1860 lower left Oil on canvas, H. 27 x W. 35 cm After the Napoleonic wars, France aimed to reestablish its presence in the ‘Far East’. The imagery of the Malay world from expeditions was often modified in Paris by illustrators unfamiliar with the original scenes. By the 1840s, magazines such as L’Illustration and 82

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Le Tour du Monde began publishing such images. Édouard Charton, founder of Le Tour du Monde, was driven by the mission to share knowledge and promote education. One of the earliest features in Le Tour du Monde was about the Austrian frigate Novara’s journey, which passed through places like Singapore and Java, meeting notable figures like Raden Saleh. Later publications featured expeditions to Borneo and Java, with rich ‘exotic’ illustrations adapted from various sources. The contribution of Auguste de Molins, which appeared in 1864, is by far the most interesting for its text—one of the first French accounts of travels inside Java—and its 83

illustrations. Although the painter’s biography is not well-documented, we know he was born and died in Lausanne and studied with Victor Chavez. He regularly exhibited at the Salon from 1850 to 1872, both before and after his trip to Java, and was connected to the Impressionist painters, at least in their early days. His name is mentioned in the group’s first exhibition in 1874 at Nadar’s, where he presented four paintings. While his technique deviated from the Impressionists, he remained connected, later acquiring paintings by Renoir. His preferred subjects were landscapes of Ile de France and equestrian scenes—races and hunts. This subject particularly interested him in Java, where he described the harnesses, riders, and jousts in great detail. Departing from Nantes on January 5, 1858, for reasons he didn’t disclose but would be interesting to know, he stayed nearly three years, from April 1858 to March 1861, in Java: “I brought back several sketches, and having been requested to describe my stay, I transcribed my memories faithfully, without adding or omitting anything.” His book, published in a limited edition, remained relatively unknown; it was reprinted by Pagès du Pilou in 2011. It is an engaging testimony, full of humour and keen observations. The artist›s original illustrations were published in two series in Le Tour du Monde in 1864. The first consists of 14 sheets, from a portrait of Raden Saleh to a tiger hunt, and the second of 14 other sheets, from a Java wedding to various scenes of daily life. The collection includes, among others, the interior of a Kraton, dances, a cockfight, a horse joust, various types of transportation, and, above all, portraits of various populations. It remains one of the most interesting and complete sets of images of Java from that period. All of the drawings, displayed in black and white, capture a world on the move, where Dutch colonialism’s dominance was not yet pronounced. This period of intense discovery, punctuated by military expeditions and the mapping of unknown territories, marks a prelude to the advent of photography in the 1870s, which would radically change the relationship to representation. The first photographs from Java date from 1860 and were taken by Isidore van Kinsbergen, a Dutchman who arrived in the Indies in 1857. Photography imposed itself quickly; by the end of the 1870s, the picturesque sketches of the voyagers had disappeared from the press. The image became factual, and the testimony’s objective, photography documented and inventoried. The picturesque, associated with the imagination and the anecdote, was pushed into the background by the will to knowledge. This vast work of documentation would reach its peak with the ethnographic works of the Dutchman W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp in the 1900s. The colonial exhibition of 1900 in Paris, with its reconstructed villages and inhabitants brought from the colonies, marked the apogee of this ambition. Later, humanist photographers would revolutionize photography and would use it to document and capture reality. Today, with the development of digital technology, photography has undergone another revolution. With the advent of social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, the image has become ubiquitous, ephemeral, and consumable. We are witnessing a return to the pictorial, with images being manipulated, retouched, and staged, just as they were in the 19th-century. In Uit Verre Streken, June 2008 (no. 10), a large and important documenting painting signed and dated Batavia, 1859 by De Molins is published, depicting the fashionable quarter in the Rijswijk district of Batavia. 84

61 English School (circa 1900) Dayak at a river crossing, Borneo, Kalimantan Watercolour, gouache, on paper, H. 50.8 x W. 73.6 cm

62 Hubert Vos (1855-1935) Portrait of a Yogyakarta princess, a Serimpi Dancer of the Royal Court Signed and dated ‘98’ lower right Oil on canvas, H. 66 x W. 30.5 cm Serimpi is a ritualised dance of Java associated with the royal courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, epitomising the elegant character of the royal courts of Java. The serimpi dance is usually performed by four female dancers, usually princesses. The word serimpi derives from the word four, symbolizing the four elements: fire or grama, wind, water or toya, and earth, and each dancer performs an element. Serimpi is performed with soft, slow, graceful movements and body poses by dancers in shoulder-baring kembem outfits to convey grace and elegance, accompanied by serene gamelan music. Serimpi is routinely rehearsed by the princesses in the pendopo pavilion within the Keraton palace. Hubert Vos was a true cosmopolitan. Born in Maastricht, he studied in Brussels, Rome and Paris, where he won a gold medal at the Paris Salon in 1886 and 1890. In 1887 he moved to London, where he co-founded the Society of British Portrait Painters and the Society of Pastellists together with his friend, the American-born and British-based painter James McNeill Whistler. In 1892 the Dutch Government appointed him as its representative at the World Exhibition in Chicago, and ethnological displays were a key feature of this fair. Vos recounted, “It was during the World’s Fair in Chicago, where the officials had brought together the greatest collection of the different people of the Globe ever reunited in one spot at a tremendous expense, that I began to study the works I could get hold of on Ethnology and was shocked to see what poor specimens the principal authors had, to illustrate their very superior works. I thought it might be possible to establish a type of beauty of the different original aboriginal races before they became too much mixed or extinct and soon got to work.” Vos spent the next six years pursuing ‘exotic’ portrait subjects ranging from North Dakota to Hawai (where he married a Hawaiian princess), Korea, Japan, China and Java. Here, in 1898, he painted portraits of the Sultan of Yogyakarta and the present portrait of a Serimpi dancing princess of the Sultan’s Court. By the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, Vos had created at least thirty-two portraits of “Types of Various Raves”. These works were also displayed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and the Union League Club in New York. The most remarkable event in Vos’ life was his invitation in 1905 from the Dowager Empress, Cixi, to paint her portrait in the Summer Palace in Beijing. Never before had a man been permitted there! Vos depicted Cixi true to her age but with great dignity. The Empress, seventytwo years old, told Vos she had wanted a perfect resemblance but that she must appear no more than forty years of age. The result, a life-sized picture of a majestic, energetic woman adorned with all the necessary imperial attributes, was to her satisfaction, and Vos was made Commander of the Double Dragon. Cixi’s portrait is now in the Museum of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Cixi died in 1908, and with her, over a thousand years of imperial rule over China. Vos made copies of all his portraits for his own collection. The present work is a copy of a life-sized version on loan to the Yale-National University of Singapore (NUS) college from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Hogi Hyun of Singapore. Provenance: Acquired from descendants of the artist

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63 Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès (1880-1958) Ni Pollok Signed lower right and dated 24/7 1937 on the reverse Mixed media on paper, in the original frame, H. 25 x W. 19.5 cm Le Mayeur, born and trained in Brussels, settled in Bali in 1932. There he painted mainly one person: Ni Nyoman Pollok, a Legong dancer famous for her beauty and dance throughout the Indonesian archipelago, whom Le Mayeur married in 1935. In his early paintings of Ni Pollok, she is sometimes accompanied by her nieces and situated in their garden at Sanur, Bali. These can be considered highlights of Indonesian impressionism and are of international art historical importance. In 1958 Le Mayeur returned to Brussels, where he died that same year. Provenance: Leendert Daniel Eerland (1897-1977), a professor of surgery, was active as a medical doctor in Bali and Java between 1932 and 1937. He became a friend of Le Mayeur and received this painting as a farewell gift on his return to the Netherlands on 24/7 1937.

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64 A portrait of Susuhunan Pakubuwono IX of Surakarta (1830-1893) Indonesia, circa 1880 Pencil and charcoal drawing on paper in original frame, H. 28.5 x 28.5 cm / H. 46 x W. 46 cm (incl. frame) Pakubuwono IX, ruler of Surakarta then known as Solo, was the second son of Pakubuwono VI and reigned from 1861 till his death in 1893. He was born as Gusti Raden Mas Duksina and was still in the womb when his father was exiled to Ambon by the Dutch for supporting Prince Diponegoro’s rebellion. After reaching adulthood, Raden Mas Duksina got the title Kangjeng Gusti Pangeran Haryo Prabuwijaya. As Pakubuwono IX, he ascended the throne to replace Pakubuwono VIII (his father’s uncle) on December 30, 1861. The great Javanese poet Ranggawarsita (1802- 1873) described his reign in many of his literary works, for example, in Serat Kalatida. The relationship between Pakubuwono IX and Ranggawarsita itself was less than harmonious due to slander from the Dutch that Mas Pajangswara (Ranggawarsita’s father, who served as palace clerk) had leaked the secret of the alliance between Pakubuwono VI and Prince Diponegoro. As a result, Pakubuwana VI was exiled to Ambon. Pakubuwono IX never forgave Mas Pajangswara’s family, even though the clerk himself died of torture in a Dutch colonial prison. Ranggawarsita himself tried to improve his relationship with the king through the writing of his Serat Kalatida, one of his most popular works. In Serat Kalatida, Ranggawarsita praises Pakubuwono IX as a wise king surrounded by sycophantic officials seeking personal gain and called the era ‘the Mad Era’. 89

65 A Nias Adu Zatua wooden ancestor sculpture Indonesia, Nias, 19th-century H. 37.5 x W. 10 cm

In 1914 the Dutch gained complete control of the island of Nias and started spreading Protestant Christianity. Many ancestor statues were destroyed during the ‘Great Penitence’ religious movement in 1916. As symbols of the old religion of ancestor worship they were seen as blasphemous idols. The Dutch painter Rudolf Bonnet (1895-1976) joined his friend Jaap Kunst in March 1930 for a visit to Nias, where Kunst studied the indigenous music. Impressed by the island which remained unspoiled, Bonnet stayd there for almost a year, living with a Nias servant and making many drawings of the people of South

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Sculptures like the present one are not only decorative items but are believed to be vessels that house the spirits of ancestors and are used to communicate with them. After the death of a person a wooden image or Adu Zatua was made to mediate between the human world and the spiritual realm. These kinds of figures were commissioned by noble Nias families, whereas simple and lesser quality carvings generally were found among lower class families. In this particularly fine example, the sculptor has paid careful attention to the proportions of the different parts of the body, dividing it into three main sections – the head, the torso, and the legs. The shapes are sometimes flat, round, or have notches, but all are perfectly in balance creating a certain divine tranquillity. This Adua Zatua’s ears are decorated with earrings, and it is wearing a headdress, pointing towards a chiefly provenance.

Nias. What shocked him, however, was how the Christian mission, in his opinion, was destroying the culture and many of the traditional practices and the heritage of Nias. Provenance: - Henk Kouw, Amsterdam (1970s) - Collection Peter van Drumpt, Amsterdam - Collection Tijs Goldschmidt, Amsterdam - Private collection, the Hague (1993)

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66 A large Chinese export gold embroidered silk bed cover or wall-hanging Macao, circa 1730-1740 H. 260 x W. 250 cm

The superb wall-hanging is decorated with gilt-paper-wrapped wrapped-thread flowers, birds, phoenixes, Chinese lions and, in the center, a crowned double-headed eagle. The doubleheaded eagle is the emblem of the Habsburg dynasty, the Romanovs, as well as of the Order of Saint Augustine, as Saint Augustine was known as ‘The Hipona Eagle’. While the main emblem of the Augustinian Order is a heart pierced by two arrows, King Philip II of Spain (1527-1598), after whom the Philippine islands were named, granted the Spanish Order of Saint Augustine in the Philippines to use the Holy Roman Empire emblem of the double-headed eagle as their emblem in Asia, but without the political insignia of the sword, sceptre and imperial orb. For two other gold and polychrome embroidered double-headed eagles on Chinese satin, see: Uit Verre Streken, June 2008, no. 21, and November 2015, no. 39.

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Provenance: Collection Rothschild, France

67 A Chinese export porcelain platter bearing the heraldic crane of the Grill family Qianlong period, circa 1750-1760 The oval platter is decorated in underglaze blue with a Rococo-style sculpted band around the rim and, in the middle, a stepping crane holding a cricket in its bill. L. 44.5 cm The Grill family originated from Genoa, and their name comes from the Italian Grillo, meaning cricket; hence the crane holding a cricket in its bill in the family’s coat-of-arms. In 1598, Andreas Grill was a silversmith in Augsburg. In the early 17th-century, Anthoni I Grill was a silversmith in Amsterdam and later moved to Sweden at the invitation of Queen Christina. In Sweden, the Grill family are noted for their contribution to the iron industry and the export of copper and iron. In the early 18th-century, part of the family moved back to Amsterdam, where they became silversmiths and silver assayers during the first half of the 18th-century. One Anthony Grill, essayer of the silver VOC ingots from our collection, lived right across our Amsterdam gallery, at the corner of the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat and the Keizersgracht. Branches of the Grill family in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Hamburg closely worked together, becoming an extremely successful European trading house. The branch in Sweden in the 18th-century became the wealthiest merchant family in Stockholm, with significant influence in the Swedish East India Company (SOIC).

68 A rare set of twelve Chinese export porcelain plates bearing the arms of Jan Albert Sichterman (1692-1764) Qianlong period, circa 1730-1735 Each decorated in iron red, gold, brown, green, purple and blue, with in the center and upper rim, the Sichterman coat-of-arms of a red squirrel on a gold ground, nibbling at a green leaf, on an oval shield with a coronet on top. Diam. 23 cm (each)

Jan Albert Sichterman (Groningen 1692 - 1764) commissioned this, and seven other dinner services, coffee and tea services and numerous other pieces of Chinese porcelain with his coat-of-arms. At 24, after a duel in which he wounded his opponent, Jan Albert had to flee the Netherlands. In 1716 he arrived in Batavia (Jakarta), and a year later, he was sent to Hooghly, the Dutch factory in Bengal. Here he made a splendid career, perhaps because in 1721 he married Sibylla Volkera Sadelijn (1699-1781), daughter of Jacob Sadelijn, Director of Bengal from 1727 till 1734. Jan Albert succeeded his father-in-law as Director of Bengal in 1734 till 1744, when he returned to Holland as commander and admiral of the return fleet, taking a large part of his armorial porcelain collection with him. Many pieces had already been sent to the Netherlands in advance. In Bengal, Jan Albert was active in the cotton and silk trade for the VOC and also in very lucrative private trade and smuggling, which made him a fortune. After his death in 1764, his huge collection of porcelain, Japanese lacquer, exotica, oriental furniture, and numismatics, books, and 481 Dutch master paintings, including Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Rubens and many other masters. The sale included about 750 lots of porcelain, in total over 4000 pieces, while he had given his three surviving children already a fair share of his porcelain collection. It is no wonder that Sichterman, who could design his own coat-of-arms as a nouveau riche, chose the ever-acorn-collecting squirrel to adorn his shield.

69 A small Chinese export porcelain coffeepot bearing the arms of Jan Albert Sichterman (1692-1764) Qianlong period, circa 1735 The conical-shaped coffeepot has a long s-formed sprout at right angles to the handle with a domed cover and bud finial. It is decorated in underglaze blue with the coat-of-arms of Sichterman, a seated squirrel nibbling on a leaf in rouge de fer, brown and green enamels on a gold background, on an oval shield with a coronet on top. H. 14 cm

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70 A Chinese export porcelain dish with the coat-of-arms of the Greven and Gonardt families Qianlong Dynasty, 18th-century Diam. 32 cm The dish is decorated in underglaze blue, within the centre possibly the alliance coatof-arms of the Greven and Gonard(t) families. The surrounding decoration consists of a decoration in Louis XV or Rococo style. The band consists of flower vines on ‘frogspawn’ and a band with a honeycomb pattern. Casparus Greven (probably baptized 31 August 1724 and died 1776) was a junior merchant in Banda Neira, Indonesia, who probably ordered or was given this service when he married for the second time, with Anna Jacoba Lea Gronardt, between 1750 and 1758. She was the daughter of Frederick Gronardt, who arrived in the Dutch East Indies in 1732 on the ship ‘the Slot Aldegonde’. Greven became a merchant in Hila in 1750 and went to Batavia in 1752 to serve the VOC. No arms are recorded for the Gronardt family, but the the bear points it in that direction. The French word grognard comes from grogner, which means grommen in Dutch and in English, growling or grumbling of a bear. A similar plate is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum (inv.no. AK-NM-13390). Literature: Jochem Kroes, Chinese Armorial Porcelain for the Dutch Market, Waanders Publishers, Zwolle, 2007, p. 192

71 A Chinese export reverse-glass painting after an English print in original hardwood frame Canton, late 18th-century H. 38.7 x W. 44.3 cm (incl. frame) H. 31.8 x W. 37.5 cm (image) Chinese reverse glass paintings for export have been known since mid 18th-century. By the 1780’s, the copying of European, mainly English, engravings came into vogue in Chinese paintings on glass, and often reverse glass paintings were mirrored or with silver backs. Particularly in England, they became very popular as overmantel mirrors in copied English frames. Because of their nature, many have been lost over time.

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72 A Chinese huanghuali, wumu and mother-of-pearl watch holder Canton, 2nd half 19th-century H. 22.5 x W. 30 x D. 12.5 cm

The pocket watch, an antique Swiss triple calendar Moon phace pocket watch in gunmetal case, dating from around 1860-1900, is marked Acier Garanti, Oxidage Inalterable, and is numbered. The stand, made of huanghuali (Dalbergia odorifera) and wumu, also known as ebony, is delicately inlaid with mother-of-pearl. This technique, which can also be found in Vietnam, became popular and vast amounts of objects decorated this way made their way to Europe. From Crucifixes and mirrors to whole furniture sets - a watch-stand however, seems to be rare.

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73 A Chinese export painting depicting the Western Hongs of Canton Canton, circa 1802 Oil on canvas, H. 51 x W. 68 cm Along the Canton waterfront, four flags are seen aloft, from left to right: the Spanish, the American, the British and the Dutch. The Stars and Stripes were first hoisted here in 1799, the Union Jack was added with the red saltire of St Patrick in 1801 and in 1803. The Spanish flag was replaced by the French Tricolor, which was taken down on the death of Jean Baptiste Piron, the French supercargo and ‘Agent de la République’ in October 1804, not to reappear on the Canton waterfront until the 1830s. So this picture must represent the situation of the Western Hongs in Canton between 1801 and 1803.

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74 A Chinese ivory puzzle ball Canton, 2nd half 19th-century L. 11 x diam. 8 cm china & japan

In 1757, because of perceived political or commercial threats from trade with the ‘West’, the Qianlong Emperor declared all foreign trade was to be conducted out of a single port in the south-china province of Guangdong (Canton). Tea and spices flowed out of the Canton port, as well as hand-crafted goods such as silk, porcelain, ivory, lacquerware, and silver goods, which became marvels collected by European and American collectors, such as the Chinese puzzle ball. Puzzle balls are ornate decorative items that consist of several concentric spheres, each of which rotates freely, carved from the same piece of material. This particular fine ball consists of at least ten concentric spheres.

75 A carved bamboo Buddha’s hand on an ebony base China, 18th/19th-century H. 35.5 cm Buddha’s hand is also known as Fingered citron (citrus medica var. sacrodactylis). The fruit may be given as a religious offering in Buddhist temples, symbolising happiness, longevity and good fortune.

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76 A series of eleven Japanese whale drawings in ink on paper Edo period, 1st half 19th century Anatomical details are written on the drawings in old Kana script. Kana was developed from the logographic characters of Chinese origin, known in Japan as Kanji (Chinese pronunciation: hànzì). The handwriting does not seem to have been intended for legibility. 1 Sujiiruka, striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) ‘Seven-eight feet long. Its mouth has upper and lower teeth.’ W. 34 x L. 30 cm

dolphin family. The tail can be five to six feet long and on its back it has a raised fin. It grinds its food with its toothy mouth and there is a blowhole on its head. W. 40 x L. 30 cm

2 Skeleton of a Baleen whale With a description that mentions the whales’ bones and skeleton. W. 59.5 x L. 30 cm

7 Zatôkujira 座頭鯨, Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) ‘With lumps on its mouth and lower jaw.’ W. 54 x L. 30 cm

3 Semikujira 脊美鯨, Southern Right whale (Eubalaena australis) The description mentions the bumps on its head, the blowhole, the fins, the tail fins, its anus and that it has ‘teeth’ (baleens) in its mouth from top to bottom. W. 59.5 x L. 30 cm

8 Kokujira 児鯨, Grey whale (Rhachianectes glaucus) ‘With white baleens in its mouth.’ Nowadays written as 小鯨, and kokukujira: 克鯨. W. 47 x L. 30 cm

4 Nagasukujira 長須鯨, Fin whale (Balaena physalus) ‘A big boy, but not a whale, even if it has a blowhole on its head.’ W. 75 x L. 30 cm 5 Irukakujira ‘Seven to eight feet long.’ Unclear what kind of animal this is as the name is not used anymore. However, Iruka is a dolphin and dolphins and whales are relatives. The blowhole of this animal is also mentioned. W. 39.5 x L. 30 cm 6 Shachikujira しゃち鯨 Shachi was written 鯱 and is a mythical sea monster. Shachikujira is an orca or a killer whale, the largest member of the 104

9 Makkôkujira 末鯤鯨, Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) ‘A whale with dangerous teeth in its mouth.’ Old spelling for 抹香鯨. Konkei 鯤鯨 is a mythical super fish mentioned by Zhuangzi. W. 53 x L. 30 cm 10 Kotokujira コト鯨 or Gondôkujira ゴンドウクジラ, the Indian Pilot whale

(Globicephala macrorhynchus) ‘A whale with small teeth in its mouth.’ W. 36.5 x L. 30 cm 11 Ôiokui or 大魚食い, the False Killer Whale, (Pseudorca crassidens) ‘The Great Fish Eater’, written here in old spelling ‘大魚くひ’, modern spelling: okigondô, or the Black Killer Whale. W. 40 x L. 30 cm

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Maps of Japan After Italy and Antwerp, Amsterdam emerged as the most important centre of mapmaking in the early 17th century. However, initially, the most important cartographers all worked for the VOC, the Dutch East India Company, established in 1602, and were bound by secrecy. That way the VOC ensured that material gathered by pilots sailing on her ships could only be delivered to the VOC headquarters. Here, cartographers would use this sensitive material and make detailed maps. By the end of the 17th century, the rule of secrecy was relaxed. The ‘secret’ material became accessible and the manuscript chart models used by the company were gradually put into print.

77 Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684-1743) The Empire of Japan, taken from the maps of the Japanese: l’Empire du Japon, Tiré des Cartes des Japonnois from Atlas Historique, vol. 5, Amsterdam, 1719 Copperplate engraving, H. 36 x W. 43.5 cm Chatelain’s historical atlas included Adriaen Reland’s 1715 map of the archipelago. Whereas he proudly calls attention to the map’s Japanese model, he says nothing of its true origin. Chatelain’s historical atlas was one of the encyclopedic works of the French Enlightenment, published in large editions and widely distributed. 108

78 Joannes Janssonius (1588-1664) New and accurate map of the Japanese land of Ezo and the adjacent islands: Nova et Accurata Iaponiae Terrae Esonis ac Insularum Adjacentium, from Nieuwe Atlas, Ofte Werelts-Beschijvinge, Amsterdam, 1658 Copperplate engraving, H. 45.5 x W. 55 cm

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Janssonius had access to unpublished VOC material collected by Vries’s expedition in 1643. However, in 1643 Vries, sailing along the coast of Ezo, did not realise that he was already sailing along the southern coast of Kunashiri and took it, as well as the eastern coast of Sakhalin, to be part of Ezo. As a consequence of these misunderstandings, for the following century and a half Ezo was depicted in European cartography as far too large. The island of Urup, called ‘Companijs Landt’ by Vries, of which he had seen a small part of the western coast, is expanded to a powerful landmass that is limited only by the edge of the map. Apart from some other errors, at least the Izu island group is now geographically correctly positioned south of the Bay of Sagami and is depicted and described in detail.

79 Matthaeus Seutter (1678-1757) The Japanese Empire, divided into sixty-six regions and described by the maps of the Japanese themselves: Imperium Japonicum per Regiones Digestum sex et sexaginta atque ipsorum Japonensium Mappis from Atlas Novus, Augsburg, circa 1740 Copperplate engraving, H. 46.5 x W. 57.5 cm As Chatelain had done, Seutter copied Reland’s map and added decorative elements. In the middle now is an explanatory text on the origin of the map but without a reference to Reland. Since Seutter had received an imperial patent sometime between 1740 and 1742, but does not use it here, the present map probably was made before 1740.

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80 Matthaeus Seutter (1678-1757) New geographical map of the Kingdom of Japan, drawn by Engelbert Kaempfer from the observations of local peoples and revised by Matth. Seutter: Regni Japoniae nova mappa geographica , ex indigenarum observationibus delineata ab Engelberto Kaempfero recusa et emendata a Matth. Seuttero, Augburg, circa 1740 Copperplate engraving, H. 48.5 x W. 56 cm Seutter received the imperial patent indicated below the map’s lower border between 1740 and 1742. Tobias Conrad Lotter, listed as the engraver, married Seutter’s daughter in 1740 and joined his father-in-law’s firm around the same time. This map follows the map of Japan by Engelbert Kaempfer and Caspar Scheuchzer published in London in 1727. Its value does not lie in its cartographical innovation, but rather in the elaborate Rococo cartouche, which is an homage to Engelbert Kaempfer. It shows him wearing an elegant garment and drawing a portion of his map, and an enthroned allegorical figure of Cartographica holding a map of Japan in her right hand and receiving a pen in her left hand. 111

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81 Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689) Maps of the Islands of Japan: Carte des Isles du Iapon from Recüeil de plusieurs Relations et Traitez singuliers et curieux de J.B. Tavernier, engraved by J. Durant and published by Gervais Clouzier, Paris, 1679 Copperplate engraving, H. 61.5 x W. 76.5 cm Although he himself came only as far as China on his travels in the East, Tavernier, a merchant of precious stones, included a description of Japan in his travel book which appeared in several editions in French, English and German. He used information he had collected mainly in Batavia (Jakarta) for sources. A nice addition to this map, taken from Montanus, is the inclusion of the route the Dutch had to take on their yearly Court Journey to Edo to pay their respect to the Shogun. Tavernier tells us not only where the Dutch on their way can encounter the country’s most beautiful girls but also indicates where youngsters who were no good were sent to; where a Christian prince and his sons lived, and particularly, where all the rich silver mines were.

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82 A Japanese manuscript map of the harbour of Nagasaki Late Edo period, mid-19th-century Colour on paper, H. 39 x W. 76 cm

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The map indicates distances in miles and depths. Several watch posts, platforms for fire signals, and Saga daimyo’s batteries can be seen too. Deshima and the Chinese settlement are also drawn, which both-can still be visited today – Deshima in its (restored) original state and China town being a modern shopping area.

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83 A Japanese scroll painting depicting Deshima island and Dutch ships in the morning mist in the bay of Nagasaki. Edo period, 18th century. signed Kõdõ (unknown artist) Ink and colour on silk, 15 1x 62.5 cm (scroll) / 51.5 x 51.2 cm (painting) According to the text on the scroll, the Bakufu Shogunate government issued a new regulation for Nagasaki called Shoutoku Shinei, at Shoutoku 5 nen (circa 1715) to restrict the number of annual ships and the amount of trading to limit the export of gold, silver and copper from Japan. The buildings on Deshima island in the painting correspond to the situation on Deshima around the middle of the 18th century. To the far right, the stone wall of the castle of the Governor of Nagasaki can be seen. The top and bottom of the scroll consist of plain silk, and around the painting, there are broad bands of cotton with various ikat motives, called kantõ in Japanese. Directly under and above the painting, a narrow ichimonji of gold brocade with motives of chrysanthemum on a ground of lozenge. The notable wide bands of ikat fabric from Southeast Asia may be added to underline the ‘exotic’ nature of the picture.

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84 A small Japanese blue-and-white Arita porcelain bottle marked P.VD Arita, late 17th/early 18th-century H. 19 cm Content approx. 800 ml

In a laurel wreath, the initials P.VD can be seen on the underside of the bottle, standing for Pieter van Dijck. Pieter van Dijck, in 1684, married Cornelia Cleijer in Batavia, becoming the son-inlaw of Andreas Cleijer, Opperhoofd or chief merchant in Japan at Deshima from 1682 till 1683 and 1685 till 1686. Pieter himself was an assistant merchant and Tweede Dispensier in Batavia in 1684 and in 1690 Secunde in Japan at Deshima under Opperhoofd Hendrik van Buytenhem. It is most likely he ordered this bottle during his stay on the island tradepost.

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85 A fine Japanese export lacquer coffer in the pictorial style with gilt-copper mounts Edo period, Kyoto, circa 1640-1670 Decorated all around with mountain and lake scenes with buildings, flying cranes and geese, and growth of pine, bamboo and tree peony. All decorated in hiramaki-e and takamaki-e in gold and black and togidashi in shades of gold and brown, inside a band of brownish nashiji. H. 23.5 x W. 36.5 x D. 21.5 cm After about 1650, smaller coffers like the one present disappeared from the VOC’s bills of lading, and most of the Japanese export lacquer trade continued as a private business.

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86 A Japanese Nagasaki-e print depicting oranda fune nyũshin no zu, the arrival of Dutch ships in the harbour of Nagasaki Published by Bunkindõ han, circa 1801 Colour woodblock print, H. 32.5 x W. 48 cm Under this view of Nagasaki Bay, the text states that the first Dutch ships arrived in Nagasaki in 1641. Afterwards, they came annually at the end of June and left on 20 September. The distance to Holland is 13.000 miles. Next, the text gives all the dimensions of the ships.

87 A Japanese export lacquer box with depiction of the Grand Hotel, Yokohama Meiji period, circa 1873-1887 The black lacquered box is decorated in maki-e and hiramaki-e gold, with on the lid a European style building complex and several Japanese and European figures walking along a street in the foreground. The sides are finely decorated with several insects and the inside with several compartments and nashiji decoration. H. 7.4 x W. 29 x D. 25.7 cm 120

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After the Americans forced Japan to open their harbours to the outside world and take part in international treaty and trade around the mid 19th-century, the formerly feudal society rapidly changed. Japan was now focussing on an industrial future. One of the major international ports was Yokohama with its foreign embassies and warehouses - which attracted a great number of visitors of all sorts. For the higher society visiting Japan for the first time a new and ‘Western’ hotel had to be realised; hence the construction of The Grand Hotel on Kaigandori. The hotel was opened on August 16, 1873 (Meiji 6) and was soon considered the height of Western culture and elegance in Japan. The building probably depicted on this box, designed by American architect Richard P. Bridgens (1819 -1891), is the original hotel. In 1887 (Meiji 20), a new building was opened next-door. It is not yet visible here, dating this image to before 1887. High-society and diplomats visiting town would stay in the hotel and it’s well possible this box was given to or ordered as an expensive souvenir by one of them.

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88 A Japanese Yokohama-e print, Yokohama ijinkan no zu, picture of a foreign building in Yokohama By Hiroshige II (1826-1869), published by Fujiokaya Keijirõ Coloured woodblock print, H. 35.5 x W. 74 cm The print nicely depicts the enclosed compound of Walsh & Co. (later Walsh, Hall & Co.). It was the first American firm to reach Yokohama in 1859 after commodore Matthew Perry in 1854 by the Treaty of Kanagawa (officially titled The Treaty of Peace and Amity between the United States and the Empire of Japan), had forced Japan to open a limited number of its ports for American ships. In 1858, four European nations England, France, Russia and the Netherlands - followed the United States in concluding similar treaties with Japan, and Yokohama became the most important treaty port for

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the ‘Five Nations’. Walsh & Co.’s early arrival in Yokohama secured its highly desirable location near the customs house and one of the two stone piers on the ‘Bund’, as the Westerners called the embankment along the harbour’s edge. The picture is replete with details, providing an exceptionally faithful visual record of Walsh & Co.’s Yokohama compound. Of particular interest is the garden in the courtyard with plants in orderly plots, where Japanese, Chinese and Western visitors stroll. Dr. George R. Hall, a pioneer researcher of Japanese flora, assembled an essential collection of Japanese plants, which he transported to the United States in 1862. A historically important Japanese hirohi wood tea chest, decorated with an eagle in black, silver and red lacquer at the top and inscribed at the side in silver ‘CHOICEST NATURAL LEAF JAPAN YAMASHIRO TEA, PACKED BY WALSH, HALL & Co, YOKOHAMA’, can be found in our collection. (see: Uit Verre Streken, December 2020, no. 63)

89 A Japanese Ukiyo-e print after a painting by Utagawa Kuniteru II (1830 - 1874) Carved by Katata Horinaga (act.1870s), published by Yamamoto Kyũbei Coloured woodblock print, H. 36.5 x W. 75 cm After the painting made in 1868 by Kuniteru entitled: “The coast of Mutsu Province in One View, and Minamoto no Yoritomo kõ Õshũ seibatsu Takadate no moroshiro wo kõraku su, Lord Minamoto-no Yoritomo attacks and punishes the rebellious Province of Mutsu capturing all castles at Takadate (in 1189)”. The print covers the Boshin War in the first year of the Meiji government. At that time, after the victory of the Meiji in 1868 everything had to be Kamakura or Muromachi and nothing Edo in order not to be censured by the Meiji government. So it is described as “Lord Yorimoto” while in fact

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it shows the Meiji government troops landing and marching through the mountains in Chokanzu with among other sites, Matsushima, Sendai, Fukushima, Mt. Bandai, lake Inawashiro, Nihonmatsu and Yonezawa are visible. The ship is probably not the Dutchmade Kaiyo Maru (Soembing) of the Shogunate’s army, but probably the Kasuga which the Satsuma domain, fighting on the Meiji side, bought from Britain. Lord Minamoto-no Yoritomo (1147-1199), founded the Kamakura shogunate, uniting Japan, after defeating the Northern Fujiwara in 1189, annexing the Mutsu and Dewa provinces and conquering Takadate castle at Ohshu, Matsushima bay, North East Japan (present day Sendai city area). In 1189 certainly no black ship, Kurofune, of Commodore Perry was involved. The present depiction, therefore is a completely fictitious image of a pre-Edo historical event to show the current news of the victory of the Meiji army over the Edo troops in 1868.

90 A Japanese articulated wood jizai okimono of a rattle snake by Masakazu Meji-period, late 19th-century The fully articulated body of the reptile is realistically rendered, with a movable lower jaw, fangs and tongue and with eyes cleverly inlaid in yellow horn. The surface of the wooden scales has a warm golden brown patina. It is signed Masakazu in an oblong mother-of-pearl reserve underneath the jaw. L. 175 cm

After Japan ended its isolation and opened up to the world, the craftsmen who usually would make samurai armour - similarly made like the scales of the snake - lost their jobs. They started producing okimono like the one present, literally translating to ‘thing to look at’.

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91 A Chinese export painting of a Peruvian couple on horseback Canton, circa 1830 Colour on pith paper, H. 21.8 x W. 16 cm This drawing was produced for export by a Chinese artist in Canton. It is based on Peruvian pictures of ethnic and regional types known as costumbrismo (the visual documentation of costumes and customs during the first half of the 19th-century) taken to China by sailors and merchants to be copied in Chinese workshops and exported to markets in Europe and the Americas. The drawing depicts a lady in the sayo y manto dress. The sayo y manto (long pleated skirt and shawl) was a distinctive costume of upper-class Lima ladies who wrapped the shawl over their heads and faces, leaving only one eye visible, a practice that earned them the name tapadas (the covered ones). Other signs of their upper-class status were their elegant footwear and stockings. The present work is a rare survivor of the 18th and 19th-century maritime trade contacts between Canton, Manilla and Central and South America. The Manilla-Acapulco galleon trade brought Spanish fashion influence to the Philippines. 127

92 A Spanish-colonial Filipino sculpture of the Virgin trampling the snake, with human hair The Philippines, probably Manilla, early 18th-century H. 32.7 cm The face and hands of the Virgin are beautifully carved. The body consists of a simple wooden frame dressed in textile, and on her head, she has real human hair. She is standing on a blue and gilt base with a snake holding an apple in its mouth. In Christianity, this statue symbolises the victory of the Virgin, the chaste mother of Jesus, over sin and death brought into the world by Eva, who fell for the devilish temptations of sex and knowledge.

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