AMSTERDAM.- The exhibition 'Asia in Amsterdam; Exotic Luxury in the Golden Age' also presents many 17th century paintings: still-lifes and portraits of citizens who had themselves painted among their newly acquired items of Asian luxury. The exhibition is being organised in cooperation with the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, USA. The loan items originate in such far-flung places as Moscow, St Petersburg, Versailles, London, Oxford, Madrid and Stockholm.

Sensation

Made of special, precious materials and adorned with intriguing exotic patterns no one had ever seen before, the Asian treasures caused a sensation in Amsterdam. With their colour and richness, they aroused the curiosity and stimulated the imagination of the Dutch bourgeoisie. Very fine white porcelain with blue designs from China, boxes displaying excellent lacquer work and ivory from Japan, gem-studded jewellery from India and Indonesia, silk fabrics from Japan, remarkably shaped shells, black ebony, filigree from India... the Dutch gasped at the beauty of it all and enthusiastically incorporated these treasures into their hitherto more modest interiors. It was also remarkable that not only the super rich could afford to buy these items, but also a large part of the growing middle class. All that precious luxury was shipped to Amsterdam - at that time ‘the world’s harbour’ - by the ‘world’s first multinational’, the Dutch East India Company.

Spice box in the shape of the ship, Mauritius, anonymous, ca. 1600. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Brooch, ca. 1650 - 1675, partly enamelled gold, pearls, and rubies, 7.7cm H × W × D 1,8cm 9,8cm. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Jug, 1580-1620. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Dirck van Rijswijck, Panel with still life of flowers, 1654. Wood inlaid with mother of pearl. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresde. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Attributed to Cornelis Bellekin, Zeepareloesterschelp with the liberation of Andromeda, ca. 1660-1700 (pearl) Collection Rijksmuseum. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Dressing gown ('Japanese Rok'), ca. 1740-1770. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Bedspread, early 18th century. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Vest, 18th century. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Porcelain

The Chinese blue-and-white porcelain was especially popular. It was much thinner, smoother and lighter than the earthenware made in Holland. The making of earthenware was soon refined in Delft, leading to the famous ‘Delft Blue’, which therefore has Chinese origins. Coloured Japanese porcelain first appeared ca. 1660, imported by Dutch East India Company officials returning from the Far East. This created another sensation and, 20 years later, the exclusive and therefore expensive Kakiemon porcelain was the big favourite among the Dutch elite. The exhibition shows many excellent examples of porcelain bowls, dishes, cups and jugs with - as the pièce de résistance - a pouring jug with a golden lid from ca. 1640, bearing the coat of arms of its proud owner.

Kendi, anonymous, 1580 - 1620, painting technique, h 22,4cm × W × D 11,7cm 18,6cm. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Dish with the VOC logo, c.1630 Peabody Essex Museum, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Round dish of blue-painted majolica, anonymous, ca. 1630 - ca. 1650. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Covered Vase (Japan), 1670-1690, Porcelain. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Joan Nieuhoff, plate, painted with chinoiseriedecoratie, ca. 1670-1690. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Delft Flower pyramid, ca.1690, tin-glazed earthenware. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Chinese artist, preserves star around 1690. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

The porcelain wall, ca. 1700-1720, Gemeentemuseum. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Plate with Frederick Arm I, Elector of Brandenburg and King of Prussia, The Greek A widow Pieter Adriaensz.Kocx-Van der Heul, ca. 1702 - ca. 1722. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Lacquer

The Dutch were equally impressed with Japanese lacquer work, which was rarer and therefore more precious due to the complex and time-consuming production process. In the 17th century, a lacquered cabinet would cost about 180 florins, while a well-paid Dutch East India Company official made about 54 florins a month. Asia in Amsterdam shows a range of lacquer work of the highest quality, including two large lacquered chests. One was acquired by the Rijksmuseum two years ago and is heavily adorned with inlaid gold, silver, mother of pearl and even crystal. The other chest was specially made for the wife of Governor-General Van Diemen and bears her name. The Dutch were only able to acquire such exceptionally rare objects thanks to their position of trust in Japan. In this exhibition never before so much lacquer work of such high quality has been seen in the Netherlands. 

Kist, attributed to Koami workshop, ca. 1635 - ca. 1645. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Kist Van der Lijn, ca. 1635-1645, Japan. State Historical Museum, Moscow. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Lacquer box, ca. 1640. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Cover lacquer box, circa 1640. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Ewer and basin, Lacquer, wood, gold, ca. 1700 Peabody Essex Museum, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Japanese artist, sign with coat of arms of Willem van Outhoorn. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Precious furniture

Asian interiors traditionally had little furniture and the furniture Dutch East India Company officials took with them failed to withstand the tropical climate. The Dutch therefore had furniture made from local types of wood. Asian furniture makers were shown examples of Western furniture, which resulted in Dutch cabinets produced from a combination of Eastern and Western materials and patterns. They were sometimes inlaid with ivory, as in the case of the extremely rare crib decorated with Hindu illustrations. Ivory was also used in other objects, such as small chests from Ceylon, one of which was decorated with a depiction of Adam and Eve under assignment from a local Dutch East India Company official. 

However, the shapes of Asian furniture were not always suitable for Dutch interiors and so had to be adjusted accordingly. Low lacquered cabinets were placed on a base, and sometimes Dutch furniture makers even went as far as sawing them to size and reusing them in a new cabinet. However, Dutch interiors also changed enormously under the influence of the treasures from Asia. Porcelain was displayed on specially designed shelves and consoles. Imported silk and cotton introduced much more colour and variation in the shape of bedspreads, curtains and wall tapestries. 

Coffin , painted with leaf tendrils , flowers, birds and a coat of arms with the monogram VM, Attributed to William Kick, 1618. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Box (with an elephant hunting and the island of Matara), ca. 1660-1670.Wood, shell, covered with carved ivory The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Purchase possible by support from Friends of the Ashmolean Museum. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Rocking Cradle, anonymous, ca. 1650 - ca. 1700, ebony and ivory, h 89cm 135cm × W × D 63cm. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Cabinet on stand, 17th century. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Paintings

Not only diamonds, gems, filigree, mother of pearl, silver, silk, chintz and fans, but also pepper, tea and exotic animals such as parrots and monkeys were all shipped to Amsterdam. Naturally, Dutch citizens wanted to immortalise themselves among all that luxury. From the beginning of the 17th century, Dutch artists therefore started to incorporate these objects into their paintings. Clara Peeters, Floris van Dyck, Pieter Claesz, Willem Claesz. Heda and Willem Kalf were masters at depicting the texture of shiny porcelain. Men who wanted to be truly fashionable had their portraits done wearing a silk ‘Japanese skirt’, which was a long loose-fitting silk coat, such as the one worn by Amsterdam pharmacist Johannes Hudde in the portrait of him by Michiel van Musscher in 1686. Those who were also wealthy enough to serve Chinese tea from a Chinese teapot into Chinese cups, all on a Japanese lacquered table, had truly brought Asia to Amsterdam. 

Hendrik Cornelisz. Vroom, The return in Amsterdam on the second expedition to the East Indies, 1599, oil on canvas, h × b 218,4cm 102,3cm. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Willem Kalf,  Still life with jug, fruit, Nautilus cup and other objects, 1600. Thyssen Museum, Madrid. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Pieter Claesz., Still Life with a Turkey Pie, 1627, oil on panel, h 75cm x 132cm. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Rembrandt van Rijn, Shah Jehan and his son, 1656 - 1658. Ink on paper (after an Indian miniature). Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Andries Beeckman, The Castle of Batavia, 1661, oil on canvas, 108cm × h b 151,5cm. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Willem Kalf, Still Life with a Chinese bowl, a Nautilus Cup and Fruit, 1662. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Pieter de Hooch, Portrait of a family that makes music, 1663. Cleveland Museum of Art, gift of the Hanna Fund. Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Johannes Hudde (1628 - 1704), Michiel van Musscher, 1686, oil on canvas (he is wearing a 'Japanese Rok'). Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Jan van der Heyden, Room Corner with Rarities, 1712. Szépmûvészeti Múzeum Budapest. Purchased, Esterházy Collection, 1871 29 1/2 x 25 in. (75 x 63.5 cm). Courtesy the Rijksmuseum

Photo Erik Smits/Monique Bröring