The Elephant Hunt, Jan Brandes, 1785

brush, h 195mm × w 155mm More details

In addition to cinnamon, elephants were a crucial export for the Dutch. The VOC required the local population to surrender a portion of the cinnamon harvest and assist in elephant hunting. In 1785, VOC official Cornelis de Cock went to see the inland elephant hunt. The Lutheran minister Jan Brandes documented this visit in great detail.

Identification

Title(s)

The Elephant Hunt
'Baptizing' an elephant

Object type

drawing

Object number

NG-1985-7-2-87

Inscriptions / marks

inscription: ‘Wilda Elefanten blifver efter mätmingen, döpt med 3 krukor wattn, får hans namn, blir led i hans stall, sedan tages de twå tama Elefanter bort, hwardag skall han bindas emelan detama igen ledas til wattn, åter i sit stall, så blir han tam i, 8 dagar och kan en man leda twart han will.’

Description

Overzichtstekening in kleur van het inbinden van de olifanten. Op de voorgrond VOC-beambten beschaduwd door dienaren. Op de achtergrond de noodkraal. Met opschrift. Nr. 10 in serie. Onderdeel uit het schetsboek van Jan Brandes, dl. 2 (1808), p. 129.

Creation

Artist

draughtsman: Jan Brandes

Place

Ja-Ela

Dating

Dec-1785

Material and Technique

Material

Technique

brush

Measurements

height 195 mm × width 155 mm

Subject

What

trunked animals: elephant

When

1785 - 1786

Where

Sri Lanka

Who

Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie

Acquisition and rights

Acquisition

purchase 2-May-1985

Copyright

Public domain

Provenance

See the provenance for NG-1985-7-2.

Bibliography and list of abbreviations for the provenance (pdf)

Notes

Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Relations

Is part of

Album van Jan Brandes, deel 2 (NG-1985-7-2)

Documentation

De historische sensatie : het Rijksmuseum geschiedenisboek, p. 124-125
The world of Jan Brandes, 1743-1808 : drawings of a Dutch traveller in Batavia, Ceylon and Southern Africa, Max de Bruijn, An Duits, Remco Raben, p. 262-271, 287 (afb.), 290-291, cat.nr. 81
De Nederlandse ontmoeting met Azië 1600-1950, p. 258-259, cat.nr. 131

Persistent URL

To refer to this object please use the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.205296

Questions?

Do you have a remark or extra information on this object? Please let us know!