The chequered history of the rare VOC plate

In this article, the author deals with a brief account of the history and relevant details of one of the most sought after and rare artefacts pertaining to the Dutch time Sri Lankan history - the much admired VOC Serving Plates. Although serious plate collectors may be conversant with the technical details, this short account may be useful for the novice and the general reader.

by Senerath Panawatta

The elaborate plate bearing the monogram VOC is one of the most rare and highly priced Dutch time antiquities, both in the local market and particularly in European antique markets. Its story in Sri Lanka begins from 1602 AC. By this time, the Portuguese were wielding a lucrative monopoly of trade in the Eastern waters, which the Dutch envied and vehemently fought to grab.

These were also the years the Portuguese were holding the maritime belt of Sri Lanka with an iron fist, and the Kandyan kings engaged in intermittent warfare to drive them away. The first Dutch Ambassador Admiral Joris Van Spilbergen paid a visit to Kandy Court of King Vimaladharmasuriya I in 1602 AC, and the initial foundation was laid between them for the expulsion of the troublesome and destructive Portuguese from the shores of the Island.

After fluctuating levels of success, the Portuguese were finally defeated and driven away in 1658, the Dutch replacing them. This, actually was nothing more than an exchange of a devil for a devil, which gave rise to the famous Sinhala proverb miris deela gammiris gaththa wage - like having given chillies, got pepper!, The Dutch, practically held the maritime region up to 1796, when finally, they ceded their possessions to the British on February 16, 1796 and left for good.

Dutch territories

The Dutch territories in the East, which included the maritime Sri Lanka were administered by a commercial company styled Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnic - the United East India Company, i.e. the Dutch East India Company. When it was formally organised on March 20, 1602, this company, by their resolution XVII adopted the famous monogram VOC on February 24, 1603, to be their official seal with the letters to be in blue on a silver background. The motif was used on a limited number of plates, and liberally on coins, library books, cannons, deeds, official documents, flags, furniture, swords and epitaphs. All the printed books that comprised a part of the goods brought in the annual embassies to the Kandyna Court bore the VOC monogram in black, and a special Bible in gold on every page.

One of the chief domestic commodities the Dutch introduced to Sri Lanka was a series of beautiful porcelain ware, a limited and conspicuous item of which was the serving plate bearing the VOC monogram. The other normal wares were dishes, eating plates, goblets, bottles and vases. As a rule, the VOC plates were decorated with stylised floral designs in blue on a white background by hand painting. Although the colour used was exclusively blue, it was differentiated by such names as Wanli blue, Ming blue, Arita Blue, Cobalt blue or Delft blue.

Big demand

Holland's greatest source of supply of porcelainware was China which was already supplying them to Japan in huge bulks from about 1620. To start with, the Dutch placed orders for enormous quantities of ordinary blue and white porcelainware with Chinese merchants to meet the big demand in the Eastern and particularly, the European markets.

The orders were so massive, that even their great kiln complex in Ching-to Chen in the province of Kiangsi apparently could not cope, that some of their orders had to be met with through a number of provincial kilns. But along with the unanticipated final collapse of the Ming Dynasty in 1644 AC., their supplies came to an end. This situation compelled the Dutch to look up to Japan.

To turn to the VOC plate: these are actually not eating plates, nor wall plates. Among all the varieties of Dutch porcelainware, the serving plate bearing the reserved high monogram VOC takes the foremost rank in status and presently in value. Unlike other porcelainware, this special dish was not released to the free market, but evidently ordered in a limited number for the exclusive use of the staff of the VOC serving in Eastern countries or territories under their rule including Sri Lanka. As a result, with so much broken in the process of over the last 350 years, only a microscopic number is known to be now available anywhere.

The Colombo Museum has one VOC plate which is of Arita Blue Japanese production. As far as I know, the late Upali Batuvantudawa, the then Colombo's most renowned collector cum seller, had three fine VOC plates in two sizes, and a much smaller one broken into two halves in his fabulous and heterogeneous collection of local antiquities.

Presumably, the one in the Colombo Museum may have come down from his collection changing hands. Batuwantudawa informed me sometime later, that as he was ageing and getting blind with none to continue his collection, he sold everything to the last item. Before that, I was fortunate to obtain from him a fine Parvathi and a little damaged Nataraja bronze, which had been originally in the collection of H.W. Biddle, the one time British numismatist of Anuradhapura. They were friends and exchanged their artefacts.

Common design

On an average all VOC plates have a common design. The principal feature which appears in the front is the VOC monogram in the centre of the circle surrounded by two long tailed ho-o phoenix birds in between with flowers and one or two pomegranate - all stylised. Some Japanese VOC plates are known to replace these birds with flowering tree peonies.

The outer rim comprises six panelled compartments decorated with bamboo and flowers.

The back is plain white and bears the spur marks (kiln support marks), depending on the manner and number, the country of their manufacturer can be identified.

For example, those that have been made and painted in Arita Blue which bear five or six spur marks positioned somewhat circularly or crosswise, with some still irregularly, bearing one mark in the middle, are Japanese.

It is important to remember that, since these plates were made in more than one country from time to time, and also each piece being manually turned out and hand painted by different artistes, though kept to a formalised design, are essentially little different in brush work from plate to plate, and also in their size and weight. Some of the largest are known to be thick and heavy.

The 17th century plate shown in photograph No 1, is 36.2 cm in diameter, and belongs to the largest category and fetched a fabulous price of U.S. $18,261 (about Rs. 2,426,800) at an auction held in May, 2008 in Holland. Photograph no. 2 shows a smaller size plate with a diametre of only 21.5cm (while some are still smaller) that was auctioned in June 2008.

Photograph no.3 illustrates a super fine 17th century under-glazed plate in Japanese Arita Blue, 39.5cm in diametre and belongs to the largest size among Japanese VOC plates.

The writer is a former Curator, Kandy National Museum