Page 67 - Made For Trade Chinese Export Paintings In Dutch Collections

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objects made by Europeans, Western merchants to a virtual standstill as a result of the
purchased actual Chinese objects and paintings Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) and “when our
from China. In fact, the extensive corpus of independence went into hiding for a moment,”
Chinese export art executed in the nineteenth the flag on the Dutch factory in Canton was still
century proves that after the peak of the flying, as the Dutch publicist Hendrik Muller
chinoiserie fashion in the middle of the (1859-1941) wrote in the magazine De Gids. 8
eighteenth century, international art exchange As we know from research of maritime historian
between China and the West showed no signs of Frank Broeze (1945-2001), one of the results of
decreasing. the French-English war – also fought on the
In the years spanning this research, i.e. the oceans – was that Dutch ships were often taken
66 long nineteenth century, the trading practice was by the English in this period or were required to
not booming as it had been in the centuries seek refuge in neutral harbours, where they were
9
before, when the Dutch East India Company confined to port. Although the Americans went
(VOC) in the period 1602-1799 had a on trading until 1807 and the Indian country
flourishing shipping link with Canton. This traders remained active throughout the whole
observation not only applies to principal trade period, trade in Canton diminished greatly
products, but also to material culture transfer or during these years. Soon after the French period,
exchanges linked to commerce, such as the trade from 1815 onwards, the Dutch made several
in spices and tea. From the seventeenth century attempts, using independent shipping firms, to
until the beginning of the eighteenth century, the regain hegemony of the European tea trade.
VOC used Batavia as its base for the Chinese tea However, these attempts were not very
trade between Europe and Asia, with Chinese successful and suffered from a lack of continuity.
trade junks visiting the town every year. Until After a fire in 1822, the Dutch factory in Canton
the eighteenth century, the VOC had been was rebuilt on the same plot by the Netherlands
sending a limited number of ships directly to Indies government, but different ships took on
China, in response to the increasing European board the loads this time. The Dutch shipping,
5
demand for tea. In 1727, the company received “destroyed during the Napoleonic era, had not
permission to establish a so-called hong or recovered in an instant, and our world market
factorij (trading post) in Canton and, together for Chinese tea was gone, for good.” 10
with traders from other European nations and In 1824, the Netherlands Trading Society
America, they chased lucrative profits in all (NTS, 1824-1964), one of the forerunners of
6
areas. In 1728, the VOC started a direct today’s Dutch ABN AMRO banking company,
shipping link between Holland and Canton. 7 started their sailing business in Asia. This
The trading season usually lasted less than six initiative by the Dutch King William I, who was
months, from August to January. Western ships nicknamed the Merchant Monarch because of
wanted to make the return voyage to Europe his active support for trade and industry, was
well before the monsoon winds in February aimed at stimulating Dutch maritime private
changed direction. Those who remained in trade, promoting commercial activities and
China in the months when no business was done expanding Dutch trade relations with Asia,
usually visited their families in Macao. After the especially with the Netherlands East Indies. As
decline of the VOC at the end of the eighteenth we can read in an archival document about the
century, France occupied Holland until 1813. history of ABN AMRO, the king’s objective was
This situation did little for the Dutch trade with “to resuscitate the national economy in the wake
Asia. Although all Dutch trade in Canton came of the period of French rule (1795-1813).” 11

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5 Kaufmann 2014, 208.
6 A trading post was often made up of buildings with several functions, such as warehouses, offices and
accommodation.
7 Cai 2004, 5.
8 Muller 1917, 171-172. Hendrik Pieter Nicolaas Muller was a Dutch businessman, diplomat, explorer, publicist, and
philanthropist. He wrote ‘Onze vaderen in China’ (Our Fathers in China) in De Gids, about the presence of the
Dutch in China in the period 1585-1901. De Gids is the oldest literary and general cultural magazine in the
Netherlands and one of the longest existing magazines of this kind in the world. It has existed since 1837 and pays
attention to literature, philosophy, sociology, visual arts, politics, science, and history.
9 Broeze 1977, 290.
10 Muller 1917, 176.
11 https://abnamro.com, NHM_(UK).pdf.