Chapter Het VOC-verleden van Cornelis Pronk en Thomas Hope – Chinees porselein en Sri Lankaans roofgoed als stille getuigen

Abstract

This article deals with two objects of art and history. They are considered here as silent witnesses of the VOC antecedents of two Dutch Mennonites in Amsterdam: Cornelis Pronk and Thomas Hope. They were employed by the VOC, the Dutch East India Company, respectively in the years 1734-1736 and 1752-1770. Although the VOC waged wars of conquest both Pronk and Hope were respected members of their churches. Pronk was a draughtsman of high repute. In 1734 the VOC put him under contract to draw the designs for the decorations of an exclusive product line of Chinese porcelain. The drawing of one of his designs, the Parasol Ladies, is kept in the Rijksmuseum. In 1756 Hope was appointed to be a VOC director, and in 1766 he became the representative of Stadtholder William V at the VOC. From 1761 until 1766, the VOC was at war with the king of Kandy to safeguard the cinnamon production. Plundering the royal palace in 1765 the troops captured a richly decorated ceremonial cannon. On Hope’s decisive advice it was exhibited as a trophy of war in the art gallery of William V. In 1795 the French confiscated the Stadholder’s collection and transferred the canon to the States General. As a highlight of the Rijksmuseum it became an icon in debates about restitution of looted art from the colonial period and in 2023 the Dutch Government returned it to Sri Lanka.