Cape of Good Hope with VOC ships
Datec 1740
Object number00033859
NameDinner plate
MediumCeramic, gilt
DimensionsOverall: 27 x 230 mm, 0.335 kg
ClassificationsTableware and furnishings
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis Chinese export ceramic plate features ships of the Dutch East India Company fleet at anchor in Table Bay (Cape Town). From 1652 it was compulsory for all VOC ships to stop here to take on fresh supplies for the ongoing voyage to the East Indies. The sick could also be treated at the Dutch-built hospital.HistoryIn the 17th century the Netherlands was made up of seven fiercely independent provinces allied by war and religion (Calvinism) in the fight against the Catholic and Spanish-governed Southern Netherlands (present-day Belgium).
The formation of the United Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) in 1602 was a partnership of six cities from those provinces - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft, Hoorn, Enkhuizen and Middelburg in Zeeland - each having a specified share of the costs and the profits. The Company was granted a monopoly by the Dutch government for lands east of the Cape of Good Hope and as far as the Straits of Magellan.
Amsterdam was the largest Chamber having 50% of the shares. From East India House in the centre of the city a stream of regulations and edicts flowed to faraway trading posts, and year after year ships bearing rich cargoes returned.SignificanceThe Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope was a strategic provisioning station supporting the VOC's ships on their long voyages to and from the Spice Islands of Asia. This rare plate is significant as a symbol of the power of the VOC and its trading enterprise.
