De BRY, Johann Theodor, (1560-1623) and Johann Israel de Bry (1565-1609). Part III, Plate 32, Actual Description of the Bazaar or Market of Bantam Including all the Wares. From the "Little Voyages"

De BRY, Johann Theodor, (1560-1623) and Johann Israel de Bry (1565-1609). Part III, Plate 32, Actual Description of the Bazaar or Market of Bantam Including all the Wares. From the "Little Voyages"

$8,500.00

Plate XXXII, En (obscured) tliche Contrafantung des Bezars oder Bardts zu Bantam
From Part III of Johann Theodor de Bry (1561-1623) and Johann Isreal de Bry's (1565-1609) Orientalische Indien (“Little Voyages”), Dritter Theil indiae orientalis...Frankfurt: 1599 (first edition)
Engraving with original, early 17th century hand color heightened with gold on laid paper; paper dimensions: approximately: 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches
Printed by Matthias Becker
van Groesen 52

A MARKET IN BANTAM

Here, at the market in Bantam, the Dutch must have been lost in amazement. They encountered tradesmen from all corners of the world: Portuguese, Arabs, Turkish, Chinese, Bengali, Malabari etc.

For centuries, Bantam was the prime port of spices from islands further East and of the very sought-after pepper, which was grown around Bantam itself. It was pepper in particular, that attracted the Dutch. At the bazaar, melons, cucumbers and cocoa were for sale, but also sugar and honey,  beans, bamboo andrattan,  krisses, swords, spears and other weapons. There were separate departments for women's and men's wear and then there was the market for silk, damask, cloth, velvet and brocade. There was also meat, of course, and fruit, fish and rice. There were numerous stands with food and other stands to gape at jewelry, gold, silver and gems. At the Chinese market, they sold chinaware, but also copper, paper, little boxes, glasses, combs, sulfur, swords and fans.

The journal of "de eerste schipvaert" (the first voyage) devotes a full chapter to the Bantam market, which shows how important the Dutch considered an adequate description of the merchandise for which they had made the long and dangerous journey.*

Title: Actual description of the bazaar or market of Bantam including all the wares. 

Text: The market in Bantam is structured as follows: A. The place where they have melons, cucumbers, and coconuts. B. Where one can buy sugar and honey. C. They have beans. D. Where one buys bamboo or sugarcane. E. There one finds daggers sabers spears and other weapons. F. This is where the man sells fabric. G. The women sell linen. H. Spices. I. One can find Bengalese and Gujarati (people from Gujarat) goods and all different kinds of iron works. K. The Chinese goods. M. is the fish market. N. The fruit market. O. The herb market. P. One can find pepper. Q. The onion market. R. The rice market. S. The place where the traders socialize with each other. T. The jewelers which trade with gem stones. V. The foreign boats/ which bring all kinds of food to the market. And finally X. The poultry market where one can find all kinds of fowl.**

ENGRAVED PLATES FROM VOLUME III OF DE BRY’S ‘LITTLE VOYAGES’ OF THE EAST INDIES

Featuring Depictions of: The Azores, India, Sumatra, Madagascar, Pugnatan Island, Bantam Island, Sri Lanka, Bali, Nova Zembla and Kola

Documenting Linschoten’s Voyages (Contined from Vol. II), Cornelis de Houtman's Voyage to the East Indies (1595-1597), and Gerrit de Veer's Journal of Three Dutch voyages to reach the East Indies by the North (1594- 1597).

For years, the Dutch had watched Portuguese trade vessels sail to the Far East and return to the ports of Portugal loaded with valuable spices. Now, at the end of the 16th century, sweeping changes were about to happen. The nation was at war with Spain since 1568. It was made difficult for merchants to put in at the ports of Portugal, Spain's neighboring country with which the Dutch Republic had also been drawn into war. All this led a small group of Dutch entrepreneurs to decide to establish a trade company enabling them to undertake voyages to the East by themselves. This would become the Compagnie van Verre (long-distance company). But how to go about it, without encountering enemy ship of the Portuguese?

On April 2, 1595, Cornelis de Houtman and his brother Frederik de Houtman set sail from Texel to the East with the Amsterdam, the Hollandia, the Mauritius and the pinnace Duyfken.  The first voyage ("De eerste schipvaert") was actually not much of a success. On board, the crew was suffering from hunger and diseases like scurvy. The commander had to deal with exhaustion and mutiny among the crew. Only halfway through the journey, near Madagascar, a part of the crew had to be buried. Before long, flaming row developed between the skippers and the merchants, especially since no admiral of the fleet had been appointed.

The ships arrived at the Javanese city of Bantam on June 27, 1596. Here they assumed to be safe from the Portuguese. When a Portuguese ship did arrive, De Houtman let his men attack it. Bantam, too, got involved in the battle, for which the Dutchmen were not appreciated. They hurried out of the place. At a certain point, there were not enough men left to crew all four of the ships. Thus, they decided to set fire to the Amsterdam.

The ships sailed east past Java and arrived at Madura island, where they were received peacefully. Fearing betrayal, De Houtman ordered to attack the locals, which was executed with great cruelty, upon which they fled. Also on the adjacent island of Bali, the Dutch received a warm welcome. Some of the crew even decided to stay there. Since the crew did not want to sail any longer, De Houtman decided not to set course any further to the East, the Moluccas. Instead, he returned home.

The voyage hardly yielded any profit and the company could barely cover its cost with the revenues. Only 89 of a crew of 249 survived. The goal of the voyage however, proving the possibility of reaching Asia past Cape of Good Hope, without being troubled by the Portuguese, was achieved. This expedition was one of the contributing factors to give rise to the establishment of the East India Company (VOC) in 1602.

The journal of this first voyage ("De Eerste Schipvaert") is an outstanding source that still allows us to undergo the very adventures of De Houtman and his men. The story, together with its numerous illustrations, shows the tribes they encountered along the way and how these strangers lived, ate, sang and danced. The Dutchmen wondered about all the new things they encountered, sometimes in fear, sometimes in astonishment.*

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*Research provided by Martine Gosselink, head of the History department at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands.

**Translated from original German by Karl Nesseler.

Description compiled by Erik Brockett who is pleased to provide additional information relating to this or other examples of the work of Johann Theodor de Bry available at Arader Galleries. He can be contacted at erikbrockett@aradergalleries.com