A Dutch colonial church chair.
Second half of the 17th century, Amboina (Moluccas).
This chair is attributed to the School of the Moluccas (1) and is likely made from Ambonese ironwood, Homalium Foetidum Benth (2), a tropical hardwood species. It is richly adorned with twisted legs and spindles in the backrest, also known as screw-shaped turnery (3). The top rail of the backrest is cut in a flame pattern, a decorative motif that was prevalent until the first quarter of the 18th century (4). The seat rails, as with many Moluccan chairs, are straight and simple (5). The abundant spiral work may suggest a greater Portuguese-Spanish influence than elsewhere in the archipelago, although it is much less complicated than in Portuguese furniture (6).
The Moluccan furniture, with its lavish decoration featuring screw-shaped turnery, undoubtedly made a richer impression than the seating furniture in the motherland around the mid-17th century. As Moluccan furniture was usually low and lacked armrests, it was primarily a women’s chair, significantly lighter than other chairs due to the extensive turnery, which left little solid wood (7).
In Jan Veenendaal’s book ‘Furniture from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India’ (1985, p. 33), there is an old photo of a church interior in Ambon before it was bombed during World War II, possibly showing similar examples (see photo 22). It is believed that such chairs were originally commissioned by high-ranking VOC officials and their wives for use in the church. This example is more restrained than other existing ones and might have been more suitable for a Protestant Reformed Church.
The Company Workshops (8):
In general, the VOC’s factories were located by the sea or at the mouth of large or small rivers. Each significant factory had a workshop where slaves, under the supervision of Dutch foremen, practiced various crafts. Such a workshop was usually called the Yard, and it was overseen by the Master Shipwright. Originally, this yard was, as the name suggests, the place where small vessels such as yachts, tenders, and boats were built or repaired. It was also the docking place for prahus that brought goods to and from ships arriving or departing. Often, the Yard and the Cooperage were housed under one roof. Both workshops were, of course, located by the sea or, if the factory was at the mouth of a river, on the riverbank.
Gradually, the Yard’s character changed, and it wasn’t long before, in addition to shipbuilding, the decorative arts were also practiced there. The supervisor was then called the Master of Ship and House Carpenters. This expansion of activities was, to some extent, dependent on the skill of the slaves and often also on the presence of Dutch craftsmen among the Company’s employees on site. By the second half of the 17th century, the decorative arts were practiced in every Company yard.
The Yard retained its name even when, after some time, the decorative arts became more prominent than shipbuilding. Following the Dutch tradition, furniture making took a leading role, and cabinetmakers and turners were highly valued. The yard of every significant factory had a department, or as it was called, a shop, where furniture makers and joiners, with the help of slaves, practiced their trade. If this factory was located in a region rich in furniture wood, such as the Coromandel Coast, skilled labor was often available. There was even pleasure in poaching these skilled craftsmen from each other, and there was often a great outcry when a talented craftsman or a very skilled slave was transferred elsewhere for some inexplicable reason, and the rival’s shop was enriched with masterpieces of his art. In the second half of the 17th century, when these workshops were at their peak across the board, there were enough Dutch craftsmen to take charge and instruct the slaves in the decorative arts.
Ironwood (*Homalium Foetidum* Benth). Ambonese: Nani. (9):
Rumphius refers to this wood as Metrosideros Vera. It was even more abundant than ebony and covered the Ambonese mountains in dense forests. It was also found in Malacca and Java, but the best varieties grew in the Moluccas. Ironwood was often harder than ebony and almost indestructible, even in water. It was resistant to rain and wind, night air, and even seawater. This wood could even challenge iron and was also used for ship anchors.
Amboina or Amboyna (present-day Ambon) (10):
From 1605 to 1796, an area of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) in the Moluccas, an island group in the Indian Archipelago. With a series of forts, the VOC harshly protected its lucrative monopoly on the clove trade here.
A Brief History of Christianity in the Moluccas (11):
The Moluccas, once better known as the “Spice Islands,” have attracted foreigners since Roman times. They came for cloves and nutmeg, two highly sought-after spices that fetched high prices for seafaring merchants from Asia and Europe. These traders, in succession, brought Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity to the islands. Hinduism had little lasting impact, but the other two world religions not only remained permanently but have since played a crucial role in the lives of the Moluccans from their arrival to the present. However, throughout history, these religions were strongly influenced by the traditional way of life according to the laws and customs (adat) established in the past by their common ancestors.
Both the Portuguese and the Dutch made Ambon City (Kota Ambon) their administrative capital. Islam had already made significant inroads by its arrival in 1512. Over the next two centuries, the Muslim population would lead the resistance against the unwelcome European colonists, first the Portuguese and, from the beginning of the 17th century, the Protestant Dutch.
When the Dutch tightened their grip on the Moluccas after quelling the last major rebellion, the so-called Pattimura Rebellion, the Moluccan Muslims almost disappeared from the annals of Moluccan history. From the mid-18th century until the end of the Dutch colonial empire in the Indies, and even to this day, Christians have dominated Moluccan history.
Sources:
(1) Dr. V.I. van de Wall, “Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel,” p. 86
(2) Dr. V.I. van de Wall, “Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel,” p. 155
(3) Dr. V.I. van de Wall, “Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel,” p. 86
(4) Titus M. Eliens et al., “Wonen op de Kaap en in Batavia 1602-1795,” p. 73
(5) Titus M. Eliens et al., “Wonen op de Kaap en in Batavia 1602-1795,” p. 73
(6) J. Terwen de Loos, “Het Nederlands Koloniale Meubel,” p. 43
(7) Dr. V.I. van de Wall, “Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel,” p. 86
(8) Dr. V.I. van de Wall, “Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel,” pp. 160 and 161
(9) Dr. V.I. van de Wall, “Het Hollandsche Koloniale Barokmeubel,” p. 155
(10) Source: Wikipedia (Amboina [VOC territory])
(11) Dr. Dieter Bartels – *The Evolution of God in the Spice Islands: The Converging and Diverging of Protestant Christianity and Islam in the Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods*, p. 1
Dimensions:
Height 91.5 cm, width 55 cm, depth 49 cm,
