Asia > Amsterdam

Fabulous exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam looking at the import of luxury goods from the Asia into the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age and their impact.

This was a visually stunning show with wonderful objects beautifully displayed. There were galleries themed round different trading countries but also on different goods such as porcelain, lacquer work and clothes. There were also sections on how the art of the Netherlands was influenced by the goods which came in such as the classic still lives also called pronks.

It is hard to pick out particular objects as they were all so interesting but seeing a piece of imported porcelain with a coat of arms on shown next to a still life with another piece from the same set with the same coat of arms was pretty stunning.

I knew very little about the Dutch East India Company (VOC) so the section on its power centre Batvia was really interesting. It emphasised that a lot of the trade was within the VOC itself and showed objects owned by merchants and commissioned by them. I loved a sweetmeat set with a cluster of dishes that fitted together perfectly.

The gallery on the Dutch stadholder Frederick Henry and his consort Amalia of Solms was fascinating as it showed how they used these luxury good to create a court comparable to other European rulers and how they devised new ways of displaying their collections.

I could also mention textiles, silverware, portraits but there is just not enough room! All in all a wonderful exhibition!

Closes 17 January 2016.

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