Doorsnedes van drinkvat van de koning van Kandy Possibly 1786

Jan Brandes made this pen drawing, titled "Cross-sections of a drinking vessel of the King of Kandy," at an unknown date. Brandes was an employee of the Dutch East India Company in the late 18th century, and his drawings document the social and material culture of the regions where the Company held sway. This image is a technical drawing of an object used by the King of Kandy, in modern-day Sri Lanka. It shows two cross-sections of the same vessel, one horizontal, and one vertical. The drawing would have been used to document the object and perhaps to reproduce it. The image offers insights into the social and cultural context of the Dutch East India Company. As an institution, the Company collected, documented, and traded commodities from around the world, thereby shaping global economic and political systems. Drawings such as this one were essential to this activity. To understand this drawing better, we might consult the Company's archives, travel journals, and studies of Dutch colonialism in Sri Lanka. These sources help to illuminate the complex social conditions in which this image was produced and the role of art within them.