Commissie koloniale collecties
Advies

Object
Huidige eigenaar
Beheerder
Teruggaveverzoek van
Datum teruggaveverzoek
Adviesnr.
Datum advies
Samenstelling Commissie i.c.
Secretaris

Gouden kastane (sabel)
Nederlandse Staat
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Republiek Sri Lanka
4 maart 2021, gespecificeerd op 18 november 2022
SL-2023-3
12 mei 2023
Mr. L.Y. Gonçalves-Ho Kang You (voorzitter),
prof. dr. L.N.K. van Broekhoven, prof. dr. R. Raben (leden)
Mr. J.A. van Ooijen MA

1. Het object
De kastane is een ceremoniële sabel vervaardigd van ijzer en goud ingelegd met edelstenen,
waaronder diamanten en robijnen. Deze kastane is rijk gedecoreerd met een massief gouden heft
geornamenteerd met vier leeuwenkoppen (simhas) en twee godheden (Saraswati en Sri Lakshmi).
De kastane heeft een houten, met goud beslagen schede. De vorm en decoratie zijn typerend voor
kastane uit het koninkrijk Kandy in de achttiende eeuw. De kastane is in de collectie van het
Rijksmuseum geregistreerd onder inventarisnummer NG-NM-560.
2. Het beleidskader
De beoordeling in dit advies vindt plaats binnen de kaders van de Beleidsvisie collecties uit een
koloniale context van de Minister van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap.1 De beleidsvisie is gebaseerd
op het rapport Koloniale collecties en erkenning van onrecht van de Raad voor Cultuur.2
Een verzoek om teruggave kan worden ingediend door een Staat waar Nederland langere tijd
koloniaal gezag uitoefende.
In de Beleidsvisie zijn de kaders van de beoordeling samengevat als volgt omschreven:
De Commissie stelt eerst vast of het herkomstonderzoek toereikend is.
Vervolgens stelt de Commissie vast of er sprake is van onvrijwillig bezitsverlies. Daartoe wordt
beoordeeld of met een redelijke mate van zekerheid kan worden vastgesteld dat het verzochte
cultuurgoed onvrijwillig is verloren in een land waar Nederland langere tijd koloniaal gezag
uitoefende. Als wordt vastgesteld dat dat het geval is, zal worden geadviseerd tot een
onvoorwaardelijke teruggave van het cultuurgoed.
Indien uit de herkomstgeschiedenis niet kan worden vastgesteld of sprake is van onvrijwillig
1

Beleidsvisie 29 januari 2021, https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/kamerstukken/2021/01/29/rapportbeleidsvisie-collecties-uit-een-koloniale-context
2
Rapport 7 oktober 2020, https://www.raadvoorcultuur.nl/documenten/adviezen/2020/10/07/advieskoloniale-collecties-en-erkenning-van-onrecht

1

bezitsverlies, en voor zover deze cultuurgoederen voor het land van herkomst een bijzonder cultureel,
historisch of religieus belang vertegenwoordigen, maakt de Commissie een belangenafweging. Het
belang van teruggave voor het herkomstland dient dan naar redelijkheid en billijkheid te worden
afgewogen tegen andere relevante belangen.
Relevante belangen kunnen zijn het culturele belang van het cultuurgoed voor het herkomstland, de
betrokken gemeenschappen in de herkomstlanden en in Nederland, het belang voor de collectie
Nederland, de toekomstige bewaaromstandigheden en de publieke toegankelijkheid. Objecten
kunnen veelzeggend zijn voor nationale en regionale tradities en de identiteit van een land, volk,
gemeenschap of individu. Het belang van een koloniaal cultuurgoed zal vaak voor Nederland anders
zijn dan voor het land van herkomst. Ook voor Nederlanders met wortels in de herkomstlanden
kunnen koloniale cultuurgoederen in Nederlandse musea van speciale betekenis zijn.
Indien het teruggevraagde object afkomstig is uit een voormalige kolonie van een andere mogendheid
maakt de Commissie eveneens een afweging. Het belang van teruggave voor het herkomstland dient
naar redelijkheid en billijkheid te worden afgewogen tegen andere relevante belangen. Wel zal herstel
van onrecht in de beoordeling het uitgangspunt moeten zijn. In dit geval is het onrecht niet door
Nederland veroorzaakt, maar is Nederland als huidige eigenaar van de objecten wel de enige om dit
onrecht te herstellen.
Indien de Commissie adviseert tot teruggave aan de verzoekende staat, dient ingevolge de Erfgoedwet
en de Beleidsvisie collecties uit een koloniale context van de Staatssecretaris van Cultuur en Media
rekening gehouden te worden met de vervreemdingsprocedure voor publieke collecties en wordt het
advies van de Commissie tevens beschouwd als een advies over de onmisbaarheid en
onvervangbaarheid van het object in de zin van artikel 4.18 van de Erfgoedwet.
3. De procedure
Op 18 november 2022 heeft de Republiek Sri Lanka een verzoek ingediend bij de Staatssecretaris voor
Cultuur en Media om teruggave van de gouden kastane die is buitgemaakt tijdens de aanval op Kandy
in 1765. De Staatssecretaris heeft de Commissie Koloniale Collecties (hierna: de Commissie) verzocht
te adviseren over het teruggaveverzoek.
De beheerder van het object, het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam, heeft onderzoek gedaan naar de
herkomstgeschiedenis en heeft daarvan rapport uitgebracht (bijlage 1).
De Commissie heeft het teruggaveverzoek en het herkomstrapport besproken in haar vergadering van
9 januari 2023. De Commissie heeft dr. Alicia Schrikker als herkomstonderzoeker over dit rapport
gehoord. Aangezien zij tevens lid is van de Commissie heeft zij niet deelgenomen aan de inhoudelijke
beraadslaging en besluitvorming van de Commissie over dit object.
De Commissie had geen aanvullende vragen voor het herkomstonderzoek.
In januari 2023 heeft Commissielid dr. Schrikker in Colombo gesproken met verschillende
vertegenwoordigers van de Ministeries van Cultuur en Buitenlandse Zaken, de senior presidentieel
adviseur veiligheid, de Director General van het Department of National Museums en de Nederlandse
ambassadeur. Zij heeft met hen gesproken over de voortgang van de behandeling van de
teruggaveverzoeken en over mogelijke vervolgstappen.
Op 24 maart 2023 heeft de Commissie gesproken met drs. Taco Dibbits, directeur, en dr. Valika
Smeulders, hoofd Geschiedenis, als vertegenwoordigers van het Rijksmuseum, de beheerder van de
collectie. Daarbij hebben zij aangegeven het teruggavebeleid te ondersteunen en de samenwerking
met het land van herkomst van de objecten belangrijk te vinden.
2

Het herkomstonderzoek is in Engelse vertaling gedeeld met vertegenwoordigers van Sri Lanka. Het
herkomstonderzoek gaf geen aanleiding tot aanvullende vragen.
Op 24 maart 2023 heeft de Commissie het teruggaveverzoek opnieuw besproken en besloten te
adviseren zoals hieronder weergegeven.
4. Het herkomstonderzoek
Het herkomstonderzoek is verricht door dr. Alicia Schrikker en Doreen van den Boogaart RMa in
samenwerking met Senarath Wickramasinghe van het National Museum in Colombo. Alicia Schrikker
en Doreen van den Boogaart waren ten tijde van het onderzoek werkzaam als herkomstonderzoekers
in opdracht van het PPROCE project en in dienst van het NIOD.
Het rapport van het onderzoek is als bijlage bij dit advies gevoegd (bijlage 1). De inhoud van het
rapport wordt beschouwd als onderdeel van dit advies. In het rapport hebben de onderzoekers samengevat- de volgende bevindingen neergelegd.
“This highly ornamented Sri Lankan kasthāné, or sabre, has a hilt made of solid gold, shaped with four
lion heads (simhas) and two female deities (Saraswati and Sri Lakshmi). It is decorated with 136
diamonds and 13 rubies. The wooden scabbard is coated with gold. The kasthāné is presented in the
Rijksmuseum as a spoil of war, obtained by the VOC during the war with Kandy and its occupation of
the palace in 1765. The object analysis indicates that this kasthāné was made in the royal Four
Workshops of the Kandyan kingdom (pattal hatara). Experts in Sri Lankan arms and armour further
suggest that the kasthāné was personal property of king Kirti Sri Rajasinha (r. 1747-1782). These
conclusions are based on the material, art-historical features of the object and on information from
scholarly literature.
The object most likely arrived in the collection of the Dutch Stadtholders (Willem IV and Willem V)
prior to 1795 and was recorded first in 1816. However, it is not exactly clear what route the kasthāné
took from Kandy into the collection of the Dutch stadtholders. The eighteenth-century archival trails
of this object are incomplete. Various scholars have suggested that this object was among the spoils of
war, which Dutch East India Company Governor of Ceylon, Lubbert Jan van Eck (in office 1762 – 1765),
collected after the siege of the palace in 1765 and which were sent to his heirs in the Dutch Republic
in 1768. There is indeed a description on the list, which was drawn up in Colombo on 22 October 1765,
of an object that could be identified as this golden kasthāné. However, this identification requires
some qualification: minor inconsistencies were found in the way the object was described at the time.
We have found no documentation of the transfer of this object by any of the heirs of Van Eck to the
collection of the stadtholder. At the same time, we also have not come across evidence that would
suggest another provenance. The exact moment of arrival of the golden kasthāné in the collection
simply remained unrecorded. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Kandyan
provenance was forgotten, and the gold mounted kasthāné was described as Javanese as late as 1957.
Since 1965 the kasthāné has been catalogued as spoils of the Dutch Kandyan war by the Rijksmuseum
together with the golden pihiya, the silver kasthāné, and Lewke’s cannon.”
5. Inhoudelijke beoordeling van het teruggaveverzoek
Het verzoek om teruggave is ingediend door een Staat waar Nederland langere tijd koloniaal gezag
uitoefende en derhalve is de Beleidsvisie collecties uit een koloniale context van toepassing.
De Commissie is van oordeel dat het onderzoek deugdelijk is uitgevoerd en voldoende basis biedt om
te kunnen adviseren. Er is grondig bronnenonderzoek gedaan en de bestaande kennis is kritisch
geëvalueerd. Het rapport geeft een goede weergave van de vindbare informatie.
3

De Commissie heeft zich afgevraagd of hier sprake is van onvrijwillig bezitsverlies als bedoeld in het
beleidskader. Daartoe overweegt zij als volgt.
In het rapport zijn vier kernvragen benoemd die helderheid verschaffen over de herkomstvraag. Naast
het archiefonderzoek speelden materiaal- en kunsthistorisch onderzoek een grote rol. Uit het rapport
komt het volgende naar voren.
Blijkt uit het materiaaltechnisch onderzoek dat de kastane een koninklijke oorsprong of eigenaar had?
Op basis van het materiaaltechnisch onderzoek en de decoratie is vastgesteld dat deze kastane is
vervaardigd in de koninklijke werkplaatsen van Kandy. Aan de kwaliteit, kostbaarheid en de verfijning
van werken uit die werkplaatsen kan worden afgeleid wat de status van de opdrachtgever of
ontvanger was. In dit geval gaat het om een kastane met massief gouden (niet verguld) heft, rijk
ingelegd met 136 diamanten en 13 robijnen. Decoratieve motieven op de kastane die specifiek wijzen
op een koninklijke herkomst zijn de hoofden van leeuwen (simha) en de afbeelding van de godinnen
Saraswati (godin van wijsheid) en Sri Lakshmi (godin van voorspoed), beide ook prominent afgebeeld
op de troon van de koningen van Kandy. Ook de vergulde schede is rijk geornamenteerd.
Geraadpleegde experts op het gebied van Sri Lankaanse historische wapens concluderen op basis van
het voorgaande dat dit een koninklijke ceremoniële kastane moet zijn geweest, één van de symbolen
van het koningschap ofwel regalia.
Wat is in het museum en/of in de literatuur bekend over de herkomst van de kastane?
In 1765 werden Kandy en het koninklijk paleis aangevallen en verwoest door Nederlandse troepen
onder leiding van de Nederlandse gouverneur van Ceylon, Lubbert Jan van Eck. Uitgaande van de
juistheid van het deskundigenoordeel dat de kastane behoorde tot de regalia, moet deze ten tijde van
de aanval op Kandy in eigendom zijn geweest van koning Kirti Sri Rajasinha, die regeerde over Kandy
van 1747 tot 1782.
Wat is er bekend over de buit van de aanval op Kandy door de VOC in 1765, en in hoeverre blijkt uit de
archieven van de VOC en de familie van Van Eck dat de kastane in verband staat met die buit?
Tijdens de inname en plundering van Kandy en het paleis zijn veel objecten buitgemaakt, waaronder
sieraden en wapens. Van Eck overleed kort na de inname van Kandy. Zijn opvolger Iman Willem Falck
liet de executeurs van de nalatenschap van Van Eck weten dat tien objecten in de nalatenschap
oorlogsbuit uit Kandy waren. Hieronder bevond zich een “zwaart met goude greep en dies scheede
met goud beslag”, dat mogelijk de gouden kastane is. Deze objecten werden overgebracht naar de
VOC in Colombo. Het “zwaart met goude greep” werd door het bestuur van de VOC in 1768
vrijgegeven voor de nalatenschap van Van Eck en verscheept naar diens erfgenamen in de Republiek
der Nederlanden. In de familiearchieven van Van Eck is een wapen met dezelfde omschrijving als op
de VOC-lijst opgenomen.
Welke route heeft de kastane afgelegd na aankomst in Nederland en op welke manier is hij
gepresenteerd?
Vermoed wordt dat de gouden kastane in de collectie van stadhouder Willem V is opgenomen en als
oorlogsbuit is tentoongesteld in het ‘curiositeitenkabinet’ van de stadhouder in Den Haag.
Ooggetuigenverslagen maken melding dat onder meer wapens in het curiositeitenkabinet werden
tentoongesteld die waren buitgemaakt van de koning van Kandy: “(…) unter den kunstsachen eine
ganz silberne kanone mit golde ubersogen, graviert, und mit edelgesteinen besezt, welche die
Hollander in ihren lesten kriege, met den koninge von Candi erbeutet haben, und viele andre sehr
kostbare Waffen”. Op de inventarislijsten van de collectie van Willem V is deze kastane echter niet te
4

identificeren. Aangezien bekend is dat die inventarislijsten allerminst volledig zijn, is daarmee de
aanwezigheid van de kastane in de collectie van Willem V ook niet uitgesloten.
De vroegste vermelding in een Nederlandse collectieregistratie die hoogstwaarschijnlijk deze kastane
betreft, is in het Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden (KKZ) onder nummer A.154: "Een husaren
sabel met gevest van massief goud met brillianten en 2 robijnen bezet – in een met goud gekleede
schede.” Deze lijst betreft objecten die in 1816 uit de collectie van koning Willem I, de zoon van
stadhouder Willem V, zijn overgedragen aan het KKZ. De vermelding van twee robijnen in plaats van
13 kan worden verklaard doordat de kastane twee robijnen heeft die groter en prominenter geplaatst
zijn dan de elf andere. Op basis van een vermelding door Jan van Campen wordt vermoed dat de lijst
van 1816 correspondeert met de ‘Lijsten van in januari 1795 meegenomen gouden en zilveren
tafelgoed, schilderijen en kleding’ die stadhouder Willem V meenam tijdens zijn verbanning naar
Engeland in 1795 of in veiligheid liet brengen op zijn kasteel Oranienstein in Duitsland. Hieruit zou
volgen dat de kastane in ieder geval vóór 1795 in Nederland was.
In een beschrijving door de directeur van het KKZ uit 1823 is melding gemaakt van de Sri Lankaanse
herkomst van de groep objecten waarin ook de kastane was tentoongesteld. In een catalogus van het
KKZ uit 1824 wordt “een Oostersche sabel, met een gevest van massief goud, bezet met briljanten en
twee robijnen, in eene met goud bekleede schede” vermeld.
Vanuit het KKZ en via het Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst is de kastane in 1927
opgenomen in de collectie van het Rijksmuseum. Het herkomstonderzoek heeft uitgewezen dat de Sri
Lankaanse herkomst gedurende lange tijd, in ieder geval tot 1965, uit beeld verloren is.
Overwegingen van de Commissie
De Commissie is van oordeel dat op grond van de overwegingen in het herkomstrapport aannemelijk
is dat de gouden kastane met inventarisnummer NG-NM-560 afkomstig is uit het paleis van Kandy en
dat deze kastane als oorlogsbuit is geroofd in 1765. Hoewel de omschrijving in de inventarislijsten van
Willem V ontbreekt en de omschrijving in de KKZ-registratie spreekt van een “husaren sabel” en van
twee robijnen, is de omschrijving voldoende gelijkend om aan te nemen dat de getraceerde
vermeldingen om deze gouden kastane gaan. De verschillende getuigenverklaringen en de
omschrijvingen in 1823 en 1824 bieden hiervoor naar het oordeel van de Commissie voldoende
grondslag. Ook uit de nummering van de museumkaartjes komt naar voren dat het om hetzelfde
object gaat. Er bevinden zich in de Nederlandse collecties ook geen andere hiermee vergelijkbare
objecten. Er is actief gezocht maar geen aanwijzing gevonden dat de gouden kastane langs andere
weg in Nederland is gekomen.
Het Rijksmuseum gaat zelf ook al decennialang uit van roof als herkomst en er zijn geen aanwijzingen
gevonden die wijzen op iets anders.
De Commissie is op vorenstaande gronden, vervat in het herkomstrapport, van oordeel dat met een
redelijke mate van zekerheid is aangetoond dat het verzochte cultuurgoed onvrijwillig is verloren in
een land waar Nederland langere tijd koloniaal gezag uitoefende. De Commissie adviseert op grond
van het voorgaande tot onvoorwaardelijke teruggave van de kastane vanwege het onvrijwillige
bezitsverlies.
De Commissie is gevraagd te adviseren over de toepassing van artikel 4.18 van de Erfgoedwet indien
het advies inhoudt dat de gevraagde objecten moeten worden teruggegeven. Naar het oordeel van de
commissie prevaleert in dit geval het herstel van het onrecht uit het verleden en komt toepassing van
artikel 4.19 Erfgoedwet daarom niet aan de orde.

5

6. Het advies
De Commissie heeft het teruggaveverzoek beoordeeld en adviseert de Staatssecretaris tot
onvoorwaardelijke teruggave van de kastane met inventarisnummer NG-NM-560 aan de Republiek
Sri Lanka.
Dit advies is vastgesteld door de Commissie Koloniale Collecties op 12 mei 2023.
De voorzitter

De secretaris

Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang you

Jo’anne van Ooijen

Bijlagen
1. Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede [Golden sabre] (A.F. Schrikker, D. van den
Boogaart, maart 2022)

6

Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede [Golden sabre]
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart

In cooperation with Senarath Wickramasinghe (National Museum, Colombo)
Custodian

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Current possessor

Dutch State

Current location

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Inventory number

NG-NM-560

Material/technique

gold (metal)
diamond (mineral)
ruby (mineral)
wood (plant material)
iron (metal)
forging / casting

Measurements

length 78.5 cm
length 65.5 cm × width 5.5 cm
width 3 cm
width 11 cm

Photo 1: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam,
inv.no. NG-NM-560

Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart

Summary of findings
This highly ornamented Sri Lankan kasthāné, or sabre, has a hilt made of solid gold, shaped with
four lion heads (simhas) and two female deities (Saraswati and Sri Lakshmi). It is decorated with 136
diamonds and 13 rubies. The wooden scabbard is coated with gold. The kasthāné is presented in the
Rijksmuseum as a spoil of war, obtained by the VOC during the war with Kandy and its occupation of
the palace in 1765. The object analysis indicates that this kasthāné was made in the royal Four
Workshops of the Kandyan kingdom (pattal hatara). Experts in Sri Lankan arms and armour further
suggest that the kasthāné was personal property of king Kirti Sri Rajasinha (r. 1747-1782). These
conclusions are based on the material, art-historical features of the object and on information from
scholarly literature.
The object most likely arrived in the collection of the Dutch Stadtholders (Willem IV and Willem V)
prior to 1795 and was recorded first in 1816. However, it is not exactly clear what route the
kasthāné took from Kandy into the collection of the Dutch stadtholders. The eighteenth-century
archival trails of this object are incomplete. Various scholars have suggested that this object was
among the spoils of war, which Dutch East India Company Governor of Ceylon, Lubbert Jan van Eck
(in office 1762 – 1765), collected after the siege of the palace in 1765 and which were sent to his
heirs in the Dutch Republic in 1768. There is indeed a description on the list, which was drawn up in
Colombo on 22 October 1765, of an object that could be identified as this golden kasthāné.
However, this identification requires some qualification: minor inconsistencies were found in the
way the object was described at the time. We have found no documentation of the transfer of this
object by any of the heirs of Van Eck to the collection of the stadtholder. At the same time, we also
have not come across evidence that would suggest another provenance. The exact moment of
arrival of the golden kasthāné in the collection simply remained unrecorded.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Kandyan provenance was forgotten, and the
gold mounted kasthāné was described as Javanese as late as 1957. Since 1965 the kasthāné has
been catalogued as spoils of the Dutch Kandyan war by the Rijksmuseum together with the golden
pihiya, the silver kasthāné, and Levke’s cannon.

Reconstruction provenance
Seventeenth/ Eighteenth century
Made in the Paṭṭal Hatara. The Four Workshops of the King of Kandy.
P.H.D.H De Silva and Senerath Wickramasinghe, Ancient Swords, Daggers, and Knives in Sri Lankan Museums
(Colombo: Dept. of National Museums, 2007).

[no date] – [1765?]
Kingdom of Kandy
1765-1768
Colombo, guarded by Governor Willem Iman Falck

2

Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
[1768?] - 1816
Presumably stadholders’ collections, Dutch Republic
1795-1816
Probably brought along in exile with Willem V to England and later (maybe) taken to
Brunswick, Germany; Slot Oranienstein, Germany
Jan van Campen, De Haagse jurist Jean Theodore Royer (1737-1807) en zijn verzameling Chinese voorwerpen (Uitgeverij
Verloren, 2000), 215;Tom Quist PPROCE Report RV-360-6021.

1816 – 1875
Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden, the Hague
NL-HlmNHA, 476, inv.no. 843, ‘Lijst van voorwerpen op last van Koning Willem I overgedragen aan het Kon. Kab. v.
Zeldzaamheden te ’s-Gravenhage’ [List of objects transferred to the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities in The Hague on the orders of
King William I], 1816.
Original document in: NL-HaNA, 2.04.01, inv.no. 4030, ‘Bijlage 1. Degens, Sabels en Stokken’ [Attachment 1. Swords, Sabers and
Sticks], dated 6 July 1816, no. 37.

1875 – 1927
Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst
NL-HlmNHA, 476, inv.no. 1092, ‘Inventaris van kunstvoorwerpen, door het Nederlandsch Museum van Geschiedenis en Kunst
ontvangen van het Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden’ [Inventory of art objects, received by the Nederlandsch Museum van
Geschiedenis en Kunst from the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden], 1875.

1927 – now
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Introduction and context
This provenance report focuses on NG-NM-560, a golden-hilted kasthāné currently displayed in the
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam in room 1.5: The Netherlands overseas. The current narrative adopted by
institutions and researchers is that this kasthāné, together with a golden pihiya (NG-NM-7114), a
silver-hilted kasthāné (NG-NM-7112), a cannon (NG-NM-1015), and two wall-guns (NG-NM-519 and
520) were spoils of the Kandyan-Dutch war (1762-1766) and obtained during the violent, ruthless
plundering of the Kandyan palace in 1765.
In this provenance report we assess the material and archival evidence that has been used to
support the presentation of golden hilted kasthāné as part of the spoils of war and discuss the
current gaps in our knowledge regarding this object. In the report we will therefore answer the
following questions:
1) Which material elements support the thesis that the golden kasthāné was of royal origin?
2) What knowledge is available in the museum and the literature regarding the provenance of the
object?
3) What is known about the objects that were looted during the siege of the palace and town of
Kandy in 1765 by the VOC?

3

Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
4) To what extent do the eighteenth-century archival records from the VOC, the family archive of
Van Eck, and the Royal Archives (KHA) provide us with concrete evidence that connects the
golden kasthāné to the Kandyan-Dutch war of 1762-1766?
5) What route did the golden kasthāné take through the Dutch collections?
The research was conducted in collaboration with experts from the Sri Lankan National Museum in
Colombo and the conservation and science department of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Object information
The golden kasthāné was analysed in the Atelier of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam on 25 November
2021 together with colleagues from the conservation and science department. The metal
measurements and analysis of the stones were shared with Senarath Wickramasinghe from the Sri
Lankan National Museum. He further analysed the decoration on golden kasthāné with the help of a
series of detailed photos that were made on 18 May 2021 and on 25 November 2021. Based on
these and previous data, his earlier publications on Kandyan arms, Senarath Wickramasinghe
provided us with his analysis of the object, which we have integrated in this overall object analysis.
Kasthāné were ceremonial swords or sabres and not used as fighting swords. The kasthāné came in
different qualities, and can in general be divided into two categories: ‘up-country’ kasthāné
(referring to the mountainous area of the Kandyan kingdom) and ‘low-country’ (referring to the
island’s maritime regions that were partially occupied by the Dutch) kasthāné. Kasthāné from the
low country (i.e. the area under Dutch rule) were coarser, both in design and in material used. 1 The
Rijksmuseum holds an example of such a low country kasthāné: NG-1982-18, in this case the hilt is
made of carved wood. 2 For the Kandyan nobility, kasthāné were part of their formal custom when in
function. Kasthāné were typical gifts from the Kandyan king to his highest nobles in reward for their
service and on occasion were used as diplomatic gifts. 3 The king had decorative objects such as
jewellery, swords, and chains made in the Four royal workshops (pattal hatara) for this purpose. 4
The craftsmen from the pattal hatara worked almost exclusively for the court and their positions
were hereditary. The Four Workshops were divided, respectively, into the “jewel,” “crown,” “golden
sword,” and “throne” workshops. Kasthāné produced in the royal workshops were all high quality,
yet the exact quality in terms of design, decoration, and material of the kasthāné signified the rank
to whom the object was gifted: the more decorated (i.e. use of figures, gems, silver, gold), the higher
the rank of the receiver. 5

1 P.H.D.H De Silva and Senerath Wickramasinghe, Ancient Swords, Daggers, and Knives in Sri Lankan Museums (Colombo: Dept. of National

Museums, 2007): 162-167.

2 Collection Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, NG-1982-18, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/NG-1982-18. Purchased by the

Rijksmuseum on 21 September 1982
3 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Mediaeval Sinhalese Art (Being a Mongraph on Mediaeval Sinhalese Arts and Crafts, Mainly as Surviving in
the Eighteenth Century, with an Account of the Structure of Society and the Status of the Craftsmen) (Broad Campden: sn, 1908): 54-59.
4 John Pybus, Account of Mr. Pybus’s Mission to the King of Kandy, in 1762 (W. Skeen, government printer, Ceylon, 1862): 105.
5 Coomaraswamy, Mediaeval Sinhalese Art, 58, 213, plate 23, figure 2, 7, 8.; P.E.P. Deraniyagala, "Sinhala weapons and armour,” Journal
Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch XXXV (1942): 95, 106-113

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Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
The ceremonial function of Kasthāné at the Kandyan court are described in travel reports and in
drawings and paintings of Kandyan chiefs and noblemen by Dutch artists in the eighteenth century. 6
For example, in 1681 Robert Knox observed:
When he [the Kandyan King] first promotes them [the Adigar] (…) he (...) gives them a sword, the hilt
all carved and inlaid with silver and brass very handsomely, the scabbard also covered with silver — a
knife, and halberd; and lastly, a town or towns for their maintenance. 7

Dutchmen were also gifted with sabres or swords described as “silver-hilted” occasionally during
their diplomatic embassies to the Kandyan king. 8 We do not know what these swords looked like,
but we know that the king perceived the Dutch as vassals, and therefore may have treated the
ambassadors the same as his chiefs and gifted them with the same kind of gifts, including kasthāné. 9

Photo 2: Snapshot of NG-1985-7-3-124,
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, ‘Ontvangst van
gezanten van de koning Kandy, 1785, Jan
Brandes, 1785 – 1786’ [Reception of
ambassadors of the King of Kandy 1785,
Jan Brandes, 1785 – 1786].

6 Cf. Collection Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, RP-T-1904-18,2, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/my/collections/28203--roel-kramer/eye-

kandy/objecten#/RP-T-1904-18,2; NG-1985-7-1-8, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/NG-1985-7-1-8; NG-1985-7-3-127
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/NG-1985-7-3-127
7 Robert Knox, An historical relation of the island Ceylon, in the East Indies (R. Chiswell, 1681), 53.
8 T. B. H. Abeysinghe, “Embassies as Instruments of Diplomacy: A Case Study from Sri Lanka in the first half of the eighteenth century,”
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Sri Lanka Branch 86, New Series, Vol. 30 (1985): 17-18.
9
At the last audience during the yearly ambassies by the VOC to the Kandyan Court, it was customary that gifts were also given back to the
ambassador, his secretary, and the interpreter. The gifts depended on the rank of the VOC official. Ambassadors usually received silver
swords [kasthāné?], golden chains, and golden rings set with stones. The secretary got a golden chain and rings and the interpreter only a
chain. Sometimes, when the ambassadors pleased the king, they would also receive an elephant. T. B. H. Abeysinghe. “Embassies as
Instruments of Diplomacy: A Case Study of Sri Lanka in the First Half of the Eighteenth Century” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Sri
Lanka Branch, 1985/86, New Series, Vol. 30 (1985/86), p. 17-18; In this Sinhalese account of a Dutch embassy to the court of Kandy in
1731-32 the word kasthāné is literally used for the sabre gifted to the Dutch ambassador: Paul E. Pieris, “The Dutch embassy to kandy in
1731-32.” The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, vol. 21, no. 62, Royal Asiatic Society of Sri
Lanka (RASSL), 1909, pp. 187–220: 213.

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Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
Although silver kasthāné were more commonly gifted, golden kasthāné do also appear in the
historical records. We have therefore considered the question whether the use of gold as such was
indeed exclusively reserved for the royal household. For example, maha mudaliyar Nicolas Dias
Abeysinghe Amasekera, the highest local official in service of the Dutch, also carried a golden
kasthāné. Jan Brandes, who drew him in his formal attire (Photo 2), describes this kasthāné as a
“golden sword.” 10 But other than that, we do not get an impression of the quality of this kasthāné.
We assume, however, that the kasthāné of the maha mudaliyar was gilded, rather than made of
solid gold. In 1754, Governor General Mossel received a sabre (houwer) that was described as gilded
(“een houwer met goud beslag”). 11 The occasion was very special, as the gifts were meant to thank
the Governor General in his assistance in reaffirming Kandyan-Siamese relations. In travel literature
and reports from ambassadors, the swords of the kings of Kandy were often described as being
made of gold, rather than gilded. 12
If kasthāné were also used as ceremonial and diplomatic gifts, what then makes this golden
kasthāné so special? Material analysis shows how this object stands out in various ways.
Measurements made of the kasthāné’s metal composition made on 25 November 2021 revealed
that the hilt of the golden kasthāné is made of solid gold (rather than gilded). For that reason, the
hilt is extraordinarily heavy and it was impossible to make an x-ray. 13 The hilt is inlaid with 136
diamonds and 13 rubies. In 2021 Dr. Hanco Zwaan of the Netherlands’ Gem Laboratory in Leiden and
the Conservation & Science staff of the Rijksmuseum closely analysed one ruby and identified it as
Myanmarese (Burmese) in origin. 14 The wooden scabbard is coated with gold. Peter Dekker, an art
dealer with extensive knowledge of Sri Lankan arms, was also present on 26 november 2021 and he
agreed that the golden kasthāné was exceptional for its use of solid gold, precious stones, and
motifs. 15
Senarath Wickramasinghe concludes that this golden kasthāné was a royal ceremonial sword of
rank. 16 The king’s regalia indeed consisted of a crown, sword, and shield, among other things. 17 In
the words of Wickramasinghe: ‘The Sword was one of the weapons among the five auspicious
objects of king/s of Sri Lanka called “Magul Kaduwa” (auspicious sword). Every king of Sri Lanka used
“Gouden degen”, Collection Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, ‘Ontvangst van gezanten van de koning Kandy, 1785, Jan Brandes, 1785 – 1786’
[Reception of ambassadors of the King of Kandy 1785, Jan Brandes, 1785 – 1786], NG-1985-7-3-124,
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/NG-1985-7-3-124
11 "Generale Missiven van Gouverneurs-Generaal En Raden Aan Heren XVII Der Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie,” Mossel XXI 31
December 1754, Ceylon, accessed 15 October 2021,
http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/retroboeken/generalemissiven/#page=473&accessor=search_in_text&accessor_href=http%3A%2F%2Fr
esources.huygens.knaw.nl%2Fretroboeken%2Fgeneralemissiven%2Fsearch_in_text%2Findex_html%3Fpage%3D0%26source%3D1%26id%
3Dsearch_in_text&source=12&view=imagePane.
12 P.E.P. Deraniyagala, "Sinhala weapons and armour,” Journal Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch XXXV (1942): 95, 106-113;. H. W.
Codrington, “The Kandyan Navandannó,” The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1909, Vol.
21, No. 62 (1909), 225.
13 Rijksmuseum documentation, Registratieformulier, NG-NM-560, 1984; XFR report 26 November
14 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Hanco Zwaan, Jan de Hond, Joosje van Bennekom, Ellen van Bork, Suzanne van Leeuwen, Report “Gemstones
on the Cannon of Kandy” (June 2021). Based on the strong colour. Under UV light the left eye of the major lion, on the pommel, has a
strong fluorescence and inclusions consisting of fine rutile needles “typical for stones from the Mogok district” of current Myanmar
(Burma). Please note that this report will be available via the Documentation folder of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam from April 2022.
15
Regarding the symbolic importance of solid gold we notice the following: the Kandyan envoys who travelled to the court of Siam in
1750 paid particular attention to the objects at the Siamese court and throughout this Sinhalese report explicit distinctions are made
between objects the were gilded and objects made of solid gold, see: P. E. Pieris, ‘An account of king kirti sri's embassy to siam in 1672
saka (1750. a.d.) Translated from the Sinhalese’ in: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, 2003, New Series, Vol. 48, Special
Number: Commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Upasampadā in Sri Lanka (2003), pp. 111-148.
16 Cf. Deraniyagala, “Sinhala weapons and armour,” 95, 112.
17 H. W. Codrington, “The Kandyan Navandannó,” The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland,
1909, Vol. 21, No. 62 (1909), 225.
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Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
its own sword when he became a king. This was also the case with Kirti Sri Rajasinha, who received
his sword on 20 May 1749. It was an important occasion that was celebrated in Kandy with a feast,
as the Dutch were informed on 12 May 1749:
`On 20 May a party is to take place at the court of Kandy to celebrate the moment that the king was
to accept the sword of state [goud swaart van staat]. He will be driven around the streets of Kandy in
his horse carriage.’ 18

The “Magul Kaduwa” was worn on ceremonial occasions and was used to represent kingship of Sri
Lanka.’ 19 To substantiate this, he provided us with an analysis of the decoration of the gilt, hilt, grip,
and knuckle guard: 20

Photo 3: Infographic with an Explanation of the different parts of a kasthāné, by Senarath Wickramasinghe

He describes the typical Kandyan motifs on the kasthāné’s hilt as follows: ‘the pommel (Gediya) is an
elegantly executed simha (lion) head with a prominent backwardly directed conical crest. A series of
liya-pata (flowery) ornamentation continues for a short distance on the backside. The eyes of the
simha (lion) are decorated with rubies. The grip is eight sided and has three finger grooves with
three whorls of liya–pata (palapeti), and is set with diamonds. The grip surface is set in separate
panels, each of which is chased with floral decoration, those on the right and left showing sinamala
ornaments.
18
NL-HaNA_1.04.02_2735, f. 952r: ‘Translaat Singalese ola door de dessave van de drie en vier korles en Batticaloa’12 mei 1749: “[…] de
20e deze maand mei staat een feest aan het hof gevierd te worden wanneer den koning het goud swaart van staat zal aangarden
[aanvaarden] en med den wagen door de straaten zal rijden’.
19
Report Senerath Wickramasinghe, Director (Cultural) Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka, ‘Assessment of the draft provenance
report of the three objects’ 10 February 2022. Please note that documentation on this will be available via the Documentation folder of
the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam from April 2022. In addition, we found the following information: Pybus, Account of Mr. Pybus’s Mission to
the King of Kandy, 77,78. In 1762 John Pybus visited the court of Kandy as ambassador of the British East India Company’s and he
described the king’s attire as follows: ‘Kirti Sri Rajasinha was wearing a golden dagger with a golden hilt, set with gold and precious stones
and next to him, leaning against his throne was a large broad sword of gold with a hilt richly set with precious stones.’ Although this
description leaves some room for interpretation, it confirms the importance of gold and diamonds.
20 Presentation Senerath Wickramasinghe, “Ancient swords, daggers, and knives in Sri Lankan museums,” Expert meeting Sri Lankan
objects Rijksmuseum, 27 August 2021. Please note that documentation on this will be available via the Documentation folder of the
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam from April 2022.

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Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
The knuckle guard (Ath Vasma) has two short quillon terminating in the simha head. The outer and
inner surface of knuckle guard is elaborately decorated and holds two seated female figures that are
integrated with a liya-pata design. The inner surface seated female figure can be identified as
goddess Sarasvathi (goddess of knowledge). The outer surface seated female figure can be identified
as goddess Sri Lakshmi (goddess of prosperity). Crucially, the presence of these deities signifies royal
ownership, as they are also prominently depicted on the Royal Throne of the Kings of Kandy. This
throne was made in 1692 as a present for King Vimala Dharma Suriya II (1687-1707).

Photo 4: Saraswati, the goddess of
knowledge, on the inside of the knuckle
guard of the golden mounted kasthāné.
NG-NM-560. (Photo by authors).

Photo 5: Sri Devi Lakshmi, the goddess of
prosperity, on the outside of the knuckle
guard of the golden mounted kasthāné.
(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv.no. NGNM-560).

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Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart

Photo 6: the Kandyan throne,
courtesy Colombo National Museum

The quillon (Varisarkuva) is shaped in the form of a makara (dragon’s) head. The rectangular ricasso
is embossed with an overlay of gold floral ornamentation. The blade (Kadupatha) is slightly curved
with an upturned cutting edge meeting the reverse edge of the blade’s tip. A distinct fuller (peeli) is
present.

Photos 7 and 8: Details of quillon and blade of golden mounted kasthāné. (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv.no. NG-NM-560).

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The kopuva (scabbard) is made of wood, its upper end is V-shaped and is made of gold covered with
floral designs and is followed by two gold lockets in between the three shorter golden bands. The
edge of the scabbard is curved backward with hamsa design (i.e. with an agissa [edge] and tuda
[point]) at the end. In comparison to the scabbards of other kasthāné kept in the National Museum
in Colombo, this scabbard stands out as quite distinctive with its intricate and elegant
ornamentation. 21

Photos 9 and 10: Scabbard of golden mounted kasthāné. (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv.no. NG-NM-560).

The kasthāné has an European blade. The practice of using European blades for the kasthāné was
common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These blades often bear the mark of the
Dutch East India Company (VOC). The blade of the golden kasthāné is party overlaid with gold, but it
does show the faint remains of an inscription: on one side the remains of the inscription starts with
an 8 and a C, there might also have been a V and Z or 72 or 78. The other side shows a D and E. As
we could not further decipher this inscription, we cannot date the blade.
On the basis of the analysis of the motifs and the material used, Senerath Wickramasinghe’s
suggested that the golden kasthāné might have been made at the same time as the Kandyan throne,
which would be in the late seventeenth century. So far, we have not found other information to date
the kasthāné, and the similarity in style and motifs between the throne and the golden kasthāné
remains the only lead.
To conclude, the object analysis shows that the exquisitely decorated golden kasthāné is an unique
object and the technique, motif and material used attest to its royal origin. The similarities to the
Kandyan throne suggest that it indeed once belonged to the king of Kandy and that it might have
been made in the late seventeenth century. The specific identification of this object with King Kirti
Sri Rajasinha has been based on literary and archival evidence from curators of the Rijksmuseum and
other researchers who have proposed that the object was part of the spoils of war in 1765. This will
be further discussed in the following section.

21 Report and assessment Wickramasinghe, 27 August 2021 and 10 February 2022.

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Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
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Present knowledge regarding provenance available in the Rijksmuseum and literature
The golden kasthāné is a well-known object and is described in various Rijksmuseum catalogues and
specialist publications on Sri Lankan and South Asian arms and armours. 22 The various authors
consistently suggest that the kasthāné was part of the spoils of the Kandyan-Dutch war and that it
was presented as a gift to the Dutch stadtholder Willem V by the executors of Governor van Eck’s
estate. Where does this information come from?
The golden kasthāné, together with the silver kasthāné (NG-NM-7112) and the golden pihiya (NGNM-7114), first became the objects of research in the 1960s when two near-simultaneous
exhibitions were being prepared: one in the Dutch National Archives (then called Algemeen
Rijksarchief) on the history of the VOC in Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) (Ceylon-Nederland in het
verleden 1602-1797,), and one memorial exhibition on the Dutch royal collections, Koninklijk Kabinet
van Schilderijen, Koninklijke Bibliotheek en Koninklijk Penningenkabinet. 23 Professor Th. H. Lunsingh
Scheurleer, who was affiliated with the Rijksmuseum, worked on the latter. 24
Correspondence between the Rijksmuseum and the Dutch National archives in 1965 show how both
parties were looking for archival evidence on the provenance of these three objects, in addition to
their search for extra information on Levke’s cannon, which had already been the object of
research. 25 The National Archives provided the museum with copies from the VOC archives
regarding the spoils of the Kandyan-Dutch war of 1765, dated 22 October 1765 (though misread at
the time as 22 December 1765). 26 Copies from the estate of Governor van Eck from his family
archives were also added as evidence of the objects’ provenance. It was on the basis of this
documentation that the curators concluded that together with the cannon, the golden kasthāné,
and the two other objects, the golden knife (NG-NM-7114) and the silver kasthāné (NG-NM-7112)
were spoils of the Kandyan-Dutch war. It was subsequently described as such in both exhibition
catalogues. 27 Curiously though, Lunsingh Scheurleer connected the golden kasthāné to the golden
‘belly-dagger’ (buiksteker) from the list (which we ascribed to the golden pihiya, see PPROCE report
NG-NM-7114). 28
22 Among others: Lodewijk J. Wagenaar, Cinnamon and Elephants: Sri Lanka and the Netherlands from 1600, Rijksmuseum Country Series

(Nijmegen: Vantilt, 2016): 121-123; P. H. D. H De Silva, "The Sword of State of King Sri Vickrama Raja Simha of Kandy, Sri Lanka;” Arms and
Armour: Journal of the Royal Armories 7 (2002): 94–97.
23 M.A.P Roelofsz, Marius Petrus Henricus Roessingh, and Algemeen Rijksarchief ('s-Gravenhage), Ceylon-Nederland in het verleden, 16021796: tentoonstelling in het Algemeen Rijksarchief, ’s-Gravenhage, mei-sept. 1965 (’s-Gravenhage: Algemeen Rijksarchief, 1965), Th.H
Lunsingh Scheurleer, 150 Jaar Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Koninklijk Penningkabinet:
herdenkingstentoonstelling in het Mauritshuis, 1966 (’s-Gravenhage, 1966).
24 Lunsingh Scheurleer had already traced back NG-NM-1015 to the collection of Stadtholder Willem V and the Koninklijk Kabinet van
Zeldzaamheden as a spoil of the 1765 Kandyan-Dutch war, Th.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, “Het Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden en zijn
beteekenis voor het Rijksmuseum,” Oudheidkundig Jaarboek 13 (1946): 50.
25 Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Documentation folder NG-NM-560. [Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, dossier objectdocumentatie NG-NM-560,
D010291]. The documents then referred to were: National Archives The Hague. 1.04.02. Inventaris van het archief van de Verenigde OostIndische Compagnie (VOC). Inv.nr. 3143 Ceylon. Resolutien genomen in raden van politie zeedert 5 Januarij tot 31 December 1765, 22
October 1765, 2882.; NA (NL), 1.10.65.01. Inventaris van het archief van de familie Van Panthaleon van Eck, 1398-1946. Inv. nr. 60, 1.
Brieven betreffende overlijden en regeling der nalatenschap van Lubbert Jan van Eck, heer van Overbeek, gouverneur van Ceylon, door de
executeurs van diens testament te Colombo aan de erfgenamen gericht. Met bijlagen. 1765.; NA (NL), 1.04.02, 3138 Ceylon, Copia
secreete brief van den gouverneur alleen aan generaal en raden in dato 10 November 1765, f. 367.
26 Ibid.
27 Lunsingh Scheurleer, 150 Jaar: Herdenkingstentoonstelling, 74.
28 The description in the catalogue read as follows: “176 Singalese sabel (Kasthāné). Sabel met massief gouden gevest ingelegd met 136
diamanten en 13 robijnen. Houten schede geheel bekleed met goud. Het gevest, dat in zijn hoofdvorm aan Europease voorbeelden
herinnert, is versierd met een grote en vier kleine leeuwenkoppen. De gouden bekleding van de schede is in twee delen uitgevoerd,
verbonden door een overeenkomstig met beide delen versierde ring. De kling, zeer eenvoudig voor een dergelijk wapen, is ten dele belegd

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Here Lunsingh Scheurleer was clearly mistaken. The word buiksteker (lit. belly-dagger) refers to a
waist-knife, rather than a sabre or sword. The word buiksteker was not commonly used at the time
in the Dutch Republic, but we found a reference from Bengal in the same period, explaining that a
buiksteker was a dagger carried around the waist. 29 Historically, the word houwer (sabre) or sword
would have been used to describe a kasthāné.
In 1975 the director of the National Museum in Colombo, P. H. D. H. de Silva, undertook the
laborious task of identifying all Sri Lankan objects and manuscripts that were kept in collections
outside Sri Lanka. His overview was published under the title Antiquities and Other Cultural Objects
from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Abroad. 30 This has become a classic reference work and in 1980, De
Silva’s catalogue formed the basis of a large restitution request of the Sri Lankan government, which
was unsuccessful. 31 Among the described Sri Lankan objects in the Rijksmuseum we also find NGNM-560, De Silva stresses the royal origins and uniqueness of the object:
N.M. 560 – A kasthāné sword, probably belonging to King Kirti Sri Raja Sinha, King of Kandy [ …] sword
with a massive golden hilt inlaid and with 136 diamonds and rubies. Wooden scabbard encased in
gold covering with exquisite ornamentation. […]

And following Lunsigh Scheurleer, he added:
“described in the daily register of Colombo on December 22nd 1765 as a ‘handsomely worked bellystabber with gold overlay.’” 32

In the registration form of NG-NM-560 made in 1984, J.B. Kist summarised the attributed
provenance of the kasthāné as a Sinhalese sabre, with historical associations with the VOC, Ceylon,
and Kandy. He further mentioned that it was said to be a state jewel of Kandy due to the following
provenance:
Presumably captured during the confiscation of Kandy and described in the daily register of Colombo
of December 22, 1765 and in the inventory of Gouverneur van Eck, drawn up after his death. 33

It was presented at the time in the “Ceylon vitrine” of the Rijksmuseum, a show case with objects
from Sri Lanka.

met goud. De Kasthāné is meer een waardigheidsteken dan een wapen. Het is mogelijk, dat dit zeer kostbare wapen aan de Koning van
Candia heeft toebehoord; l. 81 cm.
Herkomst: vermoedelijk buitgemaakt bij de inneming van Canida – en beschreven in het dagregister van Colombo 22 december 1765 als:
"Fraay gewerkte Buijksteker met goud beslag” getaxeerd op 129 rijksdaalders. In de boedelbeschrijving van L.J. Baron van Eck, opgemaakt
na zijn dood in 1765, beschreven als: "Een fraije gewerkte Buijk-Steker met goud beslag en dies scheede met steentjes beset.” In 1816 (lijst
nr 5) door Koning Willem I overgedragen aan het Kon. Kab. v. Zeldzaamh.; in 1883 overgebracht naar Amsterdam.”
29
J. Stavorinus Reize van Zeeland, over de Kaap de Goede Hoop, naar Batavia [...] in de jaaren MDCCLXVIII tot MDCCLXXI. Deel V
Aanmerkingen over Bengalen. (Leiden 1793): 58.
30 P. H. D. H. de Silva, A Catalogue of Antiquities and Other Cultural Objects from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Abroad (Colombo: Department of
government printing, 1975).
31 Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart, PPROCE report NG-NM-1015, Appendix 2.
32
Silva, A Catalogue, 376.
33 Rijksmuseum documentation, Registratieformulier, NG-NM-560, 1984; ‘Vermoedelijk buitgemaakt bij de inneming van kandy en
beschreven in het dagregister van Colombo van 22 december 1765 en in de boedelbeschrijving van Gouverneur van Eck, opgemaakt na
zijn dood.’

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Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
Researchers who published on this group of objects more recently, such as Lodewijk Wagenaar,
Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer, and Ebeltje Hartkamp-Jonxis, did not question the assigned provenance
of the golden kasthāné, the golden pihiya, and silver kasthāné. 34 In the most recent publication,
Cinnamon and Elephants, Lodewijk Wagenaar writes that these three objects were gifted, together
with the cannon (NG-NM-1015) to Duke Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who transferred
them to Stadtholder Willem V. The golden kasthāné, as well as the golden pihiya and the silver
kasthāné would have been taken by the Dutch army in Kandy. 35
Since 2015, the Rijksmuseum label has described this group of objects as follows:
Following an unsuccessful invasion of Kandy in 1764, the VOC troops nevertheless succeeded one
year later in penetrating the king’s centre of power. Peace negotiations failed and the troops
plundered the palace and the city. The booty included many costly jewels and arms, including these
three ornate weapons that were probably the king’s personal property. 36

What we want to highlight here is that the information gathered in 1965 has circulated ever since as
unquestioned fact. It appears that subsequent researchers have not looked up the original
documentation in the Van Eck estate, nor in the VOC archives. This is evidenced by the recurring
references in the literature of 22 December rather than 22 October 1765 as the first date when the
looted objects collected by Van Eck were listed. 37 The documentation gathered in 1965 requires
further scrutiny. How were the objects from the lists in the VOC archives and the Van Eck family
archives identified? Where the objects indeed gifted to stadtholder Willem V (via the Duke of
Brunswick) in conjunction with the cannon? How and when did these objects, including the golden
kasthāné, arrive in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in the first place? And what was known about
them at the time? We will start with answering this last question first.
The Kandyan-Dutch war 1762-66 and the spoils of war
The association between Lewke’s cannon and the golden kasthāné, the golden pihiya, and the silver
kasthāné is very strong. This was also the ground on which they were connected with the KandyanDutch war in the 1765 and to the estate of Governor van Eck. What exactly is known about the
objects that were obtained in the war? What information is provided in the VOC archives and the
family archives of Van Eck? And can we indeed identify the golden kasthāné in Van Eck’s estate?
The Kandyan-Dutch war of 1762-1766 is commemorated in both Sinhala and Dutch primary sources,
and in both cases the looting of objects plays a prominent role. A royal historical chronicle from Sri
Lanka, the Cūḷavaṃsa, describes how the king of Kandy decided to support popular resistance
against the VOC. “[His] dignitaries set forth with the people living in Lanka, fought the fearful battle
with the Olanda people, destroyed the foe, burned down the strongholds and terrified him in every
34 Lodewijk J. Wagenaar, Cinnamon and Elephants: Sri Lanka and the Netherlands from 1600, Rijksmuseum Country Series (Nijmegen:

Vantilt, 2016), 121-123, Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer, ‘Een Pronkmes Uit Ceylon’, Aziatische Kunst, 1996, 52–58, Jan van Campen and
Ebeltje Hartkamp-Jonxis, Aziatische Weelde: VOC-Kunst in Het Rijksmuseum (Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 2011), 86.
35 Wagenaar, Cinnamon and Elephants, 123. Lodewijk Wagenaar adds though that it is not certain if they were taken from the palace of
the king of Kandy.
36 Collection Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, NG-NM-560, NG-NM-7112, NG-NM-7114.
37 Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, file with object information NG-NM-560, D010291; NL-HaNA, 1.04.02, inv.no. 3143 Ceylon, ‘Resolutien
genomen in raden van politie zeedert 5 Januarij tot 31 December 1765’ [Resolutions taken in the boards of Police, from 5 January to 31
December 1765], dated 22 October 1765, f. 2882.

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Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
possible way.” 38 Conflicts between the Dutch and the local inhabitants of the Dutch occupied areas
had started in 1759/60 but in 1761 the restrained relations between the Dutch in Colombo and the
king of Kandy led to open warfare. 39 VOC Governor Lubbert Jan van Eck got hold of the Kandyan
lowlands in 1762 and 1763, whereupon he decided to invade the town and palace of Kandy up in the
mountains. The first campaign of early 1764 failed completely. 40 Even after the Dutch VOC troops
invaded the city of Kandy on 19 February 1765, the Kandyan defence used guerrilla tactics, by
retreating fast after an attack and using the rainy season to their advantage. 41
During the days before the invading of Kandy, the king brought to safety his family and the treasures
of the Kandy Palace and Temple of the Tooth. 42 An eyewitness, a Dutch soldier who worked as
surgeon in Kandy, described the situation as follows: “The King, with tears in his eyes, had caused
the most precious objects to be removed from the Palace, and had then given leave to his troops to
take what they wished of the remainder [treasures].” 43 This was not in vain as the Temple of the
Tooth, the most important Buddhist shrine on the island, was targeted by the Dutch army and when
they forced their way into the town, the palace and temple were razed by the troops and they
“destroyed the sacred books and everything else.” 44 The court was desecrated due to the
slaughtering of the holy cows and the destruction of the Buddha statues and the palace was set on
fire when the Dutch troops eventually retreated from the city due to strong resistance and a lack of
food on 31 August 1765. 45
The troops invading the city on 19 February 1765 were explicitly instructed not to plunder, but upon
arrival in Kandy, the Dutch troops had found the warehouses partly emptied by the retreated
Kandyan troops, who were allowed to do so by the king. 46 The looting that followed spread from the
warehouses to even the apartments of the king himself. 47 Among the objects taken were linen,
fabrics, furniture, some silverwork objects, curiosities, and copper coins. 48 Officers, soldiers, and
slaves alike went looting. For instance, it is recorded that back in Kandy one officer had taken
“silverworks, diamonds, and rings with and without stones”. 49 This officer had defended himself later
38 Wihelm Geiger and C. Mabel Rickmers, Culavamsa: Being the More Recent Part of the Mahavamsa (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1996): p.

266, line 115

39 R. Raven-Hart, The Dutch Wars with Kandy, 1764-1766, Ceylon Historical Manuscripts Commission. Bulletin. No. 6. (Nugegoda, 1964), 3.
40 Wagenaar, Cinnamon and Elephants, 121.

41 Raven-Hart, The Dutch Wars with Kandy, 114; Prof. Gananath Obeyasekere, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, “The Many Faces of

the Kandyan Kingdom, 1591-1765: Lessons for our Time?” 23rd April 2014, Colombo, Princeton University lecture, p. 36-37.
http://www.thesapri.org/pdf/lecture.pdf
42 Culavamsa, p. 267, line 122-126. The King had sent two Uparajas with his treasures and the sacred Tooth Relic to “a province which was
scarcely passable owing to mountains, forest and difficult roads.”
43 Raven-Hart, The Dutch Wars with Kandy, 98-99; Sri Lanka National Archives, Colombo (SLNA), Lot 1: Archives of the Dutch Central
Government of Coastal Ceylon, inv.no.4881, "Report of the military campaign.” Transcription kindly shared with us by Chris Nierstrasz,
author of In the Shadow of the Company: The Dutch East India Company and Its Servants in the Period of Its Decline (1740-1796) (Brill,
2012).
44 Culavamsa, p. 267, line 122-126.
45 Ibid; Lorna Dewaraja, “Thailand’s Sublime Gift to Sri Lanka: The Services rendered by UPĀLI MAHĀ THERA and his associates,” Journal of
the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka 48 (2003): 88.
46 SLNA, Lot 1, inv.no. 4881, “Report of the military campaign,” f. 223
47 NL-HaNA, 1.04.02, 3138, Copia secreete brief van den gouverneur alleen aan generaal en raden in dato 10 November 1765 [Copy of the
secret letter from the Governor [Falck] only to the general and boards, dated 10 November 1765], f. 363.
48 NL-HaNA, 1.04.02, 3138, Copia secreete brief van de leeden van het geheime committe aan generaal en raden in dato 31 Maart 1765
[Copy of the secret letter of the members of the secret committee to the General and boards, dated 31 March 1765], f. 463b-464.
49 NL-HaNA, 1.04.02, 3138, Copia secreete brief van den gouverneur alleen aan generaal en raden in dato 10 November 1765 [Copy of the
secret letter from the Governor [Falck] only to the general and boards, dated 10 November 1765], f. 366b-367: “De kannekappel van La
Baume die hier voor een ordentlijk man te boekstaande schillie Christoffel fernando, waar op La Baume zich, als zijnge slaagen vijand,
beriep heeft verklaard, dat hij veele gouden ringen met en sonder steenen, zoo ook veel ander klein zilverwerk bij La Baume gezien had,
waar van de kostbaarste ring aan den Her Kommandeur Mooijaart, toen ter tijd op Kolombo zich bevindende, voor 80 Rijkst door hem
kannekappel verkocht was.”

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Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
in Colombo by saying that he had bought the objects from two soldiers, just as Governor Van Eck
himself had done. In fact, Van Eck had also bought several valuable and rare objects from the spoils.
“Those objects might have been sold for give-away prices to Moors who were waiting to buy it,” 50 he
wrote. Indeed, a great deal of the booty was sold or left behind by the soldiers in Kandy or during
their trip back to Colombo after the retreat of the troops from Kandy at the end of August 1765. 51
Governor van Eck died some weeks after the conquest of Kandy and in his estate ten Kandyan
objects were identified as spoils of war. These ten objects were described as follows:
• A golden container with a golden ola as well as a small bag with small golden balls attached
• A Buddha statue made of tombac
• An ivory machine with underneath a metal disk, that has an engraving in it
• A small canon piece inlaid with silver
• A fine decorated bow with golden mounting, together with an equally decorated quiver and
arrows.
• A sword with golden grip and its sheath with golden mounting together with a part epee [sword
knot] with silver mounting
• A red-lacquered baton of command with on both ends golden studs
• A fine decorated belly-knife with golden mounting
• A silver gold plated machine as a clock with underneath a fitting bottom piece
• A kind of palate/canopy with pillars of gold but overlaid with gold and silver. 52
Of these ten objects we propose that the ‘sword with golden grip and its sheath with golden
mounting’ could possibly be identified as the golden kasthāné. The ten objects were delivered to the
big cash register [groote geldkas], which was commissioned by Hoofdadministrateur Daniel Burnat.
By then, the decorated cannon had already been shipped to the Netherlands (on 15 November
1765), as the late Governor Van Eck had wished. It was sent as a gift to Duke Louis Ernest of

50 Ibid, f. 366b.
51 Ibid, f. 369.

52 ‘Zegge een goude koker daer in een goude ola benevens een zakje met goude bolletjes

daaraan
1. ‘’ Een Boedoes beeld van Tambak
1. ‘’ Een ijvoore machine van onder met een metaale schijff, waar in gegraveert is
1. ‘’ Een kleen kanonstuk met zilver ingelegt
1. Zegge een fraaij gewerkte boog met goud beslag, benevens gelijke pijlkoke en pijlen
1. ‘’ Een zwaart met goude greep en dies scheede met goud beslag mitsgaders part epee met
zilver beslagh
1. ‘’ Een staff van kommando met rood verlakt en aan beide enden met goud beslag
1. ‘’ Een fraai gewerkte buijksteeker met goud beslag
1. ‘’ Een zilver vergulde machine bij wijze van een klok met een daar onder passend onderstuk
1. ‘’ Een soort van verhemelte met pielaaren van goud dogh overhouts met een goud en zilver
overtoogen.’
NL-HaNA, 1.04.02, inv.no. 3138, “Copia berigt van de Candiasche raritijten die in de groote geldkas overgebragt zijn” [Copy of message
about the Kandyan curiosities that has been handed over to the big cash register], f. 875.

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Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
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Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the guardian of Willem V. On 13 May 1766 the headquarters of the VOC in
Batavia gave permission to send the Kandyan objects that were left of Van Eck’s estate to his heirs,
provided that court in Kandy would not demand restitution. 53 Two objects from this list, namely, the
Cover of the Tooth of Buddha (the silver-gilded machine) and the accompanying howdah (the
canopy) were indeed returned in 1767 to the king of Kandy as a result the peace negotiations. 54 The
golden container with golden ola was returned to the ‘owner’ from whom Van Eck had taken it,
because he had never paid for it as he had promised. 55 In 1768 there were six objects left described
as “curiosities that were found [gevonden] during the conquest of the Palace of the King of Kandy
and looted [buitgemaakt].” These were sent to the heirs of Van Eck on the ship Vrouwe Petronella
Maria in a box with the initials VE. 56
In the family inventory of Van Eck’s estate, the objects are described once again and in more detail.
Although the cannon is also on this list, it is explicitly referred to as not among the objects received
from Colombo, because it was sent directly to the Duke of Brunswick. The inventory states: “It is
now part of the cabinet of rarities of the Stadtholder in The Hague.” 57 The estate of Lubbert Jan van
Eck indeed mentions the “swaart met een gouden greep en dies scheede met goud beslag” (a sword
with a golden grip and a scabbard overlayed with gold). 58 The description is the same as in the
inventories made in Colombo immediately after his death. 59 Curiously, it was appraised in Colombo
at the time at 30 rixdollars (comparable to ca. 700 euro’s today) 60, which seems low for a sword with
a hilt of massive gold, and decorated with 138 diamonds and 13 rubies. As referred to in the PPROCE
provenance report of NG-NM-1015, it appears that other objects in that list too were underappraised at the time. 61 At this point it is relevant to mention that none of these lists of spoils of war
confiscated by Van Eck describe this “sword with a golden hilt” as being ornamented with precious
stones, nor are its other decorative elements mentioned. Moreover, the sword with golden grip and
its sheath with golden mounting recorded on Van Eck’s list are described as having an accompanying
port-épée (leather or cloth that is attached to the belt to support a sword or scabbard) with silver
mounting. We have not yet been able to identify this port-épéé in the collection of the Rijksmuseum
collection or its predecessors.

53 SLNA, Lot 1, inv.no 2232, "Correspondense with Batavia and Holland 1766-1767,” dated 13 May 1766.

54 NL-HaNA, 1.04.02, inv.no. 3174, "Instructie voor den oppercoopman en secretaris van politie Van Angelbeek in dato 28 Januarij 1767

gaande als gesant naar 't hof van Candia” [Instruction for the chief merchant and the secretary of the police Van Angelbeek dated 28
January 1767, who went as an ambassador to the Kandyan court], f. 1454b-1455.
55 NL-HaNA, 1.10.65.01, inv.no. 66, "Inventarissen van de nagelaten goederen van Lubbert Jan van Eck etc.” [Inventories of thee state of
Lubbert Jan van Eck etc.], dated 20 March 1769.
56 NL-HaNA, 1.04.02, inv.no. 3200, "Origineele missive van den gouverneur Falck en den raad
aan de vergadering van 17 in dato 27 Januarij 1768” [Original letter from the Governor Falck and Boards [in Colombo] to the Council 17,
dated 27 January 1768], f. 262. ‘[V]an de Hooge indische Regeering, bij sekreete Missive van den 13 Mai
1766 voor de erfgenaemen afgegeeven de volgende Rariteiten bij het veroveren van het Palijs des konings van kandia daar in gevonden en
buit gemaekt.'
57 Idem. ‘Een kleijn Canon stuk met zilver ingelegt, was door den overleeden gedefineert te senden als een present, aan den heere hertogh
van Brunswijk Woeffenbuttel Veltmarschalk van den Staat en is dienvolgens voor de Heere Exectuteuren over gezonden, en staat nu op de
Rarieteits Camer van den Heere Erfstadhouder in S’Hage.’
58 NL-HaNA, 1.04.02, inv.no. 3138, “Copia berigt van de Candiasche raritijten die in de groote geldkas overgebragt zijn” [Copy of message
about the Kandyan curiosities that has been handed over to the big cash register], f. 875. “Een swaart met een gouden greep en dies
scheede met goud beslag”
59
NL-HaNA, 1.10.65.01, inv.no. 66, "Inventarissen van de nagelaten goederen van Lubbert Jan van Eck etc.” [Inventories of the estate of
Lubbert Jan van Eck etc.], dated 20 March 1769.
60 See the historic currency converter for the Dutch Republic: https://iisg.amsterdam/nl/onderzoek/projecten/hpw/calculate.php
61 The cannon was appraised at 20 Rix-dollars, see Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart, PPROCE report NG-NM-1015.

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Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
The unrecorded arrival of the golden kasthāné in the collection of the Dutch Stadtholder
Our analysis of the history Van Eck’s estate showed that the golden kasthāné arrived in the Dutch
Republic in 1768, separately from Lewke’s cannon. This means that it could not have followed the
same trail into the stadtholder’s collection. We have therefore tried to reconstruct the moment of
the kasthāné’s arrival in the collection of the Stadtholders: first through an analysis of the
eighteenth century inventories of this collection and second by searching for correspondence with
the heirs of Van Eck in the years after the arrival of the kasthāné and the other objects from his
estate.
Our search through the eighteenth-century inventories of the collection of Stadtholders Willem IV
and Willem V did not yield any result. 62 In fact, none of the other five Kandyan objects were found in
these eighteenth century inventories either, including the Lewke’s cannon. Nor did we find any
letters from the heirs of Van Eck relating to golden kasthāné or the pihiya. A better understanding of
the collection history and archives might help explain the silence with regard to the golden pihiya
and the other Kandyan objects.
Because the descriptions of the objects in the estate of Van Eck are quite generic, and because of
the longstanding tradition in Kandy of bestowing diplomatic gifts to governors and governor
generals, we also looked more broadly into the Stadtholder’s correspondence regarding objects
arriving from Asia. The cabinet consisted of the collection that Willem V and his wife, Wilhelmine of
Prussia, inherited from Willem IV and his wife, Anna van Hannover. The acquisitions made
subsequently reflect their personal tastes, while the objects they received as gifts reflect their
relations, networks, and socio-political positions. A considerable part of Willem V’s cabinet was
formed by gifts from the territories exploited by the West India and Dutch East India Companies. 63
Indeed the archive of Willem V does show several instances of donations of art-historical and
natural-historical objects, as well as weapons and other personal belongings to the stadtholders.
Several letters from or about Governor-General P.A. van de Parra (1761-1775) inform us for example
that he donated a great variety of objects, including weapons, to the collection of Willem V and also

62 Koninklijke Verzamelingen [Royal Collections] (NL-KaHV), A, William IV, prince of Orange, ruler of Nassau (1711-1751), inv.no. 46 III,

‘Bekorte Staat en Inventaris van het Kabinet der Natuurlijke en door Kunstgemaakte Zeldzaamheden…’ [Concise overview and inventory of
the Cabinet of natural and artistic curiosities]; NL-KaHV, A30, Anne of Hannover, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland (1709-1759), inv.no.
415, ‘Inventaris der Rariteiten overgegeven in het Kabinet der Natuurlijke en door Kunstgemaakte Zeldzaamheden, berustende onder de
bewaaring van den Directeur Vosmaer’ [Inventory of curiosities transferred to the Cabinet of natural and artistic curiosities, residing under
the custodianship of director Vosmaer]; NL-KaHV, A30, inv.no. 415, ‘Nadere Inventaris benevens derselver bij gevoegde taxatie van de
Rariteiten overgegeven in het Kabinet der Natuurlijk en door Kunst gemaekte Zeldsaemheeden…’ [Further inventory along with the
associated valuation of the Curiosities transferred to the Cabinet of natural and artistic curiosities…]; NL-KaHV, archive access A31, William
V Batavus, Prince of Orange-Nassau (1748-1806), inv.no. 173, Inventarissen van kleding, sieraden, linnen en zeldzaamheden [Inventories
of clothing, jewellery, linen and curiosities], dated 1749-1766; NL-KaHV, A31, inv.no. 184, Inventaris van de kostbaarheden van Willem V in
bewaring bij de kamerdienaar Oostheim, vervaardigd door A. Vosmaer [Inventory of precious items belonging to William V held in
safekeeping by chamberlain Oostheim, drawn up by A. Vosmaer], 1782; NL-KaHV, A31, inv.no. 185, ‘Lijsten van in januari 1795
meegenomen gouden en zilveren tafelgoed, schilderijen en kleding’ [Lists of the golden and silver tableware, paintiings and clothing that
were taken along] dated 1795-1798; NL-KaHV, A31, inv.no. 186, ‘Briefwisseling tussen W.C. Vosmaer en Willem V over restanten van de
stadhouderlijke collecties die naar Duitsland verzonden kunnen worden’ [Correspondence between W.C. Vosmaer and Willem V on what
was left of the stadtholder’s collection that could be shipped to Germany] dated 1803.
Also consultation of the inventory of the Vosmaer family did not give any result. The following numbers are part of the section of Arnout
Vosmaer as director of the stadholder’s cabinets. NL-HaNA, 2.21.271 ‘Inventaris van het archief van de familie Vosmaer’ [Inventory of the
archive of the Vosmaer family], inv. no. 63-67.
63 Edwin Van Meerkerk, “Colonial Objects And The Display Of Power. The Curious Case Of The Cabinet Of William V And The Dutch India
Companies,” in The Dutch Trading Companies as Knowledge Networks, ed. Siegfried Huigen, Elmer Kolfin, and Jan L. de Jong (Brill, 2010):
415-416: 422.

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Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
to the family of the stadtholders themselves. 64 Yet, there was no golden kasthāné among them or
anything that might resemble it.
As a final step in our search for evidence regarding the arrival of the kasthāné in the collection of the
Stadtholder, we looked at contemporary descriptions of the display at the Cabinet for Curiosities.
The cabinet can be considered as the first public museum in the Netherlands. The cabinet attracted
many visitors.
Indeed we found that Kandyan objects do appear in a written account from the German traveller
Carl Heinrich Titius from 1777. When Titius visited the Cabinet of Curiosities of Willem V, he
explicitly mentioned that he saw a silver cannon with gemstones, and noted that the cannon was
taken by the Dutch in their last war with the king of Kandy. No doubt this refers to NG-NM-1015 (see
PPROCE report). Titius further remarked that other weapons are exhibited in that same room. 65 He
did not further elaborate on those other weapons. Nevertheless, a guide from 1785 on the museum
of with the collection of Stadtholder Willem V, described yet another room that was filled with
armour, clothing, and other ornaments from inhabitants of the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), other
Indian countries, and China. 66
To conclude, the estate of Van Eck indeed lists an object (‘a sword with a golden grip and a scabbard
overlayed with gold’) that could possibly be identified as the golden kasthāné. Yet, we have not been
able to find direct evidence of the transfer of this object to the collection of Stadtholder Willem V.
We have explained though that this by no means excludes the option that it was gifted by Van Eck’s
heirs to the Willem V for the simple reason that the archival recording of objects in the possession of
the Dutch stadtholder was incomplete. The eyewitness accounts reveal that the curator of the
Cabinet made explicit reference to the Kandyan-Dutch war and that besides Lewke’s cannon, other
armour from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) was at display at the time.

When was the object first recorded and what route did it make through the Dutch collections?
The archival silences regarding the arrival of golden kasthāné in the collection of the Dutch
Stadtholder urged us to further scrutinize the museum documentation. In this section we focus on
two questions: when was the object first recorded as part of a Dutch collection? And what route did
it take through the collection? Our method was to work backwards in time through the museum
documentation, this exercise included the decoding of the somewhat complex historical numbering
of the object.
The Rijksmuseum as it exists now was built in 1885 and it incorporated the collections of various
national museums that had been established over the course of the nineteenth century. These
predecessors of the Rijksmuseum were in turn founded on older collections such as the eighteenth
See for example, NL-KaHV, A31, William V Batavus, Prince of Orange-Nassau (1748-1806), Inv. No. 1798, P.A. van de Parra 1767-1775,
dated 27 July 1772; NL-KaHV, A31, William V Batavus, Prince of Orange-Nassau (1748-1806), Inv. No. 1799, J. van Riemsdijk 1776-1777.
65 Carl Heinrich Titius from 1777 cited by Johann Jacob Volkmann, Neueste Reisen durch die vereinigten Niederlande (Den Caspar Fritsch,
Leipzig, 1783). "In zweeten saale ist unter den kunstsachen eine ganz silberne kanone mit golde ubersogen, graviert, und mit
edelgesteinen besezt, welche die Hollander in ihren lesten kriege, met den koninge von Candi erbeutet haben, und viele andre sehr
kostbare Waffen.” See also, Th.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer “Het Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden en zijn beteekenis voor het
Rijksmuseum,” Oudheidkundig Jaarboek, 13 (1946).
66 Guide ou nouvelle description de La Haye et de ses environs (’s-Gravenhage, 1785), 257
https://www.delpher.nl/nl/boeken/view?coll=boeken&identifier=dpo:5469:mpeg21:0250.
64

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Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
century Cabinet of Curiosities of the Dutch Stadtholder Willem V.
The inventory cards of the golden kasthāné (NG-NM-560) consist of five sides full of notes and
references. The card originates from the Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst (Dutch
Museum for History and Art, or NM as in “NG-NM-560"), which became integrated in the collection
of the history department of the Rijksmuseum in 1927. The first entry read as follows:
Malay sabre with golden hilt and scabbard, completely overlaid with ornaments and
fantastic heads. Decorated with 136 diamonds and 13 rubies.
See Van de Kasteele’s booklet p. 132. Attributed to Michiel Adriaansz. De Ruyter. Damaged
on several places. Marked A. 154, catalogues Mauritshuis number 27. 67
Clearly in 1927 the Sri Lankan origins of the kasthāné was forgotten, and in fact in the nineteenth
century somebody had connected the kasthāné to Michiel de Ruyter. Most of the notes on the card
relate to confusion about its origin. Below we disentangle this information.
The number A. 154 cited on the card leads to a description of a list of objects that have been
transferred by King Willem I from his collection to the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden in
1816. On this list, number A. 154 is a described as “Hussar sabre with a solid gold hilt set with
brillaints and 2 rubies – in a gold guilted sheath.” 68 The original version of this list is in the National
Archive, but a copy in the dossier in the Noord-Hollands Archief that holds the archive of the
Koninklijk Kabinet, some interesting notes with pencil are made next to A. 154: “That means Turkisheastern? NM-560.” 69 That it was described as hussar apparently confused this anonymous reader,
while “Turkish-Eastern” reflects that the golden hilted kasthāné was not recognised at the time by
this person as Kandyan or Sri Lankan. As the NG part of the object number is not mentioned in this
note, we might conclude that the anonymous author of the notes could have written this between
1875 and 1927, when the collection of Nederlandsch Museum was not yet integrated with the
Rijksmuseum. It was after 1927 that the Rijkmuseum added the NM objects to the Dutch History
(Nederlandse Geschiedenis – NG) collection in 1927. 70

67 Inventory card Rijksmuseum Amsterdam NG-NM-560: ‘Maleijsche sabel met gouden gevest en schede, gehele gedreven met opgelegde

ornamenten en met fantastische koppen. Versierd met 136 diamanten en 13 robijnen.
Zie het boekje van Van de Kasteele p.132. Toegeschreven aan Mich. Adr. de Ruiter. Hier en daar beschadigd. Op een perkamentje gemerkt
A.154, cat. Mauritshuis No. 27.’
68 “Een husaren sabel met gevest van massief goud met brillianten en 2 robijnen bezet – in een met goud gekleede schede,” NL-HaNA,
2.04.01, inv.no. 4030, ‘Bijlage 1. Degens, Sabels en Stokken’ [Attachment 1. Swords, Sabers and Sticks], dated 6 July 1816, no. 37.
69
“Een husaren sabel met gevest van massief goud met brillianten en 2 robijnen bezet – in een met goud gekleede schede,” NL-HlmNHA,
476, inv.no. 843, ‘Lijst van voorwerpen op last van Koning Willem I overgedragen aan het Kon. Kab. v. Zeldzaamheden te ’s-Gravenhage’
[List of objects transferred to the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities in The Hague on the orders of King William I], 1816.
70 Jan van Campen et al., Aziatische kunst (Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 2014): 8-11.

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Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
It is striking that only a mention of two rubies is made in this first possible description of the object.
The golden kasthāné has 13 rubies. However, we observe that two are larger than the other eleven,
and these two stand out as eyes of the simha head on the pommel. This might explain a
misinterpretation of the smaller rubies, perhaps they were also unclean, overlooked, or identified as
brilliants (elaborately cut gemstones). This description, however, was not questioned in the
subsequent years. Ca. 1824, in the guide of the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden op het
Mauritshuis by its director, R.P. van der Kasteele, desk 14 in room 4 is described as housing “Asiatic
objects.” One of these is an “Eastern sabre, with a hilt of massive gold, set with brilliants and two
rubies, with a gold-coated sheath.” 71
The golden kasthāné, the golden pihiya, and silver kasthāné, were not the only Kandyan/Sri Lankan
objects in the collection of the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden. In fact, it appears that these
objects belonged to a group of objects from Sri Lanka in the KKZ collection. Over the course of the
nineteenth century, their Sri Lankan provenance was forgotten, but in 1823 this was not yet the
case: in 1823, the contemporary director of the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden, R.P. Van de
Kasteele, described that desk 13 in the fourth room presented a range of Asiatic objects. Among
them were a treatise in Sinhalese and a decorative belt with a snake motif, ‘worn by the people of
Ceylon’. 72 Van der Kasteele explicitly stated that these objects originated from the cabinet of
Stadtholder Willem V. On desk 15 in the same hall, the objects were exhibited which we now
identify as the golden kasthāné, together with the silver kasthāné, the golden pihiya, and another
Kandyan knife which is now in the Wereldculturen collection (or: NG-NM-560, 7112, -7114 and RV360-6017). In addition, two olas (palm leaf manuscripts) with Tamil and Sinhalese script were
exhibited together with a copper plate with Sinhalese letters and an “Eastern writing pen,”
presumably a stylus, used to write on the palm leaves. 73 A conclusion we can draw from these
records is that the golden kasthāné was exhibited as part of a group of objects that originated from
Sri Lanka.

The myth of Michiel de Ruyter
Over time, however, the knowledge about this group of objects had faded, and furthermore, for a
period the golden kasthāné was separated from the other Sri Lankan objects: it was identified as a
relic of the Dutch national hero Michiel de Ruyter.
In the inventory of the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden made in the period 1878-1882,
number 6020 is once more described as “Hussar sabre with a solid gold hilt set with brilliants and 2
rubies – in a gold covered sheath.” 74 This inventory was reconstructed in 1966 by Professor Lunsingh
71 R.P. Van de Kasteele, Handleiding tot de bezichtiging van het Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden op Maurtishuis, in ’s Gravenhage

(The Hague, n.d. [1824]): 104. “Een Oostersche sabel, met een gevest van massief goud, bezet met briljanten en twee robijnen, in eene
met goud bekleede schede.” However, in this catalogue, this description is found on page 104, not 132, that the inventory card indicates.
A mention of a sabre on page 132 is not found. It could be possible that another edition was consulted.
72 Van de Kasteele, Handleiding tot de bezichtiging, 97-101. ‘‘Eene onbegrijpelijk kunstige van zilverdraad gevlochten slang, de kop en de
staat schijnen daar naderhand aangemaakt te zijn; zonder deze is het een versiersel van een volk op Ceilon, wordende als een gordel om
het lijf gedragen, wanneer aan de einde sluitingstukken zijn. Weegt 5 ons, 16 eng. Of 268,411 wig.” We have not yet identified this object
in the collection.
73 Ibid.
74 NL-HlmNHA, 476, inv.no. 1092, “Inventaris van kunstvoorwerpen, door het Nederlandsch Museum van Geschiedenis en Kunst
ontvangen van het Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden” [Inventory of art objects, received by the Nederlandsch Museum van

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Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
Scheurleer and the Director of the Rijksmuseum van Volkenkunde (NMvW Museum Volkenkunde),
P.H. Pott. Regarding the numbers 6014-6029 in the collection of the Koninklijk Kabinet van
Zeldzaamheden, Pott noticed that these numbers were (almost) completely copied from the list of
the objects King Willem I had transmitted to the KKZ from his father’s collection. Some of these
ended up in the museum Volkenkunde, while others went to the Nederlandsch Museum. Pott was
able to trace back almost all of the numbers from the list in the two museums. In the Rijksmuseum
these were renumbered in between NM-7053 and -7121. 75 However, NM-560, the golden kasthāné
that is discussed in this report, is not part of that number range, although it was number 6020. An
explanation for this is that the object was transferred earlier to the Nederlandsch Museum. On the
record of the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden of 1878-1882, number 6020 (NM-560) is said to
be “absent.” 76
The kasthāné was among the first objects from the collection of the Koninklijk Kabinet van
Zeldzaamheden that were transferred to the Nederlandsch Museum for its Dutch national history
exhibition. 77 Michiel de Ruyter played a large and triumphant role in this exhibition. The reason why
the golden kasthāné became separated from the other Asian objects in the KKZ and was transferred
to the Nederlandsch Museum at this early moment is because it was mistaken for a “Turkish sabre of
Michiel de Ruyter.” Curiously, it was not the only Sri Lankan object that was assigned to Michiel de
Ruyter; the same happened to the cannon of Kandy as well as the wall guns. 78
On the museum inventory card, a further connection is made between the golden kasthāné and an
auction of the estate from one of De Ruyters descendants, Cornelis Steengracht, in 1782. At this
auction Stadtholder Willem V bought two sabres from Michiel de Ruyter. 79 One of these sabres
might be presented in 1795, together with the cannon of Kandy (NG-NM-1015) as two of the five
most important pieces in the history of the newly established Batavian Republic. It was described as
“sword of the famous Dutch sea hero and admiral De Ruyter.” 80 In 1800 the five objects were
displayed in the Nationale Konst Gallerij at Huis ten Bosch. The description of the first relic reads:
“de Zydgeweren [sabres/daggers] van den Admiraal de Ruyter, benevens deszelfs Staf van
Commando.” 81 A year later, the swords of de Ruyter are again described, now in a catalogue of the
Nationale Konst Gallerij again in plural, as well as his staff of command. 82 The objects from the
Nationale Konst Gallerij, found their way to several (royal) museums, and eventually were
transferred in 1825 to the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden. 83 Clearly there has been a mix-up
Geschiedenis en Kunst from the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden], 1875. “Een husarensabel met massief gouden gevest met
brillanten en twee robijnen bezet. In een met goud overtrokken scheede.”
75 Museum Volkenkunde (NL-LdnRMV), Archive series 360, letter from P.H. Pott to T.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, 9 September 1966.
76 NL-HlmNHA, 476, inv.nos. 876-877, “Inventarissen van kunst- en andere voorwerpen, 1878-1882 876” [Inventories of art pieces and
other objects], no. 6020.
77 R. van Luttervelt, “Herinneringen Aan Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter in Het Rijksmuseum,” Bulletin van Het Rijksmuseum 5, no. 2
(1957): 28–70
78 See Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart, PPROCE report NG-NM-1015 and reports NG-NM- 519 and 520.
79 Koninklijke Verzamelingen [Royal Collections] (NL-KaHV), archive access A31, William V Batavus, Prince of Orange-Nassau (1748-1806),
inv.no 184, “Inventaris van de kostbaarheden van Willem V” [Inventory of the valuable goods of Willem V], dated 1784.
80 Nieuwe algemene konst- en letter-bode, voor meer- en mingeöeffenden. Behelzende berigten, uit de geleerde waereld, van alle landen.
(Loosjes Pz, Adriaan Haarlem, 1783-1803, 1795), https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=dpo:8171:mpeg21:0103.
81 E. W. Moes and Eduard van Biema, De Nationale Konst-Gallery En Het Koninklijk Museum: Bijdrage Tot de Geschiedenis van Het
Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam: Frederik Muller, 1909) 38.
82 “Zijdgeweer - WNT (Woordenboek Der Nederlandsche Taal),” accessed 21 January 2022,
https://gtb.ivdnt.org/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=WNT&id=M089041&lemma=zijdgeweer&domein=0&conc=true.
83 NL-HlmNHA, 476, inv.no. 476 Rijksmuseum en rechtsvoorgangers te Amsterdam, ‘Stukken betreffende de overdracht van kunst- en
andere voor werpen door personen en overheidsinstanties’ [Pieces about the transfer of art and other objects by private or public
institutes], 1821-1827.

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Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart
here of different sabres. After all, we know with near certainty that the golden kasthāné was
transferred to the KKZ from the Stadtholders Cabinet of Curiosities in 1816. This is also what R.
Luttervelt, curator of the Rijksmuseum history department from 1946 to 1963, concluded in an
article in 1957. Yet he described the sabre as Javanese rather than Kandyan or Sri Lankan. 84 What
this whole episode signifies, beyond the curious anecdotal information, is that over the course of the
nineteenth century the Sri Lankan past of these objects, including the golden kasthāné, was totally
forgotten. This situation lasted well into the twentieth century.
But if it did not arrive in the collection via the auction of Steengracht’s belongings in 1782, how then
do we know it had been part of the stadtholders’ collection? The list of 1816, where it was recorded
as a “hussar sabre,” appears to have been a copy of an original list kept in the National Archives,
which contains objects that were handed over by King Willem I to the Koninklijk Kabinet van
Zeldzaamheden. Van de Kasteele, its director, received these from de hofraad Hoffman. According
to Jan van Campen, this list referred to the objects that Willem V took with him to England when he
was exiled in 1795. 85 However, Tom Quist has suggested that this list is a copy of Hoffman’s
inventory on the weapons and walking sticks, written in German. In Tom Quist’s view, the listed
remained at Oranienstein Castle. 86 This was the residence of Willem V since 1801. (See Provenance
report RV-360-6021, Tom Quist). We have not been able to obtain further information on this
question, but it is in any case very likely that the golden kasthāné and other objects on the Germanlanguage list were transferred to England or Germany or both, and returned to the Netherlands in
the period 1813-1816 when the monarchy was established, with Willem V’s son, Willem I. From the
museum documentation we can thus conclude that the golden kasthāné must have arrived into the
collection of Willem V, at any moment prior to his exile in England and Germany in 1795. 87

Van Luttervelt, “Herinneringen Aan Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter,” 34.
Jan van Campen, De Haagse jurist Jean Theodore Royer (1737-1807) en zijn verzameling Chinese voorwerpen (Uitgeverij Verloren, 2000),
215.
86 See PROCCE report Staatsiekris [Ceremonial kris] RV-360-6021
87 This stay rejects the thesis of in the Rijksmuseum documentation that NG-NM-7112 as well as NG-NM-560 were the two weapons that,
like NG-NM-1015 (Cannon of Kandy), were presented as one of the five objects, the “vaderlandsche gedenkstukken” to the new Batavian
Parliament, as symbols for a new Netherlands in 1795. Among them was the sabre of Michiel de Ruyter and a cannon ascribed to the
Ruyter. The cannon can be identified as NG-NM-1015 (see report), but the sabre presented there cannot be linked to NG-NM-7112. See
also: Van Luttervelt, ‘Herinneringen Aan Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter’, 36.
84
85

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Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE), March 2022
Provenance report regarding Kastane met schede (NG-NM-560)
Alicia Schrikker and Doreen van den Boogaart

Discussion
The object analysis clearly showed that the golden kasthāné originates from the Kandyan Kingdom.
This object being one of the most exclusive examples known of this era was made in the royal Four
Workshops (pattal hatara) and will have belonged to the king of Kandy. The motifs and the use of
solid gold, diamonds and rubies attest to this. Most probably it was owned by king Kirti Sri Rajasinha.
From Dutch and Sinhalese records, we know that the palace and temple of Kandy were looted in
1765, during the Kandyan-Dutch war. The VOC archives recorded objects of the spoils of war such as
royal decorated arms, including a sword with a golden grip- and a gold mounted sheath. This sword
was also recorded in the estate of Governor Van Eck, and we know that this object was sent
together with other objects to the heirs of Van Eck in the Dutch Republic. Here the direct archival
trail from Colombo stops. We know that the objects from the estate of Van Eck were allotted among
his heirs, but it was not specified which object was sent to whom, nor whether it was gifted to the
Dutch stadholder afterwards. The museum documentation and old inventories however showed
that it is most likely that the golden kasthāné arrived in the collection of the Stadtholders prior to
1795.
As it is well known that kasthāné were occasionally used as diplomatic gifts, we have looked for
archival traces before and after the war to see if such gifted kasthāné were donated to the
stadtholder at other moments. But so far we have not found any evidence that would support this
hypothesis. 88 For that reason and because of its obvious royal connotation it seems most likely that
the golden kasthāné is indeed the “sword with a golden grip” from the estate of Van Eck. When and
how it was transferred to the stadtholder remains unknown.
A final point that bears emphasis is that for over fifty years now the Rijksmuseum has maintained
that the golden kasthāné was part of the spoils of the Kandyan-Dutch war. Together with the
cannon, the silver kasthāné, and the gold mounted knife, they have come to symbolise the moment
of plunder and destruction of the Kandyan palace. This in itself has thus become an important part
of the object’s history.

88 During the PPROCE research a start was made with mapping the culture of gift-giving between the VOC and Kandy in the 1740s and

1750s, as well as to what happened to the objects after they were in VOC hands. A draft document ‘Gift giving, Embassies and Collections’
will be available in the documentation folders of this object from April 2022. An elaboration on this research went beyond the object of
the PPROCE research, but future elaborate research on the practice of gift giving, flows of gifts, as well as the afterlives of these Kandyan
gifts in Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and the rest of the world could provide more insight. The draft documents can be consulted as a starting
point for future research.

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