VOC BLADES: A comprehensive look

[Maurice]

Thank you Willem for posting your Javanese pedang.
Most of the Indonesian swords with the VOC mark in the blade seems to be from Java.
As the Dutch were very dominant in their present overhere (we all have heard about Batavia, even some of you don't know what it exactly was) it can't be a coincedence to encounter most of the VOC blades overhere.

@ Jim and Alan: Yes the bad old days...when people could count on their pension still....

Maurice

[erikscollectables]

Last week I spoke with an older collector who mentioned most keris were around 200 guilders in the Netherlands in the late 70s to early 80s - that is more than you will have to pay today for a "simple" keris. So looking back they were more expensive in that period as well. Maybe internet has brought relative prices down?

Anyway we should stay on topic - VOC blades

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by erikscollectables

Anyway we should stay on topic - VOC blades

Good idea Erik!

Here three swords with VOC dated blades in the Tropenmuseum collection of Amsterdam.
Two Timor swords, and one Batak sword.
One Timor sword came in the collection in 1887, and I think we can assume the other two also around that time as it's coming out of the same collection of the "Koninklijk Zoologisch Genootschap Natura Artis Magistra".

The VOC stamps, are all three marked with the "A" from the Amsterdam chamber, dated 1749, 1768 and 1786.


Maurice

[Maurice]

And a Borneo lance, donated by Herman Celosse to the Bronbeek museum Arnhem in 2012.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams All Note to Library Please see http://www.hubert-herald.nl/IndonesiaVOC.htm#VOC for a comprehensive description of The Voc and related companies and histories/ stamps etc etc
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams All ~It is interesting to note who was fighting for who!

Here is a small snippet regarding the switch over of mercenaries from the Dutch period to the British;

From http://www.army.lk/history.php

~ Quote''During the first half century of British occupation there were uprisings and palace intrigues particularly after the adventure into the Kandyan Kingdom. The Kandyan forces resorted to guerrilla warfare and were quite successful in their conflict against a better armed force of the British. Initially the British had their own troops for the defence of the Island which included naval vessels, artillery troops and infantry. Their headquarters was in Trincomalee.

In 1796, troops in the Dutch service who were Swiss and Malay were mercenaries transferred to the British East India Company. The Malays formed initially as a Malay Corps and later in 1802 as the 1st Ceylon Regiment under a British Commanding Officer. In the same year, a 'Sinhalese' unit was raised and called the 2nd Ceylon Regiment, also known as the 'Sepoy' corps. In 1803 a 3rd Ceylon Regiment was raised with Moluccans and recruits from Penang. All these regiments fought in the Kandyan wars of 1803. More Sinhalese and Malays were recruited to these regiments and in 1814 a 4th regiment was raised comprising African troops. In 1817 the name of the regiment was changed to the Ceylon Rifle Regiment.

After the Matale rebellion led by Puran Appu in 1848, the recruitment of Sinhalese was stopped. The history of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment marks the first phase of the employment of non-British personnel in Ceylon for service in the British Military establishment".Unquote.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi.