badminton in indonesia from the dutch?
DESCRIPTION
Bartele Gallery newsletterTRANSCRIPT
Badminton in Indonesia:
Surely not from the Dutch?
Bartele GalleryJl. Kemang Raya 29AKemangJakarta+62 21 719 [email protected]/bartelegallery
“T WEESHUYS te BATAVIA” by Johan Nieuhoff.
This view from the Orphanage in Batavia was included in the richly illustrated travel journal of Johan Nieuhoff, a world-traveller from Amsterdam. From 1655 to 1658 Nieuhoff accompanied a delegation of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to the Emperor of China. After his return he had his journals published. This book was one of the great bestsellers of its time and was published in 1682.
The print shows the oldest known image of people playing a forerunner of badminton (as seen in the white box above). Although the Brits claimed they introduced the game to Indonesia from British India in the mid 18th century, this print proves the Dutch were the first to play a game of badminton, or ‘shuttlecock’ as it was called in those days, on Indonesian soil. The Dutch also introduced the game to Japan, where it was mentioned in the 1787 publication of Morishima Chūryō’s Sayings of the Dutch.
Come & Visit Us!
Bartele Gallery, now located on Jl. Kemang Raya, has a very large collection of original antique maps, prints, lithograph posters, European and Indonesian antiquities as well as photographs and books. Stop by and say hi! You never know what you might find.