750 Photozincography plates
BROHIER'S BOOK ON DUTCH PERIOD FURNITURE IN CEYLON REPRINTED

Twenty-five years ago Dr R.L. Brohier found a treasure-trove in
the storehouse of the Colombo Museum: 750 sets of
photozincography plates illustrating the styles of 17th and 18th
century Dutch furniture: from writing desks to four poster beds
and burgomaster chairs. "The plates," explains Deloraine Brohier,
the daughter of the late Dr Brohier " dated from between 1925 and
1933. They were the work  of Dr J. Pearson, who was the then
director of the museum."  Dr Brohier was fascinated by the plates
and decided to publish a book on Dutch furniture in Sri Lanka
containing not only pictures but also giving wider information on
this subject, such as the local timbers used by the Dutch and a
description of a Dutch house, plus a plan of 17th century Galle. 

By A. van Schaik

The first edition, printed in 1969, was a collector's item and
was soon sold out. A second edition followed in 1978. This time
Dr Brohier was disappointed because the original plates had not
been used. Deloraine Brohier, who bought the last copies in 1984,
noticed a growing interest in her father's book among Sri Lankans
and expatriates. Ms Brohier, who is a member of the Netherlands 
Alumni Association (NAAL), decided to find Dutch funds for a
reprint. The Dutch Ambassador, B. K”rner, and Second Secretary,
F. Dorsman, showed a real interest in this project and decided
that a Dutch government grant to NAAL would be possible.

DUTCH BURGHERS
In her bungalow in a quiet street in Colombo, Deloraine shows the
final result: a fine book printed by Printpak in Sri Lanka, using
the original book from which every page was copied by a
photo-lithography process. Deloraine, a charming lady with a
European appearance, is a Dutch Burgher, the name given to the 
Dutch and other European descendants of those who worked for the
Dutch East India Company, the VOC. The founder of the Brohier
family, Captain Jean, was of Huguenot (French) origin. Deloraine:
"He was born on the island of Jersey." The entry in the Book of
Appointments, 1785, refers to him as: "John Brohier, of Jersey,
arrived in 1777  as a sailor on the ship the Loo".
After Independence in 1948 many Dutch Burghers left Ceylon.
Deloraine and her father stayed. Dr Brohier, a surveyor, was at
that time at the peak of his professional career. He did not feel
the urge to leave. Dr Brohier wrote many books on Sri Lanka. He
was especially fascinated by the rich Dutch heritage in the
island, in the form of fortresses, houses, and furniture. He
wrote a standard work: 'Links between Sri Lanka and the
Netherlands' (1978).

BURGOMASTER CHAIR
Says Sri Lankan Ajit Saravanamuttu: "When most English-educated 
Sri Lankans were brought up to believe that French and Italian
Renaissance furniture, not to mention later English pieces, were
the epitome of style and elegance, Dr Brohier emphasized the
point that, to the end of the medieval period in Europe, the
Dutch cabinet-maker was the European craftsman par excellence.
This skill came to Ceylon at the end of the 17th century, a
little after the VOC had established itself, and has been handed
down in the Moratuwa  Furniture Industry, as the indigenous
population was employed in the local Dutch workshops."
Some very good pieces of Dutch period furniture can be seen in
the Dutch Period Museum in Prince Street, Colombo. Look, for
instance, at the impressive burgomaster chair, described by Dr 
Brohier as: "A type of chair which seems to have been a favourite
and which remained in vogue among Dutch officials in Ceylon." 
His daughter Deloraine describes Dutch period furniture as heavy
and ponderous. Ebony was rarely used. The Dutch preferred
hardwoods like jak and satinwood. Deloraine: "A typical feature
in Dutch-style beds and cupboards is  that they are raised off
the ground, built on legs to avoid the damp and to be at a safe
distance from insects and reptiles."
It is tragic that most of the Dutch period furniture of Ceylon
has been scattered all over the world. More than fifteen years
ago Dr Brohier already complained: "A great deal of the choice
bits of Dutch furniture must have left Ceylon, carried away by
British civil servants, planters, and merchants as well as
members of the diplomatic corps so as to give their homes a
colonial atmosphere after retirement.
Dr R.L. Brohier, 'Furniture of the Dutch Period', (Third Reprint)
is on sale at Rs.1000 in bookshops in Sri Lanka and at sales
counters of the Department of National Museums, the Secretariat
of NAAL, and the Dutch Period Museum.