Description

This panoramic copper engraving, titled 't Oost Indisch Huys (the East India House, captures the grandeur of the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) headquarters in Amsterdam, at the height of the Dutch Golden Age.

Produced in 1663 by the prolific Dutch historian and writer Olfert Dapper (1635-1689), it forms part of his seminal work 'Naukeurige beschryving der stad Amsterdam,' published in 1664.

The composition centers on the imposing Oost-Indisch Huis, constructed between 1606 and 1609 on the Kloveniersburgwal canal under the direction of Hendrick de Keyser, Amsterdam's master builder. The building's symmetrical Renaissance facade dominates the foreground, with its gabled entrance flanked by pilasters, dormer windows, and ornate pediments. Crowds of figures—merchants, clerks, sailors, and porters—animate the scene.

Historically, the Oost-Indisch Huis epitomized Dutch mercantilism, serving as the administrative nerve center for the VOC, chartered in 1602 as the world's first multinational corporation. Here, directors (Heeren XVII) frequently met to manage the Company.