| Instrument | : |
Early 17th century navigation set: -Demi-cross -Cross-staff -Traverse board -Chip log -Hourglass |
| Manufacturer | : | N. de Hilster |
| Country of origin | : | The Netherlands |
| Manufacturing year | : | 2008 |
In 1639 the Dutch Eat India Company (VOC) built a warehouse on the Japanese Island Hirado. This building was the first western one in the Japanese Empire. Being three stories high and with a length of 29 metres the building dominated the harbour entrance of Hirado. Towering high above the otherwise modest wooden houses it upsetted the Japanese authorities that much that only three months after completion it was ordered to be demolished again. The Dutch were ordered to leave the Island and moved to Deshima. Now, more than 360 years later the Japanese decided to rebuild the warehouse and make it a museum.1
Filling the museum with period objects is far from easy, especially considering the limited budget which mainly consists of donations. Therefore it was decided to find reproductions of the most precious objects, like paintings, furniture, weaponry and navigational instruments. In October 2006 I was contacted by Takeshi Gotoh from Japan Europa Promotions with the question whether I could supply a set of navigational instruments for the museum. Almost a year later a Japanese delegation visited my home and workshop to see the instruments at first hand and make a decision which instruments to take. In November 2007 I was commissioned to produce a set of navigational instruments consisting of a demi-cross, a cross-staff, a traverse board, a chip log and a hourglass. The work started the second week of January 2008 and it would take two full months, including weekends, to produce the set. Finally the instruments were handed over on March 9th, 2008 to a very satisfied customer. The museum will open in 2010 and have the instruments on display.
Materials used for this set are ebony for the staves, pear wood for the vanes and brass for springs and screws. The traverse board is made of oak with cherry wood pegs. The chip log was made of oak as well and is weighted with lead. The hourglass is made of cherry wood and leather. The glass of the hour glass was hand made by T&K Young in the United States and runs 28 seconds. White paint is applied to the white areas of the demi-cross and traverse board.
1Source: Netherlands Society in West Japan
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