Visualising Batavia Silverware

This project aims to analyse and create 3D animations of the silverware carried on board the Batavia, which was shipwrecked off the Western Australian coast in 1629.

For more than 30 years, archaeologists have acknowledged a 'curation crisis' within their field: too many artefacts are excavated, while time and resources to properly analyse and interpret the archaeological finds are lacking. The WA Museum has the largest collection of Dutch East India Company (VOC) shipwreck material held anywhere in the world, a great part of which remains understudied. Among a total of 26,731 artefacts and 10,619 coins recovered from the Batavia shipwreck, the museum holds a unique group of a dozen pieces of 17th century Amsterdam silverware.

These items, including luxurious silver ewers, waterbasins, dishes, bowls and bedposts, were destined for the Mughal court as part of a VOC 'trial' intended to make the trade with India more profitable.

Most early modern silver has been lost because items were melted and materials reused, and these objects provide a valuable opportunity for material of the era to be examined through different methodologies and from different disciplinary angles. As well as digitally visualising these objects, this collaboration aims to create a fuller material and cultural understanding of these rare artefacts of Dutch-Australian maritime heritage.