Kali Besar Bataving Drawing 1929
INDIES GALLERY
A decorative large ink drawing showing a birds-eye
River in the Old City of
view of the famous river Kali Besar (Big River) in the
Jakarta, Kali Besar
north of Batavia (now Jakarta) in the area known as
Batavia - Large drawing
Kota Tua, which translates to “Old Town”. The Kali Besar was the centre of economy and trading of VOC (Dutch East India Company) and was seen as an elite residential area in the early 18th century and later transformed to become the central area of offices for international trading, shown here in this unique work of art. Antique drawings or paintings of the Kali Besar River are extremely rare, making this a fine, collector’s item for those interested in the history of colonial Batavia. Very suitable for framing
View all our catalogues by clicking HERE
Publication Batavia, 1929 (dated) Condition Good Dimensions 160 by 60 cm.
Price 13,800 USD.
Kali Besar has changed its function several times. In these early days of Batavia in the 17th century, ships usually sailed along a canal up to the Kali Besar, where unloading and ship repairs were also done in the dockyard, but due to deposition of sand and the increasing size of the ships, they could no longer pass the channel. The boats were then pulled by horses and people. For larger ships, passengers and cargoes were unloaded into small boats or barges. Since 1870, a growing number of commercial companies appeared in Kali Besar, and became the central area of offices of international commerce until the 1960s. The growth of Kali Besar as the center of commerce resulted in the disappearance
of the church and the market.
In 1885, the position of Kali Besar as a trading center was nearly displaced by the completion of the Tanjung Priok port, which is just 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) from Kali Besar. Malaria outbreaks further made this region no longer conducive for new businesses. Since 1900, many companies relocated their operations along the Noordwijk straat and Rijswijk straat, further to the south of Old Town
Many of the existing buildings located along Kali Besar street were built in the 19th century in European architectural style; including old buildings, offices and warehouses shown in this drawing. The existence of these buildings form a historic neighbourhood that became a tourism attraction, especially for tourists who want to enjoy
the atmosphere of "Old Town".
INDIES GALLERY We buy and sell antique maps, prints, books and photographs, dating from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. With over 25 years of experience in collecting and trading, our total inventory includes over 8000 authentic antiques. Whether you're an experienced collector or a first-time buyer, we offer an extensive collection in all price ranges. Apart from private collectors, our clients include institutions such as the National Museum of Singapore, National Library of Singapore, National Library of Australia, The Louvre Abu Dhabi, University of Leiden, and many others.
Based in Singapore & Jakarta
OUR REPRODUCTIONS We offer our collection as a high-quality reprints, framed and un-framed. Our primary profession is dealing with authentic, antique maps and prints. But for years, people have marvelled over our original material, asking if we could make them at a fraction of the cost of the originals. Eventually, we gave in and "Old East Indies - Indonesian Heritage Art Collection" was born.
Contact us to receive our Reproduction Catalogue.
INDIES GALLERY View all our catalogues by clicking HERE
www.IndiesGallery.com +62 8131900 4269 +65 8344 7596
Indies Gallery, Original Antique Maps, Prints and Books INDIES GALLERY
Facebook Instagram
(WhatsApp only) Singapore Number