Biography of the Hartog Plate
The Hartog Plate is a pewter dish left behind on the Western Australian coast by the crew of a Dutch ship that landed on the continent in 1616. It bears an inscription intended to document this historic event, and therefore has an iconic importance as the earliest surviving Western object in Australia.
About the project
The Rijksmuseum has carried out extensive research on the Hartog Plate in recent years, which has yielded a mass of new information about the history of the object. These technical analyses are being linked to archival and literary sources, which have provided new insights into familiar elements of the plate's story as well as previously unknown ones.
Aim of the project
An article in The Rijksmuseum Bulletin will be taking a biographical approach to the plate in an effort to present a critical reconstruction of its story and of the various shades of significance that have been attached to it throughout its lifetime.
Staff
Gijs van der Ham
g.vander.ham@rijksmuseum.nl
Senior Curator of History
Tamar Davidowitz
t.davidowitz@rijksmuseum.nl
Conservator of Metals