The Captains Collection

This range of furniture is inspired by an original antique writing table made for one of the Dutch East India Company’s ships, circa 1730. The Dutch East India Company was a powerful company monopolising the spice trade in nutmeg, mace and cloves through most of the 17th Century, eclipsing all of its rivals in the Asia trade. Between 1602 and 1796 the VOC, as it was called, sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships. By contrast the rest of Europe combined sent only 882,412 people from 1500 to 1795. The British East India company, the VOC’S nearest competitor, was a distant second with 2,690 ships and a mere one fifth of the goods carried by the VOC. Eventually the company went bankrupt and was formally dissolved in 1800. Our craftsmen have taken inspiration from the furniture produced in this fascinating period of history.