Sampan en prauw 1779 - 1785

Jan Brandes sketched these boats with pencil on paper in the late 18th century. The image offers two types of vessels, a sampan and a prauw, both deeply rooted in Southeast Asian maritime culture. The boats are more than mere transportation; they embody a connection to water, a life source and a pathway for trade and cultural exchange. Across cultures, boats often symbolize journeys – not just physical voyages, but also life's passage. Think of the Ship of Fools or Charon's boat ferrying souls across the River Styx. The image of people in boats, like the ancient Egyptian barques carrying pharaohs to the afterlife, touches a deep chord within us. It evokes the inherent human desire to explore and overcome the unknown, and the subconscious association of water with both life and the great beyond. These humble boats, therefore, carry a weight of cultural memory, linking us to age-old themes of exploration, transition, and our eternal dance with the elements.