Model of the Noordwachter lighthouse on Java

Grofsmederij Leiden, c. 1867

The first iron lighthouse built by the Dutch administration in the Dutch East Indies was the Noordwachter lighthouse on an isle northwest off Java. It consists of a stairwell cylinder enclosed and supported by a twelve sided skeleton. Grofsmederij Leiden cast the lighthouse in sections, which were shipped to Indonesia. This model was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867.

  • Artwork typescale model, presentation model
  • Object numberNG-MC-1269
  • Dimensionsheight 134 cm x width 38.5 cm x depth 38.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicsbrass, wood, mica and paint

Grofsmederij Leiden

Model of a Lighthouse

Leiden, c. 1867

Inscriptions

  • inscription, above the door:[...] / WILLEM III / [...] / 1868

Conservation

  • Restauratieatelier Scheepsmodellen, 2007: restored

Provenance

...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-1269

Entry

Brass model of the Noordwachter Lighthouse, mounted on a square base.

The model has twelve sides, consisting of a supporting framework around a central column with the stairs. The base is closed and covered and has a doorway, with the inscription above. The top is also twelve-sided, with a dome-shaped roof, with a weathervane shaped as an arrow.

The model was shown at the Exhibition Universelle of 1867 in Paris. The Noordwachter lighthouse northwest of Java was the first iron lighthouse to be built by the Dutch in the Dutch East Indies. It was built by the Grofsmederij Leiden from 1868 to 1869, which had the materials shipped from The Hague to Java in the sailing vessel Galileï. It was made of angle and plate iron.

Literature

J.M. Obreen et al., handwritten inventory list for items 944 to 1431, 1884, manuscript in HNA 476 RMA, inv. no. 1089, no. 1269; Encyclopedie Nederlands Indië, s.l. 1918, vol. 2, p. 494; W. Steffens, Kort overzicht uit de geschiedenis der bebakening van vaarwaters, reeden, enz. in den O.I. archipel, s.l. 1926; L. Crommelin and H. van Suchtelen, Nederlandse vuurtorens. Bouw en organisatie, Nieuwkoop 1978, pp. 44-46; R. van der Veen, Vuurtorens. Over vierboeten, lichtwachters en markante bouwwerken, Groningen/Bussum 1981, pp. 128-29

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'Grofsmederij Leiden, Model of a Lighthouse, Leiden, c. 1867', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200316130

(accessed 9 December 2025 03:31:46).