Model of the Duiveneiland lighthouse on Java

Gieterij Prins van Oranje (possibly), 1870

The eight-sided Duiveneiland lighthouse, on the south-west point of Java, comprises five storeys. The entrance is on the first storey. Three sides of the model have been left open to display the interior and stairs. A bell hangs on one side. The lighthouse was built in the Netherlands between 1870 and 1872, then dismantled and shipped to Indonesia where it was reassembled.

  • Artwork typescale model, presentation model
  • Object numberNG-MC-1280
  • Dimensionsheight 81 cm x width 47 cm x depth 47 cm
  • Physical characteristicsbrass, wood and glass

Gieterij Prins van Oranje (possibly)

Model of a Lighthouse

? The Hague, 1870

Conservation

  • Restauratieatelier Scheepsmodellen, 2000: restored

Provenance

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

Object number: NG-MC-1280

Entry

Brass model of the lighthouse of Duiveneiland, mounted on a wooden base.

Octagonal five-storey building including the top, the first storey raised above the ground and accessible via a flight of stairs. The lighthouse is closed from the first storey upwards, each storey except for the top one has four windows; but three sides of the model have been left open to expose the interior with its rooms and stairs. The construction is a framework covered with metal plates, the inner walls and floors are made of wood. To one side a bell is indicated. The top has a dome-shaped roof with a weathervane shaped as an arrow.

The lighthouse of Duiveneiland, situated on the southwest corner of Java, was built by the company Prins van Oranje from 1870 to 1872, using profile and sheet 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. 1280; Encyclopedie Nederlands Indië, s.l. 1918, vol. 2, p. 495; 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. 45-46

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'possibly Gieterij Prins van Oranje, Model of a Lighthouse, The Hague, 1870', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200316137

(accessed 11 December 2025 19:25:10).