Adrianus Canter Visscher: A Persian prince (1750 - 1755)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

A drawing made by the Dutch merchant Adrianus Canter Visscher (1707 - 1782). Adrianus Canter Visscher was a merchant for the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.). He was stationed in India were he stayed for 14 years, most of the time on the east coast in the city of Masulipatnam. During Adrianus Canter wrote a book about India in two parts. The first part tells the history of the Mughal Empire and the Dutch settlements on the Coromandel Coast. The second part is an advise to the board-of-directors of the VOC (the Heeren XVII or the Lords Seventeen) regarding the economic situation of the VOC on the Coromandel Coast. The book is decorated with several drawings of Mughal royalty and two maps. This print shows a Persian prince. According to the text this prince 'sought service with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1653-1707) but was imprisoned for ever instead'. Drawing from 1750-1755.