BRUNEI LANTAKA

Lantaka, collected in Brunei before 1972.

Lantakas were mounted on merchant vessels travelling the waterways of the Malay archipelago. The guns were used to defend against pirates.

Also were distinguished visitors ushered into longhouses with great ceremony, accompanied by the firing of the "longhouse's" cannon.

These cannons were used as a display of the status and wealth of the owner, as trade items in Borneo, and were frequently part of the bride price.

Length: 94 cm.

Weight: 16 kgs.

Material: Brass/iron.

Provenance: Obtained directly from an engineer who  was employed at the Dutch "Shell" company, and who had been stationed in Brunei and lived there with his wife.

They returned to the Netherlands again in 1972.