Soy bottle, Japan, Dejima, 1790-1820
Here, you can see a soya bottle that was made in Japan. The bottle is labelled “Japanschzoya” which is Dutch for Japanese soya.
This soya bottle was made in Dejima (Dechima in Dutch), which was an artificial island in the Bay of Nagasaki. All trade between Japan and the rest of the world was conducted from the island during the Edo Period (1603–1868). The island was initially built for trade with Portuguese merchants but was taken over by traders from the Netherlands, who used it until 1853. Large quantities of goods were shipped from Japan to the Netherlands via the Dutch East India Company.
The bottle you see here is made of porcelain and was manufactured for the Dutch market. Bottles of this type are sometimes referred to as “Comprador” bottles. This comes from “Comprador Decima”, which is Portuguese for merchant of Dejima. This bottle was found during an excavation in the Gubben district in Norrköping and was found completely intact.
)Object number: 1374142_HST
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