Catalog entry

Commentary

This vessel type – called a “lorcha” – had its origins in China where a ship of European hull form was given a three-masted junk rig with lug sails. This example retains the lug sails on its fore and main masts, but also sets a western-style jib and has been given a western gaff-rigged sail on its mizzen mast. Also in western fashion, a single rudder is hung on the stern post. This example appears to have been steered with a tiller, though steering wheels were common in later years. Lane’s drawing has notes on the vessel’s color scheme, which seem consistent with Chinese watercraft.

First built by Portuguese traders in the 16th century, lorchas were soon found trading in most South East Asian waters. The type has survived to modern times, although sails have been discarded for engine power.

As with Bugis Tope from Borneo and Celebes, 1850s (inv. 194) and Sooloo Pirate's Proa, 1850s (inv. 195), this drawing poses intriguing questions of why and for whom it was made, and what Lane used for source material.

–Erik Ronnberg

Reference:

“Aak to Zumbra: A Dictionary of the World’s Watercraft” (Newport News, Virginia: The Mariners’ Museum, 2000), p. 363.