Lewke's Cannon
Object or Group Name
Lewke's Cannon
Case Summary
Lewke’s Cannon, an ornamental piece of artillery, was long believed to have been a gift to the Dutch from the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of Sri Lanka. Recent research, however, found that it was seized by the Dutch military during a conflict with Kandy in 1765. It was returned to Sri Lanka by the Rijksmuseum as "war booty" in 2023.
The cannon, bronze with gilt silver and embellished with gems, was donated to the King of Kandy — either Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe (1739-1747) or Kirti Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1782) — by Lewke, the provincial governor of the Satara Korale area.
At the time, the maritime provinces of the island were under control of the Dutch. In an attempt to control the whole island, the Dutch invaded Kandy in 1765, successfully reaching the hill capital. Despite explicit orders not to loot the royal palaces, Dutch soldiers plundered them, taking "“linen, fabrics, furniture, some silver-guilted objects, curiosities, and copper coins.”
The cannon is believed to have been part of the loot and was taken back to Colombo. It remained in Colombo under the possession of the Dutch Governor, van Eck, for about a year. In 1766, the cannon was moved to the Netherlands, where it moved from collection to collection, finally ending up in the Rijksmuseum in 1927.
The cannon's inscription does not name the recipient of the cannon. When it was first translated by D.M. De Zilwa Wickremasinghe, he erroneously assumed that the cannon had been gifted to the Dutch. This error was repeated by subsequent researchers. R.L. Brohier, though he discovered evidence of the cannon being looted from Kandy in the VOC archives, concluded that there must have been two ceremonial cannons: one looted, one gifted.
The Sri Lankan government formally requested the cannon's return in 1964. The request was denied, as Dutch authorities continued to rely upon the misinterpretation of the cannon's inscription. Until 2013, the Rijksmuseum display label stated that the cannon had been a gift from the VOC to the king.
Recent research conducted at the Dutch National Archives disproved this theory. In 2017, the Rijksmuseum decided to investigate the provenance of objects in its colonial collections, and a joint team of Dutch and Sri Lankan researchers compiled a comprehensive report on the cannon as part of the Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE).
In 2022, the meticulous archival research found convincing evidence that refuted the theory that it had been a gift, showing it was more likely to have been looted during the conflict.
The cannon was formally repatriated to Sri Lanka in 2023 along with five other Sinhalese weapons from the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
The cannon, bronze with gilt silver and embellished with gems, was donated to the King of Kandy — either Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe (1739-1747) or Kirti Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1782) — by Lewke, the provincial governor of the Satara Korale area.
At the time, the maritime provinces of the island were under control of the Dutch. In an attempt to control the whole island, the Dutch invaded Kandy in 1765, successfully reaching the hill capital. Despite explicit orders not to loot the royal palaces, Dutch soldiers plundered them, taking "“linen, fabrics, furniture, some silver-guilted objects, curiosities, and copper coins.”
The cannon is believed to have been part of the loot and was taken back to Colombo. It remained in Colombo under the possession of the Dutch Governor, van Eck, for about a year. In 1766, the cannon was moved to the Netherlands, where it moved from collection to collection, finally ending up in the Rijksmuseum in 1927.
The cannon's inscription does not name the recipient of the cannon. When it was first translated by D.M. De Zilwa Wickremasinghe, he erroneously assumed that the cannon had been gifted to the Dutch. This error was repeated by subsequent researchers. R.L. Brohier, though he discovered evidence of the cannon being looted from Kandy in the VOC archives, concluded that there must have been two ceremonial cannons: one looted, one gifted.
The Sri Lankan government formally requested the cannon's return in 1964. The request was denied, as Dutch authorities continued to rely upon the misinterpretation of the cannon's inscription. Until 2013, the Rijksmuseum display label stated that the cannon had been a gift from the VOC to the king.
Recent research conducted at the Dutch National Archives disproved this theory. In 2017, the Rijksmuseum decided to investigate the provenance of objects in its colonial collections, and a joint team of Dutch and Sri Lankan researchers compiled a comprehensive report on the cannon as part of the Pilotproject Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era (PPROCE).
In 2022, the meticulous archival research found convincing evidence that refuted the theory that it had been a gift, showing it was more likely to have been looted during the conflict.
The cannon was formally repatriated to Sri Lanka in 2023 along with five other Sinhalese weapons from the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
Number of Objects
6
Object Type
Equipment – weapons, helmets, tools, musical instruments
Culture
Kandyan, with European influences
Museum Name
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Museum Accession Number
NG-NM-1015
Receiving Country
Sri Lanka
Sources
MOLA Contributor(s)
Lara Wijesuriya
Peer Reviewed By
Jason Felch
Citation
“Lewke's Cannon,” Museum of Looted Antiquities, accessed November 17, 2025, https://mola.omeka.net/items/show/2255.