Catalogue Entry

While many variants of the “proa” – or “perahu” – are double-hull craft (what we call “catamarans”), there are some monohull types common to Malaysia, some of which are quite sizeable. This large example may represent a “perahu pukay,” a type favored by pirates operating in the Sulu Sea between Borneo and the Philippines. Its two quarter rudders, two masts with lug sails, and sixteen pairs of oars closely match the type’s definition. In addition, it is heavily manned, armed with cannon at bow and stern, and fitted with a boarding ramp ready for lowering.

To judge from color notations, Lane probably copied this image from a painting or a colored print which may have been bound in one of the sizeable reports of explorations published by French or English expeditions to the Far East.

– Erik Ronnberg

Reference:
“Aak to Zumbra: A Dictionary of the World’s Watercraft” (Newport News, Virginia: The Mariners’ Museum, 2000), pp. 444-447 (particularly p. 446, bottom right column).

• Subject Types: 
  • Ship Portrait »