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F.D.K. Bosch

Portrait of F.D.K.   Bosch

Frederik David Kan (F.D.K.) ​“Frits” Bosch (17 June 1887, Potchefstroom, Transvaal [South Africa] — 20 July 1967, Leiden, Netherland) was a Dutch Orientalist and epigraphist specializing in archaeology of Indonesia and its relation to India and mainland Southeast Asia.

After studying Dutch literature and Sanskrit at Leiden University, he served as director of the Archaeological Service (OD) of the Dutch East Indies, Batavia, from 1915 to 1936. An honorary member of École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), he was invited to study temple structures at Angkor. He played a prominent role in securing several Hindu-Javanese sculptures and lintels for the Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst (VVAK, proponent of the Rijksmuseum) in 1930, a venture instigated by H. K. Westendorp (1868−1941). While the valuable artworks were the centerpiece of the Dutch Pavilion at the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition in Paris, an unexplained fire broke at said pavilion and Bosch was commissioned to assess the damage or loss caused to these twelve pieces [cf. William A. Southworth, ​“F.D.K. Bosch and Twelve Central Javanese Sculptures from the Archaeological Service of the Dutch East Indies”, Brill, 2020: 63 – 71.

Back to the Netherlands, Bosch taught archaeology and ancient history of the Dutch East Indies at Utrecht University, Faculty of Indology, and ancient history of Southeast Asia at Leiden University from 1938 to 1957, when he retired. A chairman of the Kern Institute Association from 1945 to 1967, he was also Chief editor of the Annual Bibliography of Indian Archaeology (ABIA) until 1963, Chairman of the Royal KITLV and of the Oostersch Genootschap from 1949 until his passing in 1967.

Selected Publications

[for publications in Dutch language, including book reviews, see the bibliography by Dutch Studies on South Asia, Tibet and classical Southeast Asia]

  • [doctoral thesis] De legende van Jmtavhana in de sanskrit-litteratuur, Leiden, S.C. van Doesburgh, 1914, 198 p.
  • “Les recherches archéologiques à Java.” Journal Asiatique (JA) 215; 1928: 297 – 309.
  • [with C.C.F.M. Ie Roux] ​‘Wat te Parijs Verloren Ging’ [“What was lost in Paris”], Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal‑, Land- en Volkenkunde 71, 1931:663 – 83.
  • “Notes archéologiques I: Le motif de l’arc-à-biche à Java et au Champa; II: La lingodbhavamurti de Çiva en Indochine; III: Un bas-relief du Bàyon.” BEFEO 31, 1931: 485 – 497.
  • “Notes archéologiques IV: le temple d’Angkor Vat”, BEFEO 32, 1932: 8 – 21.
  • ‘Het Vraagstuk van de Hindoe-kolonisatie van den Archipel’. Rede uitgesproken op Vrijdag 15 Maart 1946, Leiden 1946.
  • “The Bhīmastava.” In: India antiqua: a volume of oriental studies presented by his friends and pupils to Jean Philippe Vogel, C.I.E., on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his doctorate, Leyden, Kern Institute, 1947: 57 – 62.
  • ‘Le décor de la Terrasse du Roi Lépreux’, Leiden, Orientalia Neerlendica (The Netherlands Oriental Society), 1948: 442 – 50.
  • The Golden Germ: An Introduction to Indian Symbolism, Mouton & Co., 1960; repr. Coronet Books, 1994, 248 p. ISBN 9788121506335.
  • Selected Studies in Indonesian Archaeology, Amsterdam, Martinus Nijhoff, 1961. ASIN ‏B0007ISPGG.
  • “A Remarkable Ancient Javanese Sculpture”, Artibus Asiae 24−3÷4, 1961: 232 – 240.
  • Hiraṇyagarbha, A Series of Articles on the Archaeological Work and Studies of Prof. Dr. F.D.K. Bosch, Mouton, 1964.
  • “The future of Indonesian archaeological research.” Address in: Hiraṇyagarbha: a series of articles on the archaeological work and studies of F.D.K. Bosch, composed by his friends, his pupils and his colleagues to which is added the address delivered by him at his retirement from the University of Leiden, publ. on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his doctorate on 14th July 1964, [introd. by P.H. Pott, e.a.], The Hague, 1964: 13 – 24. 
  • “Pratiṣṭhā symbols.” In: J.C. Heesterman e.a. (eds), Pratidānam : Indian, Iranian and Indo-European studies presented to Franciscus Bernardus Jacobus Kuiper on his sixtieth birthday, The Hague. 1968: 533 – 538
  • “Indra’s strijd met Vṛtra.” Bijdragen tot de Taal‑, Land- en Volkenkunde (BTLV) 124, 1968: 241 – 261.
  • [BH & NL] ​“Çrivijaya, Çailendra dan Sañjayavamça /​oleh F. D. K. Bosch dan Poerbatjaraka; diterjemahkan dengan pengawasan dewan redaksi; dengan kata pengantar oleh Boechari”, Jakarta (Terjemahan Karangan-karangan Belanda ini diusahakan dalam 50), 1975, 38 p. [translation of the original article in Dutch, 1952]. 
  • “Masalah penyebaran kebudayaan Hindu di kepulauan Indonesia, diterj. dengan pengawasan dewan red.; kata pengantar Haryati Soebadio, Jakarta (Seri terjemahan karangan-karangan Belanda 40), 1983. – Vertaling van Het vraagstuk van Hindoekolonisatie van den archipel, Rede Leiden 1946.
  • “The god Brahmā surrounded by mahaṛṣi.”, in R.E. Jordaan (ed.), In praise of Prambanan: Dutch essays on the Loro Jonggrang temple complex, Leiden (KITLV translation series 26) 1996: 153 – 155. – Tr. by R. van Yperen of the original article in Dutch, 1922.