Menu of the 'Banquet Exposition Universelle d'Anvers'

Menu of a banquet organized for the organizing committee of the Antwerp World’s Fair in 1885.

The menu shows three putti in the foreground, a portrait of the goddess Minerva and two classical figures. Perhaps the two figures are personifications of the arts. The exhibition buildings are shown in the background.

TThe Antwerp World’s Fair of 1885 was the first of its kind in Belgium. It took place in the Antwerp South district. As with all World’s Fairs, the main ingredients were industry, progress, optimism and trade, including from the colonies. Antwerp itself and the 25 participating countries showed their products and innovative technology. The Belgian colony of the Congo came into the picture with a reconstructed Congolese village.