West-Indies section, Colonial Museum in Haarlem, circa 1899.

The Nederlandsche West-Indische Tentoonstelling (English: Dutch West-Indies exhibition) of 1899, held in the Colonial Museum in Haarlem, was the first extensive exposition about Suriname held in the Netherlands. Suriname and the Dutch Antilles were then considered part of the Dutch West-Indies. This exhibition was primarily organized to attract attention to Suriname's potential as a 'trading partner' in the hope that "many more eyes and hearts shall be focused on 'our possessions in America'". [Catalogus Nederlandsche West-Indische Tentoonstelling : 5, 6.] It was financed by the Kolonial Bestuur (English: Colonial Administration) and the Plantersvereeniging (English: (Colonial) Planters Association). The main goal was the spreading of information about the colony and its export, or rather plantation, products. It would first be exhibited in Haarlem in 1899 before traveling to Paris for the World Exhibition of 1900.

This 1899 'Suriname' exhibition was strongly influenced by the ideology of the time. The Colonial Museum in Haarlem had been opened in 1865 to showcase the 'overseas possessions' of the Kingdom. This 'products museum' primarily used temporary exhibitions to bring colonial export products to the attentions of businessmen and other interested parties. This representation of Suriname is very similar to that displayed in other colonial expositions held in Europe around the turn of the twentieth century. Those held in Amsterdam in 1883 and in Brussels in 1910 mirrored the approach used in Haarlem. [Excerpt from the paper: The role of material culture in the political awakening of Suriname: an analysis of Tropenmuseum collection number 2345', Alderson 2007.]

23 x 17cm (9 1/16 x 6 11/16in.)

Source: collectie.tropenmuseum.nl