Bitter Spice

Description

The shared history of the Netherlands and Indonesia has been defined by conflict and controversy. Bitter Spice. Indonesia and the Netherlands from 1600 is about that long, shared past. Major themes, such as colonial repression, violence, Indonesian nationalism, the struggle for freedom, and decolonisation, unfold as the histories of objects in the Rijksmuseum are unravelled. Focusing on a portrait, a war flag, a government official's uniform or a Dayak shield, Harm Stevens shows how our perspective of the past is constantly shifting and how its portrayal by our forefathers was manipulated. When you look closely, tiny details turn out to be of great significance. Does the inscription on the watercolour by a Dutch painter really say: 'Severed heads of rebels'?