Bulletin ,:

Tropenmuseum
Collecting at cultural
crossroads
Collection policies and approaches (:cc-:c::)
of the Tropenmuseum
Koos van Brakel and Susan Legne (eds)
Contents
Foreword
Lejo Schenk, Director Tropenmuseum
: Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
Brief history of the Tropenmuseum collections
Regions, themes and images: composition and classification
of the collections
: Recent developments in collection policies and approaches :cc,-:cc;
Acquisition
Collection mobility
Collection management
International access to collection information and documentation
International collaboration
, Tropenmuseum collection policy :cc-:c::
Acquisitions policy
Rearranging the collection
Collection documentation, accessibility and research :cc-:c::
Collection management
Notes
Appendices
: Double focus Tropenmuseum policy plan :cc-:c::
: Modern and contemporary art in the Tropenmuseum
Judith deBruijn
, List of publications on the Tropenmuseum collection :cc,-:cc;
List of collections and new acquisitions :cc,-:cc;
, Academic staff of the Tropenmuseum :cc,-:cc;
o KIT Information & Library Services (KIT ILS): using technology to
preserve the past and to meet future information needs
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Foreword
The Tropenmuseum is proud to be able to work with the splendid historical
collections of the Royal Tropical Institute and use them as its basis. These collections
have grown considerably since 1864, and are increasingly taking on a markedly
contemporary aspect.
We manage these collections strongly aware that we are not treating them as a
random possession of ours in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, but as a shared heritage
of many peoples and cultures. They must, therefore, remain in sight and keep
providing insight, both now and in the future by actively interacting with them.
Telling stories using tangible and intangible culture has proven to be a strong and
indispensable vehicle for promoting respect and dialogue. Accordingly, in the Royal
Tropical Institutes mission, culture is directly connected with the Institutes ambition
to be a global knowledge institute that benefits development. The Netherlands
current minister for Development Cooperation, Bert Koenders, put it succinctly
when he said in November 2007, A central element of our development cooperation
policy ishow peoplethemselveswish to behelped. For that, you need creativity and self-
awareness. Culturegivesthepower and thespaceto work on themillennium [development]
goals. It isintrinsic in thefight against poverty.
1
The Tropenmuseum endorses this, and
has enshrined it in its Policy memorandum for 2008-2011, DoubleFocus: an inter-
national contribution to sustainability(appendix 1). Collection policy is an integral
part of this policy. The periodic publication of a public Collection policy paper,
describing the state of affairs and ambitions of collection policy as to management
and content, has become an indispensable part of quality assurance, management
and transparency in museum policy.
The work of conserving and managing the collections in the Tropenmuseum has
been tremendously professionalised in the last few years, in part thanks to the
Heritage extra funds (Erfgoed Extra-gelden) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/
Development Cooperation. The improvements not only involve material infra-
structure, but also digital access, the increased mobility of the collection (even to
other countries) and especially the content-related connections that have arisen
,
between collection policy and policy on scientific research, exhibitions and audiences.
We can only look with great enthusiasm upon the lines set out in this policy paper
for the further development of our collections. The shift in the collection from a
regional approach to a more thematic one, developing a policy aimed at acquiring
more modern art, and the increased interest in intangible culture are just a few of the
aspects that will contribute to the next wave of innovation for the Tropenmuseum.
The previous Collection policy paper (2003-2007) was published in Dutch but this
time we opted to publish it in English, a logical choice for a museum that is a part
of the internationally-active Royal Tropical Institute.
My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who has worked on this paper. My gratitude
goes first of all to Susan Legne (Head of the Curatorial department until 1 February
2008) and Koos van Brakel (Head of Collections) for bringing together, structuring
and editing all the information contained in this Collection policy paper for
2008-2012.
Lejo Schenk
Director, Tropenmuseum
o
1 Outline of the
Tropenmuseum
collections
Brief history of the Tropenmuseum collections
The history of the Tropenmuseum begins with the establishment of the Colonial
Museum in Haarlem in 1864. The museum was initiated by Frederik Willem van
Eeden (1829-1901), secretary of the Society for the Promotion of Industry
(Maatschappij ter Bevorderingvan Nijverheid). This societys objective was to contri-
bute to the prosperity of the Netherlands and its colonies. The museum was
originally housed on the ground floor of the Pavilion Welgelegen in Haarlem. It
wasfirst and foremost a museum of tropical products, prominently featuring the
rawmaterials and natural products of the Dutch overseas properties and colonies.
In 1871 it opened its doors to the public. The few ethnographic objectsin the
collection were primarily regarded as examples of local techniques and exotic materials.
These collections were brought together by individuals, societies and governmental
agencies with economic objectives and administrative tasks in the colonies. Photographs
were included in the collection from the museums very beginning. In addition to their
expression of the consecutive technical stages of the photographic medium as such,
these photographs also offer an interesting and quite comprehensive picture of
colonial society in the Dutch East Indies, Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles.
In 1910 the Colonial Institute was founded in Amsterdam as a new centre of
expertise on colonial exploration, exploitation of natural resources and the govern-
ment of colonial society. It was decided to construct a new Colonial Museumas part
of this institute as well. The main goal of this museum was, as in the Haarlem
museum, to present tropical products, but also to collect a broad range of ethnographic
objects, in order to spread knowledge about the indigenous cultures of the Dutch
East Indies. In 1913 ownership of the collection of the Colonial Museum in Haarlem
was transferred to the Colonial Institute Association. Around the same time,
negotiations were going on to include the ethnological collection of the Amsterdam
Zoo as well (Natura Artis Magistra).
; Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
The Colonial Institute Associations new building on the Mauritskade in Amsterdam
soon to become the Royal Colonial Institute and now known as the Royal Tropical
Institute was officially opened on 9 October 1926. Within this new institute, the
management and presentation of collections of the ethnographic objects was separate
from that of the tropical product collections. The latter were displayed in the newly
created Trade Museum, with its own staff and director, within the newly opened
museum. The department of ethnography also had its own exhibition galleries, staff
and director. Both museums operated independently of each other, exhibiting their
collections in their own allotted exhibition space within the spacious Colonial
Institute. The Ethnographical Department possessed approximately 30,000 objects
in 1926. Approximately 3,500 of them came from the ethnographical collection of
the former Colonial Museum in Haarlem, and roughly 12,000 objects from the
Amsterdam Zoo. Both collections are still recognisable by the H and A used for
theobject number. And both have to be considered very valuable and unique
components of the (now considerably larger) Tropenmuseum collection, since they
are rooted in 19th-century collecting practices and often date back to much earlier
times.
The historical film and photography collections together form another valuable and
unique collection within the Tropenmuseum. The Tropenmuseum started collecting
photographic images in 1872. Even in the Haarlem period of the Colonial Museum
(1870-1915), photography was seen as an extremely useful medium for achieving the
museums main goal of disseminating knowledge. The practical use of photographs
quickly extended itself far beyond the museums walls: as illustrations in books and
magazines, posters for lectures and courses, in educational series in schools, etc. In
1915 the collection of photographs and negatives, which by now also included films,
was separated from the tangible culture collection and housed in a separate depart-
ment at the newly formed General Secretariat of the Colonial Institute in Amsterdam.
From the 1930s, music recordings on wax rolls were added to the museum collection.
The museum developed its own reference library. Most books, magazines and geo-
graphical maps, however, were not categorised as part of the collection and were
stored in the Central Library of the Colonial Institute. Today they are considered
thislibrarys heritage collections.
Other departments in the Royal Colonial Institute that contributed to the Tropen-
museum collections were the Department of Physical Anthropology (in 1915 headed
by Prof. Kleiweg de Zwaan) and various sub-institutes that focused on the so-called
outer provinces of the Dutch East Indies, such as the East Coast of Sumatra Institute,
the Aceh Institute, the Minangkabau Institute, Bali Institute, Batak Institute,
Netherlands-Java Institute and the Moluccan Institute. Staff of these institutes were
also involved in acquisition policies. Their archives are part of the archives of the
Royal Tropical Institute.

After the Second World War international relationships changed drastically, especially
those between colony and coloniser. The Board of the Colonial Institute still believed
that pre-war relations between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies would
somehow be restored - in spite of the unilateral declaration of independence by the
republic of Indonesia on 17 August 1945. However, they understood that it was no
longer appropriate to use the emotionally-charged term colonial, so for a short while
between 1946 and 1950, the name of the institute and museum were changed to the
Royal East Indies Institute and the East Indies Museum, respectively. At that time the
museum had more than 60,000 objects in its collections. Because of the intention to
make it a kind of Commonwealth institute for the East and West Indies, it was
decided in this period to transfer the museums extensive African collection to the
National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, where it is still housed today.
In 1950, shortly after the bilateral agreements on the sovereignty of Indonesia, the
name of the institute was once again changed, this time to the Royal Tropical
Institute (Koninklijk Instituut voor deTropen) as it still is known today. The museum
became known simply as the Tropenmuseum. The general objective of both museum
and Institute the gathering and dissemination of knowledge remained
unchanged. However, instead of focusing exclusively on the former East Indies, the
Tropenmuseum broadened its scope to include the tropical and sub-tropical regions
in their entirety. Amongst other things, this meant that between the 1950s and 1970s,
curators and J.H. Jager Gerlings, the director of the museum, travelled to India,
Pakistan, Northern Africa, the Middle East and Latin America to bring together
acollection which reflected the daily lives of the peoples and cultures around the
world the new goal of the museums collection policy. To fill the gap left after the
transfer of the Africa collection to the museum in Leiden, in the 1970s the
Tropenmuseum also acquired the African art collection of the private collector
G. Oudshoorn.
By that time, the museum was also reformulating its policies. This was done, from
the early 1970s onwards, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which
had become the museums main funding source. The new goal was to provide
information about the lives and work of people in tropical and sub-tropical regions,
as well as the global changes affecting their way of life. A new emphasis was placed
on the relationship between societies there and here, and on the idea of develop-
ment cooperation. In 1979, the museum was completely renovated and refurbished,
and it pioneered with a new childrens museum, TM-junior, which even today is one
of the worlds leading childrens museums. At the same time, the ethnomusicological
tradition of the museum was broadened by the establishment of a theatre for staging
non-Western performing arts and increasing the international exchange of artists.
, Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
In those years, the historical photography collection was housed in a separate
department, at the time called the Central Photo-documentation Agency (Centraal
Bureau Fotodocumentatie or CBF). From 1960-1985 the collection led a troubled
existence. The Tropenmuseums focus and mentality during this period were directed
to the present and future, towards development cooperation and issues in the Third
World, and there was little interest in pictures from the colonial past. The turning
point, and with it a re-evaluation, announced itself in the 1980s and was confirmed
in the 1990s with the granting of museological status to the historical photography
collection by the museums director Henk-Jan Gortzak. The photography and film
collections were separated from each other, with the aim of properly conserving the
flammable nitrate film stock. The most fragile of the films were transferred to the
Netherlands Film Museum in Amsterdam. Within the museum, the object collections
and the photo collections initially remained separate, both organisationally and in
content.
This change in the museological status of the photograph collections was part of a
further broadening of the museums objective, to an anthropological museum centred
around people and their cultures, with special attention to the processes of change
occurring in the tropics and sub-tropics, and the relations between non-Western and
Western culture and society. This broadening of the museums objectives was likewise
carried over to the collection and exhibition policies of the Tropenmuseum. The
intention was to collect over a longer period of time within a specific region or on
aspecific topic, in order to document modernity, change and international influences
on material culture. The 1990 exhibition 125 years of collecting: the Tropenmuseum
opens up its storage rooms (Het Tropenmuseum pakt uit) underlined these changes
in the museums collection strategy. The museum was placing more and more
emphasis on the dynamic role of material culture in the processes of cultural change.
It intended to show that social changes do not come purely from outside, but are
deeply interwoven with a continual process of internal cultural change. These social
and cultural changes, visible when objects from a certain culture or region are
collected over a long period of time can then be illustrated in exhibitions. This
approach also led to a re-examination of the museums own collection history. The
collection was no longer viewed simply as a depository or storehouse of material
culture, but as a source of information about historical interactions, processes of
representation, collectors and the forming of dogmas. By implication, the museum
chose this moment to confront its colonial past head on.
Not only did this shift in vision affect recent collection policies; it also had a major
impact on the newly furnished museum galleries. In the 1990s a refurbishment of the
semi-permanent galleries was started and, by 2008, all the Tropenmuseum galleries
had been renovated. Except for in the 1970s, the museum had never closed its doors,
and remained open during this project of more than 10 years. The interaction with
:c
the public and the discussions about the role of the museum in society influenced the
process of refurbishment and contributed to the creation of many layers of meaning
in the new galleries that were set up. In parallel with the refurbishment of the semi-
permanent exhibitions, collection policy from 1997-2007 emphasised improving
collection management and digitising collection documentation in order to make it
available on the World Wide Web. Also digitised in this context were the museums
historical films, (transferred to the Dutch Film Museum in Amsterdam), and the
historical audio-collections (transferred to the Dutch Beeld en Geluid, or Image and
Sound Institute in Hilversum).
Despite the various shifts in name, policy and direction, the composition of the
Tropenmuseum collection has remained remarkably consistent. This is partly due to
the fact that the objects have been kept together for a long period of time and that
they were collected by a relatively small circle of Dutch collectors who identified
themselves with the institution. Initially these collectors were heavily involved with
Dutch colonial policy making and, later on in the twentieth century, with development
cooperation. Contemporary objects and visual material, with an emphasis on everyday
objects and spiritual/religious cultures, have always played an important role in the
acquisition process. The collection has also been carefully documented since its
inception and this also contributes to the continuity in policy making. Now that
thethird refurbishment programme in the history of the Tropenmuseum has been
finalised the Tropenmuseum is ready to focus its collection policies in the years to
come on further improvement of international collection mobility and exchange.
This will include developing new digital tools for accessing all the collections,
documentation and other cultural resources in the museum, and the exploration of
new acquisition lines, leading to the integration of contemporary autonomous art,
popular culture and intangible heritage in the ethnographic and colonial historical
collections.
Regions, themes and images: composition and classification of the
collections
The acquisition of contemporary objects has always been a high priority for the
Tropenmuseum. The results of this policy are reflected in the composition of the
museums ethnographical collections, consisting primarily of objects normally used in
the daily life of people in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. A clear emphasis has
been placed on those items relating to village life, traditional methods of craftsman-
ship, as well as on industrial and applied arts, textiles and performing arts. The
Tropenmuseum collection also includes many objects valued for their important
cultural-historical meaning. The heart of the collection is still formed of objects
either related to the museums colonial past or that were collected during the colonial
:: Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
period. The majority of objects were collected in the former Dutch overseas
territories and colonies, primarily the Indonesian archipelago, New Guinea and
Surinam. This chapter presents a brief outline of the composition of the various
collection units, based on the traditional regional and thematic classification that has
informed ethnographic practice in the past century. The next chapter explains how
the Tropenmuseum intends to challenge the fossilisation and stereotyping of culture,
to which this traditional institutional categorisation of cultural realms in the past has
contributed so much.
::
Box 1 Collection categories in the Tropenmuseum
The Tropenmuseums various collections are divided by region and theme. In accordance
with existing Dutch museological guidelines, the collection can be divided into three
categories: A, B, and C
2
, concerning research, acquisition and de-accessioning policies.
Category Acontains the core collections and plays a central role in collection acquisition,
research and exchange policies. These collections satisfy a number of criteria:
1 The objects are prototypes or unique copies and have outstanding significance in
themselves;
2 The objects express an essential phase of development or turning point within a culture,
or concerning cultural identity;
3 The objects have a symbolic significance within the collection policy of the
Tropenmuseum.
Category Bcollections are also important for the collection as a whole; acquisition,
research and exchange policies apply equally to these collections. This category involves
objects that satisfy the following criteria:
1 The objects have value as an ensemble: the objects form part of a meaningful greater
whole, even though individual pieces may not comply with the criteria;
2 The objects are valuable for presentations regarding the regions the Tropenmuseum
isinvolved with;
3 The objects have a documentary significance: the objects (such as modern photographs,
slides and films) contain inherently important information that is not included in the
selection criteria listed above;
4 The provenance of the objects links them to the museum and/or collection.
Category C consists of objects that do not fulfil the criteria for category A or B.
Collection acquisition does not occur in category C. However, these collections do fulfil
an important place in the work of the museum as well and can come into consideration
for exchange, long-term loan or de-accessioning.
In short, collections in category A are essential, indispensable, and irreplaceable for the
Tropenmuseum; Category B collections are an essential complement, whereas the status
of Category C collections is in transition.
:, Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
The A collections of the Tropenmuseum are categorised both regionally and thematically,
and concern the following:
Regions: Insular Southeast Asia (Indonesia, the Philippines), Continental Southeast Asia
(Thailand), Oceania (Papua and Papua New Guinea), Southern Asia (India, Pakistan),
Western Asia (Turkey, Yemen, Iran), North Africa (Morocco, Egypt), Sub-Saharan Africa
(Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ghana), Latin America (Surinam, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia)
Themes:Textiles (looms, fabrics and textiles from Indonesia, India, Pakistan, the
Netherlands; costumes and clothes from Indonesia, India, Yemen, Morocco), ethno-
musicology (musical instruments, dance and theatrical attributes from Indonesia, New
Guinea, Vietnam, India, Turkey, Egypt, Mali, Surinam, Mexico, Bolivia), colonial
collections (painting, drawings and prints from the former Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)
and Surinam), historical photographs (lens-based images negatives, prints, slides,
moving images, made in the various regions of the material culture collections).
Criss-crossing through the regional and thematic divisions of the core collections a
number of inter-regional thematic collections can be distinguished, which also contain
Category B collections. In some instances, such a sub-collection is related to a specific
historical period, in other instances, they are diachronic collections that portray change
over time. In these inter-regional thematic sub-collections, objects from regions that do
not belong to the focus of the Tropenmuseum, such as Japan or China, can have an
important place. The following themes have been identified over the past several decades:
Religion:Traditional religions (Indonesia, New Guinea, Nigeria (Yoruba)), Religious folk
culture (Latin America, India, Africa, Indonesia), Hinduism (India, Bali), Buddhism
(Thailand), Islam (Indonesia, Iran), Christianity (Latin America, the Philippines, Ethiopia).
Arts and crafts: Many crafted objects and implements from India, Indonesia, Thailand,
Morocco, Yemen, and Iran.
Design: Dutch design (early twentieth century); print work from India, Islamic culture
and Indonesia.
Jewellery: Islamic cultural area, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Melanesia.
Art: ethnographic masterpieces from Indonesia (royal art, pusaka, ethnic art), Africa
(ethnic art, regalia and symbols of power from the Ashanti, Yoruba, Luba, Kuba, Songye,
Zande, and Mangbetu), as well as folk art, and popular art.
Cultural ethnic identity: objects related to ethnic communities in India, Thailand,
Indonesia (Java, Bali, Sumatra (Aceh, Batak), Kalimantan (Dayak), Moluccas, Papua,
Nusa Tenggara), Papua New Guinea, Yemen, Burkina Faso, Surinam (Maroons, Indians),
Latin America (Indians of the Andes and Amazon), Morocco (Berber).
History: antiquities from archaeological sites (Indo-Javanica, Pre-Columbian cultures,
Middle East, South Asia) from the colonial period, as well as historical prints and
photographs.
Internationally known and important objects in the Tropenmuseum collections:
Javanese gamelan slendro, Balinese gamelan semar pagulingan, Javanese Japara partition
walls, Dutch East Indies opium collection, Venetian trade beads, P. Wirz collection,
H. Feriz collection, G. Tillmann collection, G. Oudshoorn collection, Dutch East Indies
paintings and prints, VOC furniture, collection of historical photographs.
Collections from Southeast Asia
The vast majority of the objects in the Southeast Asian collections come from
Indonesia. Also represented within the collection is material culture from Thailand,
the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Taiwan.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an especially significant source of objects for
the museum since its opening in 1871. The core collection was assembled between
1871 and 1910 by the colonial museum in Haarlem. This diverse collection includes
a variety of important applied and industrial arts products, as well as ordinary
implements used throughout the archipelago. Thanks to the addition of other
collections including the Artis collection and through purchases, donations,
legacies, and collecting in the field, the Tropenmuseum has built up an extremely
diverse and rich Indonesian collection. Very important regional collections are those
from Aceh, the Batak, the Dayak, the islands of Nias, Java and Bali, and the smaller
archipelagos in the Southeastern Moluccas. Although there are too many to name
them all, a few people who contributed to the collection deserve to be mentioned
here (in alphabetical order): Tassilo Adam, P. Drabbe, F. Eigenbrod, A.W. Gall,
H. Neubronner van der Tuuk, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, H.O.W. Planten,
Ch.E.H. Sayers, F.W. Stammeshaus, G. Tillmann and C.J.M. Wertheim,
C.G. Vattier-Kraane.
The thematic sub-collections include: musical instruments such as very rare Balinese
and Javanese gamelan; weapons and spears; clothing and textiles; different sorts of
wayangpuppets and masks used in traditional Javanese theatre; the jewellery
collection, the collection of Indo-Javanicawhich includes costly golden jewellery and
ornaments, stone and bronze sculptures, terracotta fragments, and bronze objects
used in rituals; as well as the colonial collection which spans four centuries from
the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to the emigration and remigration of Dutch
and Dutch Indies people in the middle of the last century.
After Indonesia, objects from Thailand are the most strongly represented within the
Southeast Asian collection. These include devotionalia, objects used in Theravada
Buddhism; an extensive collection of objects gathered from the agricultural
community of the Central Plains during a 1973 collection field trip; and a collection
of material culture from the six population groups living within the so-called Golden
Triangle. The somewhat smaller Philippines collection consists primarily of baskets
and ritual artefacts used by the traditional cultures of North-Luzon; Roman-Catholic
saints (santos) and other holy figures from South Luzon; and the traditional striking
and stabbing weapons used by Islamic groups living in the Mindanao and Sulu
archipelago. Cultures in Burma and Vietnam are represented by smaller collections,
such as a set of traditional theatre puppets. There are very few Malaysian objects.
:
Thenon-ethnic Chinese groups in Taiwan, who are considered part of the Southeast
Asian cultural sphere, are also represented by a few masterpieces dating from the
nineteenth century.
Collections from Oceania
The Oceania collection is one of the richest and most precious collections in the
Tropenmuseum. That said, the diverse cultures of this extensive area are not
represented equally; the vast majority of the objects in this collection originate from
the island of New Guinea (Papua and Papua New Guinea).
The collection from New Guinea, originating from the Haarlem and Artis collections,
is internationally renowned. A considerable number of these objects were collected as
early as 1875 during exploration trips along the north and south coasts of the island.
Important as well are the objects collected by the Swiss anthropologist Dr. Paul Wirz,
who performed fieldwork at several locations in both Dutch and Australian New
Guinea during the 1930s and 1940s. Other masterpieces in the New Guinea
collection include the Asmat bisj poles and other extraordinary woodwork of the
south coast of Papua, purchased by C.M.A. Groenevelt for the Tropenmuseum in the
1950s. More recently, in 2001 the Tropenmuseum acquired a collection of oil paintings
and drawings by Father Petrus Vertenten (1884-1946)(Fathers of the Sacred Heart at
Borgerhout, Belgium), who worked as a missionary amongst the Marind-anim.
Objects used in daily and spiritual life are the most strongly represented within the
Oceania collection. The inter-island, nautical aspects of these sea-faring cultures are
less extensively represented. The collection does contain a number of beautiful, richly
decorated prows of canoes, oars and boat models. The collection can also be divided
into regional sub-collections. Within the Papua region (formerly Irian Jaya, Dutch
New Guinea) peoples from the following areas are represented: Yellow Finch Bay area
and the North coast including the Wakde-Yamna area; Humboldt Bay and the
Sentani Lake District; the Eastern central mountains, including an important
collection of objects from the Dani peoples in and around the Baliem valley; the
whole Southwest and South coast: the Mimika region, the coasts and inland groups
of the Asmat, and the river basin of the Mappi, Digul, and Marind-anim Rivers.
Within the Papua New Guinea region, the river basin of the Sepik and its tributaries;
the Maprik region; the Gulf of Papua are all represented.
In a broader geographical sense, the Melanesian Islands are barely accounted for.
Polynesia and Micronesia are marginally represented, although some important
historical collection pieces come from the Maori, the peoples of the Fiji and Cook
Islands, and Australia.
:, Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
The Oceania collection contributes to various thematic collections, including ritual
clothes made from tree bark (maro) from the Sentani Lake District; battle shields
from New Guinea; battle and status clubs from the entire Oceania region; javelins,
arrows and bows from various areas within Oceania; oars, mainly from Melanesia;
objects made using stone-age technology; and the ritual musical instruments from
New Guinea. The core New Guinea collection was brought together during the years
of Dutch colonial authority in the region, before 1963. The New Guinea collection is
therefore regarded as a historical collection of Papua cultures. Though objects from
this region have not been actively collected for decades, the collection is still regularly
supplemented by small and large donations, mainly consisting of the private
collections of the last Dutch administrators.
Collections from South Asia
Most collections from Southern Asia were acquired after 1950, coming from India,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, with Indian cultures the best
represented. The basis of this diverse and varied collection was formed during
acquisition trips by the museum staff in 1968, 1982, 1989-1990 and 2005-2006.
Generally speaking, the Indian and Pakistani collections from the sixties reflect the
motivation and interests of those who collected them: they consist primarily of
objects used in daily life, collected with the intention of showing Dutch audiences
the problems of modernisation faced by developing nations. From the 1980s onwards
focus areas were folk religion, popular prints and the Adivasi (native peoples).
The Indian collections are regularly expanded with purchases of objects concerning
folk religions, textiles, traditional crafts, popular prints, and musical instruments.
Pakistani culture is mainly represented by a comprehensive collection of daily life
objects from an agricultural community in Punjab, Northern Pakistan. These were
collected in 1965, at the request of the Tropenmuseum, by the American photo-
journalist and traveller Josephine Powell (1919-2007). This sub-collection also
contains a collection of architectural fragments, household goods and clothing from
the Swat region in Northwest Pakistan.
From Nepal, the museum acquired a small collection of objects related to modern
Tibetan Buddhism. From Bhutan, there is a small collection of textiles, including
different pieces of mens clothing and complete looms. Material culture from Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh is only marginally represented in this collection.
:o
Collections from Latin America and the Caribbean
Represented within the collection are objects from Surinam, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and
Mexico, as well as a small number of objects from the Netherlands Antilles and
Aruba. These collections can be divided into three separate sub-collections, each with
its own characteristics and collection histories. The sub-collection from Surinam
comprises approximately one-third of the total collection from Latin America and the
Caribbean. It is an extensive collection, which finds its origins in the Artis collection.
Emphasis lies on collections from Surinamese Indian and Maroon communities;
other cultural groups are represented to a much lesser degree. Important collectors
areC.H. de Goeje (1879-1955) and C.D.H. Eygenberger (acq. date 1978).
The Latin American Pre-Columbian collections are far from complete, but they do
offer insight into the ancient American cultures. The majority of this sub-collection
was collected by Dr. Hans Feriz (1931-1970) and donated to the museum in the
1950s and 1960s.
Other ethnographic collections from Latin America include an extensive collection of
folk art and religious objects from Mexico, Brazil and the Andes, as well as objects
from the Ticua of the Amazon basin. The collection was significantly expanded in
2000, when the museum opened a new semi-permanent exhibition on Latin America
and the Caribbean. As part of this process, objects of popular culture, religious folk
culture, and of the native populations of the Amazon basin were acquired. Also of
importance was the 1997 purchase of 300 Mexican masks and related ritual objects
acquired from the collector W. van Roon. Another significant expansion of the
collection occurred in 2002 thanks to the acquisition of a large Bolivian collection of
folk culture, originally assembled on location by the staff of the Tropenmuseum
Junior.
Collections from the Middle East and North Africa
Among the material culture of the Middle East and North Africa, objects from
Morocco (J. Powell, 1968, F. Cowan and J.H. Jager Gerlings, 1969), Turkey (J. Powell,
1977), Yemen (C. van Leeuwen, 1970s and 1980s) and Iran (D. Middelhoek, 1976,
Tropenmuseum Junior 2002) are best represented. The scope and diversity of the
collection, which consists of objects from the Artis collection and those either
acquired on field trips or through well-targeted purchases, has made it quite an
important collection with regard to Islamic cultures. The focus is on the daily lives
and traditional cultures of rural and, to a lesser degree, urban areas. Particular
emphasis has been placed on craft industries, domestic furnishings, and folk religions.
The collections are composed primarily of objects used daily in rural communities,
such as agricultural tools, domestic and cooking utensils; and the tools and products
:; Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
of traditional craftsmen, such as fine and rough smiths, copper smiths, potters,
weavers and leather tanners. Most of the objects were collected to illustrate the
development of these countries in the 1970s and 1980s; the aesthetic aspect of the
objects collected was considered less important.
If this collection is considered to represent the classical heritage of the region in
which the emphasis is laid on religion, art and science then there are important
gaps which must be mentioned. Folk Islam and rural Islam are well represented by
amulets, amulet jewels and prints featuring religious themes. Yet the contributions of
the Islamic culture to science and technological development are symbolised by just
afew historical scientific instruments, such as a quadrant, astrolabe and a plumb line.
The traditional Islamic arts collection was recently enlarged for the Urban Islam
exhibition (2003). The collection of traditional art remains quite small, however. It is
currently on exhibit almost in its entirety in the semi-permanent exhibition.
Meanwhile, modernisation and urbanisation have strongly influenced the material
culture of the region. While these processes have led to the disappearance of many of
the traditional objects and art forms, they have ensured continuity and renewal.
Many of the objects collected in the sixties and seventies are already considered to be
part of the historical collection. In addition to acquiring more recent objects, it is also
important for the museum to actively collect historical objects relating to these
countries often long cultural heritages.
Collections from Sub-Saharan Africa
Since the foundation of the Colonial Museum in Amsterdam, objects of African
origin have been in the museums collection. This was not the result of direct
acquisition, but of various donations. African objects were frequently donated as part
of a larger collection of objects covering several geographic regions. The largest
indirect acquisition came from the Artis collection, which contained thousands of
African objects. As mentioned in chapter 1, the majority of these objects were
transferred to the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden in 1947. When the
museum changed direction again three years later, this time expanding its scope to
include the entire tropical and subtropical regions, new acquisition tours were made.
Thus, the majority of the African objects in the current Tropenmuseum collection
have been acquired within the last 50 years.
The Sub-Saharan Africa collection can best be characterised as fragmented. In
contrast to the Northern Africa collection, this one was not systematically assembled
in the field. The Samo collection forms the only exception; this collection of objects,
audio and film footage, was collected in the field in the 1970s and provides an
:
exhaustive picture of the material culture of the Samo in Burkina Faso at that time.
The most valuable expansion of the Africa collection took place in 1973 with the
acquisition of the Oudshoorn collection of African art.
Strong sub-collections were collected in Mali, Nigeria and Ghana. The Ghana
collection, for example, includes regalia, power symbols and other objects which have
been linked with various religious cults (Ifa, Eshu, Ogboni fellowships); as well as the
material culture of the Akan-speaking peoples, such as the Ashanti, Fanti, Agni and
Baule. The modern Ashanti collection, assembled in 2000 by the staff of Tropen-
museum Junior, also forms an excellent and welcome supplement to the total
collection.
In addition to these traditional objects in the collection, in 2000 the museum
acquired the series of 102 paintings by the Zairese painter T. (Tshibumba) Kanda
Matulu which illustrate Congos colonial history and the peoples fight for
independence. These paintings were acquired from the anthropologist Johannes
Fabian, in the context of the museums acquisitions policy on popular art. Thanks to
the acquisition of objects of popular culture and urban folk art from Ghana,
Cameroon, Congo and Ethiopia, a new, thematic sub-collection has come into being.
During the previous policy period a complete set of Bamana masks and all the
attributes associated with the ceremonies in which these masks perform (sticks, head-
dresses, musical instruments and costumes) were acquired. The festivities were also
documented in photographs, film footage and audio fragments.
Collections from China, Japan, and Europe
The Tropenmuseum also possesses other, smaller collections of objects, which fall
outside the museums regional expertise. These include East Asia (China and Japan)
and Europe. There are roughly 5,500 objects from China and Japan in the collection,
the majority of which were acquired as part of the Artis collection. The small
collection of 2,500 European objects was donated to the Tropenmuseum by different
cultural organisations and museums over the years.
Because these collections contain culturally and historically important pieces linked
to interregional themes like religion, ethnomusicology, or colonial collections, while
also linking the institute to Dutch society and documenting the overall collection
history of the museum, these collections are regarded as Category C collections, to be
kept, but without an acquisition target.
:, Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
Textiles
The Tropenmuseum has a large and important textile collection spanning a broad
spectrum of cultures and geographic regions. In particular, the Indonesian textiles
collection is quite diverse, containing a number of unique world-class objects. An
important sub-collection of 3000 Javanese batik, of which 1544 were collected by
H. C. Veldhuisen and acquired by the museum in 1996, reveals the entire historical
and regionally diverse developments of the manufacturing process, patterns and
designs of batik. Thanks to various donations and purchases over the last ten years,
the Tropenmuseum batik collection can now be considered one of the most
important collections of its kind in the world. Just as important, though smaller in
number, is the collection of ceremonial textiles from southern Sumatra, the textiles
from the Batak region of northern Sumatra, and the textiles of Bali.
The textile collection spans the existing regional and thematic collections of the
museum, including commemoration cloths, archaeological textiles and links to the
performing arts. It can be used as a departure point for geographically specific or
thematically based research projects. It can also be studied on the basis of production
methods used, such as the techniques used to create textile products, as well as on the
basis of the implements and equipment used (threads, spindles, colouring agents,
etc.).
Ethnomusicology
Since the word ethnomusicology was coined by Jaap Kunst, head of the Tropen-
museums Ethnomusicology department (1936-1956) and internationally recognised
expert in the field of ethnic music, it has been a consistent focal point of the
Tropenmuseums collection policy. In accordance with current public interest in
world music, over the last few decades, music, dance and theatre have grown closer
together. In contrast, technological developments, together with a better under-
standing of the meaning of intangible heritage, have allowed the museum to work on
reconstructing the links between musical instruments, performers and music.
The current Tropenmuseum Ethnomusicology collection consists of musical
instruments, as well as costumes and associated theatre attributes, head-dresses,
masksetc., which encompass the entire tropical and sub-tropical regions. The most
important collections of musical instruments and dance masks originate from
Indonesia, Surinam, India and Africa.
The Southeast Asia collection contains important Javanese and Balinese gamelan,
aswell as the musical instruments of Sumatra, the Moluccas and other islands.
Additionally, both royal and folk instruments from Thailand are present. Within
:c
theOceania collection, the assemblage of ritual music instruments and dance
costumes from New Guinea is large, varied and of international stature. The
collection is historical in the sense that it was assembled during the Dutch colonial
period.
The Southern Asia collection of musical instruments can be divided into two types:
the standardised instruments used in the traditional and classical music of northern
and southern India, and those used to play regionally popular or tribal music. The
reciprocal influence of these different musical forms on each other is an important
point of interest. The most important collections of puppets come from Indonesia
and India, in 1996 complemented by puppets from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Myanmar,
Togo and Mali. The wayang collection of leather and wooden theatre puppets from
Java, Bali and Southern Sumatra, and the Javanese and Balinese dancing masks are
also quite substantial. With regard to Indian puppet theatre, the museum possesses
both string puppets (Rajasthan, Orissa), as well as hand (Kerala) and shadow puppets
(Andhra Pradesh). There is also a complete set of puppets and masks from Sri Lanka,
with dcor pieces.
The range of contemporary musical instruments and costumes, used in performances
with human actors or dancers, is far from complete. The Western Asia and Northern
Africa collection of musical instruments is not large. It includes the most important
instruments from Turkey, Iran and North Africa and a small but complete Egyptian
puppet theatre. The collection of Sub-Saharan Africa includes two sets of theatre
puppets string puppets from Togo and stick puppets from Mali both sets
complemented by the associated musical instruments and attributes. The collection
of musical instruments from Surinam provides a good picture of the history of the
local populations (Amerindian, Creole, Hindostani, and Javanese), in particularly the
Amerindian and Afro-Surinamese local populations. The Andes cultural region is
currently represented by a collection of Peruvian instruments and a modern Bolivian
collection of musical instruments and costumes. The latter was collected as part of an
acquisition trip carried out by the Tropenmuseum Junior staff in 1996/1997.
Colonial collections
Objects in the KIT Tropenmuseum collection related to the Dutch colonial past span
four centuries, from early pieces of furniture, coins and prints from the age of the
Dutch East India Company (VOC) to the photographs and ethnographical objects
made for or collected by representatives of the Netherlands in Surinam, New Guinea
and the Netherlands Antilles. Concentrating on the objects which bear witness to the
long Dutch presence in their colonies, three large categories can be distinguished:
1: The material culture of Dutch colonial and overseas life, in all its facets; 2: the
:: Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
colonies in the Netherlands (sources, science, symbols); 3: illustrations of the colonies
in visual arts, decorative arts, photography and film.
1The material culture of Dutch colonial and overseas life, in all its facets
The composition of the collection ranges from precious older pieces, such as the
seventeenth-century VOC furniture, to everyday things, such as drivers licenses
from the middle of the twentieth century. In this collection are clothing, furniture,
domestic objects, personal documents, and various smaller objects, such as coins,
bank notes, objects from Japanese internment camps, militaria, passenger tickets,
menus, and travel souvenirs.
2The colonies in the Netherlands (sources, science, symbols)
This sub-collection is closely connected to the archive and to collection
documentation. Many objects are not stored in the museum storage facilities, but
in the library or offices. This applies to scientific writings, literature, manuscripts,
cards, atlases, object descriptions and documentation; and to objects from the
history of the museum collection (ethnographic objects, tropical products, wax
models, school collections), catalogues, archivalia, portrait busts, product samples.
Collections in the storage facilities are concerned with applications of Dutch-Indies
techniques by artists in the Netherlands, used to make industrial and decorative
arts products, and the use of oriental symbols and motifs in Dutch art: batik,
indigo, and motifs on fabric, book covers, ornamentation, and fashion.
3Illustrations of the colonies in the visual arts, decorative arts, photography
and film
The Tropenmuseum collections have important collections of paintings, prints,
drawings, illustrated schoolbooks, photographs and films, as well as models and
dioramas of houses, bridges, and plantations, transportation vehicles and vessels,
and agricultural tools manufactured for use in colonial and missionary exhibitions,
annual fairs or other events. Costume dolls, as well as folk or ethnologist tableaux,
also belong to this sub-collection. Within these collections are also paintings which
illustrate the ways in which the colonised regarded their coloniser, such as the
painting of the assassination of Captain Tak, Wayang revolusi, the drawings and
writings of a pro-Sukarno republican, and the recently acquired canvas painting of
the north coast of Java by Sitiswan (1865-1948), which includes a number of
historical events and figures.
The Dutch East Indies paintings, drawings and prints form the core of this sub-
collection, covering the period during which Indonesia was a colony of the Nether-
lands. The subject Indi in the broadest sense of the word, and the era in which it
was created, are used to determine if a work can be labelled as Indisch. The paintings
from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries distinguish themselves
::
from the art of the twentieth century by their documentary character. The collection
contains more than 200 oil paintings dating from the seventeenth, nineteenth and
especially twentieth centuries. The collection of approximately 2000 former Dutch
East Indies prints, drawings and watercolours in this collection strengthens the
collection as a whole, providing a nearly complete overview of the styles of painting
used in the former Dutch East Indies. Most of the paintings were acquired as a
supplement to the ethnographical collection because they depicted both the land and
peoples. Although the collection does have a number of gaps, it is considering its
scope, diversity and quality of national and international importance.
Visual culture: Photographs
Although a large part of the photographic collections can also be classified as colonial
collections, it deserves a separate entry in this broad outline of the Tropenmuseum
collections. Within the photographic collection are the historical collection (from
c. 1860 to c.1960) and the new collections containing visual material from after
1960. Little of these new collections has yet been made digitally accessible. The
historical collection contains 2744 albums (with an estimated 175,000 photos in
total), about 10,000 individual photos, approximately 80,000 historical negatives,
about 7500 slides and stereo slides and many published postcards. The collections
with more recent visual material consist of approximately 25,000 negatives from
individual donations and photo collecting trips by institute and museum staff, as well
as about 80,000 colour slides.
Region, photographer and subjects can divide the photo collection. The majority of
the more than 275,000 historical photos (from 1855-1940) involve the Dutch East
Indies including Dutch New Guinea (about 75%), Surinam (about 10%) and the
Netherlands Antilles, including Aruba (about 5%). There is also material from places
and regions visited during boat trips to the Indies: Egypt, Aden, Ceylon (Sri Lanka),
India. The unique records from the Arabian peninsula (the Van der Meulen
collection), the expedition negatives by Ph.C. Visser and his wife J. Visser-Hooft
from the Karakorum region in the Himalayas and a modest collection of photos from
the west coast of Africa, principally Ghana (Muller collection) deserve special
mention.
The photographic material from after 1960 consists mainly of black-and-white
negatives/photos and colour slides taken mostly by KIT employees, such as academic
staff and Tropenmuseum curators, during their travels and collecting trips in the
various tropical countries of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Virtually all of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries most famous professional
photographers working in the Dutch East Indies, Surinam and the Netherlands
:, Outline of the Tropenmuseum collections
Antilles are represented in the collection. In addition, the collection contains a great
many photos and negatives from photographers who were not professionals, such as
civil servants, soldiers, planters and scientists wanting to record their and others work
for posterity as best as they could. There is no shortage of domestic snapshots, a form
of photography which is enjoying increasing interest today. The material from the
nineteenth century is dominated by prints, whether or not in albums. Besides prints
from several twentieth-century photographers, there are also negatives in the
collection. Although incomplete, the list of professional and amateur photographers
represented in the collection includes Woodbury & Page (Batavia, 1858-1910);
Kleingrothe, later Stafhell & Kleingrothe (Medan, 1885-1940); Cphas (Yogjakarta,
1895-1920); Kurkdjian (Surabaya, 1890-1935); Van Kinsbergen (Batavia,
1870-1910); the Curiel Ladies (Surinam, c. 1900-1950); Julius Muller (Surinam,
1885-1900); Soublette et fils (Curaao, 1880-1923), and Daniel van der Meulen
(1925-1970).
In its subjects, the historical photo collection paints a highly diverse picture of the
last decades of Dutch colonialism in the Dutch East Indies, Surinam and the
Netherlands Antilles in all its facets and complexity. The former areas of focus of the
Colonial Institute, such as tropical medicine, tropical products and agriculture are
especially well represented and should be given explicit mention here. Thematically,
the collection can be divided as follows: Anthropological images (both physical and
cultural anthropology); scientific research in botany, medicine, geology and
geography, including material from the many expeditions in the Dutch East Indies,
New Guinea and Suriname; economic developments, both large-scale and cottage
industries and trade; administrative matters, including administration of the law,
wars, etc.; agriculture, local and small-scale as well as on large plantations; education;
architecture and urban development; landscapes; flora, fauna; communications and
infrastructure; family photos; theatre, music and dance; daily life and rituals.
:
2 Recent developments
in collection policies
and approaches
2003-2007
In 2003, for the first time in its history, the Tropenmuseum made its regular five-year
collection policy document available to others by publishing the Bulletin Erfgoed en
toekomst: een werkdocument. Collectienota 2003-2007(Heritage and Future:
aWorking Paper. Collection policy paper 2003-2007). In the following chapter we
will briefly introduce the ambitions of that policy paper in order to monitor its
outcome, and make the connection to the museums collection ambitions for the next
five years.
Acquisition
Collection acquisitions of the past five years were aimed at strengthening the existing
collection profiles with contemporary objects, with a special focus on the following
themes: popular art and popular culture, culture and migration, religious folk
cultures, colonial history, shared cultural heritage, intangible heritage. In time it
turned out that the museum was involving itself more and more in acquisitions in
the realm of modern art. Following this section is a brief overview of the main
acquisitions, acquired both in the context of new (semi-permanent) exhibitions and
through donations. In general we see that most acquisitions concern objects of which
the maker (artist, craftsman) or the owner is known and knows that his object will
become a museum piece. Besides, many objects were acquired because they support
the story line of the refurbished museum. These objects are on display, and in many
cases, their meaning, making or functioning in the community of origin, has been
documented on film. This contextual information is stored in the digital object
database as an essential part of its provenance and interpretation. Concerning the
intangible heritage, the museum focused on the phenomenon of story telling. Many
recently acquired objects do relate to story telling as a social practice and a way to
preserve tradition.
:, Recent developments in collection policies and approaches 2003-2007
As always, donations have been an important means to strengthen the collections.
During the previous policy period, the CMM Brothers in Tilburg donated a
collection of ethnographic items from Indonesia, Africa and Suriname.
Additionally, important acquisitions could be obtained thanks to the financial
support of the BankGiro Loterij, Vereniging Rembrandt and the Stichting
Volkenkundige Collectie Nederland/Mondriaan Foundation Fund. Through the
Indisch Wetenschappelijk Instituut (Indies Scientific Institute or IWI), the museum
profited as well from the financial support from Het Gebaar (the gesture), a special
fund for initiatives to preserve and explore the sources of the colonial past of the
people of Dutch Indies descent in the Netherlands.
The following sections list the acquisitions according to their geographical
provenance, with the exception of the historical photographs. More than 1800 objects
were added to the material culture collection. In the following summary a few objects
and sub-collections which give an idea of the core areas of the past acquisitions policy
will be described in more detail.
New acquisitions from Southeast Asia
Textiles:The museums famous batik collections were expanded with two important
items. One is a 123x280cm batik representing the former Sanatorium Garoet on
Java, founded in 1915 by Dr. Denis Gerard Mulder. Besides furniture the museum
collection already contained several photos of the sanatorium by Thilly Weissenborn.
The other piece acquired was a memory batik; these were batiks made especially for
Dutch soldiers in Indonesia. This piece shows, besides a globe, a mill and the
blindfolded woman Justitia and the text Koninklijke Marechaussee zonder vrees en
zonder blaam [Royal military police, without fear and without blame] 1946-1949.
The museum received more than 200 pieces of textiles from Indonesia from the
Museum Prinsessenhof in Leeuwarden. This collection was previously housed in the
now-defunct Gerardus van der Leeuw Museum in Groningen.
Colonial collections:The exhibition in 2005/2006 entitled Yogya silver, a new
Javaneseart (Yogya zilver, een nieuweJavaansekunst) inspired the museum to acquire
arepresentative collection of this colonial silver. In late 2007 the museum was able to
buy a representative selection from one of the lenders to this exhibition, Mr Harmen
Veldhuisen. In the long term, a part of this collection will be on permanent display
in the museum.
Paintings:The Indonesian painting collection was expanded with a work by the
painter Pieter Ouborg (1893-1956) depicting a Javanese woman, a painting by Otto
Djaya (1916-2002) entitled Revolusi and dated 1947, three paintings by Charles
:o
Sayers (1901-1943), Portrait of his daughter Wilhelmina Sayers of 1936, Balinese
woman from c. 1932, Balinese duck-herder from 1927, and several watercolours and
drawings, preliminary sketches by Hendrik Paulides (1892-1967) for wall paintings
executed in the Royal Tropical Institute.
Long-term loan of objects from Oceania
The University Museum in Groningen has given a small but outstanding collection
from Oceania on loan. This collection was previously housed in the now-defunct
Gerardus van der Leeuw Museum in Groningen.
Recent acquisitions in India and Bhutan
Folk religion: Part of a collection of modern prints and images of Indian gods put
together by the curator for the exhibition Entreatingthegods, ritualsin Hinduis
(Degoden verzoeken, rituelen in het Hindoesme, 2005/2006) can be seen in the semi-
permanent exhibition Round and About India.
There is also a Buddhist home altar, made by the National Institute for Zorig
Chusum (Bhutan). Zorig Chusum means Thirteen Trades. This institute was
founded to keep alive the traditional arts and crafts of Bhutan. Its students, both boys
and girls, come from the entire country. After a general training of three months each
individual students most promising skills are chosen. There is no distinction by sex;
there are boys who study weaving and embroidery, traditionally associated with
women, and girls who paint thangkas(religious scroll paintings). The complete
training lasts from four to six years. Four films have also been commissioned, which
will illustrate Buddhism today in Bhutan. Three will be made and produced by the
BBS, the countrys national broadcasting organisation, and one by an individual
filmmaker, Ugyen Wangdi of Ugetsu Communications. These films will be shown in
the museum in combination with the altar.
In 2006 a taziyawas purchased, made entirely by hand by Azgan Ali Khan, from
the village of Kara in Uttar Pradesh, India. Made of bamboo and silver foil, a taziya
is a tower carried around by Shiites on the occasion of Ashura during the month of
Moharram. The taziyais set up and can be viewed in the new semi-permanent
exhibition Round and About India.
Antiquities: For the first time in quite a while the museum acquired a statue from
the art market, in order to strengthen the relevance of its ancient South Asian
collections. It is a temple statue of the Hindu god Surya (the sun god) dating from
1000-1100 AD, the period when the Pala dynasty ruled the eastern part of India.
A contemporary statue of Shiva Nataraj (dancing Shiva) was also acquired. Both
:; Recent developments in collection policies and approaches 2003-2007
pieces are on display in the museum and together embody the museums collection
policy. Antique high-quality pieces are important in painting a balanced picture of a
culture. On the other hand, it is often precisely with contemporary objects that the
Tropenmuseum can tell the stories it wishes to tell.
Popular art/story telling: Also in the context of the new semi-permanent exhibit
Round and About India, several objects have been acquired including a vertical scroll
painting depicting the tsunami that hit India on 26 December 2004. The painting
was made by Snhalata Chitrakar of Naya in West Bengal, India.
The Tropenmuseum commissioned a modern painting by Shri Shantilal Joshi of
Shahpura, Rajasthan, painter of traditional narrative cloth paintings about the hero
Pabuji. As an analogy to a Pabuji cloth, the painter chose to portray the life of
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Story telling related to this recent
acquisition was filmed on several occasions by the Indian filmmakers Sunil Umarao
and Ajita Singh, and by Nandini Bedi, an Indian documentary filmmaker living in
the Netherlands.
Textiles: a dress called London Dress no. 43 from the collection of clothing designer
Manish Arora, owner of Three Clothing Pvt. Ltd. Delhi. Manish Aroras clothing line
combines typically Indian forms with Western motifs. The dress shows many
elements that evoke an immediate association with England, and London in
particular: Buckingham Palace guards, a royal crown, Big Ben, London Eye, and
adiagram of the Underground. In a clever touch, the writing on the Underground
map suggests Devanagari script. The dress was designed for wealthy buyers.
Commissioned art and ethnographical objects from Latin America
and the Caribbean
Modern art: At the museums request, artist Marcel Pinas (born 1971in Suriname)
made an installation called Reconnecting Africa between January 2006 and January
2007, connecting the Caribbean exhibit with the refurbished Africa exhibition in a
logical way. The history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade was the inspiration for Pinas.
Besides everyday implements from Surinam and hand-made parts, objects from the
Surinam and Africa collections of the Tropenmuseum are part of the installation.
Ethnographic objects: More than 100 objects from the Warrau people of Venezuela
were received as a gift.
:
Modern art, popular art and stories from the Middle East and North
Africa
Applied art and autonomous art: A glazed plate with a representation of Adam and
Eve in paradise was bought directly from the artist Faik Kirimli (born 1935, Turkey).
Two paintings with calligraphic representations were bought directly from the artist
Yeschou (pseudonym for Fouad Lahbib, born 1955, Morocco), including a piece
called Tazmult (scar in Berber). Yeschous paintings are mostly inspired by Tifinagh,
the ancient script of the Berbers in North Africa. A bronze sculpture by the famous
artist Adam Henein (born 1929, Egypt) entitled Umm Kulthum, portraying
legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum (1904-1975) was acquired directly from its
maker. The sculpture shows Umm Kulthum in one of her most characteristic poses,
singing while holding a handkerchief, as she always did during concerts. This way of
showing the singer has become one of the best-known pictures of Umm Kulthum.
Heneins interpretation of this iconic representation is an almost abstract one; by
omitting all superfluous details he reduces the image to its essence: the singer and her
music. All of these pieces are on show in the semi-permanent exhibition about the
Middle East and North Africa.
The Terrorist series (2004) by well-known Iranian artist Khosrow Hassanzadeh
(born 1963, Iran) was purchased from the artist during the exhibition InsideIran
overview exhibition of Khosrow Hassanzadeh(2006/2007) in the Tropenmuseum. The
series consists of four very large silk-screen prints. In the series, Hassanzadeh opens
the concept of terrorism within the international political world for discussion by
portraying himself, his mother, his wife and sister as terrorists. Each portrait is
accompanied by a label with information about the terrorist giving the persons
name, age and a few unusual characteristics.
Art, popular art and story telling: A set of twenty-five shadow puppets for the
Karagz story of Layla and Majnun, made by Metin zlen (born 1940, Turkey),
waspurchased. Metin zlen made the collection in 1999, except for the introductory
puppet Wonders of Creation, which he made in 2000. A performance of the story
was filmed in a studio in Istanbul, and zlen was also interviewed.
A commission was given to artist Farshid Mesghali (born 1943, Iran) for a
sculpture portraying one of the final scenes from the love story of Layla and Majnun,
in which Majnun visits Laylas grave.
Ahmad Khalili (born 1943, Iran) painted a narrative cloth painting for the museum,
telling the Layla and Majnun, story in 19 episodes. Khalili based the presentation on
this piece on a narrative by master story-teller Vallioallah Torabi. Khalili also consulted
the written version by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209), as well as taking
inspiration from his own love life. Stylistically, this painting belongs to the so-called
coffee-house art. These objects are all part of the semi-permanent exhibit Travelling
tales.
:, Recent developments in collection policies and approaches 2003-2007
A photographic postcard from the 1920s, showing a portrait of a Tunisian boy
named Mohamed directly shows the relationship to an Iranian poster from around
2006 showing the prophet Mohammed. This poster belongs to a series of 17 modern
Shiite posters purchased by the museum in Iran. A collection of Egyptian film posters
from the 1930s through 2002 is an important addition to the existing collection of
popular art and design.
A selection from the Iran collection, collected there in 2002 by staff of the
Childrens Museum for the three-year interactive exhibition Paradise & Co. (Paradijs
& Co.) for children, was added to the Tropenmuseum collection.
Recent acquisitions of works of art and applied art by African artists
Modern art:Two paintings by the Zairian painter Cheri Cherin (pseudonym of
Joseph Kinkonda, born 1955, Congo) were purchased during an exhibition of his
work in The Hague at the Art Korner gallery, including the piece entitled
Kinoiseries with scenes from Kinshasa. This painting is full of the goings-on in a
busy street, such as a man selling a stuffed crocodile and a banner announcing an
evangelical meeting.
Another recently acquired piece is La Magicienne, a papier-mch sculpture by
artist Mickael Bethe Selassie (born 1951, Ethiopia). In 1971 he fled to Paris, where
he still lives. He is one of the great names in modern African art, and has exhibited
in 15 countries including South Africa and the United States. In 2000 he had a solo
exhibition in the Tropenmuseum. The sculpture is the opening piece to the semi-
permanent exhibition about Africa newly opened in 2006.
The sculpture Peace Bird, by artist C.A. Mabunda (born 1975, Mozambique),
wasalso purchased for this exhibition. Only with a second look does the viewer
realise that the sculpture was made from metal parts of weapons used in the many
years of guerrilla warfare in Mozambique.
Popular culture: For the section on design in the semi-permanent Africaexhibition,
baskets and plates with various colourful motifs were purchased, made by amongst
others S. Mavundla of Durban, South Africa. The objects are made from telephone
wire, which is replacing traditional basketry material.
Textiles: A number of grand boubouswere ordered from Assa Sylla, Bamako, Mali,
and the entire production process was filmed. A few boubous are shown in the semi-
permanent Africa department as examples of the theme Form and style. Each
boubou is different, with the designs following new fashions and tastes, and the
boubous are worn by women of the sizeable middle class.
,c
Ethnographic objects: A number of collections were acquired including a collection
of the Karamojong and Teso of Uganda. This collection had been on loan since the
1960s and was turned into a donation in 2006.
Visual culture: Historical photographs
The collection of historical photographs was enriched with many gifts, of which the
most extensive was from the Indies Scientific Institute (IWI) Foundation in The
Hague. This donation contained over 52,000 photos in 551 albums, more than
6000 postcards and 444 geographic maps. The family albums mainly contain photos
of daily life, with sometimes unusual forays into official studio photography or
historic occasions such as official receptions and visits by dignitaries. What is special
about these albums is that they have context; they were donated to IWI by their
owners. By contrast, most of the albums in the collection are from unknown owners,
most probably people who died in the Japanese camps in Indonesia in WW II. The
enormous interest in recent years in amateur photography, which gives a more
realistic and authentic picture of daily life than photos by professionals, makes this
collection one of a kind.
Collection mobility
The Tropenmuseum understands collection mobility as making the collection as
accessible as possible for a wide national and international audience. In practice, this
means: re-ordering (de-accessioning), publicising (see appendix 3), exhibiting in the
Tropenmuseum, lending (for a selection, see TM on tour) and a collection database
on the Internet. Here follow a few important examples from the last four years.
De-accessioning
In the policy period 2003-2007 the KITs extensive collection of wood samples was
transferred to the Netherlands National Herbarium in Leiden. The Korea collection
was transferred to the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. The Sticusa
collection, modern art by Surinamese artists and Dutch artists working in Surinam
between 1960 and 1980, was transferred to the Surinaams Museum in Paramaribo.
Much research effort has been spent on the Tropenmuseum collections of human
remains. These collections were returned to the Tropenmuseum in 2003 after a long
period on loan. The research started as a documentation project with the aim, as
stated in the collection policy document 2003-2007, of de-accessioning. Five years
,: Recent developments in collection policies and approaches 2003-2007
later, the museum is fully aware of the complexity of this issue, and has formulated
anew policy (see paragraph on History of science, p. 52).
TM on tour
Working with colleagues from the Muse de la Civilisation in Quebec, Canada, the
Tropenmuseum held the Nusantara Indonesiaexhibition there; the exhibition was
assembled purely from pieces in the Tropenmuseums collection. A selection of
paintings from the series of 102 paintings telling the history of Congo by the painter
Tshibumba travelled to Universitaet Lueneburg, Germany (2005) and to the Museum
of World Culture, Gothenburg, Sweden (2005-2007). Based on the concept of the
Tropenmuseum exhibition Urban Islam(2003/2004), the Museum der Kulturen in
Basel designed the exhibition Urban Islam, zwischen Handy und Koran(2006), in
which the museums collection also had an important share. The exhibition All About
Evil (2004/2005) was taken over in 2007 by the bersee-Museum in Bremen,
Germany. Family storiesfrom South Africa, a group portrait (2002/2003) was compiled
in collaboration with South African counterparts and transferred to the National
Cultural History Museum in Pretoria (2003 till summer 2007). The photography
exhibition Van kolonietot republiek(2004) was taken over by Museum Bronbeek,
Africa Centre Cadier en Keer, Moluks Museum Utrecht and Indisch Huis The Hague.
The exhibition Yogya Silver, renewal of a Javanesehandicraft (2005) was taken over in
2006 by the Erasmushuis in Jakarta, Indonesia. Museum Bronbeek took over the
exhibition Zwart in dienst van Oranje(Black servingOrange, 2005). The photography
exhibition Daniel van der Meulenwas taken over by the Le Pont Gallery in Aleppo,
Syria in 2006.
Collection management
Collection management benefited strongly from the extra financial stimulus provided
to the Tropenmuseum by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Erfgoed Extra
(Heritage Extra) project. This enabled a restructuring of the storage facilities.
Compact storage, entailing among other things making existing display cases and
some large objects mobile, has saved much space in the storage areas. Metal drawers
especially suited to prints and drawings have replaced the old wooden cases in which
they were previously kept. The entire collection has been re-housed in acid-free boxes
and fly-sheets. Ninety percent of the items in storage facilities have been given
barcodes after a check of their condition. Checks of condition have been made on
almost all of the objects in the museum. A start has been made with the restoration
of the collection of colonial furniture.
,:
During this period the R-number (for rekwisiet or property) system was
implemented. Objects may be important for a temporary or semi-permanent
exhibition, but not at all for the collection. Once assigned a number, the objects
arephotographed and a basic record of them entered in the TMS (The Museum
System). The objects can be tracked at all times and, if desired, they can play a part
in educational programmes on the website.
In 2006, the Heritage Inspection Office of the Ministry of Education, Culture and
Science published a report about the Tropenmuseums collection management. The
registration, conservation of the collection, computerisation and the museums
Quality Assurance Manual were all praised. The recommendations in the report will
be implemented in the next policy period.
International access to collection information and documentation
The museum uses TMS (The Museum System) for collection registration,
documentation and online accessibility. As of late 2007, more than 100,000 objects
and photos could be consulted through the Internet using the collection database.
The collection as a whole can be searched on the Tropenmuseum website
(www.tropenmuseum.nl), and there are regular specials, connected to exhibitions or
other programmes for the public.
In addition to registration and, to a very limited degree, documentation (8000 items),
much attention has been paid in the previous policy period to digitising contextual
information about the collection, such as the documentation of exhibitions, events,
loans, people (including collectors) and institutions. Associated digital files such as
photos, texts, audiovisual material and scans have been entered into TMS and made
available on the website. Seventy-five percent of the collection has been photo-
graphed. A digital scenario has been developed in TMS for the entire exhibition
process, containing all collection information. A special portal for professionals,
requiring a password, has been launched on the Tropenmuseum website.
The Tropenmuseum is one of the trustees of the Asia-Europe Museum Network
(Asemus). It has placed 24 objects and 2 photos, with supplementary photos and
objects as documentation on the website of Asemus Virtual Collection of
Masterpieces (www.asemus.org). Museums in Asia and Europe can virtually share
anumber of relevant important pieces with each other in this way. The principal aim
of Asemus is to facilitate and stimulate the use of Asian collections and sharing the
knowledge about them that will be beneficial to the respective local and continental
communities.
Starting from the idea that the various ethnographic museums in the Netherlands
consider their collections as a single Dutch ethnographic collection (the Netherlands
,, Recent developments in collection policies and approaches 2003-2007
Ethnographic Collection / Volkenkundige Collectie Nederland), this collection is
presented on the website of the Netherlands Ethnographic Collection Foundation
(SVCN) and can be searched as a single unit.
International collaboration
In 2003 the Tropenmuseum formulated the ambition to put its own practice with
thecollection actively to use in a context of international collaboration. This has
resulted in two kinds of museum projects. One is focused on supporting collection
management of heritage institutions in developing countries and the other on
collaborative projects (exhibitions, research, developing a broader museum
infrastructure) in which material culture plays a part.
The projects in collection management were often connected to the issue of digitising
information about the collection. Over the years, a software package has been
developed for inventorying fragile collections, based on the now internationally
accepted Object ID criteria. These criteria are ten data items which together provide
sufficient characteristics of an object to enable it to be traced in the event of theft.
Making an inventory of a collection based purely on these Object ID characteristics,
however, is insufficient for a museum to use as basic record of collections which have
not yet been inventoried. The software package Object Identity and Registration(OIR)
was developed for precisely this reason. It is now available on request, including an
installation and user manual in English and French. However, OIR is only one of the
options that the Tropenmuseum provides to museums wanting advice on digitising
their collections. The implementation of other software systems is often discussed,
particularly where this involves both object collections and photos and library
collections, such as in the Surinaams Museum in Paramaribo. The system chosen
must, after all, satisfy the needs of the user while taking into account the collections
housed, the organisation, financial capabilities, and sustainability.
In addition, the restorer and several experts in the Tropenmuseum circle of
acquaintances (curators, instructors in museum-related training, freelancers) provided
customised courses in collection management and restoration. These were on-the-job
training, sometimes extended with a follow-up course in the Netherlands.
The collaborative projects often began with the collections before growing into a
more comprehensive museological project. For example, the G.B. Pant Social Science
Institute in Allahabad (India) asked for support in assembling a collection and the
political authorities in Sintang (Indonesia) asked the Tropenmuseum for technical
expertise in housing an existing private collection in a new cultural centre then being
built. The first request resulted in an international research and exhibition project in
which Surinamese partners were also involved (including the Surinaams Museum in
,
Paramaribo); the second in long-term technical assistance in the establishment of a
new cultural centre with exhibition galleries. A project supporting the construction of
a new storage facility in Surinam grew into a multi-faceted collaboration in which
photo collections were digitised and the Tropenmuseum transferred its Sticusa
collection to Surinam (see the paragraph on De-accessioning). It is beyond the scope
of this paper to give a complete overview of these international activities. It is
important, however, to observe that they have contributed to the vitality of the
museums own collection policy since they force museum staff to maintain an active
involvement in developments in museum and heritage institutions in developing
countries. Accordingly, this policy will be continued in the future.
The Tropenmuseum follows and supports the International Council of Museums
(ICOM). Wherever possible, the museum has given active support to UNESCO
main policy points in combating illegal trade, protection of underwater heritage and
supporting cultural diversity.
In line with the principles of its Collection Policy Paper 2003-2007, the
Tropenmuseum has played an active role in the Netherlands Ethnographic Collection
Foundation mentioned earlier (see p. 33). Besides collaborating in collection
acquisition and collection computerisation, this association of ethnographic museums
has set up an ethical committee. The committee has three tasks: monitoring
collection acquisitions (purchases, gifts and loans) of the associated museums;
advising on requests for restitution; and advising on dealing with human remains (see
website: www.svcn.nl).
,, Recent developments in collection policies and approaches 2003-2007
3 Tropenmuseum
collection policy
2008-2012
Like the previous policy document, the 2008-2012 collection policy paper is, in the
first place, a working document in which the Tropenmuseum has formulated its
projects and ambitions for the next five years.
The policy paper Tropenmuseum 2008-2011 is the main foundation of this
working document (see appendix 1: Double focus: a (inter)national museological
contribution to sustainability, policy paper 2008-2011). The goals for collection
policy are described in the policy paper as follows:
1 To improve the level of collection management of the Tropenmuseums heritage
collections.
2 To augment the documentation and increase the accessibility of these heritage
collections.
3 To develop a knowledge policy aimed at strengthening the regional, thematic and
museum-related themes around the collection.
4 To expand a knowledge infrastructure aimed at an international dialogue about,
and exchange of, material and non-material collections.
The greatest challenge in this policy paper with regard to the collection involves a
shift of accent in the museums knowledge policy. In the next few years, the
Tropenmuseum will choose four themes as the focus of its knowledge policy. These
are: 1: culture and development; 2: culture, interculturality and identity;
3: colonialism and de-colonisation; 4: visual culture. These themes were chosen with
an eye to current events and consideration of the usability of the KIT sources, the
interest in these areas in Dutch society today and the collaborative relationships with
international partners.
This thematic focus also shifts the accent for the museums collection policy.
Traditionally, the museum has had a concept of knowledge based on a combination
of regional and thematic knowledge. The collection was introduced this way in the
,o
preceding chapters, and the museum is also set up this way, with regional and
thematic divisions. The museum is aware, however, that the idea of regions with a
recognisable and representable essence is outdated and has been sharply criticised for
the political ramifications of stereotyping, imposed constructions of identity and a
disregard for issues around migration and cultural interactions. The concept of
separate regional and thematic specialisations (or apparently encyclopaedic
orientations to them) is also museologically outdated. Too often the starting points
are fixed collection categories defined by art history. The increased emphasis on the
stories behind objects, connecting objects to still or moving images and sound, and
the search for connections with modern art and popular culture are also helping to
break through this distinction between theme and region. The exhibition and event
practices in the museum are diverging more and more from this historically evolved
way of arranging a collection.
The above explains why the museum is in favour of a change in policy in the next
policy period with regard to collection policy. This chapter indicates the direction
this policy restructuring will take. The choice for a new thematic emphasis running
counter to existing specialisations will not so much result in abolishing regions and
themes as it will bring more precision and differentiation of the direction of research
with regard to collection documentation, exhibition research, international
collaboration and acquisitions policy.
Acquisitions policy
Collection policy is like an oil tanker; a change of course is gradually taken and
comes forth organically out of earlier policy. Completely reversing direction is
undesirable; it is important to keep seeking links with, and drawing on, the existing
collection. New points for attention arise out of broader policy discussions regarding
the positioning of the museum in society and within the cultural sector. Over the
past few years a logical change of course in the collection policy has taken shape
through the connection with collection research.
The Tropenmuseum has collected contemporary items during its entire existence.
In the previous period there has come to be more and more emphasis on popular
culture, popular art, design and, to a smaller extent, the acquisition of modern art.
This choice was partly guided by the decisions on content during the restructuring
of the semi-permanent regionally oriented exhibitions in the Tropenmuseum. There
was also a desire not to rigidify into a historical museum displaying exotic objects
taken out of their contexts and placed in a European art-historical framework. This
type of position is far removed from todays reality, in which the majority of the
worlds population live in an urban context, are in contact with global culture(s) and
,; Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
in many ways are crossing boundaries and borders. Popular culture, popular art and
the culture and art of the new elites by themselves are already asking for more
attention. Moreover they are setting strict requirements on the finding of meaningful
connections with the existing collections.
In the next policy period the museum will be working intensively along the following
main lines:
1 a new policy focused on acquiring modern art, design and fashion design, linking
up with existing collections;
2 strengthening policy with regard to popular art and popular culture;
3 increasing interest in aspects of intangible heritage, both in collection acquisition
and making the collection accessible on the Internet;
4 specialising in collection strategies with regard to historic collections;
5 fitting in a policy for lens-based media in relation to both historic photography and
modern art and contemporary visual culture.
Modern art and design
In this policy paper, modern and contemporary art are understood in the context of
the Tropenmuseum to mean works with an autonomous character. They have no
utilitarian or ritual purpose, but function mainly within a system of galleries, art
dealers, museums, art critics, etc. The autonomous character of contemporary art is
the key characteristic distinguishing the objects from other categories of collectible
objects in the Tropenmuseum. Appendix 3 describes the considerations at work in
the Tropenmuseums new contemporary art policy. A brief summary follows.
The debate about the place of non-Western modern art in Western art institutions
has been going on for decades. The Tropenmuseum has also played a part in the
debate, since its Modernekunst in Afrika(Modern art in Africa, 1980) and India in
druk, een indruk van India(India in print, an impression of India, 1983) exhibitions.
3
Since the 1980s the international context has changed dramatically. The distinction
between Western and non-Western artists is a problematic one, firstly because we are
dealing with constructed concepts. The use of these constructs means maintaining a
fiction based on the hegemony of the West. Secondly, contemporary art has now
been globalised to a great degree, is often transnational, and relates in ever-changing
ways to national and cultural contexts. Thus, collecting contemporary modern art is
in fact diametrically opposed to the character, organisational structure and mentality
of ethnographic museums.
In light of the above, collecting modern art is not about collecting a representative
sampleof the individual artists, currents or styles in a given region or country; the
,
individual and often transnational character of modern art is most important. The
museum also does not wish to approach contemporary art as a continuation of older
forms of art and culture in a particular region that is by definition influenced by
these traditions. It also does not wish to keep art by artists with a non-Western
background separate from art by Western artists.
What the museum does intend to collect will be examined in the next five years, as
an explicit aspect of the collection process. Collecting contemporary art is one of
theways in which the character of ethnographic museums is being reconsidered,
examined and possibly transformed. Good documentation and research before
purchase about the work and its maker is of outstanding importance. In summary
the following assessment criteria apply:
1Concept: does the artwork put across an interesting or bold idea or vision?
The modern art that the TM aims to collect will often be conceptual, in other
words: art made to express an idea or view of the artists. The individual idea or
view is central to the artwork and is expressed in form and function. This
appreciation of the individual is linked to the museums development from an
ethnographic into a cultural history museum. The museum aims to tell stories
and show the interaction between cultures and processes of change and influence.
Increasingly it chooses a historicising perspective, in which meanings are ascribed
to historic processes and events through individual stories and peoples opinions.
Another contributing factor is incorporating work by particular artists because of
their own view or story, not because they represent a particular culture or society.
2Relationship with the TM collection: is there a relationship between this view
and the existing collection?Does the artwork add an additional layer of meaning,
and how by confirming, making commentary or examining?With the thematic
orientation of the Tropenmuseum as a starting point, work will be sought which
connects with larger themes: culture and development, culture, interculturality and
identity, colonialism and de-colonisation, visual culture. There will also be room for
acquiring works that specifically connect with the museums collection history or to
particular parts of the collection. Of course, form and aesthetics also play an
important part.
3Documentation: how well has the vision behind the artwork been set out, or
how well can it be set out?The museum attaches great significance to information
about the methods and viewpoints of the artists involved, for example through
interviews with the artist, or publications. The museum also intends to actively
engage in dialogue with representatives of the so-called modern art museums, in
the context of both purchasing and exhibition policies. The significance of this lies
not only in that it offers input for Tropenmuseum policy, but also to allow the art
,, Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
with which the Tropenmuseum intends to involve itself to be a true part of the
Netherlands Collection.
These aspects and criteria with regard to modern art also apply to design. Design
(applied art) relates to all possible kinds of implements. In specialising to conform to
Tropenmuseum collection policy, the artist/designers vision will in turn be an
important criterion. The artists view of form is central, connected to the appearance
of an object (look, material, technique, functionality) or the method of manufacture.
The designer/artist is central, not the implement as such. By making explicit the idea
behind the object, or its design, these pieces can become key pieces making a link
with the previously collected anonymous ethnographic objects. In the meantime the
focus of the collection will be broadened to include not only design based on
traditional art, but design that stands independent of tradition.
c
Box 2 The Tropenmuseum and its modern and contemporary art collection
The Tropenmuseum has owned modern and contemporary art for a long time. However,
it is not a coherent collection. There has never been a collection-wide collecting strategy;
the objects have come to the museum mainly as gifts and bequests. The collection
consists of about 600 works of varying quality. In the last twenty years there has only
been a collection strategy within the area of East Indies painting. The current collection
of modern art thus cannot serve as a base of operations for new acquisitions.
In 1922 the first modern artwork was purchased by the (then) Colonial Museum. It
was a portrait of a Sudanese noblewoman, painted by A. Morzer Bruijns-Prange, and
dated 1907. Before her work was purchased there was already modern work in the
collection by the German artist Max Fleischer (1861-1930). These are good examples of
what the Colonial Museum was collecting: portraits and landscapes made by Europeans
in the Dutch East Indies. As a collection they give a clear picture of the exoticising view
European artists had on the Dutch East Indies. The boundary between art,
documentation and illustration was still often very unclear. Not all painters had a formal
education and some were even amateur painters.
The change of name from Colonial Museum to Tropenmuseum and the related
expansion of regions of collection resulted in a changed exhibition policy, but not so
much in acquisitions policy. Modern art from all regions was on show but only
sporadically purchased. Starting in the late 1940s both solo and group art exhibitions
were held with a certain regularity, but not with any fixed frequency and from diverse
perspectives and approaches. Modern art has also often been employed in theme
exhibitions. This fragmented approach has meant that until today the public has not
readily associated the Tropenmuseum with modern art.
The last four years have seen a change take shape. For the first time, a majority of
acquired modern art works were purchases instead of gifts. These works were almost all
purchased for exhibition in the revamped semi-permanent departments of the museum.
This is a sign of the importance that the Tropenmuseum attaches to modern and
contemporary art.
Popular art and popular culture
Popular art and popular culture will also remain an important area of interest in
2008-2012 for the Tropenmuseum. It is important to make a distinction between
thetwo. Both are timeless, but have found their particular contemporary forms
under the influence of technological and social developments which provided the
opportunity for mass production for an urban public in a global context. Popular art
is an aspect of popular culture. The art element gives a further delineation as well as
a qualification. Popular art is by definition something more for a museum, and has a
personal touch and an artistic aspect. In this regard it links up well with the
Tropenmuseums historical collections. Popular culture is a broader concept,
embracing all expressions of contemporary mass culture, from T-shirts, posters and
bags to beermats, advertisements and propaganda material. Above all, popular culture
is characterised by the use of new media.
Research into popular culture and its material expression aids in determining the
direction in which popular art is collected. This is particularly the case when
expressions of the popular culture are seen as an illustration of a given discourse, as
the depiction of ideas.
Popular artis an important theme for the Tropenmuseums contemporary collection
formation. Traditionally the museum has distinguished itself through this
contemporary orientation. Collecting popular art takes place along the lines
previously defined for A collections. The museum focuses on objects with the
following characteristics: primarily made in an urban, modernising environment;
makers and buyers belong to the same local society and social group (thus pieces are
not made for tourists or galleries); the makers usually have not had any professional
art training. The objects do not have a purely aesthetic function, but often have a
practical/functional/commercial (signs, religious images, coffins) or moralising,
reflective function in which content, style and technique reflect contemporary urban
culture and its possibilities. They are not made with durability in mind, and often
testify to all kinds of outside influences.
Popular art is connected with social and societal processes. When collecting, examples
will be sought with a high social relevance, related to themes such as religion, gender
and history (and views of them). By selecting a few strong examples of these,
numbers can be kept low. After all, what is important is not the object as collectible,
in which what is sought is an endless row of variations on a theme over time, but the
depiction of a given theme or discourse.
With popular culturethe emphasis is more on research than collecting. As a category
for collection it is as problematic to delineate as the Tropenmuseums traditional focus
: Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
on daily life. A broad selection over a long period must be collected to give a good
idea of a particular popular culture. More important than the objects themselves,
which are often trivia, is the social context in which the objects were made. Objects
with a very trivial nature, mass-produced, and with a more illustrative than inherently
visual value, are in theory not incorporated into the collection although they may be
purchased in the context of an exhibition, for exhibition purposes only.
When expressions of popular culture are nevertheless incorporated in the collection,
they must reinforce the connections throughout the collection as a whole through the
choice of theme, and always with a high level of representation. In other words: such
objects are illustrative of a larger over-arching whole, a genre or an activity. An
example of this is the collection of Egyptian film posters. They represent film in the
Arabic world, as a result of which film posters from other Arabic countries are not
collected, but they are collected from other regions with their own film industries,
such as India.
As with visual art, contemporary popular art and popular culture will also be well
documented. Precisely because objects with a close connection to social developments
and concepts are sought, the manufacture and use of the objects will if possible be
documented in photographs and film/video. The form of this documentation can
also be contemporary; if possible, local filmmakers will be drawn on, which will give
the record itself documentary value for the museum.
In practice, collecting popular art will mean that the collection will be expanded
primarily with two-dimensional materials, which is presumably also the case for
many expressions of popular culture. Special attention must also be paid to selecting
three-dimensional work, especially within the theme of popular art.
Intangible heritage
Following UNESCO, the Tropenmuseum is directing its research to the meaning of
the concept of intangible heritage for its own collection policy. The problems around
collecting intangible heritage are immediately clear upon reading the purposes and
definition as formulated in the Convention (see Box 3). The conservation of the
dynamic character of intangible heritage in a museum is an impossible task.
A custom or tradition does not develop further in the context of a museum, is
without any function and the traditions presented or represented take on very
different relationships with the public. The process is not essentially different from
putting tangible culture into a museum. In the case of intangible culture, the
museum may show, for example, only a performance by a given performer or group
of performers on a monitor, recorded within a given tradition at a given time. It is
:
, Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
Box 3 UNESCO and Intangible Heritage
In 1972, the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage came into being, an initiative of UNESCO. Using this convention as a basis, a
list has been drawn up of monuments, buildings and areas considered to belong to the
World Heritage. As a supplement to this Convention, in 2003 UNESCO adopted the
Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, aimed at creating
respect for, and awareness of, the importance of the value of Intangible Cultural Heritage
(ICH). Two lists are coupled to the convention. One is comparable to the World
Heritage List and contains Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage. The other is
intended for threatened intangible cultural heritage and contains traditions that
UNESCO recommends be immediately protected by the international community.
UNESCO formulated four goals in drawing up this convention:
- Safeguarding: Guaranteeing continuity of intangible heritage so that it is conserved.
- Generating respect: Creating insight into cultures and customs increases respect for
other cultures.
- Raising awareness:The value of intangible heritage goes along with the way in which it
offers recognition and acknowledgement for the history of a society. History is inherent
in intangible heritage.
- International cooperation and assistance.
The Convention defines intangible heritage as The practices, representations,
expressions, knowledge, skills as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural
spaces associated therewith that communities, groups and in some cases individuals
recognise as part of their cultural heritage. It also describes the nature of intangible
heritage: This intangible heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is
constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environments, their
interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and
continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.
The convention recognises the following forms of intangible heritage:
- oral traditions, including language as a vehicle
- performing arts
- social practices, rituals and festive events
- knowledge and practices nature and the universe
- traditional craftsmanship.
The convention took effect in April 2006 and was ratified a year later by 76 countries.
The convention has not yet been ratified by the Netherlands.
asnapshot, a time capsule. There is no guarantee of continuity or of safeguarding a
tradition within the community concerned.
The Tropenmuseum places a great deal of emphasis on moving images and music.
In the various semi-permanent exhibitions in the museum, films and music serve to
support particular themes or serve as background information for objects. The
source, however, is often general. Film and sound can by no means always be
immediately linked to the objects concerned, or to the personal experiences of people
in the community where the object came from, or those who visit the museum. In
this sense, the question is whether we really can speak of intangible heritage. In the
new Kartini wing of the Tropenmuseum, an attempt has been made to focus
attention on the dynamics of intangible culture by involving the audience in
narrative traditions. The storytellers, musicians and artists, as specifically as possible,
are present and recognisable in installations, films and on stage. Commissions have
also been given for contemporary art and popular art connected to intangible
traditions, such as the story of Layla and Majnun, known in many places in the
world. In the semi-permanent Africa exhibition, the concept of intangible heritage
has been elaborated in the context of the mask tradition. Audiovisual material is used
to show that masks which have become objects in themselves in museums are parts of
a larger whole. Outside of art history, an African mask does not stand by itself either
materially (it is part of a costume) or conceptually (it has its own clear role in
particular festivities). The exhibit reconstructs the symbiosis of which the masks were
a part outside the museum, and with which the public gives meaning to the mask.
Yet this is more of an explanation to the museum public than an example of
collecting intangible heritage, as meant and laid down in the convention. In all these
examples, however, the museum tries to make the public aware of the intangible
heritage inherent in tangible culture, stories, music and film.
Although intangible heritage is not an independent thematic collection area for
theTropenmuseum, it is an explicit element of its collection policy. The purpose
of collecting intangible culture in combination with tangible culture is to show as
complete a picture as possible of particular facets of a culture. Any ambition much
higher than this is unrealistic within a museum context. Since the subject can be
boundless, it is essential that choices be made beforehand for exhibitions or collecting
trips about collecting aspects of intangible heritage in connection with tangible
heritage. Like objects, the films, music, etc. will all have to be assigned a unique
number and documented in the collection registration system TMS, in which the
museum also documents its objects and photos and makes them accessible.
Recordings must as far as is possible, be recorded in a natural situation and setting so
as to provide as much context as possible. An interview with the performer can be
incorporated as documentation since it lends context to the collected material.

Textiles
The concentration in content on themes such as culture and development, identity,
colonialism and de-colonisation or visual art has also resulted in a shift in emphasis
for acquisitions policy in textiles. This has happened before. In the past, interest has
shifted from a focus on textile techniques to the role of textiles in society. The
emphasis during the next period will be on contemporary collecting to identify
contemporary developments and present them to our public. Interest in the historic
collection will continue.
A central theme in acquisitions policy for the textile collection is clothing and
identity. A paradoxical consequence of the current process of globalisation is that
concepts such as identity and authenticity are playing an important part. The
clothing and identity theme is geared to the relationship between clothing (in fact:
the whole set of changes and/or additions to the body) and the development of
identity. Here clothing is conceived of as a system of non-verbal communication,
determined by time and place, that influences human interaction. This is not a static
fact but is continually subject to change. Contemporary developments in the social/
cultural sphere come partly to expression in the clothing people make and wear.
These developments must get attention in the purchase policy for the next period.
In addition, interest in contemporary production methods (craftsmanship) does not
mean we are breaking with our tradition but are expanding it by focusing on aspects
of economic and social developments as a factor for sustainable growth.
Given that the Indonesia collection is the core of the textile collection, most interest
will go towards this part of the collection.
Visual culture and lens-based media
There is no uniform definition of visual culture. The Tropenmuseum uses the
following working definition:
Visual culturerefersto a social context in which visual media (drawings, comics,
photos, film, paintings, etc.) play an important role, particularly in information
transfer, thereby distinguishingitself from a writingor verbal culture.
Visual culture is an umbrella concept, a label placed on anything having to do with
images. Visual culture is about communication and exchange. In many cases visual
culture plays a larger part in contemporary society than the spoken or written word.
Pictures have a greater impact and are remembered better. People today are primarily
visually oriented. Visual culture crosses boundaries, an inextricable part of the
, Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
globalising world, is young, fast, dynamic. For many, it is the preferred means of
expression.
In the Tropenmuseums collection policy, the basis is lens-based media
(photography, film, video, and digital media) and forms of visual culture closely
related to and often part of popular art, popular culture and visual art.
Acquisition for the next period for the photo collection will focus on both
contemporary expressions of lens-based media and historic photography.
Contemporary lens-based visual material:The Tropenmuseum feels a responsibility
for creating a link between the historical visual collection and contemporary visual
material, in particular, with regard to Indonesia, Surinam and the Netherlands
Antilles and to the themes that run through all the museums collections. The
emphasis will be on work by local photographers who make strong visual statements.
This guarantees not only topicality but also a view of society from the inside out.
This will involve acquisitions at the intersection of documentary photography and
applied art, in line with the ambitions expressed earlier with regard to contemporary
art, popular art and intangible heritage. Autonomous lens-based works may also be
purchased (photo, film, video), using the same criteria as those for contemporary art.
In line with the above, the Tropenmuseum commissions will be photographed and
filmed in a more documentary style, to allow the artists and craftspeople to set out
their views, methods, perceptions and assignments of meaning, and to provide more
space to documenting intangible aspects of tangible culture.
Historical photography:The ambition was expressed in the previous policy period
to make the Tropenmuseums photo collection into a central place for colonial
historical photography in the Netherlands. The composition of the collection lends
itself well to such a purpose, and the acquisition of the material from the Indisch
Wetenschappelijk Instituut (IWI), of albums of family photos, has only given this
ambition a stronger foundation. The expansion of the collection will principally be
focused on the sub-collections of the Dutch East Indies, Surinam and the
Netherlands Antilles. There is limited visual material from the period covering the
Second World War up to the sovereignty transfer (1949) and in particular the
police campaigns and the departure from New Guinea (1963). The museum will
not actively expand this theme but leave it to other organisations such as the
Museum Bronbeek. Special attention will, however, be paid to Dutch New Guinea
after 1942. Older material will be incorporated if there is sufficient biographical
information about the photographer, donor, and/or the particular setting of the
photograph. Selection will be strict and based on artistic value and historical
relevance.
o
The regional historical collections
There will be a restrained acquisitions policy for the period 2008-2012 with regard
to the existing historical collections of tangible culture. The emphasis will lie on
contemporary collecting. Historic pieces of high quality and/or presentation value,
preferably with interesting provenance or important documentation, are of course
awelcome addition to the existing collection. Below is a summary of genres in which
the historical collections could be supplemented. They are an indication of the
interest of the Tropenmuseum, as an extension of current research, in which a
thematic division is primary and a regional one rarely overriding.
Collections from Southeast Asia: interest in acquisitions for the historical collections
is limited. Of course, the museum would welcome well-documented historical
ethnographical objects relating to daily life and the religious world. Acquisitions for
the thematic collection of East Indies paintings have our interest. The same applies
to objects related to colonial encounters and relations, to the period of decolonisation
or to contemporary relations between Southeast Asia and the Netherlands.
Collections from South Asia: collecting new pieces for the historical collections is
dominated by three of the museums thematic core areas: storytelling, folk religions
and the textile collections. To build a more balanced collection around the theme of
Storytelling, the theme of the semi-permanent exhibition Round and About India
South Asia in stories, the following additions to this sub-collection could be of
importance:
- an example of Pahari painting.
- an example of provincial Mughal painting.
- two Company paintings, with the theme Europeans/The British in India (c. 1760-
1850) and Scenes from daily life (for example, Patna School, c. 1850) as examples
of the growing interest in local life.
- steel and wood engravings (mostly religious themes) from early and mid-19th
century.
- Kalighat paintings.
- a single Bengali oil painting, late 19th century.
- early lithographs (late 19th century).
- an old Bengali narrative scroll (pat), for example, of the Muslim saint Gazi.
- a porcelain statue of the goddess Lakshmi, early 20th century, made in Germany
for the Indian market, would be an important addition to the few objects already
in the collection: litho depicting Lakshmi (1880-1890) and an embroidered image
of Lakshmi (1900-1925).
The portrayal of the colonial interaction between the Indian subcontinent and
Europe could also be enhanced in the textile collection, for example with:
; Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
- Murshidabad sari (baluchar butidar) with a European / colonial appearance;
- a figurative kantha;
- a good example of tie-and-dye (bandhana);
- original Coromandel chintz (utilitarian textiles; clothing, principally insofar as it
had a function in Dutch traditional costume in the 18th-19th centuries; a
fragment);
- an imitation chintz from the Netherlands (or France) from the 18th-19th century.
Collections from Latin America and the Caribbean:The tangible culture of
peoples other than the Maroons and Amerindian groups in Surinam (for instance,
Javanese, Hindostani and Chinese populations) is not well represented. Their
migration history, daily life and art and culture are, in principle, of interest so that
the story of migration and nation-forming can be told. This applies all the more to
the Antilles (including Netherlands Antilles), since the museum barely has any
material from the islands. In addition, attention will be paid in the next policy period
to African-American cultures, from slavery up to today. The more recent
developments are missing, and historical development is not yet strongly represented
and mainly limited to Surinam and Brazil.
Collections from Western Asia and Northern Africa:The focus in the next period
will be on the countries of origin of large populations in the Netherlands: Turkey and
Morocco. Since the opening of the semi-permanent exhibition on West Asia and
North Africa (1997), the Dutch public has turned out time and again mainly because
of their interest in these two countries (as far as this region is concerned). The
interest occurs in a portion of the public looking for their own cultural backgrounds
in their native countries, and for others it is an expression of interest in the
backgrounds of people in their own environment.
Although the existing collections from Turkey and Morocco are extensive, the largest
part of them reflects the daily life in village societies several decades ago. It is
therefore important that it be expanded with high-quality pieces both historic and
contemporary. A few small purchases have been made in this direction in the last few
years. There has also been extensive research on the collection of Berber objects in the
museum. Artistic quality and historical/art-historical significance will be the deciding
criteria in enlarging the collection; these pieces must raise the level of the collection
as a whole. These objects will be acquired preferably as the result of target-group-
oriented acquisition paths in which selection of objects takes place in interaction with
the target groups. Possible subcategories are:
- Scientific instruments. Islamic cultures contribution to science and technological
development is represented by only a few instruments, such as a quadrant, two
compasses and a plumb line. A new acquisition can better represent this important
theme.

- Mutual relations: the historical bonds between the Netherlands and both Morocco
and Turkey could be reflected by a few significant purchases. It is important that
objects acquired have a strong representational value, such as objects showing the
relationships, historical or otherwise, between the Netherlands and Islam. There
will be special interest in Dutch travellers and migrants to these countries before
the twentieth century.
Collections from Sub-Saharan Africa:The museum will strive to enrich the
collection with incidental purchases of remarkable pieces that underline the stylistic
and geographical diversity of its already mixed collection and reinforce the depth of
quality. East Africa, for example, is still badly underrepresented. In addition, pieces
will be sought that can be related to specific cultural/historical themes such as
colonial history, religious pluriformity and the diaspora.
Oceania:The museum wishes to acquire a few historical pieces to fill a few stylistic,
geographical and thematic gaps. For example, there is a lack of typical objects from
the Massim region (Milne Bay Province) and ceramic objects such as cooking pots.
Assessment criteria for acquiring important ethnographic items
4
for
the collection
The leading guidelines for the Tropenmuseums acquisitions policy are the ethical
guidelines of the SVCN and the ICOM Code of Ethics. However, the term
significant ethnographic items also plays an important role. The Tropenmuseum
interpretation is below.
Objects/collections can be acquired if:
- it has been ascertained that the objects/collections were outside their country of
origin before 1970;
- the objects were, in all probability, made after 1970 and are no more than 50 years
old
5
, keeping in mind the national laws of their country of origin;
- objects made before 1970
6
that were still in the country of origin after 1970 if they
have a reliable and verifiable export permit. The object must also not represent any
unique irreplaceable value.
Objects/collections that may not be acquired:
- objects made before 1970
7
and not exported until after 1970, which seem to be
of unusual significance for heritage, and have no documents;
- objects brought out of the country during a time of war, making it likely that the
objects were taken under great economic, moral or physical pressure (abuse of
circumstances or by force);
- archaeological objects and fragments of historic buildings and/or monuments.
8
o, Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
Objects/collections for which further action needs to be taken:
- objects exported after 1970, possibly more than 50 years old, but for which it is
certain and demonstrable that they are not unique and irreplaceable. They must be
demonstrated to have been acquired without abuse of circumstances, and that they
exist in large numbers (in the country of origin as well) and that the object in
question does not differ greatly in a given regard from similar objects.
- objects about which there is doubt will be presented to our reliable professional
partners or colleagues, such as the National Museum of the country concerned or
university experts, and if there is still any doubt, to the Ethics committee of the
SVCN.
If objects are offered that the museum recognises as illegally exported or as a violation
of the above rules, the museum can consider alerting the legal representatives of a
country of origin.
Rearranging the collection
De-accessioning of collections/objects is in fact removing objects from the museum
collection, which means termination of the right of ownership (title) by the Royal
Tropical Institute. This may involve an exchange, sale, long-term loan or a donation,
and the recipient is almost always a public institution.
As described in chapter 2, in the previous policy period the Tropenmuseum has
transferred several sub-collections to other appropriate public institutions. Before this
could be done the following questions were answered:
- does the Royal Tropical Institute have title?
- are there any special conditions attached to the collection?
- does the object have any ensemble value?(cat. B). Is important information
connected to the object?Can this information come back to the museum through
modern technology?
The foremost criterion was that disposal would only benefit the collection and/or
reinforce the policy pursued.
In the next period, the museum will not be taking any initiatives to de-accession
except for the policy governing human remains. It is, however, seeking active
collaboration with partner museums in the countries of origin of the collections. One
possible option in collaboration is shared research on, and transfer of, a collection.
The Tropenmuseum is open to requests for transfer of ownership of cultural heritage
items by legitimate requesting parties from the relevant countries of origin. This will
virtually always involve transfer from the KIT to another public institution, and not
from government to government. The collection committee of the museum will
consider such a request in the first instance before advising the board. In doing so
they will be mindful of the status and role of the requesting body and the formulated
oo
goal or explanation. In a wider context they will consult representatives of the
Netherlands Ethnographic Collection (Volkenkundige Collectie Nederland). In
virtually all cases the Tropenmuseum will ask for guarantees that the receiving body
will properly care for the objects from the standpoint of conservation and that the
objects will remain available for international scientific research.
De-accessioning collections in this way will usually be the result of collaboration and
not an isolated activity. It will be done on a per-project basis, in which the collection
committee supervises the entire process and ensures that all bodies involved can
follow the process. If the Director Museum approves a de-accession, the president of
the Execultive Board KIT will take a decision. In all cases, a collection must be
documented and photographed before de-accessioning.
Collection documentation, accessibility and research 2008-2012
Accessibility
Documenting collections and making them accessible is an ongoing concern.
TheTropenmuseum has a long tradition of documenting its collection. Since the
beginning of the 21st century, digitising collection information has become an
important instrument with regard to both the management processes and making the
collections contents accessible for internal use as well as to the public. The purposeful
approach to digitising in relation to primary management process will also be followed
in the new policy period. In concrete terms, this means enriching and expanding
thedescriptions in the quality manual of the processes, procedures, tasks and
responsibilities of all employees working in researching the collection and making it
accessible. It is very important that the method be well embedded in the organisation.
Digital associations
Along side the core content areas outlined above, making the collection accessible has
another more specifically technical point with regard to creating digital associations.
The Tropenmuseum has acquired external funding in the context of thegovernment
regulation on digitising policy to research how collections can meaningfully be made
accessible to a wider public on the Internet through associative contextual information
about intangible, biographical, historical and craftsmanship aspects of the objects
concerned. The functionality needed will be worked out in a pilot project about
slavery. An object, person, phenomenon or written source will be explained from
various perspectives using the thesaurus; a digital scout could then raise questions
about all the aspects from the audience and lead them to answers about the meaning
and context of the objects. This will enable someone without extensive previous
o; Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
knowledge to search through the standard categories of the collection and explore the
information easily and quickly. It is the museums ambition to interlink with each
other historical music recordings (now digitised), historical photos, film, objects,
exhibition histories and contemporary views of historic events. A previously
unknown bit of information or an entire collection can be discovered in this way.
The pilot is in Dutch, but it is in the context of a long-term plan for international
interactive accessibility to the collection. There will be close collaboration with the
Information and Library Services department of the KIT which, in addition to the
library, manages an important collection of maps and a heritage collection.
Choices in online access to collections
The Tropenmuseum is striving to put the entire collection (photos of objects as well
as digital scans of photos) on the Internet. But restrictions apply. Information about
purchase prices, donors, sellers, etc. is not public and is only available to researchers.
Human remains and photos that may be upsetting to individuals or groups are also
not shown on the Internet. This category includes photos of cruelty during times of
war, tropical diseases, stereotyping physical-anthropology photos, etc. This material
isalso available only to researchers. Lastly, the Tropenmuseum works with rights of
likeness. For the time being, the museum is making its photo collection public. If
someone objects to individual photos being made public on the museum website,
they may make this known to the museum. The collection committee will handle the
objection and give a great deal of weight to the interests of those directly involved.
An important guideline is a publication (in Dutch) by Annemarie Beunen and Tjeerd
Schiphof: Juridischewegwijzer, Archieven en Musea online, from 2006.
Backlog
There are still some boxes and cases in the photo depot whose contents are only
vaguely known. An inventory has been taken on the basis of which a plan will be
made to research this material and add it (or not) to the collection, i.e., that it will be
conserved, digitised and documented. Although not acquisition in the strict sense of
the word, during the next period, parts of the modern slide and photo collection
from after 1960 will be designated as category A or B. This material has great
documentary value and is also of importance for interactions with the tangible
culture collection since a considerable proportion of the pictures were taken during
collecting trips by the Tropenmuseum between the 1960s and the 1990s.
History of science
Besides the museological themes already discussed, the Tropenmuseum will be
focusing attention on the common ground between collection history and the history
of science. This is particularly relevant for the photo collection and the physical
o
anthropology collection. The photo collectionincludes biomedical and physical
anthropology photos as well as scientific expedition photography. One of the research
departments of the Colonial Institute, now the KIT, was involved in research on
tropical diseases, chiefly in the colonies. The historical results of this research are in
the part of the photo collection that has not yet been made accessible. This material
is from the Tropical Hygiene and Biomedical Research departments and from several
individuals. Taken together, these collections can be seen, along with the already
accessible collections, as the most extensive medical collections in the area of tropical
diseases in the Netherlands. With regard to expeditions, the photo collection houses
alarge number of photos and negatives of scientific research in and outside the
colonies, with most made during the numerous expeditions. This is essentially well-
documented material that still needs further ordering and dissemination (digital and
otherwise).
The physical anthropology collection, collected by the Tropenmuseum from 1915
until the early 1960s for the anatomical (and comparative) study of mankind,
including for the determination of the characteristics, intermingling and distribution
of races, consists of a large number of animal and human remains, scientific
measuring instruments, plaster casts, photos and books. The collection was
documented in the last policy period and published in KIT Bulletin 375, Physical
anthropology reconsidered: human remainsat theTropenmuseum(2007). Since the
practice of physical anthropology in the KIT stopped in 1964, the Tropenmuseum
isno longer the appropriate place for a collection of human remains. In the previous
policy period (2003-2007) preliminary ideas and policy resolutions were formulated
with regard to the scientific value and the destination of this collection. Shortly
before this period the collection had nearly been lent for thirty years to the Museum
Vrolik, a part of the anatomical and embryological division of the medical faculty of
the University of Amsterdam. The collection has now been prepared for further
research and for a responsible, stepped de-accessioning.
The collection is in the museum depot for the time being. The following code of
behaviour applies:
Accessibility:The boxes containing human remains will, in principle, not be opened
for third parties for purposes other than purely scientific research (anthropological,
medical or archaeological). In all other cases, the human remains collection may only
be studied through TMS (The Museum System) where the remains themselves,
without photos, have been registered or documented. In many cases the documents
are only summarily documented because of the frequently brief existing handwritten
descriptions for many sections of the collection.
Since the boundary of portrait photography is not always clear, a decision will be
taken in the next policy period about the visibility of physical anthropology photos,
o, Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
or photos of a medical nature in TMS. The ethical aspects of the photos will be
weighed against their scientific value.
Exhibition:The Tropenmuseum will exercise restraint and follow the rules of the
code of behaviour as formulated by the SVCN (Stichting Volkenkundige Collectie
Nederland) for exhibiting human remains. In cases of doubt, the Ethics Committee
of SVCN will be consulted. The museum will, however, continue to make a
distinction between purely anatomical material and human remains that have been
made into cultural artefacts, which play or played an important functional or
symbolic part in the cultures concerned. Objects in this artefactual category may
occasionally be considered for exhibition.
Disposal:The Surinamese collection of Dr. Geijskes, given to the Tropenmuseum
on loan in 1947 and recorded at the time as series 1728, will be returned to Surinam
in consultation with the Surinaams Museum; another part of the collection donated
at the time will be returned. This loan and gift consist of hundreds of excavated small
bone fragments from the pre-Columbian Kwatta culture.
The Dutch skull and skeleton parts from series 764, found in 1928 in Wormerveer
and which may date from the Eighty Years War (1568-1648), can be disposed of.
Their final destination must be clarified during this policy period.
In-house expertise:When the Tropenmuseum took up the theme of physical
anthropology in the previous policy period, care of the returned collection was added
to the job description of the curator of Oceania and Historical Collections. As it now
appears, the destination of human remains project will last for many more years.
When the current curator retires, physical anthropology will accordingly be included
in the duties of his successor or colleague, who will have, or will build up, extensive
knowledge on the recent Dutch colonial past, including that of the Tropenmuseum
and its historical collections. They will have to become the expert and central contact
among museum staff on the composition and history of the historical physical
anthropology collection. Since the majority of this is from Indonesia, including
Papua, this curator must have expertise with regard to these areas.
Research: Internal object-historical research on the physical anthropology collection
will be completed by inputting into TMS a number of extensive biographies of
previous staff members and donors as well as historical information about the Dutch
Indies or other overseas institutes involved with establishing the collection. A closer
connection will also be sought in TMS between objects, human remains and photos
that historically belonged together but were separated in the past for management
purposes. Examples are the human remains in the series 141, 779 and 1153, which
were acquired along with a number of cultural artefacts during expeditions in Dutch
New Guinea and donated to the Tropenmuseum between 1922 and 1937 by
;c
expedition leader H.J.T. Bijlmer. The pre-Columbian collections of H. Feriz,
consisting of a group of artefacts, human remains and field photos will again be
related to each other scientifically in TMS. As indicated above, more work will be
done on putting in order the recording and documenting of the physical-anthropo-
logical and medical photo material, both loose and in albums.
External requests for research on the human remains collection whether by
individuals or institutes will always be taken into consideration and only honoured
if they are serious requests regarding the fields of anthropology, medicine or
archaeology. There have been several initiatives taken with regard to a multidiscipli-
nary study of the collection. One of these is:
- The NWO research programme Sites, Bodies and Stories (2008-2012)
This research programme, funded by the NWO (Netherlands Scientific Research
Institute) is an initiative of the Tropenmuseum with, as its central theme, the re-
interpretation of the significance of Indonesian cultural heritage in the colonial
and postcolonial contexts of state-forming in both the Netherlands and Indonesia.
Sites refers to archaeological sites (and political geography), Bodies to human
remains (and ethnic diversity), and Stories to performing arts such as wayang as
intangible heritage (and morality). Multiple institutions will be working together:
the Free University (Vrije Universiteit) of Amsterdam, the Royal Netherlands
Institute for South Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden, The Nether-
lands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) in Amsterdam, the Ethnographic
Museum in Leiden, the Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, Gajah Mada University in
Yogyakarta, the Eijkman Institute, and probably the National Museum in Jakarta.
Two studies are planned in this programme with regard to the human remains:
- a reconstruction of the collection history in the light of the international
development of physical anthropology in the twentieth century, around the
question of what this anonymous collection can mean for medical science today.
- a study of the ethical question of whether and how this collection can be removed
from the heritage domain to play a new role in contemporary biomedical research.
This will principally entail searching for pathogenic DNA, the DNA of old
infectious diseases. This can contribute to a better understanding of changes that
have taken place.
Collection management
Collection management will benefit strongly from the extra financial stimulus
provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the project Heritage Extra 2A
2008-2011. All activities in the framework of this project, activities which are thus
in addition to usual activities and serve to eliminate the backlog, fall into one of the
following categories: conservation and restoration, digitising and disseminating
;: Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
information about the collection online in a user-friendly way, optimising accessibility
of KIT heritage collections by, where possible, linking the collections of ILS
(Information and Library Services, see appendix 6 ) with those of the Tropenmuseum.
In concrete terms, this means that the heritage collections are linked to each other by
geographic location. The possibility of linking the thesauri of the two collections will
be studied. The intention is to stress the added value of this effort by making both
collections accessible through a single Internet portal.
1Conservation and restoration of the collection: A part of the collection will be
given supports and/or frames to prevent damage. The ceramics and porcelain
collections belong mainly to the core collection from Indonesia. Both sub-
collections are currently in spaces which are less than optimal from a conservation
standpoint and which could cause damage in the long term. These collections will
be housed in the usual depot. Conditions will also be improved for the weapons
and paddles collections. The albums of historical photos and the wayang puppet
collection will be actively conserved.
The museum owns an important historical feather collection, primarily from
Surinam and other Latin-American countries, which includes some one-of-a-kind
specimens. In addition to the fact that this feather collection is extremely fragile
and vulnerable to insect damage and so requires completely different storage
conditions from other items and supports are needed for some items, it is also
important that the collection is cleaned.
A part of the internationally renowned historical collection of glass negatives must
be treated to prevent the emulsion layer on the glass, now loose, from coming off,
in which case the images would be lost.
The museum owns an important collection of colonial furniture. The pieces are
important as expressions of mergers in craft traditions and as evidence of the
origins of a Western domestic interior in the East. Part of the furniture is in bad,
or very bad, condition: loose and missing parts, broken woven seats, bad joints.
Their condition will worsen without restoration. In its current state, the collection
is not open to the public and, except for a few pieces, is not usable in exhibitions.
Many metal objects are in the collection, varying from implements to art objects,
and from partly metal to entirely metal. These require a wide-ranging project for
which a preliminary collection survey is needed in order to arrive at a plan for the
treatment of all metal objects insofar as it is necessary. A separate element of this
plan is the collection of krisses (daggers). The museum owns 1200 of these
daggers. This unique collection provides an almost complete overview of the
different variants of this famous weapon. The museum has built up a great deal of
expertise over the years about the kris, resulting in several front rank publications.
;:
2Accessibility: Providing display titles in English will improve the international
accessibility of the collection database. To enhance registration, more background
information will be added to the objects and photos, such as exhibition history,
links with exhibition-related photos and text, literature, information about people
and institutions, and metatexts.
Older records will be cleaned up and brought up to date thanks to new
developments and advances in the digitising process.
3Tropenmuseum and KIT/ILS heritage collection: The ambition, during the
project period and where possible, is to link the heritage collections to each other
by geographical location and perform a feasibility study on linking the thesauri of
the two collections, so that the heritage collections can be accessed through a single
Internet portal. In just one search, users can find all the information in the KIT,
both historical maps and documents in the library, and the objects and photos in
the museum. This endeavour will not only create a better environment for research
and educational purposes; showing the collections in connection with each other
reinforces the cultural-history value of the collections.
4Collection committee:The collection committee supervises the collection policy.
This is chaired by the head of collections and further consists of the head of the
curatorial department, a senior documentalist, two curators and employees or staff
of the collection department. The collection committee informs the Museum
Affairs committee, and reports to and gives recommendations to the board of the
museum.
The fact that the composition of the entire Netherlands Ethnographic Collection is
a benchmark point is all the more true for the monitoring of collection
acquisitions. In general, whether or not a proposal is honoured will partly depend
on whether similar objects are in the ensemble of Dutch ethnographic museums
that is brought together in the SVCN (Stichting Volkenkundige Collectie
Nederland).
;, Tropenmuseum collection policy 2008-2012
1 Website www.krachtvancultuur.nl.
2 This is in accordance with the existing
selection criteria specified by the Dutch
government in: Deltaplan voor
cultuurbehoud. Onderdeel: Plan van aanpak
achterstanden musea, appendix 5. Ministry of
Welfare, Public Health and Culture, Rijswijk
July 1990.
3 See also the report from the symposium Art
Anthropology and themodesof re-presentation.
Museumsand contemporary non-Western art,
1993.
4 Objects more than 50 years old, unique
objects, objects of which only a few are
known, objects which greatly differ in some
respect from similar objects.
5 This is obvious as of 2006, but not after
2020. The period of 50 years is used because
some countries (for example Indonesia) use
it in describing objects that may not be
exported.
6 In the long term, more than 50 years old.
7 In the long term, more than 50 years old.
8 Illegal and inexpert excavation of objects
always goes along with loss of important
information.
;
Notes
Appendix 1
Double focus: a (inter)national museological contribution
to sustainability, policy paper 2008-2011
Summary of policy plan Tropenmuseum 2008-2011
1 Introduction
The Tropenmuseum, part of the KIT (Royal Tropical Institute), is active in the work sphere of the new
KIT Culture cluster. The museum is placing all essential museum tasks in an international collaborative
perspective, geared to the Millennium Development Goals. In both policy and design of activities, the
main theme is the relationship between Sustainabledevelopment and Culture.
The Tropenmuseums systematic international orientation is paired with a purposive interest in a
museological institutional basis in the Netherlands. This double focus has gained the Tropenmuseum
aspecial place within the international cultural heritage sector. From the KIT Culture cluster, the
museum aims to further strengthen this position in the next four years, both nationally and
internationally. To achieve this aim, it will work with Information and Library Services and the
Tropentheater, as well as with Development Planning & Policy and with Biomedical Research.
Mission and vision
The Tropenmuseum presents, studies and advances knowledge of, and interaction between, cultures.
All of the museums means are employed for these purposes: exhibitions, collections and expertise,
publications, the historic building, and educational and other activities. The museum is innovative in
itschoice of themes and the way it presents them. It provides discoveries and experiences to a broad
and diverse public, reinforces appreciation for cultural diversity, is internationally active in culture and
development and plays an important role in education.
A crucial aspect of this mission is the interaction between Dutch and international policies, in particular,
the coupling of the cultural function of the Tropenmuseum with the Millennium Development Goals.
The museum uses its own history and cultural history as a point of departure. It uses its collections as
an important resource for international cultural exchange with international partners, and also involves
the Dutch public, from young to old and from all strata of society. In the view of the Tropenmuseum,
an active transfer and exchange of cultural and historical knowledge is an important factor in sustainable
development all over the world. Cultural transfer and cultural exchange involve intergenerational
processes within local, regional and national communities. However, culture also plays this role in
international political relationships between countries. This is why the Tropenmuseum does not work
purely as a consultant, or a technical advisor, on capacity building in the professional heritage sector in
developing countries, but above all as an active partner in discussions about globalisation, cultural and
national identity, colonialism and de-colonisation, and developments in contemporary art and visual
culture.
;, Appendix 1
2 Product groups, aims, target groups and themes
The museum policy distinguishes between the following product groups and their aims:
1 international cultural collaboration, aimed at capacity building in the heritage sector in developing
countries, supporting intercultural dialogue, international training and policy.
2 building, conserving, managing and making the collection accessible, aimed at increasing the cultural
significance of international historic heritage in contemporary cultural processes and practices, in the
context of sustainable development.
3 internationally oriented exhibition policy that contributes to increased cultural encounters and
exchange, both in the Netherlands and abroad
4 an educational practice that contributes to sustainable development by stimulating intergenerational
cultural transfer, both in the Netherlands and internationally.
These aims result in the following activities:
1: international collaborations, 2: collection-related activities, 3: exhibitions and exhibition-related
activities, 4: educational activities. Each of these activities is characterised by a component of national
and international collaboration.
The museum gears itself towards a broad spectrum of target groups, each with specific product groups,
varying from professionals in the heritage sector in developing countries and people in training, to
young children from age 4 up, in school or family contexts. The emphasis is on institutional
collaboration that builds on sustainable working relationships with partners in developing countries for
whom collaboration is relevant given the Tropenmuseums collections and know-how and on the wider
public, nationally and internationally, the visitors that the museum is able to attract.
Four guiding themes have been chosen that cut across the four product groups: culture and
development; culture, interculturality and identity; colonialism and de-colonisation; modern art and
contemporary visual culture. Culture and development revolves around the question of how the
museum positions itself with regard to globalisation and using which definition of a museum it works
on capacity building in the heritage sector in developing countries. The theme Culture, inter-
culturality and identity is aimed at the development of museum practice (extending internationally)
that has an eye for differences and promotes an active cultural dialogue. This theme is also part of the
museums study of how our society relates culturally to modern biomedical technology, in relation to
roots-discussions. In Colonialism and de-colonisation the main idea is that recent processes of
nation-forming also require a process of cultural de-colonisation, not only among the new, fragile states
in the South, but those in the West as well, that have been just as drastically changed in the postcolonial
age. The last theme, Modern art and contemporary visual culture, is focused on increasing insight in
the relationship between tradition and modernity, between bound and autonomous art, and the
significance of art in contemporary society.
3 Strategy and policy
Focus
A central point in the Tropenmuseums strategy is its choosing to focus on these four themes in all of its
product groups. They were selected for their importance in international cultural relations, their many
points in common with the issue of sustainable development and their relevance for both our partners in
the South and for the Dutch and foreign visitors to the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam. Links can also be
found within these themes with the other divisions of KIT Culture. Their in-depth exploration will help
give new meanings to innovative experiences of ownership with regard to the heritage collections of the
Royal Tropical Institute. The Tropenmuseum has been inspired by the ethical debate within the
;o
international museum sector, in which there is a dispute about the meaning of the concept universal
museum. In this debate, the Tropenmuseum is known as a museum that wishes to make its heritage
collections optimally accessible to the international community and is willing to enter into active
partnerships to increase the meaning that this heritage can have in cultural processes of social develop-
ment through real exchanges of knowledge and collections. It plays an innovating role in generating
ideas and policy with regard to the relationship between collections and intangible heritage.
Knowledge policy
To make good its strategic choice of focus on the content of all its product groups and with KIT
Culture, the Tropenmuseum will work for the next four years on an active knowledge policy. This policy
of knowledge development and sharing knowledge is taking shape in an active international dialogue, in
which use will be made of the latest technology, of the position that the Tropenmuseum has acquired for
itself in academic and higher professional education, and of symposia and congresses, both in-house and
organised by third parties. The publication policy (Bulletins, Collection books) is also part of this know-
ledge policy. The concept of ICT4D, (Information and Communication Technology for Development)
will be further developed in this context. Two main policy lines play a part for the museum. One is the
collection management line, using TMS software, which supports and facilitates all the museums
collection-related activities. The second is the public-oriented line, which digitally organises and makes
available all the information which visitors may be interested in. These two lines will be strategically
guided and will be coordinated with ICT developments of other KIT divisions. TMS as such is not up
for discussion.
Education policy
A third fundamental strategic choice involves increased interest in educational activities in the
Netherlands. Starting from the idea that intergenerational culture transfer is a major force in sustainable
development, the Tropenmuseum aims to bring across its own international orientation and history
more firmly to future generations, thereby contributing to strengthening the idea of cultural diversity
among school-age children. Teachers and parents will also be involved in the substance of this policy,
extending from the KIT view of lifelong learning. This education policy is also the means of unfolding
the many meanings and stories contained in the semi-permanent and temporary exhibitions, and of
presenting them to the public in more depth.
4 Output and outcome
The Tropenmuseums outputs are defined as recognisable products such as a museum can produce in
terms of quality and quantity arising from our activities. The outcomes envisaged involve the effects of
the underlying ambitions and are the basis on which the output has been defined. Key concepts here are
sustainability and reciprocity. Museum policy contributes to strengthening the cultural component in
knowledge and practices of sustainable development with the various target groups of the museum, both
in developing countries and at home. During this policy period the Tropenmuseum is also striving to
remain involved in an active policy dialogue about this matter with its own ministry.
Capacity building in the heritage sector in developing countries through international cultural
collaboration
The Tropenmuseum is pursuing the following goals with the activities of this product group:
1 Effective partnerships with 4 heritage institutions, based on reciprocity;
2 Support for the heritage sector in developing countries with regard to collection management issues;
3 Strong international position as an intercultural expertise centre on the four focus themes.
;; Appendix 1
This is aimed at the following envisaged outcome:
1 Strong counterpart heritage institutions play a role in the development of society;
2 Improving the state and condition of conservation of the cultural heritage in developing countries
makes it better accessible and reduces vulnerability to theft;
3 Internationally shared knowledge about the significance of culture and tangible/intangible cultural
heritage in sustainable development processes helps reach the MDGs.
The following output contributes to achieving the above:
1 Identification missions as preparation for partnerships with four museums, concluded with MOUs in
which collaboration and exchange for a four-year period is made concrete;
2 Support programmes aimed at both the partner museums and other institutions with appropriate
demand and for which additional funding can be found outside output financing. Possibilities are
Object ID and other collection-management missions, training for exhibition policy, education policy,
and restoration policy. A role is also played by ICT4D;
3 Exchange activities, such as exhibitions, collection research, acquisition, exchange and replacement
and fieldwork, aimed at products in common in the museum in question or in the Tropenmuseum;
4 International dialogue focused on exchange of cultural expertise, by means of target (internet) group
discussions, symposia, training, work traineeship programmes and visitors programmes.
Collection forming, conservation, management, research and accessibility
The Tropenmuseum is pursuing the following goals with the activities of this product group:
1 To raise the level of management of the Tropenmuseums heritage collections;
2 To improve documentation and accessibility of the Tropenmuseums heritage collections;
3 Knowledge policy that as a museum, regionally, and thematically reinforces the vision about
collecting;
4 Knowledge infrastructure that allows for international dialogue about, and exchange of, tangible and
intangible collections.
This is aimed at the following envisaged outcome:
1 The collection is stable and is securely guarded;
2 The collection is well documented and this information is made available in accordance with
international standards;
3 Collection is available for exchange: as a loan, de-accessioning, or disposal, in the context of the role
of culture in sustainable development;
4 Collections are exhibited and publicised to raise the museums profile for the Dutch public, and they
play a role in the four focus themes.
The following output contributes to achieving the above:
1 Conserving of Tropenmuseum collections.
Conserving the tangible culture, photo, film, and music collections.
2 Heritage Extra IIa (additional funding according to plan)
Conserving specific sub-collections.
Restoring specific sub-collections.
Improving depot management.
Digitising and making accessible specific collections.
;
3 Collecting and de-accessioning collections
Acquisitions modern art and popular culture, visual culture
Acquisitions colonialism and de-colonisation
Acquisitions identity and migration
De-accessioning human remains and, film collection
4 Research and disseminating information
Basic registration and validation.
Documenting.
Website pilot digital guide to collection (tangible/intangible).
Asemus Virtual Collection of Masterpieces.
Books, Bulletins and other publications in collection.
Facilitation for researchers, lectures, trainees and symposia.
Setting up and implementing second/third-stream funded research projects.
Reinforcing the museums national/international position through exhibitions and public activities
The Tropenmuseum is pursuing the following goals with the activities of this product group:
1 Exhibitions of outstanding quality aimed at informing and raising awareness;
2 A national profile as an international centre for art and culture;
3 A contribution to peoples experience of relations between tangible art & culture and digital
information, improving international communication.
This is aimed at the following envisaged outcome:
1 The exhibition policy contributes to increased cultural encounters and exchanges, both in the
Netherlands and abroad;
2 The KIT provides a point of reference for groups and individuals wishing to be active in an
international cultural setting;
3 A heavily used website works as a fully-fledged communications medium contributing to the
experience of cultural diversity and pluriformity for the museum.
The following output contributes to achieving the above:
1 Permanent and temporary exhibitions in the Tropenmuseum
Semi-permanent exhibitions: maintenance, limited adjustments.
Complete re-arrangements.
Temporary Main hall exhibitions.
Temporary Parkzaal exhibitions.
Temporary Gallery exhibitions.
TM on tour: travelling exhibitions.
2 Internationally accessible website
Online content for general public, education, national and international experts.
Develop online services.
3 Activities
Visitor reception.
Main exhibition hall events summer festival with Tropentheater.
Family activities in Kartini gallery, guided tours, events.
Supporting products.
;, Appendix 1
Active national and international educational and information centre
The Tropenmuseum is pursuing the following goals with the activities of this product group:
1 TM-Junior exhibitions of outstanding quality with the goal of informing and raising awareness, which
are also international good examples;
2 Developing a range of educational activities for children from age 4 to 18, arising from a vision of
cultural diversity and lifelong learning.
This is aimed at the following envisaged outcome:
1 World citizenship is strengthened through the contact between young people in international projects;
support for intergenerational culture transfer in an international framework is increased;
2 Knowledge exchange about cultural diversity within the Dutch educational system is increased.
The following output contributes to achieving the above:
1 TropenmuseumJunior programme;
2 Educational programmes to age 12;
3 Educational programmes to age 18;
4 Supporting products and services (Knowledge centre, Website);
5 New TM-J exhibition 2009;
6 Educational programmes for individual visitors/youth.
c
Appendix 2
Modern and contemporary art in the Tropenmuseum
Judith deBruijn
1 Introduction: motivations, goals and definitions
The Tropenmuseum considers contemporary art a collection domain, which can help the museum to
stay afloat. To legitimise itself as a museum and maintain its relevance in the future, the Tropenmuseum
(and ethnographic museums in general) will have to change course. Under the influence of globalisation,
the museums original collecting areas have become less relevant in relation to its mission statement and
the place the museum wishes to have in todays world. Collection domains are thus in flux and must be
shifted and/or expanded. This was done several years ago with the designation of Popular Art as a theme
for collecting, but contemporary art is also now becoming an active field for collecting. However, the
Tropenmuseum is a cultural-history museum and not an art museum. Art is thus just one of the many
cultural expressions that must have a place within collection and exhibition policy. It is important that
contemporary art functions along alongside, and adds depth to, the other collection areas. Expanding
and adding depth to the collection by systematically purchasing contemporary art is a way to reposition
the current ethnographic collection in a contemporary cultural context.
1)
Contemporary art can be considered a cultural expression that stands for individual expression,
individuality, reflection and reaction. From this perspective it fits in well with the development the
museum is experiencing from an ethnographic museum into a cultural-history museum in which
personal stories are increasingly the medium of the message.
The Tropenmuseum already possesses modern and contemporary art objects (see box 2 on p. 40).
However, it is not a coherent collection. The objects have been brought together mainly through
donations and bequests and the museum has only incidentally purchased works. This has resulted in
acollection lacking sufficient coherence. That is, one that is able to function as a foundation but not as
a true point of departure for a reformulated acquisitions policy. In addition, a number of core areas in
the collection do not offer points of connection for contemporary collecting because the Tropenmuseum
does not wish to limit itself to collecting contemporary art from a particular region or medium.
The museum envisages a number of goals in bringing together and exhibiting modern and
contemporary art:
Goals
1 Keeping the existing collection alive and adding depth to it.
2 Doing justice to the versatility of, and developments in, other cultures.
: Appendix 2
3 Contribute to the debate around non-Western art; generating more interest in, knowledge of and
appreciation for, art from all over the world.
4 Reaching a new target group (i.e. contemporary art-loving public).
Definitions of modern and contemporary art
The Tropenmuseum understands modern and contemporary art to mean objects with an autonomous
character. They have no practical or ritual use but function mainly within a system of galleries, art
dealers, museums, art critics, etc. For convenience, we are using the term modern art for art made after
1900 and contemporary art for art made after 1960.
2)
The autonomous character of modern and
contemporary art is the essential characteristic with which the objects distinguish themselves from the
museums other categories of collectible objects.
Contemporary art vs. popular art
Nevertheless, the dividing line between the various categories for collection is not always clear, especially
with Popular art and Contemporary art. However, there are a number of differences. In contrast to
Popular art, the makers of Contemporary art have often enjoyed a formal training, and the purchasers
are not only from the same local environment or social group and the object itself has no practical,
functional or purely commercial function.
3)
Contemporary art also has the quality of telling a story, evoking questions, disseminating a view,
reflecting, shocking or reacting. Popular art also possesses these qualities to a certain degree but,
according to the philosopher Valentine Y. Mudimbe, Popular art is often anti-visionary and anti-
imaginary and readily divulges its meaning.
4)
This is an important inherent distinguishing element
between contemporary art and Popular art, because the content of contemporary art possesses multiple
layers. For just this reason, there is substantial added value in showing and collecting Contemporary art
as well as Popular art. In addition, autonomous Contemporary art is, much more so than Popular art,
oriented to the individuality of the artist. Because of this collecting it also fits in with current
developments in the Tropenmuseum and the direction the museum wants to take in the future.
2 Contemporary debate, theoretical framework
The terms Western and non-Western are controversial and a point for theoretical debate, primarily
because we are dealing with constructs. The use of these constructs entails maintaining a fiction based
on the hegemony of the West. It is paradoxical to use such terms, however, if, like the Tropenmuseum,
we are striving for equality between Western and non-Western, or want even to do away with the
distinction between these concepts.
Besides this moral and theoretical objection to the use of the terms, there is a second, practical
objection. Globalisation has blurred the division between Western and non-Western, and this blurring
will only increase. To what degree is an Indian artist actually non-Western?And what about all the
artists who have left their native countries and have grown up or trained in the West?
In this collection policy paper, we are accordingly striving to avoid the terms Western and non-
Western, but this is only partially feasible. In many cases, the use of these terms is the only way to
adequately depict the debate.
Western and non-Western testify to the Western worlds position of power, and to inclusion and
exclusion. Both within and outside the art world, there are of course ongoing debates arguing for equal
positions. To attain this equality, it is necessary to deconstruct existing power constructions. In art
theory, modernism (Western art) is considered the power centre, with everything incompatible within
modernism considered peripheral (non-Western art). Positions of power can only change if modernism
is broken up or if modernism is recognised in other cultures.
5)
However, the development of an art
:
market, cultural infrastructure, art criticism and art history within a country are also factors playing an
important part in changing positions of power.
Much has already changed in the relationship between Western and non-Western art, through
postmodernism as well as under the influence of the developments described above. More and more,
artists are part of the same international art world. At exhibitions such as Documenta, there is no longer
any distinction between Western and non-Western. In museums there is increasing interest in art from
the entire world, and the same is true for the art market.
In the Netherlands as well, there is increasing interest in art from areas less often collected in the past.
Collecting and showing this art is no longer only the province of the ethnographic museums. However,
many museums in the Netherlands are still imprisoned in a modernist paradigm and do not know how
to deal with art by non-Western artists. As one Dutch art critic wrote, If it comes from far away, we
dont like it.
6)
As far as this is concerned, little seems to have changed in the situation as it was in the
1980s. In 1985, the Tropenmuseum organised a day of discussion about Modern art in developing
countries to which art museums were invited. Modern art museums were not convinced of the quality
of the works by non-Western artists and therefore left the collecting and its exhibition of it to the
ethnographic museums.
7)
Unsatisfactory quality was not, and is not, an appropriate argument; the
inability to judge contemporary non-Western art is. The Dutch art museums admit that the reason they
still pay little attention to non-Western art is a lack of expertise and the exclusion of much non-Western
art from the Western art system.
8)
Accordingly, a consequence of the paradigm is that the non-Western
artists they work with are often artists who have studied or lived for a time in the West and function
within the existing Western art system. The condition seems to be that the artists have adopted a formal
language that is recognised and understood by curators and the art audience (who are mostly schooled
in, and used to, Western-oriented art history).
Authenticity
At the same time non-Western artists are often being blamed for having assimilated toomuch, being too
Western as it were.
9)
Underlying this is the idea that modernism has been forced on them; it does not
emerge of their own traditions and thus is not authentic. The term authentic is thus to a large extent
connected with the notion of traditional and plays a role in the construction of the self and the
other. The desire for the authentic expresses itself in seeking recognisable cultural characteristics in
awork, in which the viewers expectations or assumptions play a large part. All too often expectations
are projected onto the artist, who is forced into expressing, for example, their African cultural back-
ground in his work, since otherwise it will not be found African or different enough. This is often the
case with diaspora artists: Why isit not enough that I ama black American artist? Apparently I need to get
blacker. Moreauthentic. I must becometheblack American artist with dark, mysterious, atavistic rootsin
someprimitiveotherness. (Pope L., 2002)
10)
Olu Oguibe says there is continued preferencein thewest for that art fromAfrica that iseasily imaged
not asart asweknow it, but asa sign of theoccult, an inscription of thefantastic.
11)
Although Oguibe
isspeaking about Africa, this quote can easily be applied to art from other parts of the world.
The problem with the term authenticity is that the idea that underlies it is that an artist represents
aparticular culture. Of course an artists cultural background is a part of their identity and thereby of
their art as well; no artist will deny this. However, many artists do find it problematic if that means they
are seen as a representative of their culture.
This after all disconnects the artist from their individual creation, the art work.
The anonymity of non-Western artists was normally simply accepted and the label non-Western
artist.
12)
thus also divorces the artist from their individuality. This overlooks not only the individual but
also the transnational character of the art.
The danger is, moreover, that art is collected for its cultural characteristics instead of its artistic quality.
, Appendix 2
3 Practical translation of the theoretical framework
The above discussion around ethnicity and authenticity to a large extent determine the Tropenmuseums
view of its relationship with contemporary art.
Ethnicity
The above theoretical discussion around art and authenticity means that an artists ethnicity can no
longer be a criterion for the acquisition of artworks. This is the only way to be taken seriously and to
contribute meaningfully to the debate around, and interest in, non-Western art.
If this train of thought is extended, it means that the museum must also be open to artists from all
over the world who have a relationship to the collection, the museums collecting regions or the themes
that play an important part in the Tropenmuseum (see selection criteria). The way in which an artist
approaches this, and the degree to which he or she succeeds in giving shape to their ideas, must be
amore important yardstick that the background of the artist.
This is not only the only way to break away from the emphasis on ethnicity, but is also a logical
development in the context of globalisation. Given, in addition, the current discussion about the
regional or thematic arrangement of the museum, the new collection policy must anticipate by selecting
art that is bold and fits in with the themes or collection of the Tropenmuseum, regardless of the origins
of the artist.
Authenticity
The notion of authenticity also leads to the same conclusion. The idea that only artists who themselves
come from a particular country can give an authentic insiders view is not relevant. In concrete terms,
this means that work by diaspora artists can be purchased.
The most difficult point for the new collection policy is the friction between the longing for the modern
and the longing for the authentic. The museum must be able to find a balance that goes along with the
profile the museum intends to have in the field. If the museum wishes to appeal to a new audience, it
must not focus exclusively on art that confirms the longing for something authentic. Yet, due to the
history of the museum and its collection, there will be a tendency to look for cultural singularity in
objects. This has often been the case until today: in the last few years as well, art has been purchased
that conforms to the search for that authentic. The museum must start to monitor itself with regard to
this point. This is important because the Tropenmuseum sees its task as breaking through and breaking
up prejudices about cultures. Art is an extremely effective means to do this, but not if, through its
traditional character, it actually reinforces these same prejudices.
Thus, to do full justice to a culture while appealing to a new public, the museum must also show art
that uses more of the formal language that the art-loving public is familiar with. This is important in
helping to approach Western and non-Western art in the same way. The Tropenmuseum will create
conditions where justice is done to the art just as well as (or better than) it is in the White cube, even if
the approach is totally different.
13)
After all, the collection enables the Tropenmuseum to give artwork a
broad context, going beyond the artistic one. In making up its collections, this translates to purchasing
works that reflect on the themes important to the Tropenmuseum (such as artworks that react to
prejudice, colonialism, and otherness). It is precisely the context of the Tropenmuseum that ensures
that the museum is theplace to discuss these themes openly using artwork. For artists making works
with themes that are relevant for the Tropenmuseum, the context of the museum can provide added
value. Just as the contemporary artworks add depth to the existing collection, the converse will be true
as well.

4 The collection to come

Art that interests the Tropenmuseum provides a vision, is evocative, reflects, comments or reacts. Art
made only to say something about art or, say, material, has little relevance for the Tropenmuseum (and
vice versa). It is, after all, not the goal of the Tropenmuseum to provide a representative overview of
developments in the world of art or art history. Neither is its ambition to be complete, although it does
strive to present diverse views. The Tropenmuseum is not a modern art museum, nor is it trying to be
one. The art exhibited has a relevant story to tell within the context of the Tropenmuseum. This is what
distinguishes the Tropenmuseum from other museums.
An artworks story is the most important reason for a purchase; however, it does not mean that its
quality is any less important. Although in recent years a number of excellent works have been purchased,
even more attention must be paid to artistic quality in the coming years: both as a condition for
acquisition and to determine the way the item is presented in the museum and documented. This is
necessary for building up a high-quality collection. This is also the way to ensure that the museum
becomes one that creates requirements and is capable of reaching and convincing an art-loving public.
All in all, some tough choices will have to be made. In making them, the museum must be engaged
and, within its own context, shifting its boundaries. The traditional media (painting, sculpture, graphic
art and drawing) can be supplemented with photography, video art and installations.
14)
The emphasis on
quality also ensures that there need be no arguments about the position of the artist or their place in the
art scene (in the artists own country or outside of it). The Tropenmuseum must purchase good, relevant
art, independently of whether or not an artist is famous or has access to international networks.
5 Selection criteria
The following criteria apply in any case to new acquisitions:
1 Artistic quality.
2 Connection with main themes of the Tropenmuseum, the existing collection, the museum or
collection history:
a. in content;
b. in form;
3 Accessible, but multi-levelled.
4 Available information.
1 Artistic quality
One important criterion is an artworks artistic quality. The concept of artistic quality is extremely
difficult to define, but can often be arrived at though consensus. Points for consideration are finishing
touches, the degree to which the artwork succeeds in getting its message across, the staying power of
themessage, eloquence, use of material, composition and the use of layers of meaning.
It is important during acquisition that the museum be thoroughly familiar with an artists oeuvre, in
order to judge its artistic quality. To build up a collection of high quality it is important that the
museum buy high-quality work from the artists oeuvre.
2 Connection with main themes of the Tropenmuseum, the existing collection, the museum or
collection history
In acquiring new artworks, the museum must use its own collection as a starting point, since it
embodies the museums power and the ability to discern. This connection allows for many
interpretations and elaborations, in both form and content.
, Appendix 2
A Connection in content
The artworks must disseminate a viewpoint, reflect, react, comment on the artists own cultural
environment or on themes important for the Tropenmuseum. For the near future, this means that new
acquisitions should be related to the themes chosen for the 2008-2011 policy period (culture and develop-
ment, culture, interculturality and identity, colonialism and de-colonisation, visual culture). These themes
have their rootsin the existing Tropenmuseum collection and are thereby timeless themes that transcend
a four-year policy period. There must also be room for purchasing works which, in a similar way, are
responses to the museum, its collection history or particular pieces or units within the collection.
B Connection in form
Many contemporary artists use or refer to old techniques, forms or objects in their artworks. If they do
this in an innovative or confrontational way, it may be a welcome addition to the existing collection of
the Tropenmuseum. Usually a formal reference will only be interesting if combined with a connection in
content.
3 Accessible, but multi-levelled
Although the Tropenmuseum strives to draw the art crowd into the museum in the long run, there will
always be a large segment consisting of the regular Tropenmuseum visitors who have less affinity with
modern and contemporary art. Artworks acquired will therefore have to be accessible to a certain degree.
However, it is of great importance that the work does have levels of meaning so that it remains
refreshing, challenging, and interesting. The levels will usually be in a combination of form and content.
The multiple levels of an artwork also ensure that an object tells more than one story, making it more
multi-faceted and versatile.
4 Available information
When an artwork is acquired there must be sufficient information available about the artist, the
significance of the artwork and the rest of the artists oeuvre. This ensures that the work can be properly
documented and can be optimally employed in the future, and that a context is provided for visitors.
6 How to proceed: some recommendations
Exhibiting
An art exhibition must be held at least once a year in the gallery or Parkzaal, and at least once every four
years in the main exhibition hall. The Tropenmuseum will only establish itself as a serious contemporary
art museum by holding large-scale exhibitions with a commensurate budget and publicity. Ideally, new
acquisitions should emerge from exhibitions. This would require good coordination between the
exhibition and acquisition policies.
To demonstrate consistency in the policy, a good idea is to hold periodic exhibitions based on new
acquisitions in contemporary art. This obliges the museum to keep thinking about the selection criteria
and the connection with the collection, and also increases transparency for the public.
The new policy contains two important criteria for assessing the artworks: the relevance of their
contents for the Tropenmuseum and their artistic quality. These are actually two different approaches to
art. These two approaches will continue to occur in the way the art is shown in the museum, where one
approach will dominate in one exhibition and the other in the next. On the one hand, the content of
the art can be approached as a carrier of a story, for example, in thematic exhibitions and in the
permanent set-up. On the other hand, there must be particular art exhibitions held in which the
emphasis lies even more on art as art (for example, solo exhibitions).
In the long term, the striving must be for, besides an integrated set-up in the permanent exhibitions,
akind of project room for showing changing exhibitions of contemporary art that does not have a place
in the permanent exhibition.
o
Personnel
In the Tropenmuseum, each regional curator is responsible for being, and remaining, abreast of
developments in their own region. Since this is a rather large task, it is advised to create a post for
acurator who is specifically occupied with collecting, exhibiting, and publishing about modern and
contemporary art.
This person will work with the various regional curators on the topic of contemporary art.
Occupational trainees can play a part in exploring and researching a particular field in art.
Collaboration
It would be wise to work more often in collaboration with other art institutions in exhibitions, lectures
and loans. The museum must not only present itself as dependent on art museums, but must also be
aware of the knowledge its own staff possess. The museum surpasses many art-museum curators in
knowledge about art from the areas in which the Tropenmuseum collects. Coupling the knowledge of
art museums and ethnographic museums can result in fruitful collaborative projects. Collaborating with
art museums in these countries is also clearly a sensible option.
Commissioning works
The museum may commission artists to create works. It must be kept in mind that the execution of
awork of contemporary art is different than that of a piece of applied art or handicraft. Although
limitations sometimes stimulate creativity, in a commissioned work the artist must be free to take
liberties with the content.
Notes
1) Tropenmuseum 2008-2011 policy paper, p. 60.
2) Judith de Bruijn, TMS proposal 2, June 2007.
These years are not undebatable but are usual within art history. The Netherlands Art-History
Documentation Office (RKD), for example, uses them, as does the Tate Gallery. The terms
contemporary and of our time are naturally subject to shifts.
3) Paul Faber, Collection policy paper 2003-2007. Bulletin 355, Amsterdam, KIT Publishers, p. 91.
4) V.Y. Mudimbe, Reprendre: enunciations and strategies in contemporary African Arts. In: Olu
Oguibe, Okwui Enwezor (ed) Readingthecontemporary African Art fromtheory to themarketplace,
p. 40.
5) See, among others, Rasheed Araeen, Our Bauhaus. Others Mudhouse, Third text, no. 6 (Spring
1989), pp. 3-16. Okwui Enwezor, Between Worlds: Postmodernism and African Artists in the
Western Metropolis. In: Olu Oguibe, Okwui Enwezor (ed) Readingthecontemporary African Art
fromtheory to themarketplace, 1999, pp. 245-275.
6) Rutger Pontzen, De dominantie van de westerse esthetiek. In: Volkskrant, 4 August 2005, Arts
supplement, p. 8.
7) Adrienne Thijssen, Niet-westersekunst en destrijd omerkenning. Afstudeerscriptie
Kunstgeschiedenis, Faculteit der Letteren, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, januari 2005.
8) Fenneken Veldkamp, Wat de boer niet kent. In: ZAM, 02 2007, p. 17.
9) Hans Hartog de Jager, Naakt op de muur; Westerse en non-Western Kunst op de Binnale. In:
Volkskrant, 18 June 1999, Cultural Supplement, p. 25. Sidney Kasir, African Art and authenticity:
atext with a shadow. In: Olu Oguibe, Okwui Enwezor (ed) Readingthecontemporary African Art
fromtheory to themarketplace, 1999, p. 95.
10) Quoted in Amelia Jones (ed), Diaspora: Multiplepractices, Multipleworldviews, A companion to
contemporary art since1945. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 2006, p. 300.
; Appendix 2
11) Olu Oguibe, Art, Identity, Boundaries: Postmodernism and contemporary African Art. In: Olu
Oguibe, Okwui Enwezor (ed) Readingthecontemporary African Art fromtheory to themarketplace,
1999, p. 24. Among other things, he relates this to the preference among Westerners for artists like
Tokougougba, an artist whose work the Tropenmuseum also owns.
12) Olu Oguibe, Art, Identity, Boundaries: Postmodernism and contemporary African Art. In: Olu
Oguibe, Okwui Enwezor (ed) Readingthecontemporary African Art fromtheory to themarketplace,
1999, p. 21.
13) Brian ODoherty, Insidethewhitecube, Theideology of thegallery space. University of California
Press, San Francisco, 1986.
14) Special attention must be paid to the problems around conserving these objects, and the difficulties
and potential for them in the Tropenmuseum.
15) See report of the plenary session on exhibitions, dated 12 April 2007 (Tropenmuseum internal
report).

Aeckerlin, T. and R. Schoonenberg, Dejaren van

Asal Oesoel, IndischeNederlandersin de
Japansetijd. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers,
2006.
Aeckerlin, T. and R. Schoonenberg, Lied van een
tokh, vertellingen uit voormaligNederlands-
Indi. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2004.
Aeckerlin, T. and R. Schoonenberg, Neffer
Kambek, IndischeNederlandersin roerige
tijden. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2005.
Brakel, J.H. van, CharlesSayers1901-1943
Pioneer Painter in theDutch East Indies.
Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2004.
Brakel, J.H. van, TheBead goeson, TheSample
Card Collection with TradeBeadsfrom
company J.F. Sick & Co. in theTropen-
museum. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2006.
Brakel, J.H. van, Foreword. In: Brommer, A.B.,
Johannesten Klooster (1873-1940), A man
with two lives. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers,
2007.
Van Brakel, J.H., Virtual Collection of Masterpieces
via www.asemus.org Documentatie van 26
topstukken uit de collection van the
Tropenmuseum
Boonstra, S., Remix, Thestory of Layla and
Majnun in cultural expressionsin Iran, Turkey
and Azerbaijan. Amsterdam, 2006.
Werkuitgave.
Brommer, A.B., Johannesten Klooster (1873-
1940), A man with two lives. Amsterdam:
KIT Publishers, 2007.
Dartel, D.H.M. van, CollectorsCollected.
ExploringDutch colonial Culturethrough the
Study of Batik. Bulletin 369. Amsterdam:
KIT Publishers, 2005.
Dijk, J.J.H.G. van, Dutch Colonial presentation
Photographs. In: TheOxford Companion to
thePhotograph. Oxford: Oxford Press, 2005,
p. 133.
Dijk, J.J.H.G. van, Amsterdam-Jakarta, Twee
tropische vondsten. In: Nieuwsbrief NFg,
no. 49, Dec. 2005 pp. 16-17.
Duuren, D.A.P. van, et al., Physical Anthropology
reconsidered. Human remainsat the
Tropenmuseum. Bulletin 375. Amsterdam:
KIT Publishers, 2007.
Duuren, D.A.P. van, and T. Mostert, Curiosities
fromthePacific Ocean. A remarkable
rediscovery in theTropenmuseum, Amsterdam:
thirteen ethnographic objectsfromtheBruny
DEntrecasteaux expedition (1791-1794).
Leiden: 2007.
Duuren, D.A.P. van, New Guinea: Ritual
Traditions. The Oceanic Installation at the
Tropenmuseum. In: Tribal Arts, vol. 11,
no. 4 (Summer 2007), pp. 76-84.
Duuren, D.A.P. van, An oceanic mask?/ Un
masque ocanien? In: Tribal: themagazine
of tribal art, 38, summer 2005, pp. 116-119.
Duuren, D.A.P. van, and M. Pereira, Fysische
antropologieen menselijkeresten in het
Tropenmuseum. Amsterdam: 2006.
Werkuitgave.
Duuren, D.A.P. van, An old korwar from New
Guinea in Amsterdams Tropenmuseum. In:
TRIBAL, no. 34, Spring 2004, pp. 110-113.
, Appendix 3
Appendix 3
List of publications on the Tropenmuseum
collection 2003-2007
Duuren, D.A.P. van, Een teruggevonden Indo-
Javaans unicum: de kris van Knaud. In:
AziatischeKunst, 34, no. 2, June 2004,
p. 2-19.
Duuren, D.A.P. van, De kris van Knaud:
uitkomsten van het onderzoek. In: Aziatische
Kunst, 34, no. 4, December 2004, pp. 2-5.
Duuren, D.A.P. van, An Oceanic Mask?. In:
TRIBAL, no. 37, Winter 2004.
Erfgoed en toekomst. Collectienota 2003-2007.
Bulletin 355. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers,
2004.
Faber, P., All about evil. In: Material Religion,
journal of objects, art and belief, vol. 2,
issue1, March 2006, pp. 136-138.
Faber, P. et al., Het Kwaad. Amsterdam: KIT
Publishers, 2004.
Faber, P., Thedramatic history of theCongo as
painted by Tshibumba Kanda Matulu.
Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2004.
Frank, D., Van ruilen komt huilen. Objekttausch
amBeispiel desTropenmuseumsin Amsterdam.
Tropenmuseum, 2006. Final thesis.
Hallebeek, P.B., Onderzoek naar desamenstelling
van zilveren objecten uit Java en Bali
Djokja zilver. ICN, 2005.
Hout, I.C. van, Bird symbols on Indonesian
textiles. In: DivineMessengers Bird
Symbolismand Aestheticsin Southeast Asia.
Paris 2006.
Jongmans, R., De missionaris als voer voor
antropologen. In: Nieuwsbrief NFg,
September 2007, p. 22.
Kal, W.H., Yogya Silver. Renewal of a Javanese
Handicraft. Amsterdam. Amsterdam: KIT
Publishers, 2005.
Knoops, M., Kolonialisme door het oog van de
gezusters Curil. In: Nieuwsbrief NFg,
September 2007, p. 12.
Lahri, A., Egyptischefilmaffiches, trainerschap
paper. Amsterdam: Tropenmuseum, 2005.
Legne, S. and B. Waaldijk, Mission Interrupted:
Gender, History and the Colonial Canon.
In: M. Grever and S. Stuurman (eds),
Beyond theCanon. History for theTwenty-first
Century. Hampshire/New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2007, pp. 188-204.
Legne, S., Enlightenment, Empathy, Retreat.
The cultural heritage of the Ethische
Politiek. In: P. ter Keurs (ed), Colonial
CollectionsRevisited. Leiden: CNWS
Publications, 2007, pp. 220-245
(Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor
Volkenkunde Leiden)
Legne, S., FromIndia to Suriname. A journey
into thefuturenarrated by two photograph
albums(1913-1930). Allahabad: Manav
Vikas Sangrahalaya GB Pant Institute,
2007.
Legne, S., Laten wedusdeherinneringherstellen.
Autoriteit en collectieveconstructiesvan het
eigene. The Hague: National Archives,
October 2006. Ketelaar lecture 4.
Legne, S., Canon van verschil. Musea en
koloniale cultuur in Nederland. In:
R. van der Laarse (red.), Bezeten van vroeger.
Erfgoed, identiteit en musealisering.
Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis, 2005,
pp. 124-152.
Legne, S., Photographic Playing Cards.
Teaching the Dutch Colonialism. In: E.
Edwards and J. Hart (eds), Photographs
ObjectsHistories. On themateriality of
Images. London/New York: Routledge, 2004
pp. 96-112.
Maas, D. van der, Surinamegefotografeerd. Een
inventarisatieen analysevan defotocollectie
Surinamevan het Tropenmuseum. MA
heritage studies, 2006. Traineeship report in
heritage studies.
Mansfeld, A., Familiefotos uit de collectie van
het Indisch Wetenschappelijk Instituut. In:
Nieuwsbrief NFg, March 2007, p.6
Mansfeld, A., Reconstructie; fotos en hun
verhaal I. In: Nieuwsbrief NFg, Maart 2007,
p. 7.
Meulenbeld, B.C., via www.boeddhistische
omroep.nl or via www.buddhistmedia.com
documentation ofo Buddhist object from the
Tropenmuseum collection.
Oei, L., Pracht & Kraal, van Madonna tot de
Masa. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2006.
Saadouni, M., Van bron tot bron. Eindverslagvan
het onderzoek naar decollectieMarokkaanse
Berbervoorwerpen van het Tropenmuseum.
Amsterdam: Tropenmuseum, 2005. Working
edition.
Shatanawi, M.A., Tehran Studio Works. TheArt of
Khosrow Hassanzadeh. London: Saqi Books,
2006.
,c
Shatanawi, M.A., Thedisquietingart of Khosrow
Hassanzadeh, ISIM Review 18, Autumn
2006, pp. 54-55.
Shatanawi, M.A., Berbersvoor beginners,
bezoekersgidstentoonstellingWANA.
Amsterdam: KIT Tropenmuseum, 2005.
Vink, S.A., Tussen Goudkoorts en malaria,
Wetenschappelijke expedities in Suriname.
In: Nieuwsbrief NederlandsFotogenootschap,
no. 47 July 2005, pp. 22-23.
Vink, S., Beenderen en beelden. In: Nieuwsbrief
NFg, September 2007, p. 7.
Willem van Warmelos Music Archives. Catalogue
of digitalized recordsand recordingsof South
African and other music fromtheKIT
TropenmuseumCollection(kept at NIBG,
Hilversum the Netherlands). Amsterdam:
Tropenmuseum, 2005.
Zee, P. van der, Bisj-palen. Een woud van magische
beelden. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers, 2007.
,: Appendix 3
Appendix 4
List of collections and new acquisitions 2003-2007
Collection by department (31-12-2007)
Collection Department Number
Visual collections (not allocated to a specific region) 44,382
China 323
Europe 2,470
Insular Southeast Asia 86,643
IWI not selected 23,335
Japan 380
Central and South America 7,527
North Africa and Southwest Asia 2,470
North America 82
Oceania 5,044
Region unknown 367
Sub-Saharan Africa 1,953
South Asia and mainland Southeast Asia 2,132
Tangible culture collections (not allocated to a specific region) 6,654
China 3,634
Circumpolar (Arctic) regions 37
Europe 2,155
Insular Southeast Asia 62,220
Japan 2,029
Central and South America 19,955
North Africa and Southwest Asia 11,292
North America 242
Oceania 20,393
Region unknown 137
Sub-Saharan Africa 11,271
South Asia and mainland Southeast Asia 17,285
Total 1900,844
,:
Collection by sub-collection (31-12-2007)
Collection Sub-collection Number
Visual collections (not allocated) 19
Posters 377
Books 399
Documents 905
photographs 159,729
Films/video 609
Graphic art 3,601
Postcards 6,988
Paintings 2,208
Drawings 2,273
Tangible culture collections (not allocated) 122,513
Archaeological objects 4,770
Physical anthropology 495
Musical instruments 5,893
Natural objects 2,087
Textiles 21,546
Total 334,412
New acquisitions 2003-2007 by department
Collection Department Number
(not input) Insular Southeast Asia 2
Central and South America 4
Visual collections Europe 146
Insular Southeast Asia* 46,558
Central and South America 70
North Africa and Southwest Asia 141
Oceania 132
Region unknown 4
Sub-Saharan Africa 143
South Asia and mainland Southeast Asia 99
Tangible culture collections (not allocated) 3
China 4
Europe 273
Insular Southeast Asia 987
Japan 2
Central and South America 363
North Africa and Southwest Asia 107
Oceania 316
Sub-Saharan Africa 567
South Asia and mainland Southeast Asia 312
Total 3721,558
* Including IWI collection (46,115 objects).
,, Appendix 4
New acquisitions 2003-2007 by sub-collection
Classification Field Sub-Classification Field Number Of Dups
(not input) 6
Visual collections Posters 160
Books 6
Documents 62
photographs* 46,720
Graphic art 134
Postcards 12
Paintings 114
Drawings 84
Tangible culture collections 2,402
Archaeological objects 10
Musical instruments 120
Natural objects 4
Textiles 399
Total 50,233
* Including IWI collection (46,115 objects).
Accessible on public site Collection Online (31-12-2007)*
Collection Sub-collection Number
(not input) (not input) 77
Visual collections (not input) 16
Prints/drawings** 4,147
Books 72
Photo collection 46,373
Paintings 1,159
Tangible culture collections (not input) 36,352
Archaeological objects 3,158
Physical anthropology 4
Musical instruments 4,580
Natural objects 72
Textiles 8,626
Total 104,636
* Objects given registration fields and visually recorded and validated.
** Including posters, documents, graphic art, postcards, drawings.
Links available on public site Collectie Online (31-12-2007)
Linking Linked objects Linked to
Objects to literature 4,984 360 literature
Objects to exhibitions 20,806 92 exhibitions
Objects to events 3,901 44 events
Objects to People/institutions 79,630 7,031 people/institutions
,
Appendix 5
Academic staff of the Tropenmuseum 2003-2007
The above mentioned divisions between regional and thematic core collections, as well as the A, B, and
C categories, do not correspond directly to the divisions between the job descriptions of the scientific
staff of the museum itself. The museum organisation in the years 2003-2007 was as follows:
Pim Westerkamp, curator for Southeast Asia (insular and continental); David van Duuren, curator for
Oceania and historical collections, in particular Indonesia; Ben Meulenbeld, curator for Culture and
History of South Asia; Paul Faber, curator for Africa (south of the Sahara); Mirjam Shatanawi, curator
for Middle East and North Africa; Alex van Stipriaan Luscius, curator for Latin America and the
Caribbean; Itie van Hout, curator for Textiles; Rein Spoorman, curator for Music, Dance, Theatre
and Intangible Heritage (until 1 September 2007); Janneke van Dijk, curator for Historical Photographs
and Contemporary Visual Culture; Koos van Brakel, Head of Collections; Susan Legne, Head of
Curatorial Department; Friedi Hellemons and Steven Vink, senior collection researchers; Daan van
Dartel, Sadia Boonstra, Judith de Bruijn, trainee assistant curators, and TMS researchers Rob Jongmans,
Richard van Alphen, Marjolein Beumer, Anouk Mansfeld are active in different (collection) terrains.
Thanks are due to Jennifer Alderson for the translation of chapter 1.
,, Appendix 5
Appendix 6
KIT Information & Library Services (KIT ILS):
using technology to preserve the past and to meet future
information needs
In addition to the KIT Tropenmuseum collection, KIT houses one of the largest library collections
to befound in Europe of scientific and popular books, periodicals, articles and maps concerned with
international cooperation and development issues. KIT also has an international reputation in this field.
This is complemented by a rich cultural-historical collection relating to the Dutch colonial past. KIT
ILS has a long history of disseminating information on these issues. The manner of providing its services
has recently shifted from that of a traditional library to one that includes digital content, online access
and electronic services. The library collection is enriched by the development of information products
produced by KIT ILS experts who not only work on the departments own products and services, but
also cooperate with partners in the South with the aim of contributing to capacity building in
information technology and information management. In recent years, the importance of ICT-related
expertise has become increasingly important in information and library services. This has become a focal
area of expertise within KIT ILS.
Thesculpturesplaced abovethebookshelvesin thereadingroomof theKIT Library refer to various
fieldsof study. Education isrepresented by a woman fromtheDutch East Indies, a referenceto
Raden AdjengKartini, a well-known advocatefor theemancipation for women in her day.
1)
Mission Statement
KIT ILS strives to contribute to the expansion of knowledge in the field of development issues, social
and historical context, and tropical and sub-tropical civilisations, among professionals in developing
countries, in the West, and among the general public in the Netherlands. In order to realise this goal it
maintains a busy international library and information service. KIT ILS operates on the premise that
knowledge of these subjects is necessary to create a basis for responsible participation in a worldwide
effort to alleviate poverty.
The core activities consist of making relevant information available and accessible via various
information carriers. KIT ILS specialises in providing information services to users in the Netherlands
and abroad, especially in developing countries. Expertise has also been developed in the preservation of
important documents belonging to the cultural heritage.
,o
Target groups
KIT ILS designs its information services for development professionals, governments and the business
world in North and South. The Resource Centre in the Tropenmuseum offers the general public
information about other countries and cultures. A number of information products are also tailored to
reach specific target groups worldwide.
In addition, KIT ILS systematically cultivates a network of partners in developing countries with the
aim of contributing to capacity building in various regions. KIT ILS already works closely with partners
in Surinam, Ghana and Mozambique. Approximately 250 partners, organisations and professionals in
developing countries are provided with the information they need on a regular basis. KIT ILS exchanges
experiences in the field of information management with 75 online community partners.
Development of the collection
The KIT Library has its roots in the Colonial Museum, which opened in Haarlem in 1871. The aim
of the museum was primarily to collect information about tropical products and natural resources.
Thecollection was built up by gifts of books, journals and newsletters from private corporations,
organisations and the government, and also by exchange and purchase. The collection included
cartographic documents and other material from the precursor of the Colonial Museum, the department
of Trade and Colonies of the Royal Dutch Society of Sciences and Humanities, which was founded in
the mid-eighteenth century.
In 1913, the collections of the Colonial Museum were transferred to the Colonial Institute in
Amsterdam, which was founded in 1910. The collection was subsequently expanded to promote a better
understanding of the Dutch Colonies with a special emphasis on encouraging good government. As a
comparison with the colonies of other nations was necessary in this context, publications about the
former British colonies, especially India, were acquired in this early period. This resulted in a broad
collection in which all aspects of colonial society, such as health, agriculture, economics, culture,
government, anthropology and history, are represented, and which provides a good insight into the
development of colonial society through the years. Between 1895 and 1911, the number of books and
journals nearly tripled (through grants, exchange and purchase), from 1700 to 5075.
The orientation of the Colonial Institute altered after the transfer of sovereignty to Indonesia in 1950.
In 1951 the name was changed to the Royal Tropical Institute. The growing influence of the
development policy of the United Nations is reflected in the revised aims of the Institute: To gather and
study resourcesand to spread knowledgeabout thetropicsin theareasof culture, economicsand sanitation.
After a regional expansion of the role of the Institute, the Library changed its collection policy to
include material about all countries in the developing world and to document the changes in policy and
the progress of international cooperation and international aid. With this new policy, the KIT Library
was one of the first libraries in the Netherlands to systematically acquire material relating to new issues
and problems in development. Development is embedded in a network of social processes and relations,
in which political, ideological and cultural factors play a role. The study of development, therefore,
requires a multidisciplinary approach. The collection covers a wide range of subjects such as govern-
ment, conflict control, social and institutional development, security and human rights, employment
and environment. Agriculture and health have been central themes from the beginning. In the course of
nearly 150 years, there has been noticeable shift of emphasis from applied natural sciences to social and
cultural sciences.
In the late 1950s and the 1960s, most of the publications acquired by the Library were published in the
West. Beginning in around 1975, there was a significant increase in the number of publications
,; Appendix 6
produced in developing countries. That development, together with the publications the Library
received in exchange from contacts in the South, has resulted in a sizeable collection of grey literature
which now accounts for 40% of the library collection. A significant collection of intergovernmental
publications has also been built up. In recognition of the Librarys strength in this area, the World Bank
and the Asian Development Bank have granted the Library depository status. The depository status is
still in force even though the publications of the World Bank are now also available electronically.
Over the years, two parallel core collections have developed: the current collection and the historical
collection focusing mainly on the former Dutch colonies.
Description of the historical collection
Considering the history of the Institute, it is hardly surprising that most of the historical collection dates
from the period 1840-1950, and originates from the former Dutch colonies. Approximately 80% of the
historical collection comes from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), with the remaining 20% from
Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles. The Library has received a number of important gifts. For
example, a former director of the Javasche Bank, Mr N.P. van der Berg (1831-1917), and a former
director of the Colonial Museum, Dr. M. Greshoff, donated their library collections to the KIT Library.
As of December 2007, the historical collection consisted of 3000 journal titles, 20,000 monographs and
brochures and 22,500 maps.
In 1998, the KIT Dutch colonial heritage collections were examined and evaluated by an international
visitation commission. The commission recognised the cultural and historical importance of the
collection. However, they were concerned about issues such as collection management and preservation.
Questions about the physical condition of the collection and accessibility had to be addressed. The
preservation of the collection was deemed to be of international importance since it contains sources
from the former Dutch colonies which are not only rare in the countries of origin, but are also
insufficiently documented and not always stored under ideal conditions. As a result of a project to
preserve the KIT cultural heritage collections sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
historical library collection was catalogued, selected items were conserved and transferred to a climate-
controlled room during 2000-2004. Furthermore, a sizeable part of the historical journal collection was
made accessible on microfilm and the entire historical map collection was digitised and made available
via the Internet.
Policy 2008-2011
The historical collection contains a wealth of information, which is still relevant to current development
problems. In recognition of this fact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided additional funds to
continue the first cultural preservation project. In the second phase, the emphasis will be on digitising
the collection so that it will be accessible worldwide via the Internet. An additional benefit of the project
is that both the library and museum collections will be searchable through a single Internet portal. In
the future, a visitor will be able to find information not only about documents and historical maps, but
also about museum objects and photographs. This is a huge task, but the effort is justified because, by
making the KIT collections accessible as a whole, it will create an environment that will encourage
research and education and will also play an important role in international and intercultural cooperation
and exchange, with emphasis on strengthening the professional heritage sector in developing countries.
Highlights from the historical collection
George Rumphius (1627-1702) was the first European natural scientist active in the former Dutch East
Indies, and is regarded as a pioneer of scientific research on Indonesia. Rumphius is best known as the
author of Het Amboinschekruidboekor HerbariumAmboinense. This is a catalogue of the plants of the
,
island of Amboina (Ambon in modern Indonesia) and was published posthumously in 1741. His book
provided the basis for all future study of the flora of the Moluccas. This book is one of the most
important treasures of the Colonial collection. It has been preserved on microfilm and made accessible
for future generations.
Another highlight is the well-known Insecta et animalia coloribusad vivumpicta(1708) by the
distinguished collector Hendrik dAcquet (1632-1706), which contains illustrations of insects and
reptiles which he collected in the Far East between 1651 and 1703. Only three sets of this work have
been preserved. The set in the Royal Tropical Institute contains illustrations of 799 zoological specimens
on 193 sheets.
The famous Reizenaar Surinamen, en door debinnestegedeelten van Guiana(1799), originally published
in English as Narrativeof a fiveyears expedition against therevolted Negroesof Surinam(1796), by John
Gabriel Stedman has been made available electronically as a so-called living book. The book can be
looked through by using touch screens in the Tropenmuseum Resource Centre and at the Suriname
Museum Foundation in Paramaribo, our partner in Surinam.
Historical Map collection
The historical map collection is of special importance and is described in a separate section. KIT
possesses an extensive collection of land and nautical maps of tropical and sub-tropical regions,
including topographical overview maps and map series, city maps, thematic maps and national atlases.
The collection comprises about 27,000 maps and over 1000 atlases in total, and is frequently consulted
for scientific research and in the planning of development projects, emergency relief and peacekeeping
missions. The collection also serves as a source for international arbitration in determining land and sea
borders. The historical map collection was consulted by Artsen zonder Grenzen, the Dutch branch of
Mdecins Sans Frontires (Doctors without Borders), in order to co-ordinate their relief efforts in the
aftermath of the tsunami of 2004. The detailed maps, available only in the KIT collection, contain
information about every town and village, which enabled the relief workers to locate the specific regions
that were affected by the tsunami and to bring help to the victims. Because the maps had been digitised,
the relief workers could consult these in the field on a specially-made CD-ROM.
The historical section forms the basis of the collection, consisting mainly of maps of the Dutch East
Indies, the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname dating back to the time that KIT operated as the
Colonial Institute. This section comprises around 12,000 maps and 150 atlases from the period from
1850-1950. The earliest map in the Librarys collection is a printed and hand-coloured map of Borneo
and the coast of Celebes from c. 1657. Another rarity is a manuscript version of the earliest map of the
whole of Indonesia, which was drawn between 1839 and 1855 and later printed, in 1895. The
collection also features an early atlas of Indonesia from 1817, marking the reacquisition of the colony by
the Dutch from the British.
There has always been a demand for consulting the original material in the historical map collection on
site in the library. This can, however, contribute to the deterioration of these antique materials. In an
effort to allow access while protecting the originals, KIT ILS decided to digitise its entire collection of
land and nautical maps from 1850-1950 and make it available online. One of the largest collections of
maps of the former Dutch colonies is thereby accessible via the Internet for scientists, cartographers and
other interested parties anywhere in the world. The innovative part of the project is the ability to search
by location and to navigate through serial maps. The digitisation of the map collection is part of the first
phase of the cultural heritage preservation project mentioned above. The Institute is the first
organisation in the Netherlands to undertake such an effort.
,, Appendix 6
The current collection
As mentioned above, the KIT Library collection is one of the most significant in the field of develop-
ment studies. The KIT Library Development Policy Collection, which is regularly evaluated and, if
necessary, adapted, provides a framework for the maintenance and development of the collection.
It establishes priorities for selection criteria across the range of different subjects, languages and media,
and creates a consistent and coherent basis for the future development of the library collections. The
Library contains over 315,000 monographs and 21,000 journal titles (including more than 4000 current
subscriptions). The Library provides access to 25 relevant databases, more than 200 websites and
55,000 fully-indexed journal articles via the Library catalogue. KIT ILS also maintains the Tropen-
museum Resource Centre, which is a source of more general information on the developing world. In
the Centre can be found books and magazines about various countries, development aid, travel and
culture.
In addition to monographs and periodicals published in the West, KIT Library places special emphasis
on acquiring and cataloguing publications classified as grey literature and material published in
developing countries. Most of the grey literature and literature from the South is received in exchange or
by means of an intensive acquisitions policy. The Library has an exchange relationship with more than
250 organisations in the developing world. Their publications are not widely distributed and are often
very difficult to acquire. For development professionals and researchers, having access to titles published
in developing countries, and to grey literature, as well as to Western sources makes it possible to analyse
development problems from the perspective of both regions. KIT Library also strives for full coverage of
publications related to Dutch development cooperation with the intention of developing a digital
repository on the subject. This will ensure that these important sources will be available for future
researchers.
Since 2002, the Library has made a concerted effort to increase access to digital documents. Most of the
large journal collection is now available electronically and the number of monographs that can be
accessed electronically is growing dramatically. Databases and websites on relevant subjects are being
added to the collection and additional digital information services for library users are being planned.
Initiatives to digitise the cultural heritage collection have already begun and will continue in cooperation
with national and international partners. The documents in the digital library have been incorporated
into the online catalogue and are indexed using the United Nations thesaurus. The collection has been
further enriched by information portals, including KIT portals, which provide access to full-text
documents, e-mail newsletters, e-journals, news and events, and other free Internet resources. The portal
themes have been selected to reflect the focal points of the different KIT departments. There are
currently four KIT ILS portals online:
- Culture for Development. This portal focuses on tangible and intangible heritage presented in
museums and through the performing arts located in, or relating to, developing countries;
- Rural Innovation Systems. This is a new, broad approach aimed at a systemic understanding and
facilitation of interactions among all factors and actors for generating, diffusing, and utilising new
knowledge for rural development;
- Governance & HIV and AIDS. In this portal the focus is on the mechanisms of interaction through
which HIV and AIDS policies and strategies are developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated
at different levels, involving both public and private parties;
- Value Chains for Development. The value chain development approach aims at the analysis, design
and facilitation of integrated supply chains that are pro-poor.
Two additional KIT ILS portals are in the development stage: Gender, society and development; and
Health laboratory capacity building.
:cc
Collection development policy 2008-2011 (in brief)
Content
Like many governments around the world, the Dutch government has made a commitment to the
worldwide target of achieving the Millennium Development Goals
2)
(MDG) by 2015. KIT ILS supports
this decision and has adapted its collection policy for the coming years in response to the Governments
policy. This has resulted in a change in the thematic orientation of the collection policy and information
services to conform to the priorities of international cooperation as expressed in the MDGs. The KIT-
wide policy to support the use of information and communication technologies in developing countries
is reflected in the decision to maintain ICT-related subjects as a special focus in collection development
policy
3)
. Other themes in the collection policy also reflect other KIT priorities, such as economic and
social development, health improvement and, more specifically, combating tropical diseases and the
cultural aspects of development. Although culture is not specifically mentioned in the MDGs, it plays
an important role in poverty alleviation. The relation of culture to development issues will be a major
theme of the collection policy because it underlies many, or perhaps even all, of the themes of
development cooperation.
Digital Library
The KIT Library considers the acquisition of scholarly electronic materials to be an important means of
ensuring broad access to information. The digital material selected includes journals, monographs, and
large databases of articles and other items. This material is subjected to the same selection criteria
(i.e. subject, chronological period, geographical region, language, etc.) as other formats outlined in
theLibrarys collection development policy. It must also conform to the same standards of excellence,
comprehensiveness, and authority that the Library requires from all its acquisitions. The ultimate goal
of the KIT Digital Library collection policy is to expand the digital library and to provide library users,
including those in the developing world, with a comprehensive, scholarly collection of digital material.
Access to all KIT collections will eventually be available through an advanced search engine, which will
allow simultaneous searching of many databases. It is hoped that this technology will enable the KIT
Library to provide customised information services for its users.
Partnerships
New technological developments, reduction of collection budgets, and the explosive growth of online
documents, are convincing reasons to search for new ways of working more closely with partner
libraries. The policy of the KIT Library for coming years is to cooperate with partner libraries in the
Netherlands, not only in the area of coordinating collection development, but also in increasing
efficiency in providing information professionals in the Netherlands with relevant information on
development issues.
Notes
1) J. Woudsma, An AmsterdamLandmark: TheRoyal Tropical Institute. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers,
2004, p. 55.
2) MDG: 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2: Achieve universal primary education;
3: Promote gender equality and empower women; 4: Reduce child mortality; 5: Improve maternal
health; 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; 7: Ensure environmental sustainability;
8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development.
3) The emphasis on ICT4D conforms with the agreements made during the World Summit on the
Information Societyin Tunis in 2005.
:c: Appendix 6
Bulletins of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)
The KIT Bulletin Series deals with current
themes in international development. It is a
multi-disciplinary forum for scientists, policy
makers, managers and development advisors in
agriculture, natural resource managements,
health, culture, history and anthropology to
present their work. These fields reflect the broad
scope of the Royal Tropical Institutes activities.
Information
Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)
KIT Tropenmuseum
Mauritskade 63
1092 AD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
T +31 (0)20 5688 414
E info@kit.nl
www.tropenmuseum.nl
Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)
KIT Publishers
P.O. Box 95001
1090 HA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
T +31 (0)20 5688 210
E publishers@kit.nl
www.kit.nl/publishers
2008 KIT Publishers, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
This is an open-access publication distributed
under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original author and source
are credited.
Publication coordinator Arlette Kouwenhoven
Translation and editing Deul Spanjaard
Boekproducties, Groningen, The Netherlands
Cover and design Studio Berry Slok, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Photos Collection KIT Tropenmuseum
Printing High Trade NV, Zwolle,
The Netherlands
Printed in Hungary
Cover photo Reyhan Hassanzadeh, one of four
silk-screens from the series Terrorist. Khosrow
Hassanzadeh, 2004
Correct citation
Brakel, Koos van, and Susan Legne (eds) (2008)
Collectingat cultural crossroads. Collection policies
and approaches(2008-2012) of theTropenmuseum.
Bulletin 381. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers
ISBN 978 90 6832 6475
ISSN 0922-7911
NUR 761
Colophon