About
Put on Display at Kunstmuseum Den Haag examines the 1898 human zoo Kampong Insulinde through Buste van een vrouw van Java by Joseph Mendes da Costa. It is on view 22 October–10 December 2026.
What to expect
The presentation uses Buste van een vrouw van Java (1898) by Joseph Mendes da Costa to look at the 1898 human zoo Kampong Insulinde from the perspective of the woman exhibited there.
- Bust from 1898
- Sculptor: Joseph Mendes da Costa
- Focus on Kampong Insulinde
- Curator: Iris Tjoa
- Research into colonial museum collections
- 37 people from Java exhibited in 1898
Dates
FAQ
What is the presentation about?
The presentation centres on Buste van een vrouw van Java (1898) by Joseph Mendes da Costa.
From the perspective of the exhibited woman, it looks at the human zoo Kampong Insulinde.
It examines how this colonial past is recorded and continues in Dutch museum collections.
When can I visit?
The listing gives dates from 22 October to 10 December 2026.
No opening hours or start times are listed.
Who is Iris Tjoa?
Iris Tjoa is an expert on human zoos and curator of this presentation.
She has researched Kampong Insulinde for years.
What was Kampong Insulinde?
Kampong Insulinde was a human zoo at the Nationale Tentoonstelling van Vrouwenarbeid in 1898.
It was an enclosed ‘village’ with reconstructed buildings from the Dutch East Indies.
37 people from Java were exhibited there and viewed daily by thousands that summer.
It stood at the corner of Stadhouderslaan and Scheveningseweg in Den Haag, walking distance from today’s Kunstmuseum.
Human zoos were common in Europe in the second half of the 19th century; people from colonised areas were brought to the Netherlands and exhibited for payment to a mainly white public.
What does the museum want to discuss?
It wants to start a conversation with a broad public about an unknown piece of Hague history.
Getting there
Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Stadhouderslaan 41, 2517 HV Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, NL
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