Wageningen University & Research
Today's Wageningen University & Research held a collection of Indonesian objects at the beginning of the 20th century. These objects were used teaching geology and anthropology. At a later stage, the collection of Indonesian objects was divided among several museums in the Netherlands.
Description
From the early 20th century the Agricultural College in Wageningen (now: Wageningen University & Research) had a museum display of objects from the Dutch East Indies, which was used in teaching geography and ethnology. The collection was expanded with acquisitions and donations by individuals, dealers and museums. For example, there was a donation from the collections of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie (Royal Military Academy) in Breda in 1914, what was then the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde donated a collection of Papua objects in 1941, and in 1948 what was then the Colonial Institute donated a collection of Indonesian objects . In addition the private collection of Frits Herman van Naerssen, a lecturer at the Agricultural College, was on display from about 1946 to 1953. Much of the Agricultural College collection was lost during the Second World War but was built up again after the war. After Indonesia's independence in 1949 the college shifted the focus of its teaching to other countries. Around 1960 almost the entire collection was given on loan to the Stedelijk Gymnasium Schiedam and from 1962 the collection was divided between the Gymnasium in Schiedam and the Ethnographic Museum in Delft (later Museum Nusantara). The objects in Schiedam were transferred to the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam in 1997 and the objects in Delft ended up with various museums after Museum Nusantara closed in 2013 .
Provenance research
Objects from the collection of the Agricultural College that were on loan to the Stedelijk Gymnasium Schiedam can often be identified by a number beginning with SCH written on the object.
The archives of the Agricultural College until 1959 are held in the Gelders Archief. The archive of the Agricultural College from 1959 onwards is still at the university and is managed by the OS Document Management and Logistics department of Wageningen University & Research. The Wereldmuseum Rotterdam has correspondence relating to the transfer of objects to and by the Stedelijk Gymnasium Schiedam and the Ethnographic Museum Delft and this is held in the digital record of Wageningen University & Research. The museum archives also contain records relating to the 1941 donation of objects from Irian Jaya (collection C.C.F.M. Le Roux) by the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde. The Dutch National Archive holds records on the sale of objects by the Indisch Instituut (which merged into the later Wereldmuseum Amsterdam) in 1948.
Resources
- “Honderd museumstukken spoorloos verdwenen.” Algemeen Dagblad, 6 augustus 1953.Article from 1953 about the disappearance of nearly 100 objects from the College of Agriculture collection. — https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB19:000359080:mpeg21:a00086
- NL-AhGldA 0740 2833Contains an inventory of the collections and teaching resources of the Department of Geography and Ethnology, created around 1904 and maintained until 1929. — https://permalink.geldersarchief.nl/71321F1495A5498EB17DF47AEB28F551
- NL-HaNA 2.20.69 4402Contains correspondence regarding the sale of objects by the Indisch Instituut (now Wereldmuseum Amsterdam) in 1948. — https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/2.20.69/invnr/%40B.~B.5.~B.5.2.~B.5.2.4.~B.5.2.4.2~4402
- NL-AhGldA 0740 2324Contains documents relating to the ethnographic collection, dated 1941 (on donation of Papua objects from C.C.F.M. Le Roux by RMV) and 1955 (on the future of the collection). — https://permalink.geldersarchief.nl/B6D0CE1E7C674C7CB47662BAEAD8B9DC
- NL-AhGldA 0740 1522Contains documents relating to exhibitions, 1947-1956. — https://permalink.geldersarchief.nl/E0E8560A4D3B450A98F7577218312DD9