Nederlandsch Zendeling Genootschap

The Netherlands Missionary Society (Nederlandsch Zendeling Genootschap, NZG) was highly active in the collecting of objects in the former Dutch East Indies. NZG's collection was used in the Netherlands to educate novice missionaries. A part of NZG's collection was donated to the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam.

Description

During the time of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (WIC) the companies were also responsible for church and missionary work in the Dutch overseas territories, in the eastern and western colonies, respectively. The companies did not allow private missionaries although the Herrnhuters were given access to Suriname from the eighteenth century. For this reason, the church archives from this period are part of the Company archives, which in the case of the VOC are held by the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI). The Dutch government took over the ecclesiastical responsibilities of the VOC and WIC in the 19th century, which led to the creation of the Protestant Church in the Dutch East Indies, also known as the Indische Kerk, and the Protestant Church in the West Indies. This change made it possible for Dutch Christians to carry out missionary work in the Dutch overseas territories. Following the English example, the Nederlandsch Zendeling Genootschap (Netherlands Missionary Society) was founded in 1797 with its base in Rotterdam.

Many members and donors of the NZG were affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church. Most of the NZG missionaries were stationed in Java and Sulawesi, and to a lesser extent were also active in other areas within the former Dutch East Indies. The NZG was very active in collecting objects. The NZG collection was used to teach future missionaries about languages and cultures in the former Dutch East Indies . Later, the collections were loaned to various exhibitions and museums, such as the 1883 World Exhibition and the Museum voor Land-, Taal- en Volkenkunde (now Wereldmuseum Rotterdam).

In addition to the actual missionary work, missionaries also supervised public education and were active in all kinds of other areas such as scientific research, but also managing shops and printing workshops.

Provenance research

The NZG archive is available through the Utrecht Archives within the inventory of the legal predecessors of the Raad voor de Zending. This archive access provides extensive information about the history of the NZG and the organisation's record keeping. The publicity section, under 1.2.2.6. 8, contains documents about objects belonging to the NZG that were loaned to the World Exhibition in 1867 and 1883 and to the Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde (now Wereldmuseum Rotterdam). These documents are digitally available.

The [Repetorium van Nederlandse zendings- en missie-archieven 1800-1960] (https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/repertoriumzendingmissie/gids/organisatie/3356531829), which was compiled by the Huygens Institute, contains a detailed entry on the Nederlandsch Zendeling Genootschap. It contains a brief history of the society and references to relevant source publications and archive material.

Resources

• Neurdenburg, Johan Christiaan. Catalogus van voorwerpen en modellen ter veraanschouwelijking van het huiselijk en maatschappelijk leven der bevolkingen van Oostelijk Java, de Minahassa (Celebes), Ambon, de Oeliassers, Boano, enz. verzameld in het zendelinghuis van het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap. Rotterdam: M. Wyt & Zonen, 1874.
  Catalogue from 1874 containing lists of objects owned by the NZG. —
• — https://search.worldcat.org/title/907014546?oclcNum=907014546
• — https://books.google.nl/books?id=zoOCOEgNA4AC&printsec=frontcover&hl=nl#v=onepage&q&f=false
• “Lijst van voorwerpen en modellen in de kast van het Zendelingenhuis.” Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap 6 (1862): 87–92.
  List from 1862 of objects owned by the NZG. — https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMZEND01:002526001:00094
• Repertorium van Nederlandse zendings- en missie-archieven 1800-1960 - Nederlandsch Zendeling Genootschap
  Online database of the Huygens Institute with information about the history of the NZG and relevant (archival) material. — https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/repertoriumzendingmissie/gids/organisatie/3356531829
• Kanhai, Parveen. “Een kostbaar bezit: de vroege verzameling van het Nederlandsch Zendelinggenootschap (1855-1867).” Jaarboek Vereniging Vrienden Etnografica 8 (2020): 80–97.
  Article on the early collection of the NZG. — https://search.worldcat.org/title/844374705?oclcNum=844374705
• NL-UtHUA 1102-1 1
  Includes documents from individual missionaries. In particular, the section on publicity (1.2.2.6.8) contains documents on objects and exhibitions. — https://hetutrechtsarchief.nl/collectie/609C5BA03A744642E0534701000A17FD
• NL-RtSA 563 298
  Correspondence from the NZG regarding donations to the Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde (the current Wereldmuseum Rotterdam). — https://hdl.handle.net/21.12133/F7E7E25DAF9F49B49F6A2D68408A3849
• Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap
  The journal contains mostly contributions from NZG missionaries about their activities, only incidentally about the items they collected. Editions from 1857 to 1919 are all digitally accessible via Delpher. — https://books.google.nl/books/about/Mededeelingen_van_wege_het_Nederlandsche.html?id=WvZTAAAAcAAJ&redir_esc=y
• Djajasoebrata, Alit M.L.R. “To Administer and Accumulate Knowledge: Dr Elie Van Rijckevorsel, the Dutch Protestant Missionary Society, and the Museum of Ethnology in Rotterdam.” In Treasure Hunting? Collectors and Collections of Indonesian Artefacts, edited by Han F. Vermeulen and Reimar Schefold, 147–67. Leiden: CNWS Publications, 2002.
  Book on the history of ethnographic collecting in Indonesia. It also contains a section covering the collection of the NZG. —