Vitrine met veren op de Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations van 1851 in het Crystal Palace in Londen 1851

Hugh Owen made this photograph of a display of feathers at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. The Great Exhibition was a world fair organized to celebrate the industrial achievements of Great Britain and its empire. The exhibition took place in the Crystal Palace, a massive glass building constructed specifically for the event. The Crystal Palace itself became a symbol of British technological prowess and global reach. The photograph presents us with a display of feathers. But what does it mean to see something like feathers presented in this context? It tells us that the exhibition wasn't just about machines, but also about raw materials sourced from across the globe – many of them from colonized territories. Historical research into exhibition catalogs, newspaper reports, and colonial archives can reveal the complex social and economic context in which objects like this display of feathers were presented to the public. Art history is always contingent on social and institutional context.