Het kalken van muskaatnoten ('Das Kalken der Nüsse') c. 1875 - 1880

Editor: So, this is 'Het kalken van muskaatnoten' – which translates to "The Liming of Nutmeg" – a photograph by C. Dietrich, probably taken between 1875 and 1880. It’s a monochrome print, depicting what appears to be an industrial interior filled with nutmeg. The sheer scale and the repetitive nature of the architecture give me a slightly uneasy feeling, a kind of organized oppression, strangely. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Uneasy is an interesting take – I see what you mean. For me, it’s the ghostly quality, that dreamlike depth and quietude. You have these rigid, regimented rows of nutmeg—so yes, there is something sterile about it all—contrasted by this warm sepia tone, which lends a sort of wistful nostalgia to the scene. Do you get that sense of looking back into the past, to labor practices far away? Editor: I do now that you mention it. The sepia really softens the industrial feel, almost romanticizing it, I suppose. Does the title “Liming” have anything to do with whitewashing? I see these pale white supports running through the whole scene, holding it all together like a ribcage. Curator: Precisely. It's a preservative process to prevent mold in high humidity conditions but the ghostly effect of the process and the lighting almost alludes to a skeletal structure doesn't it. What are the political implications in a Dutch context of spice as still-life in photography? Editor: A somewhat sterile and rigid depiction of resources extracted through often grim colonial systems! Very sobering indeed. I was thinking of decorative still-life practices, and now realize this photograph sits at odds with any such intentions, or does it? Curator: Well, now we are getting somewhere... You thought this photograph alluded to “decorative art”. Considering that insight, it certainly can work simultaneously both to draw aesthetic appeal and political questioning. Food for thought for this viewer, isn’t it? Editor: Absolutely. Seeing the tension between the artistry and the colonial context definitely changes how I appreciate this photo. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure! This image continues to reveal to us the more we seek within and without.