Fragment rib van een rund uit het wrak van de Oost-Indiëvaarder Hollandia before 1748

This fragment of a rib bone, likely from a cow, is a poignant relic from the wreckage of the Dutch East India Company ship "Hollandia," which sank in 1748. The bone, now part of the Rijksmuseum collection, offers a tangible link to the ship's history and the lives of those who sailed on it. Its simple yet evocative form, with the marks of time and the ocean upon it, invites contemplation of the past and the fragility of human endeavors.