Gezicht op een rivierkade met huizen en boten op Java c. 1857 - 1870

Woodbury and Page produced this albumen print of a river quay with houses and boats in Java. This Javanese scene suggests a specific moment in the history of Dutch colonialism, probably in the 1870s. Woodbury and Page were commercial photographers catering to a European clientele. The image offered picturesque views of local life. The floating houses and busy river traffic suggest a vibrant, yet perhaps exoticized, urban scene for Western consumption. Such images played a role in shaping European perceptions of Java and its people, reinforcing notions of the "Orient" as both fascinating and in need of Western intervention. Understanding this image requires an awareness of the unequal power dynamics of colonial rule. Scholarly resources like historical archives, postcolonial studies, and photographic histories can help us to better interpret the scene's complexities. The meaning of this image lies in its complicated social and institutional context.