Box Containing Twenty-Three Samples of Wood from Surinam 1839

P.F. Jansen constructed this box containing twenty-three samples of wood from Surinam some time before 1876. But is it art? This neat collection of timber samples is a reminder that for centuries, art and science were closely aligned. As European powers established global empires, specimens of natural history became highly prized objects of study and display. This box would have served a primarily didactic purpose, with the samples used to display the different timbers available in the colony of Surinam, modern-day Suriname. It raises questions about the relationship between colonizer and colonized, and the way natural resources were extracted for European benefit. You might consider the ethics of botanical expeditions, which removed plants from their native environments to be studied and cultivated elsewhere. To understand the context of this work, we might consult colonial archives, scientific publications, and accounts from the period. In so doing, we can understand this box as more than just a collection of wood samples, but as a potent symbol of a complex historical period.