Drie vrouwen, elk in een riksja voortgetrokken door een man before 1900

This engraving shows three women, each comfortably seated in a rickshaw pulled by a man. The rickshaw itself is a fascinating evolution—a fusion of the European carriage and Asian modes of transport. It speaks of cultural exchange and adaptation, yet also hints at underlying power dynamics. The act of one human pulling another is far from new. Consider the ancient Roman triumphs, where captured foes were paraded as symbols of victory, or even the imagery of pharaohs carried on litters by slaves. The rickshaw, however, softens the blow, cloaking the act of service in the guise of paid labor. It is a visual echo of earlier forms of subjugation, yet subtly transformed. These cycles of cultural memory are not linear but cyclical. Each age reshapes the symbols of the past, giving them new meaning while the echoes of older associations linger.