Suikerrietplant die is aangetast door de Serehziekte before 1898

Jean Pierre Moquette made this photograph of a sugarcane plant afflicted with sereh disease, though the exact date of the work is not known. This image speaks to the complex social and economic history of sugar production in former Dutch colonies like Indonesia. The sereh disease, a viral infection devastating to sugarcane, dramatically impacted the sugar industry, a cornerstone of the colonial economy. Images like this one, likely produced for scientific or agricultural documentation, highlight the tensions between colonial ambitions and the vulnerabilities of tropical agriculture. The photograph serves not only as a record of a plant disease, but also as a silent witness to the ecological and economic pressures of colonialism. Understanding this artwork requires a look into agricultural records, colonial archives, and scientific publications of the period. It is through such research that we can appreciate the photograph’s significance as a commentary on the precarious foundations of colonial wealth.