Buffalokoets uit India op de Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations van 1851 in het Crystal Palace in Londen 1851

Curator: So, here we have an albumen print from 1851, entitled "Buffalokoets uit India op de Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations van 1851 in het Crystal Palace in Londen." It's a photograph by Hugh Owen. Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely! My immediate thought? "Wow, look at all those little details." There's a strange dreaminess to the print—like glimpsing a memory or finding a relic. Is it weird I want to climb inside? Curator: It isn't strange at all. It perfectly encapsulates the Victorian era's fascination with other cultures, often filtered through the lens of what we now recognize as Orientalism. The Great Exhibition was a key platform for this, showcasing objects from across the British Empire and beyond. Editor: Ah, yes. It feels both grand and… staged, somehow. I imagine all the gawkers, wide-eyed in front of it. What do you mean, “the gaze”? It's a gorgeous artifact that clearly transported viewers. Curator: I agree. It undoubtedly transported viewers. But consider that it reinforced ideas about cultural difference and hierarchy. Presenting the “Buffalokoets” – a buffalo carriage – separated from its original cultural setting, turned it into a spectacle for the British public. A curated window into another world… on their terms. Editor: Well, looking closer, the fine details pull me away from the grand scale of politics. The filigree work, the woven canopy... someone poured heart and skill into this. Seeing it frozen like this lets my mind fill in all of the gaps, like an outline I want to color. The artist transformed metal, fabric and what seems like light woven into straw into a dream! Curator: Yes, these beautiful details emphasize craftsmanship, reflecting Victorian values but also, in a way, obscuring the realities of colonial extraction and unequal exchange that made such objects accessible. Editor: But it’s precisely that contrast that makes this print so powerful, isn’t it? We wrestle with its context. And while it feels distant, I want to understand this strange machine and the cultural currents running all around. It stirs something complex. Curator: Agreed, reflecting upon its context can be quite illuminating. Editor: Well said, here is to illuminating more wonders that connect us across space and time.