Jamaica at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London 1886

The Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 was held in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

in London with the objective to (in the words of the then Prince of Wales) "stimulate commerce and strengthen the bonds of union now existing in every portion of her Majesty's Empire". The exhibition was opened by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, and when it closed had received 5.5 million visitors. It was housed in a collection of purpose-built buildings designed in an Indian style.

Display

In 1886, the bonds of the Empire were intended to be strengthened by the Colonial and Indian Exhibition. In New Zealand, there was a suggestion that the showcases should be made of native woods. A fernery was included in the New Zealand Court and a display of frozen mutton represented the burgeoning agricultural industries. A pātaka (storehouse), originally carved in the 1850s dominated the large Maori collection assembled by naturalist

Walter Buller Sir Walter Lawry Buller (9 October 1838 – 19 July 1906) was a New Zealand lawyer and naturalist who was a dominant figure in New Zealand ornithology. His book, ''A History of the Birds of New Zealand'', first published in 1873, was publishe ...

along with the tomb of a Ngati Pikiao chief. A series of Māori portraits by

Gottfried Lindauer Gottfried Lindauer (5 January 1839 – 13 June 1926) was a Bohemian and New Zealand artist famous for his portraits, including many of Māori people. Czech life and Austrian school He was born Bohumír Lindauer in Plzeň (Pilsen), Western Bo ...

, within an ethnological context, was also shown. In another building, the fine art section, consisted of over one hundred paintings, mostly New Zealand landscapes. Among them was ''The Haunt of the Moa, a Scene in a Puriri Forest'' (1885) by the artist Kennett Watkins. Exhibits shown included a ceremonial sword from the

colony of Lagos Lagos Colony was a British colonial possession centred on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was annexed on 6 August 1861 under the threat of force by Commander Beddingfield of HMS Prometheus who was accompanied by the Act ...

, a grasshopper swatter from the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Com ...

, and

Albert Bierstadt Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. He joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion to paint the scenes. He was not ...

's painting of the Bahama Islands ''After A Norther'' was displayed in the West Indian gallery, and admired by the Prince of Wales The Indian artware section was split into different areas representing the various

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

s. The Rajputana entrance was a large Jaipur gate constructed of and provided by the then Maharaja of Jaipur. The Gwalior gateway which had been displayed at the

Calcutta International Exhibition The Calcutta International Exhibition world's fair was held in Calcutta (now Kolkata) from the end of 1883 to March 1884. Summary The fair was held between 4 December 1883 and 10 March 1884. and took place in the grounds of the Indian Museum an ...

(1883) was loaned by the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. Several dozen Indian artisans were present at the exhibition, displaying the process of crafting their artisanal works. The men were reputedly from a prison in

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra ...

, and historians have described their presence as part of an effort by colonial officials in India to demonstrate how they were conducting a long-term project to "reform the criminal castes".

Legacy

The Jaipur Gate built for the exhibition was renovated in 2004, and is on display at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery The Durbar Hall exhibited at the exhibition is on display at the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery.

References

External links

Photograph of a Maori tomb on display at the exhibitionIllustration of the Jaipur Gate at the time of the exhibitionThe British Museum collection database
- enter "The Colonial and Indian Exhibition" for a list of objects from the exhibition in the British Museum collection * {{Authority control British Empire Colonial exhibitions 1886 in London South Kensington Festivals established in 1886