Identificationtitle(s): diorama of a slave dance. Object type: diorama object number: ng-2005-24. Inscriptions / marks: signature and date, bottom left, written on a piece of paper that was then glued on: ‘g. Schoüten fecit 1830’. Description: the wooden cabinet has a sloping bottom and a curved back and top on the inside. The back wall is covered with painted paper with a forest and a blue sky with white clouds. The inside of the sides are also decorated with blue and white clouds. The plastic representation consists of a small hut on the left in the background and a large hut with dancing figures in the centre. The representation represents a performance of a du. These (dance) communities held a festival several times a year, during which performances were given that often had a socially critical charge. There were various du's in the city, which competed with each other to give the most beautiful performance. Schouten has depicted a festival on a plantation. The dance tent is built of four uprights on either side connected by five horizontal beams. The sides of the hut are open. At the back there is a kind of balustrade that separates the space from the outside space with the slave yards. The sloping roof of pina leaf rests on beams that are erected from the cross beams. In the hut there is therefore a large open space. On the left four male musicians. The first is a man who plays a flute, the loango tou-tou. He wears a light-coloured and striped dress. To his right a man who plays a large drum, like the man diagonally behind him. The fourth musician sits on a stool and plays a kwakwabangi with two sticks. In the centre of the performance three women and a man dance. The woman closest to the musicians is probably the afranceker, the narrator who explains the performance to the audience. She was the central figure of the du (=company and the play). Fulfilling the role of afranceker was honourable and popular. The afrankeer is dressed in a long pleated skirt, over which she has draped a cloth (pangi). She is wearing a headscarf. She is wearing bracelets, necklaces and earrings. In her hands she is holding a cloth. To the right of the afrankeer are dancing two women who are dressed in a similar way, although the decorative motifs of the cloths differ. To the right of the women is a man dancing, also with a cloth in his hands. On the far right is a group of three men. A man who seems to belong to the dancers is sitting on a bench. Standing is a man in a costume consisting of red trousers and a red long-tailed jacket, a white shirt, white stockings and black shoes. He is the only figure wearing shoes. In his left hand he is holding a stick with a silver knob. In the other hand he is holding a handkerchief. In front of him on the ground are a stone jar, a glass bottle and a glass. This figure probably played the role of a king or at least of an authority figure. This red captain's coat is probably an example that was given by the dutch government to the authorities in the interior and that has become a symbol of authority. Next to the 'king' stands a hunter. He is wearing a brown shirt with long sleeves. A game bag with a long strap hangs around his shoulder and over his shoulder lies a rifle that he holds with one hand. In the other hand he holds a long knife. Behind him is a bench. Manufacture. Manufacturer:. Manufacturer: gerrit schouten. Place of manufacture: suriname. Dating: 1830. Material: cabinet: wood figures: paper. Dimensions: h 61 cm. (outside dimensions of cabinet) × w 69. 8 cm. (outside dimensions of cabinet) × d 17. 1 cm. (cabinet) × d 21. 3 cm. (cabinet and frame) × h 50. 5 cm. (inside dimensions of cabinet) × w 59. 4 cm. (inside dimensions of cabinet)explanationthe slave dances were held once or several times a year and lasted several days. The slaves were very attached to the games and a ban by the plantation owner could lead to unrest or even a strike. Threatening a ban was in turn a method for the director to keep the slaves working. The dance parties were a sight that also attracted many foreigners or tourists. As a souvenir, one could take a diorama by schouten home with him. Schouten made his cabinets from surinamese hardwood and sometimes partly from crate wood, originating from the boxes in which the imported products were packed. Dioramas were often provided with a different frame or cabinet by the owner. It is possible that this diorama went directly from suriname to france, where this frame was placed around it. The frame corresponds in style with the 1830 date of the diorama and therefore appears to be the original frame. Subject: what: group dancing, slavery; serfs and the enslaved, more than one musician with instrument, hunter. When: 1825 - 1850. Where: suriname. Acquisition: purchase jun-2005. Date: 1830.
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