Rijksmuseum

Box of the Dutch West India Company

Date

1749

Medium

tortoise shell, gold (metal), velvet (fabric weave)

Culture

Amsterdam

Institution

Rijksmuseum

Stadholder William IV received this box in 1749 as the new administrator of the Dutch West India Company (WIC). The decorations on the box refer to the WIC’s activities: trade in gold, ivory, and people. To the left of the man with the elephant tusk is a European. He is giving money to another man who is pointing to two adults and a child. This is one of the few known depictions of the slave trade.

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