Rijksmuseum

Portraits of Surinamese Girls

Date

c. 1810

Medium

ivory, pearl, hair, gold (metal)

Institution

Rijksmuseum

We may not know the identities of these women, but their status is apparent from their clothing, jewellery, and the existence of portraits depicting them. They must have been free women who held positions in Surinamese society. One of them wears a white-cotton angisa, a headscarf folded in a special way. It was worn by enslaved women as well as free women of colour.

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