AMSTERDAM.- Amsterdam's Museum Geelvinck presents the third exhibition in the series Asia from the Heart. ‘The Dutch East Indies at Home – traces of a colonial past’ will run from April 21 to October 10, 2011. The exhibition focuses on those traces of the former Dutch East Indies colony, which still linger in Dutch homes; remnants discernible in many aspects of Dutch culture.

The exhibition features an array of tangible memories, many of them collected in the days when the island archipelago of today’s Indonesia was known as the Dutch East Indies. Memories that in the intimacy of a family’s home still embody a specific Dutch East Indies character. Memories that live on as family histories, as decorative elements on living room walls, as mementoes on mantelpieces, or objects hidden away in drawers of old chests. Aromas and flavours that have become part of the Dutch culinary tradition. What could be more Dutch than the Indonesian rice table? These are all recognizable or almost forgotten remains of the Dutch colonial past. Sweet and bitter memories, still present in the here and now.

This exhibition consists for a large part of objects kindly provided on loan from the private collections of members of the Association of Friends of Asiatic Art. Previously, China and Japan featured in the series Asia from the Heart.

Some highlights:
• A complete Yogya silver tea service
• Wayang dolls in Keraton quality
• Works by, amongst others, Jan Daniel Beynon, Willem Hofker, Jan Frank and Rudolf Bonnet
• A seventeenth-century throne belonging to the Sultan of Yogya
• Hitherto unknown family home movies from the 1920-‘30’s Dutch East Indies

This year sees the twentieth anniversary of the Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis. It is located in a grand canal-mansion built in 1687, now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Canal District. This private museum focuses on lifestyle design at home; it seeks to connect the present day’s living room with its past. Fully operated by volunteers and a small professional staff, it enjoys the supportive expertise of guest curators for specific exhibitions.