COLLECTING IN THE COLONY Hybridity, power and prestige in the Netherlands East Indies

The history of collecting has been part of anthropological discourse since the 1980s and it is now recognised that collecting is not a neutral activity. In colonial times particularly, it was a political statement. Three issues are raised in this article on collecting. Firstly, there has been inadequate attention given to the problem of hybridity in museum collections. Secondly, there is need for more research on the division of collections between the Netherlands East Indies and museums in the Netherlands as it is likely that some collectors circumvented official policies for regulating collecting activities. Thirdly, more attention should be given to the Ethical Policy and its influence on collecting.