Bezoek aan de stad Vintana op Ceylon, 1602 1644 - 1646

This print, "Bezoek aan de stad Vintana op Ceylon, 1602," was made anonymously, using the technique of etching. The density of detail, the sheer amount of work involved, is striking. But who was doing that work? The image depicts a Dutch visit to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and it is reasonable to assume that it was made for a European audience. Look at the way labor is presented: indigenous people are shown hauling timbers, potentially enslaved for this purpose, and in service to the construction of the city. This suggests that the print was intended not merely to show Ceylon, but to justify the exploitation of its resources and people. The print, through its very making, becomes an artifact of colonial power. It reminds us that all acts of design and craft are embedded in social and political relationships, and that these relationships are often unequal.