Fragment varkensbot uit het wrak van de Oost-Indiëvaarder Hollandia before 1748

This is a fragment of pig bone, recovered from the shipwreck of the Dutch East India Company ship, the Hollandia. The ship met its end in 1743 off the Isles of Scilly, an event enmeshed in the tumultuous narrative of global trade and colonial expansion. Imagine the life of this bone. Aboard the Hollandia, it was sustenance, a ration for sailors on their voyage. In the belly of the ship, this bone was a silent witness to the ambitions and exploitations carried out in the name of commerce. The sailors who consumed this meat were themselves cogs in a machine, their labor fueling the Dutch Golden Age. Consider the cultural dimensions of consumption. Pork might have been a rare treat for some, a staple for others, a symbol of prosperity amidst the harsh realities of maritime life. This modest bone speaks to the complexities of survival, aspiration, and the human cost of empire.