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Flesh and Wax Figures. Non-European Peoples in Castan’s Panopticum, 1882–1911

The brothers Louis and Gustav Castan succeeded in building an international reputation from 1869 to 1922 with their panopticum imperium on several locations in Germany and across Europe. In these venues, visitors encountered not only (moving) wax figures but also dioramas, death masks, and different sorts of curiosities. Through the connection with anthropologist Rudolf Virchow, both ‘freaks’ and non-European peoples were exhibited in Castan’s panoptica. In addition to the ethnographic exhibitions, these individuals were also presented as wax figures. In doing so, Castan’s Panopticum became a key player in the production and circulation of images of the zoo humain and in shaping the stereotypes associated with these peoples. With a focus on the Nederlandsch Panopticum in Amsterdam, the Musée Castan in Brussels, and the main branch of Castan’s Panopticum in Berlin, this article aims to demonstrate that the practices of the zoo humain and wax representations were closely interconnected.