De Moderne Tijd - Volume 10, Issue 1, 2026

‘Exotic’ bodies imagined. Ethnology in popular anatomical museums in the Low Countries, nineteenth – early twentieth century

Fairground spectacles of the ‘exotic’ ranged from exhibited peoples to the display of ethnological models in popular anatomy museums. Various studies have analysed how these museums disseminated the ‘modern body’, however, ethnological models have received less attention. Despite lacking live performers, these museums were part of the same racist discourse as ‘human zoos’. I argue that while live exhibitions contained an element of friction, ethnological models closely embodied a racial imaginary, legitimizing physical anthropology as an empirical science alongside anatomy. Due to their continued presence on the fairground, these museums require a place in the broader history of European imperialism.

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.

Buffalo Bill in Belgium. Spectacle, Stereotypes, and the Shadow of Wounded Knee

The ‘cowboys and Indians’ game is a deeply rooted cultural trope that has shaped generations through comics, television, film, literature, and sports. A major catalyst in shaping this imagery were the Wild West mass spectacles of William Frederick Cody, which gained immense popularity around 1900 in both the United States and Europe. This study examines how Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Shows in Belgium functioned not only as entertainment, but also as an international propaganda tool that distorted and simplified the conflict between the U.S. government and Native Americans. Through an analysis of program brochures, press reports, and scholarly literature, the study deconstructs the dialectic of the stereotypical ‘savage warriors’ versus ‘white saviors’. At the same time, it investigates how these stereotypical representations shaped Belgian perceptions when the Wild West shows visited Belgian cities in 1891 and 1906 and how it continues to influence contemporary forms of ‘playing Indian’ in Belgium. Ultimately, the research demonstrates that these representations, depending on context and performer identity, could signify both dehumanization and cultural survival.

‘What lay concealed behind their silence.’ The exhibition of Angolans in the Netherlands by L.J. Goddefroy (1888-1889)

This article examines the 1889 exhibition of eighteen enslaved Angolans in the Netherlands by the Dutch merchant L.J. Goddefroy. First, it traces Goddefroy’s acquisition of ethnographic objects and Angolans, demonstrating his direct involvement in the contexts of the Congo Free State’s colonial war and Angola’s plantation slavery. Second, it analyses the exhibition in the Netherlands through the concepts of animalization and rehumanization. While contemporary press coverage animalized the Angolans, the article searches for traces of their resistance and solidarity. Ultimately, this article contends that Goddefroy’s exhibition was a product of colonial violence, as well as a site for its continuation.