How did the mission village of Steyl become the center of the bird of paradise feather trade for the fashion houses in Berlin and Paris? These and more questions are central to the exhibition ‘The Journey of the Bird of Paradise’, which will start on December 9.
Between 1880 and 1930, thousands of bird skins were transported to Europe every year for the fashion industry. But the bird of paradise occupied an important position within the culture of Papua itself much earlier. In recent years, research has been conducted together with the Universitas Cendrawasih (UNCEN) in Jayapura (Papua) into the position of birds of paradise in local culture and past and present trade. Not only the European perspective, but also the Papuan perspective on the role of the bird of paradise within its culture and identity is central.
