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“Wild animals completely up close”: On the Genesis and Implicit Messages of the Natural History Dioramas in the Museum of Alfeld
In the Municipal Museum in Alfeld (Leine), a surprisingly large collection of taxidermic animals is presented in dioramas, thereby staging constructed illusions of natural habitats. In Alfeld, the origin of the collection can be traced back to the global wildlife trade which connected the small town to global trading networks. Next to the origin of the animal bodies, the dioramas and their representations of nature are subject to this analysis due to their close links to the traditional exhibition styles of natural history museums during the time of their emergence. Natural history museums were connected to the colonial expansion of Europe and the rationalistic ideologies of that time. Following, they were also reproducing colonial gazes. This chapter approaches this exhibition by analysing the history of the museum and the traditions it follows to elaborate on the implicit messages that exist ‘between the lines’ and the omitted stories of this complex past.
