Michel Perelaer (1830-1901) spent his life as a military man in Indonesia in the service of the Dutch government. Most of the time he was stationed in Java and Kalimantan or Borneo. Although a member of the Dutch army, Perelaer was much influenced by the ideas of Multatuli and in favour of reforms. He described some of his ideas in a literary form in a number of books. His book about four men that deserted the army and hid in Kalimantan, was soon translated in different European languages. The book contained a number of wood engravings of an ethnographical nature, including this image of ceremonial and ritual objects from the Dayak. Not all images were original, some were copied after Schwaner’s famous travel account.
M.T.H. Perelaer, À travers Bornéo: aventures de quatre déserteurs de l’armée Indo-Néerlandais, Paris 1891. [M 2004 B 818]
Illustration: Objects from the inhabitants of Kalimantan.