Plaster Casts of Niassers
J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan (1875-1971), a Dutch anthropologist, traveled to Nias in 1910 to study the local people. He measured and photographed hundreds of people, and made plaster casts of the faces of 64 Ono Niha. Kleiweg’s research was part of a larger effort to classify and rank different human groups. While his methods were common at the time, they are now considered outdated and harmful. His work reflects the colonial era's focus on scientific racism and exploitation.
J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan (1875-1971)
Kleiweg de Zwaan, a Dutch doctor-turned-anthropologist, studied people in the Netherlands East Indies to support European “racial theories.” Funded by the colonial government and Royal Dutch Geographical Society, he measured and photographed over 1,298 men–no women–and made 64 plaster casts in Nias in 1910. Previously he had conducted similar work in the Padang Highlands and Jakarta’s Glodok prison, where he took 57 and 67 casts respectively.
Returning to the Netherlands, his research on Nias was published under the title Die Insel Nias bei Sumatra in three parts between 1913 and 1915. He continued this work in Bali and Lombok until his retirement in 1939 but remained active until after the Second World War. Before him, the Italian anthropologist Elio Modigliani visited Nias in 1885, who did measurements and collected skulls.
Kleiweg de Zwaan and Plaster Casting
Dr. Kleiweg de Zwaan in Teluk Dalam, South Nias
Oct 1910
Coll. Wereldmuseum
TM-10018860
Kleiweg de Zwaan, a Dutch doctor-turned-anthropologist, studied people in the Netherlands East Indies to support European “racial theories.” Funded by the colonial government and Royal Dutch Geographical Society, he measured and photographed over 1,298 men–no women–and made 64 plaster casts in Nias in 1910. Previously he had conducted similar work in the Padang Highlands and Jakarta’s Glodok prison, where he took 57 and 67 casts respectively.
Returning to the Netherlands, his research on Nias was published under the title Die Insel Nias bei Sumatra in three parts between 1913 and 1915. He continued this work in Bali and Lombok until his retirement in 1939 but remained active until after the Second World War. Before him, the Italian anthropologist Elio Modigliani visited Nias in 1885, who did measurements and collected skulls.
Kleiweg de Zwaan’s Journey to Nias
In the slipstream of a Dutch military expedition, Kleiweg de Zwaan arrived in Gunungsitoli on April 5, 1910, to study "remote" people. With him travelled Junior Lieutenant E.C.A. Herbst as his main assistant, who had previously joined him on the 1907 Sumatra expedition. The expedition team included two unnamed local assistants provided by the Buitenzorg (now Bogor) Botanical Garden—one to handle specimens and the other as a general servant.
Dutch Governor-General J.B. van Heutsz arranged military support and transportation, though he strictly forbade Kleiweg from collecting skulls. Influential Dutch politicians Jan Hendrik de Waal Malefijt and Alexander van Idenburg, and organizations like the German Rhenish Missionary Society and the Royal Dutch Geographical Society, which provided 2,500 Dutch Guilders, further backed the expedition. Additionally, the Javasche Bank ensured consistent funding throughout the journey.
Despite severe challenges, including Kleiweg’s repeated bouts of malaria and other team members falling ill, the expedition conducted work in Nias from April to November 1910. By the end of the shortened expedition, they had collected numerous ethnographic objects, measured 1,298 people, and made 64 plaster casts, though resistance limited their ability to take more.
Plaster Casting of Ono Niha
Plaster casts were rare because they took time to make, were intrusive, and could cause skin issues. Kleiweg de Zwaan made 64 casts of Nias men’s faces and collected cultural objects, with help from colonial officials and missionaries. He sometimes offered gifts or medical help to get people to participate.
Although he noted people’s names, villages, and tribes, he did not always record exact areas, making it hard to trace people’s origins. Based on his itinerary, it is assumed that he encountered mainly people from villages close to the places he stayed.
Limited by his lack of local language skills, he relied on colonial officials for place names, which may be inaccurate. The plaster cast photos in this exhibit come from his publication Die Insel Nias bei Sumatra, the only full record from his visit.
Katumbukha
Katumbukha, a noble man and village elder of Tumöri, was one of the 64 Nias individuals subjected to the invasive practices of European colonialism. His face, captured in plaster, serves as a haunting reminder of this era.
Tumöri was a village likely established during the Dutch colonial period as part of forced reorganizations that disrupted the Nias village system. In this context, Katumbukha's position as a tuhenöri, a title bestowed by the Dutch, likely compelled him to cooperate with the colonial authorities. His participation in the creation of the plaster cast can be seen as a consequence of the power dynamics of the time, rather than a voluntary act.
Unmasking the Past
As much as we know about Kleiweg de Zwaan, as little do we know about the men whose faces were cast. Who were these men? What were their lives like? What stories do their faces tell?
With your help, we can breathe life back into these forgotten faces. By sharing your knowledge, insights, and cultural understanding, you can contribute to a deeper understanding of their history.
How can you help?
1. Share your knowledge: Do you recognize any of the names or villages mentioned on the casts?
2. Connect the dots: Can you identify any names, location and tribes?
3. Uncover the stories: Share any family stories or local legends that might relate to these individuals.
4. Help us interpret: What emotions do you see in these faces? What stories do they seem to tell?
Together, we can bring these faces back to life and honor their stories.
Plaster Casting Process
In Untersuchungen über die Niasser, Kleiweg describes making facial casts using plaster from the Netherlands in watertight canisters from the Verkade chocolate factory. Empty ones were used for zoological specimens in formalin.
Anthropological guides warned that the casting process could be painful, especially when removing them. Kleiweg ignored advice to ease discomfort, choosing not to oil the skin or providing quills for breathing. Instead, he prioritized the visibility of facial lines. He did oil hair and facial hair.
Subjects lay on their backs with heads supported, and Kleiweg and his assistant applied the plaster quickly covering the eyes and mouth first to reduce resistance. The process was lengthy and uncomfortable, taking up to eight hours for plaster to harden and painful to remove. The process was distressing and invasive, showing a disregard for the discomfort and personal boundaries of people whose faces were cast.
Diagram of making the plaster casts:
1. Plaster is poured onto the subject's face
2. Plaster is spread over the entire face, front hair, and the ears
3. Plaster is left to dry, then removed, called as the first negative mold
4. Material is poured too the first negative mold to make a positive cast
5. Material is left to harden
6. Positive cast is removed from the first negative mold
7. Plaster is poured back into the positive cast, making the second negative mold
8. Material is poured back into the second negative mold and reproduced
9. Plaster cast is finished
Plaster cast-making in the field by Lidio Caprini in South Africa
1927
Coll. Museum of Natural History of Florence, Anthropology and Ethnology Section
Photographic Archives, no. 4506.
Kleiweg de Zwaan about plaster casting
J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan (1913) Die Insel Nias Bei Sumatra: Die Heilkunde der Niasser. Haag: Martinus Nijhoff