Peonies

"Pink Peonies"

8.5 x 13 cm

Watercolour & gouache

US$ 30.00

On our way back from a walk in nearby castle gardens we happened upon a field where peonies were being harvested. A man at a stand was selling them fresh from the field.

They opened up almost instantly once at home. The little carving of the Indonesian woman in kabaya I bought at a local esoterics shop one day. Normally I avoid shops reeking that heavily of incense, but the four little figurines in the shop window were so charming I went in, and this little woman jumped out, so I bought her.

In colonial Indonesia many Dutch men had children - some illegitimately, others legitimately - with local women. The Indonesian roots of the subsequently rather dark-skinned children were fervently denied in later generations. This mix was not acceptable, particularly to the Dutch back in Holland, who called the mixed children coming back from the colonies "Indos".

The stigma has gone, and it's almost like being part of a secret society when others recognize your colonial "tint". Was my own great, great, great (etc.) grandfather so charmed by a lovely little woman with her black hair in a knot that he took her as a wife?