April 3 - November 8: Treasures from the Siebold collection

The 'Treasures from the Siebold collection exhibition tells the stories behind some unique objects from the natural history collection of commercial traveller Philipp von Siebold

 

Von Siebold, a German physician working for the Dutch Government, actively maintained the relations between Holand and Japan in the 19th century. He was based on the Island of Deshima and collected animals and plants unknown to European scientists, and despatched these 'curiosities' to Leiden. Von Siebold's interest in Japanese nature is of major importance to the National Museum of Natural History Naturalis. The collection, which is still in very good condition, is a virtually complete snapshot of the early 19th century Japanese fauna. A prized treasure, especially since very few natural history objects have been preserved in Japan itself.

 

Japanese wolf
The 'Treasures from the Siebold collection exhibition in Naturalis shows some twenty objects that were picked because of the stories behind them. The exhibition includes a Japanese wolf, which used to be worshipped in Japan but has been extinct since 1905. The wolf would chase away the deer that ate the rice in the fields. It was also believed to protect travellers from danger. Another rare display is the monster Kappa. Everybody who has grown up in Japan, is familiar with Kappa. Many legends describe these frightening water spirits as mischievous troublemakers. The centuries-old Kappa fables are probably based on the Japanese otter, which was last seen alive in 1979.