How do rattan animal sculptures engage with colonial histories of material trade?

Rattan animal sculptures are more than decorative art—they embody complex colonial histories of material trade. Rattan, a flexible vine native to Southeast Asia, became a sought-after commodity during European colonial expansion. Its lightweight durability made it ideal for furniture and crafts, often extracted through exploitative labor systems.

These sculptures, often depicting exoticized wildlife, mirror colonial-era fascination with "otherness" and natural resource extraction. The craft itself blends Indigenous weaving techniques with European aesthetic demands, reflecting cultural hybridity under colonial influence. Today, these works raise questions about material provenance, cultural appropriation, and the lingering legacies of colonial trade networks in contemporary artisanal markets. Collectors now grapple with reconciling admiration for the craftsmanship with awareness of its problematic supply chain history.