Threads Completed: A Tapestry of Limburg’s History with Slavery
Threads Completed: A Tapestry of Limburg’s History with Slavery
Historical Research as the Foundation for the Design
In August 2025, historians Diana Miryong Natermann and Christian Ernsten from Maastricht University began an investigation into the history of slavery in the province of Limburg. This initiative was part of the national project "Threads of Our Dutch History with Slavery" (Draden van ons Nederlands Slavernijverleden - DvONS). In this art and participatory project, local residents, artists, and heritage institutions collaborated to create a monumental tapestry – a piece that weaves together Limburg’s stories of connection and the past with the traces of the history of slavery that remain visible today.
Limburg and the Dutch history of slavery
Research by Natermann and Ernsten provides, for the first time, insight into potential – and hitherto under-examined – connections between Limburg and the Dutch history of slavery. In doing so, Limburg joins other Dutch provinces that have, in recent years, investigated their own involvement in this history of slavery. While it was long assumed that the western part of the Netherlands played the central role in this past, it is now clear that traces of this fraught history can also be found in this southern province.
Local traces and material connections
“In Limburg, involvement in slavery is primarily visible through international trade networks, administrative structures, church records, and cross-border family ties,” Diana Natermann explained at the DvONS kick-off event at the Limburgs Museum last April 2026.
For instance, collections and connections – such as those held by Museum de Kantfabriek (The Lace Factory Museum) in Horst and the work of Jos Schatorjé – point to textile production and trade networks in which raw materials and techniques often had a broader, sometimes colonial, context. The Protestant St. Janskerk in Maastricht also serves as a significant example, having been a site where enslaved Africans were baptised; this is further highlighted by the research of Arjan van der Star and Dineke Stam. Latter was among the first to demonstrate how the local history of Cadier en Keer and Maastricht was intertwined with plantations in Suriname and with the notorious plantation owner Susanna du Plessis. Furthermore, there are military records that link figures such as the De Stuers brothers from Roermond, or the De Well family, to Indonesia.
Created collectively by hundreds of people from Limburg
Artist Quinn Zeljak translated academic research into a design for a 35-meter-long tapestry. Hundreds of residents of Limburg, along with artists and heritage institutions, collaborated on the artwork at 15 locations across the province. Existing fabrics were given a new lease on life, coming together to form a single piece rich with stories and perspectives from Limburg. A text by the spoken word artist Cetje (Cedric Kenti) – who hails from Venlo – has also been incorporated into the tapestry. Furthermore, with the support from MACCH and Maria Andreou, selected geographical entries were made in Google Maps in line with the Mapping Slavery Project that was initiated by Dienke Hondius, Jennifer Tosh, and Nancy Jouwes in 2013.
The historical research in Limburg was made possible through the support of the Universiteitsfonds Limburg SWOL. The completed tapestry will be on display at the Limburgs Museum in Venlo starting Thursday, 5 November 2026.
