This Gymnotus is a specimen collected around 1750 in Surinam, a former Dutch Colony. It was the possession of Ami Butini, a plantation and slave owner who originally stemmed from Geneva. This electric fish was preserved in a jar of rum (most likely the production of a local plantation, perhaps even Butini’s own production) and sent to the Bibliothèque de Genève ’s cabinet by its owner.
The curator Sonia Fisch-Muller from the Museum opened it for us in order to measure its size. This specimen is on our wish list for the exhibition to be held in Lausanne in 2020. More to come!
This Gymnotus is a specimen collected around 1750 in Surinam, a former Dutch Colony. It was the possession of Ami Butini, a plantation and slave owner who originally stemmed from Geneva. This electric fish was preserved in a jar of rum (most likely the production of a local plantation, perhaps even Butini’s own production) and sent to the Bibliothèque de Genève ’s cabinet by its owner.
The curator Sonia Fisch-Muller from the Museum opened it for us in order to measure its size. This specimen is on our wish list for the exhibition to be held in Lausanne in 2020. More to come!