In the early 20th century Surinam was the theme of one of the first exhibitions of the former Museum ten bate van het Onderwijs, as Museon was called at the time. Herman van de Capelle, then managing director, knew the country and had been collecting items himself. Thanks to a supplement from the possessions of the Redemptorists the collection is today the largest in the Netherlands. It includes items of Indians, Maroons, Creoles, Hindu and Javanese people, antique prints and antiquarian books as well as Kota mission costumes, presented by Queen Juliana after her state visit to Surinam in 1955. Special items include a kwakwa bangi, a bench/altar used in a Winti ritual and a diorama of G. Schouten from 1834.