This photograph shows the French-colonised Madagascan Pavilion along the Avenue of French Colonies during the 1931 Exposition Colonial de Paris, an international exhibition held in Paris over a period of six months. In the background, one can see a royal Malagasy house modelled after the native hut of the Madagascan king. The pillars seen in the foreground are monumental versions of carved stone posts on ‘Betsileo’ (a highland tribe in Madagascar) tombs. Apart from the French, the British, Portuguese and Americans, among others, also participated in the exhibition. Most pavilions showcased indigenous culture from the various Asian and African colonies. Efforts by the colonialists to improve the lives of the colonised peoples were seen as an attempt to glorify colonialism. This photograph is part of an album on the Exposition, and is a presentation copy signed by the official exhibition photographer, Marcel Braun.
