The Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 was held in South Kensington in London with the objective to (in the words of the then Prince of Wales) "stimulate commerce and strengthen the bonds of union now existing in every portion of her Majesty's Empire".

A fernery was included in the New Zealand Court and a display of frozen mutton represented the burgeoning agricultural industries.

A pātaka (storehouse), originally carved in the 1850s dominated the large Maori collection assembled by naturalist Walter Buller along with the tomb of a Ngati Pikiao chief.

[6] Exhibits shown included a ceremonial sword from the colony of Lagos,[7] a grasshopper swatter from the Straits Settlements,[8] and Albert Bierstadt's painting of the Bahama Islands After A Norther was displayed in the West Indian gallery, and admired by the Prince of Wales[9] The Indian artware section was split into different areas representing the various princely states.

[11] The men were reputedly from a prison in Agra, and historians have described their presence as part of an effort by colonial officials in India to demonstrate how they were conducting a long-term project to "reform the criminal castes".