Paris Colonial Exposition

[4] Other nations participated in the event, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy (with a pavilion designed by Armando Brasini), Japan, Portugal, and the United States.

This would thus negate German criticisms that France was "the exploiter of colonial societies [and] the agent of miscegenation and decadence".

The exposition served as a vehicle for colonial writers to publicise their works, and it created a market in Paris for various ethnic cuisines, particularly North African and Vietnamese.

However, on 28 June 1931, a fire burnt down the Dutch pavilion, along with all cultural objects displayed inside.

[5];[6]: 43 Only a few artefacts could be salvaged, including an ancient Javanese bronze Shiva statue, which is now kept in the National Museum of Indonesia.