Portrait of Dina Lems

Dina Lems gestures towards a grein plant, a variety of pepper cultivated on Africa’s west coast. Her father and her first husband, Jan Valkenburgh (opposite), were employed by the Dutch West India Company. Their – and consequently her – prosperity derived from the trade in pepper, ivory, gold, and enslaved people. While Lems resided in Amsterdam, Valkenburgh spent most of their married life at Fort Elmina in Africa.