ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the historical development of two Dutch anthropology museums, the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam and the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, from their founding during the Dutch colonial period to the present. I show how they have evolved in correspondence with changes taking place in the wider world, Dutch society, and within their own institutional cultures. It provides a comparative perspective on engagement, or the public role of museums and anthropology, and on decolonizing processes. The chapter draws on my 1987 ethnographic study of Dutch anthropology museums, reinterpreted in light of recent scholarship and subsequent changes in the museums.
