ABSTRACT
From June 2020 until February 2021, the Golden Coach was on display at the Amsterdam Museum after a five-year restoration period. This royal carriage with clear ties to the Dutch colonial past has long been the object of public debate, most prominently in the question whether the coach’s ceremonial use should continue or not. In this article, members of the research team of this exhibition reflect on how they dealt with the complexities of this piece of colonial heritage and the many opinions that surround it. The museum’s ability to initiate and conduct research was one of the methods used to find new outcomes to further the debate, as well as to push a relational rather than a definitive approach for audiences to relate to the coach. With this method, the Amsterdam Museum underwrites the importance of multivocality and the ability of museums to play a valuable part in social issues.
