Housing The Golden Coach

On Thursday, June 17, 2021, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander officially opened the exhibition The Golden Coach at the Amsterdam Museum.

A week earlier, the carriage had been lifted over the museum building overnight by crane and placed in the courtyard. Here, the carriage was carefully wheeled into the protective glass case, and the display case was immediately sealed with two panes of glass. After a restoration lasting over five years, the Golden Carriage is on public display for the first time.

The carriage will be on loan to the Amsterdam Museum until February 27, 2022. This marks its temporary return to Amsterdam, the city that presented it to Queen Wilhelmina in 1898. The Golden Coach will be displayed in a glass enclosure in the spacious girls' courtyard of the Amsterdam Museum. The carriage is the subject of current debate because of one of its side panels, titled "Tribute of the Colonies." On it, people from the colonies present products and other gifts to a young white woman representing the Netherlands. Increasingly, this depiction of colonialism is considered inappropriate during national celebrations.

Kloosterboer was responsible for the construction and development of this climate-controlled glass enclosure, where safety plays a paramount role. We achieved this, among other things, with 6-centimeter-thick laminated glass panels encased in film that protects the carriage from UV radiation. Kloosterboer was also responsible for the exhibition's interior design.

We thank the Amsterdam Museum for their trust and this unique commission. Thanks in part to the dedication of our subcontractors, we were able to achieve this together. It was remarkable to experience how the Golden Coach served as the unifying force, inspiring everyone with the right energy to achieve this beautiful end result.