Abstract
In the late 19th century, the new Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm was a cutting-edge institution for the presentation of ideas of a universal human development from primitive to modern —ideas that were at the heart of the European colonial project. We argue that the archaeological collections with their unaltered 19th-century structures still represent a narrative that reproduces a colonial understanding of the world, a linear arrangement of essential cultural groups according to a teleological development model. Contrary to this, the contemporary mission of the Museum, inspired by the late 20th-century postcolonial thinking, is directed towards questioning this particular narrative. This problematic relationship is thus present deep within the structure of the Museum of National Antiquities as an institution, and it points to the need for long-term strategic changes to make the collections useful for vital museum activity in accordance with the Museum's mission.
Highlights
Over the past few years, heated discussions in the media regarding the Museum of National Antiquities as a centre for archaeology and/or modern art have revealed a tenuous relation between the Museum's mission and its collections
Events at the Museum of National Antiquities are symptomatic of the struggles of many archaeological museums to become as important in contemporary society as they were when first created
In order to understand the reasons for the failing relations between the archaeological collections and an updated mission that is relevant in contemporary society, we must begin by closely scrutinizing the collections of the Museum of National Antiquities
Summary
In the late rgth century, the new Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm was a cutting-edge institution for the presentation of ideas of a universal human development from primitive to modern —ideas that were at the heart of the European colonial project. The contemporary mission of the Museum, inspired by the late z,oth-century postcolonial thinking, is directed towards questioning this particular narrative. This problematic relationship is present deep within the structure of the Museum of National Antiquities as an institution, and it points to the need for long-term strategic changes to make the collections useful for vital museum activity in accordance with the Museum's mission. F Key zvords: Masezim o National Antiqzzities, collection, narrative, colonial, postcolonzal
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