To mark the State Visit of the Emperor of Japan, the Royal Collections have curated the presentation 'The Netherlands and Japan: Links Through Time', featuring a selection of exceptional Japanese artworks from the collection. On display are a seventeenth-century lacquer cabinet of outstanding quality, richly decorated Japanese folding screens, refined lacquer boxes, and imperial gifts. The presentation will be on view at the Palace from 26 June to 27 September.
Symposium
‘Japanse Art from the Royal Collections of the Netherlands’
On 17 September, the symposium ‘Japanese Art from the Royal Collections of the Netherlands’ took place at the Royal Palace Amsterdam. On this page, you can find audio recordings of the symposium.
Symposium
This presentation forms the context for the symposium ‘Japanse Art from the Royal Collections of the Netherlands’ of 17 September 2026 at the Royal Palace Amsterdam.
Distinguished speakers from the Netherlands and abroad, together with our collection specialists, offered insights into what these objects reveal about court culture, diplomacy, and the unique relationship between Japan and the Netherlands over the centuries.
The symposium presentations:
- Presentation by Estelle Bauer - Curator of Japanese Collections, Musée Guimet. 'On behalf of the Shogun: The Production and Fate of Gifts Presented by Japan to European Sovereigns at the End of the Edo Period (1854-1864).' Listen to the presentation.
- Object in focus by Menno Fitski - Head of Asian Art, Rijksmuseum. Listen to the presentation.
- Presentation by Rachel Peat Underhill - Curator of Decorative Arts, Royal Collection Trust. 'Courts & Culture – Japan in the British Royal Collection, 1613-2024.' Listen to the presentation.
- Presentation by Daan Kok - Curator of East Asia, Wereldmuseum. 'The Symbolism and Reception of Diplomatic Gifts Exchanged between Japan and the Netherlands.' Listen to the presentation.
- Object in focus by Menno Fitski - Head of Asian Art, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Listen to the presentation.
- Presentation by Sebastiaan van Venetien - Curator of Decorative Arts and Interiors, The Royal Household. 'From Chinese Room to Japanese Room: the appreciation of an interior at Huis ten Bosch Palace, 1785-1900.'
- Presentation by Esther Scholtes - Junior Curator of Photography, Royal Collections of the Netherlands, The Royal Household. 'Faces of a Changing World: Photographs of the First Official Japanese Embassy to Europe in the Royal Collections of the Netherlands.'
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