Rijksmuseum slavery exhibition confronts cruelty of Dutch trade

Amsterdam show includes 140 objects ranging from Rembrandt portraits to human collars and ankle chains

The aim of a first exhibition on the Dutch slave trade to be shown at the Rijksmuseum, launched on Tuesday by King Willem-Alexander, is not to be woke" but to be a blockbuster" telling a truer story of the Golden Age, the director general of the national institution has said.

Taco Dibbits said his museum had no intention of taking sides in a political and cultural debate but that the royal visit, broadcast live on national television, highlighted that the wealth bestowed and cruelty endured is not just relevant to the descendants of those enslaved.