From Aesthetic Appreciation to Sensitive Object: The “Sedan Chair” at the Brazilian National Historical Museum

ABSTRACT

The article addresses the debate on whiteness and racism in the field of museum and heritage studies, focusing on the “sedan chair” - a means of transport by the slave-owning class in Brazilian cities between the 17th-19th centuries - that has been featured as a long-term exhibit in the National Historical Museum (NHM) in Rio de Janeiro. The article analyzes the different ways of recording, classifying, and displaying the sedan chair in order to understand its path within the NHM. It charts the change from an aesthetic perspective on the sedan chair, which essentializes heritage and objectifies enslaved carriers, to a decolonial perspective that aims to transform the chair into a sensitive object that triggers memories of slavery in the present that require historical reparation.

Keywords:
Sedan chair; National Historical Museum; Whiteness; Racism; Rio de Janeiro