This collection is currently not on display. Consisting of around a hundred wheeled carriages and thirty-five sledges, it was largely assembled during the 1930s and 1940s, a period when many upper-class families in Belgium were exchanging their carriages for automobiles. In addition to carriages, the Museum also holds horse gear (saddles, harnesses, stirrups, bits, and spurs) and the liveries of coachmen, postilions, and grooms. The collection also includes important archives and iconographic documents.
Great variety
One of the main attractions of the collection is the wide variety of models from the 18th and 19th centuries - thirty-seven in all - ranging from the ceremonial berlin to the simple brewer’s dray, from the elegant town coupé to the sporty hunting break. A number of items were acquired by the Museum before and after 1930–1940, including the ceremonial coupé in rocaille style (1889), Leopold I’s travelling coach (1903), and two ceremonial coaches of Napoleon III (1976).
Sledges
The luxuriously painted and carved decoration of the sledges and sedan chairs in the collection, most of which date from the 18th century, reflects the wealth of their owners.
Contact
- Emile Van Binnebeke: e.vanbinnebeke@kmkg-mrah.be