A Journey Through Sculptural History

Hidden away in the atmospheric West India Warehouse on Copenhagen’s harbourfront lies one of the city’s most remarkable treasures: the Royal Cast Collection. The collection houses approximately 2,000 plaster casts of the most famous sculptures in Western art history, primarily from antiquity but also from the Renaissance, with Michelangelo as the highlight.

First exhibited in 1895, the collection has had a colourful history, from years in storage to its grand reopening in 1984 in its current home. Today, its seven floors combine raw timber beams, thick walls, Rococo flourishes, and Neoclassical elegance.

During Open House, visitors can explore all seven floors of the warehouse — a striking blend of raw timber beams, thick walls, Rococo and Neoclassical details — and step into the ’King’s Room’, the Danish West India Company’s preserved boardroom from 1781.

Guided tours with curator Henrik Holm and “slow looking” sessions with art educator Emma Blomberg invite you to pause, take in the details, and immerse yourself in a single work of art.

Programme

Guided tour with curator Henrik Holm

On Saturday and Sunday at 10:30, 12:30, 14:30, and 16:00 there will be a guided tour with curator Henrik Holm.

Slow down in an authentic past. Raw wooden structures, thick walls, and Rococo blend with Neoclassicism. We stroll through the West India Warehouse’s seven floors, including the “King’s Room,” the uniquely preserved boardroom of the Danish West India Company from 1781.

Participation is free and requires no registration. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and is in Danish.

Slow Looking with Emma Blomberg

On Sunday at 11:45, 13:45, and 15:45 you can join art educator Emma Blomberg in Slow looking in front of a selected sculpture from the collection.

Join us as we slow down together and immerse ourselves in a single work for 30 minutes. Participation is free and requires no registration. All three sessions are in Danish.