Since June 2022, a new installation has been on display as part of the tour of the permanent exhibition at the Museum of Decorative Arts. A small new display situated between the Baroque and Rococo sections showcases around 50 exhibits that had previously been lying dormant in the museum’s storerooms: finely chiselled bronzes from the Near East, as well as porcelain, glass ‘snuff bottles’ and metal objects from China.
Image gallery
Snuffbottle (Schnupftabakflakon) mit Grille, China, Qing-Dynastie, 18./19. Jahrhundert, Glas mit grünem Überfang
Teller mit Hochzeitsallegorie und Handelsschiff, China, Jingdezhen und Guangzhou, Qing-Dynastie, Qianlong-Ära, um 1740/50, Porzellan mit Aufglasurmalerei in Schwarz, Eisenrot und Gold
Blick in den Lichthof des ehemaligen Kunstgewerbemuseums Berlin (heute Gropius Bau), Architekten Martin Gropius und Heino Schmieden, um 1881
Schale mit Zweigen und Schmetterlingen, China, Jingdezhen, Kaiserliche Werkstätten, wohl frühe bis mittlere Qing-Dynastie, 17./18. Jahrhundert, Porzellan mit Aufglasurmalerei
Deckelkrug, Mamlukenreich (Aleppo?), 2. Hälfte 15. Jahrhundert, 1517, Kupferlegierung, gegossen, getrieben, graviert, mit Silber tauschiert
The Museum of Decorative Arts as a model collection and source of inspiration
In the early days of the museum, founded in 1867/68, the collection encompassed not only European but also non-European decorative arts. The museum saw itself as a source of inspiration for contemporary design. In 1881, the Museum of Decorative Arts, the associated School of Decorative Arts and the library were housed in a prestigious new building (today’s Gropius Bau). The extensive collections were housed around the central atrium. On the ground floor, the furniture was displayed according to stylistic periods. On the upper floor, the exhibition was organised according to different material groups, including arts and crafts from the Near and Far East.
In the 20th century, most of the non-European objects were transferred to other institutions, such as the Museum of Asian Art and the Museum of Islamic Art. However, some items have remained in the Museum of Decorative Arts’ collection to this day and are now on display as part of a selection.
Near Eastern and Venetian bronzes
Metalwork from the Near and Middle East has been highly sought-after in Europe since the Middle Ages. It often influenced the design of European products, particularly in the trading city of Venice. From the 19th century onwards, Near Eastern vessels were also produced specifically for the European market.
Chinese Arts and Crafts: The Max von Brandt Collection
The Prussian envoy to Beijing (Peking), Max von Brandt (1835–1920), assembled his extensive collection of Chinese arts and crafts directly on site in the 1870s and sold it to the Prussian state through the mediation of Julius Lessing (1843–1908), then director of the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts. Much of this collection went to the Museum of Decorative Arts. Art Nouveau artists drew inspiration from these East Asian artefacts: for instance, the Lorraine-based Art Nouveau designer Emile Gallé (1846–1904) travelled specifically to the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts in 1885 to study the Chinese glass objects from the Brandt Collection.
Export porcelain from China: the Sophie Eltzbacher Collection
Sophie Eltzbacher (1845–1900), the wife of a banker, amassed a significant collection of Chinese export porcelain in Amsterdam, comprising some 90 objects, and bequeathed it to the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin in her will. She was particularly interested in porcelain featuring copperplate-style decorations (so-called ‘encre de Chine’ porcelain), which were based on European engravings and had already been shipped to the West by the ‘East India Companies’ as early as the 18th century.
Additional information
Opening hours:
- Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
- Wednesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm
- Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm
