Questioning objects - finding answers

The exhibition focuses on the provenance research carried out at the Spandau City History Museum:


questions about the origin of museum objects, their paths and histories. The exhibition uses selected examples to show how answers to these questions lead to new insights.


Thanks to the research of provenance researcher Friederike Klose, the origin of the two rare celestial globes could be clearly clarified. The objects will be handed over by Dr. Ralf Hartmann, Head of the Cultural Office, to Sabine Müller (Director of the Spandovia Sacra - Museum of St. Nikolai), who will receive them for the church.


Until the celestial globes can be seen in an exhibition at the Museum of St. Nicholas Church, they will remain on public display until 12 April 2026 as part of the exhibition "Questioning Objects - Finding Answers".


In addition to this restitution, the exhibition sheds light on other exciting cases:

Objects from the household of Ernst Hammler (former director of Deutsche Industriewerke in Spandau), for which it has been proven that they had to be sold by their previous owners under duress during the Nazi era.


The enigmatic "Eagle of the Eagle Pharmacy", on permanent loan to the Spandau Citadel, where provenance research took a new turn thanks to a surprising observation: Why is the eagle now wearing a black, rather than a yellow, crown?


With these and other examples, the exhibition shows that the classification of objects changes as soon as new questions are asked - and that provenance research not only means responsibility, but also curiosity, discovery and the search for truth.