REVIEW A collection of art treasures in Berlin

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Review /Germany / Gallery

June - August 2022

GERMANY

GABRIELE SPILLER

GABRIELE SPILLER is a journalist with an MA in Art Education. She lives in Berlin and Ghajnsielem. Her book 50 Reasons to Love Gozo is an expression of her enthusiasm for Malta’s culture.

The Big World in Miniature

The exhibition “Illustrious Guests. Treasures from the Kunstkammer Würth” at the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin tells of the desire to collect and the first curators.

Aspecial exhibition at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) Berlin welcomes “Illustrious Guests. Treasures from the Kunstkammer Würth”. It is “the big world in miniature”, as director Sabine Thümmler said at the opening, “a glimpse into divine creation” – from the perspective of Baroque artisans and their collectors. The collection on display belongs to the German-Austrian entrepreneur and arts patron Reinhold Würth (born 1935). The Würth Group, also present in Malta, is world market leader in the trade with connecting materials and a family business since 1945. The son of the founder owns a collection of over 18,500 works spanning more than 500 years of art history. However, by far the largest part of it is contemporary. From the small baroque Würth Kunstkammer, 60 objects came to Berlin.

Centuries ago, a private “Wunderkammer” (cabinet of curiosities) served to discover and stimulate the intellect. For their princely or clerical owners they were a way to acquire knowledge and to show off exotic things to their guests. They wanted to surprise, amuse, educate – and also accumulate a fortune. Often it was curiosities from all over the world, which at that time could be travelled more and more. Treasures from local manufactories also found their way into the cabinet of rarities. Natural objects, stones and preserved specimen were not yet separated from skilful handicrafts or unique works of art in this early collecting phase. ceed in organising the smorgasbord into eight thematic areas. One sees “Divine Bodies” in the form of ideal statuettes, often made of ivory. “Private Devotion” is shown in domestic altars and Men of Sorrows, while the chapter “The Soulful Gaze” also falls on Christian motifs, Madonnas and Holy Families.

The impetus for this collection by the contemporary art collector Würth came from the Swabian sculptor Leonhard Kern (1588-1662). He came from Forchtenberg and thus from the same region as the Öhringen-born entrepreneur. “Reinhold Würth has been collecting from Kunstkammers since the late

Illustre Gäste. Kostbarkeiten der Kunstkammer Würth, Ausstellungsansicht, Kunstgewerbemuseum 2021, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / David von Becker

Georg Pfründt, Hornförmiger Deckelpokal mit einer Allegorie auf Afrika, 3. Viertel des 17. Jh.s, Zebuhorn, geschnitzt, Silber, vergoldet, 43,1 x 37,5 x 11,4 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / Stephan Klonk, Berlin The exhibition thus opens with the 17th-century painting “King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, as Solomon is presenting his treasures to the queen: Gold objects, coins, jewellery. Bystanders admire the wealth from balustrades and guards watch over the room. It is the earliest depiction of a chamber of art.

“DIVINE BODIES” MADE OF IVORY

Even with the small courtly art cabinet (from Augsburg, around 1610), the viewer can easily imagine how valuable pieces and papers were hidden in the tiny, ornate drawers. The curators suc-

Review /Germany / Gallery

June - August 2022

GERMANY

Continued

1980s,” explains his curator Sonja Klee. “He admires the perfection, quality and aesthetics of the works.” Even at the time of their creation, the fine sculptures testified to the owner’s education.

EROTIC FANTASIES AND UNBRIDLED PLEASURE

But entertainment was not to be neglected either. In the chapter “Sex and Violence in Antique Garb”, the art connoisseurs were delighted by abducted women and Cupid boys. Packaged in ancient mythology such as the Rape of the Sabine Women, erotic fantasies could find their place despite strict Catholic morals.

Sprawling tables and their ostentatious ornamentation also often revolved around hunting themes. Under the title “Opulent Hospitality” one finds a “Diana on the Stag” object. With a winding mechanism, the metal animal – filled with wine – could move across the table and randomly “visited” the guests. The courtly games such as drinking ships on wheels, rare nautilus and amber goblets encouraged unbridled enjoyment.

THE SOVEREIGN AS ARTISAN

The enormous skill of the artisans culminates in the “Lathed Treasures”. Particularly popular were contrefait balls which, by means of a pull mechanism, exposed two different effigies. The the lathe,” says the curator.

Supplemented by ten exquisite pieces from the Kunstgewerbemuseum, the exhibition illustrates how aristocratic cabinets of curiosities became royal collections and later public museums. The first owners did valuable preparatory work by having their own art experts – early curators – systematise the objects. So it is only logical that the “illustrious guests” are spread out amidst the famous Lüneburg silverware and Brussels tapestries. “You need a bit of leisure to get involved, to discover,” says director Sabine Thümmler, and she recommends that “it’s best to bring someone along to exchange ideas.”

Paulus Ättinger, Diana auf dem Hirsch, um 1610, Silber, getrieben, punziert, ziseliert und teilvergoldet, mit Brillanten, Rubinen, Smaragden besetzt und mit Perlen behängt, Höhe: 34,5 cm, © Sammlung Würth, Foto: Philipp Schönborn, München Leonhard Kern, Adam und Eva, um 1645, Elfenbein, 19,5 x 12,4 x 11,3 cm, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst / Antje Voigt

amazement could only be topped by spectacular works by the ruler himself. Souvereigns therefore had themselves taught how to turn and carve ivory in order to arouse admiration among their visitors. The masterpieces demonstrated the steady hand of the sovereign, who “godlike” worked the material. “The main achievement, however, probably lay with the mechanicus who set up

“Illustrious Guests. Treasures from the Kunstkammer Würth”, Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin. Until July, 10th, 2022. Web: https://www. smb.museum/en/exhibitions/detail/illustrious-guests/

Illustre Gäste. Kostbarkeiten der Kunstkammer Würth, Ausstellungsansicht, Kunstgewerbemuseum 2021, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / David von Becker