The Kunstgewerbemuseum possesses one of the most significant collections of Italian Renaissance furniture in the world. Most of the pieces were acquired between 1875 and 1900. In addition to purchases by the first director Julius Lessing, the collection includes many acquisitions made by Wilhelm von Bode for the Kaiser Friedrich-Museum, today’s Bode-Museum, which were later transferred to the Kunstgewerbemuseum.
A catalogue of the Italian Renaissance furniture at the Kunstgewerbemuseum was last published during the Weimar Republic and has only been updated intermittently since that time. A thorough scientific analysis of the collection, today comprising 210 pieces, is still lacking. Following majolica, Venetian glass, medals and plaquettes, and French painted enamels, a catalogue of the museum’s inventory of furniture will now fill this gap in the documentation of the Renaissance collections.
Contact: Dr Achim Stiegel, curator, Kunstgewerbemuseum