The magnificent cabinet in the collection of Berlin’s Kunstgewerbemuseum represents one of the most exquisite and elaborate works of German furniture design, for which the city of Augsburg was renowned in the late 16th century, especially among the courts of Europe. Designed to hold the treasures of a Kunstkammer (or 'cabinet of art and marvels’), this piece of furniture represented the sum of Augsburg’s splendour: the opulent silver ornament was a testament to the riches extracted in the mining of metal ores and the flourishing art of gold and silversmithing, while the exotic ebony was a symbol of overseas trade, through which the Fugger, patricians of the city, had accumulated their wealth and influence.

The cabinet is going on public display for the first time since extensive conservation and restoration work. Today’s exhibition presents the piece along with several similar cabinets designed to store and display objects from a Kunstkammer or Wunderkammer. The exhibition demonstrates its functional aspects and highlights the pictorial tradition behind its numerous silver reliefs, originating from the workshop of the Augsburg goldsmith Matthias Walbaum. Visitors are also given an insight into some of the restoration treatments recently undertaken, which were made possible thanks to significant support from the Lions Club Berlin Alexanderplatz.

Today’s special exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Kunstgewerbemuseum at Köpenick Palace, on 22 June 1963. The accompanying catalogue has been made possible by the Julius-Lessing-Gesellschaft, the friends group of the Kunstgewerbemuseum.