The Pleasures of Collecting: Works of Art and Textiles from Historic Private Collections

28 April – 10 November 2013

At the heart of the special exhibition 2013 are patterned European and Ottoman silks and Renaissance and Baroque gold- and silverware, Kunstkammer objects and faience. Werner and Margaret Abegg acquired the exhibited works on the art market and later donated them to the Abegg-Stiftung. They all came from major private collections that were dispersed in the course of the twentieth century.

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Early Acquisitions Werner Abegg began collecting applied art in the late nineteen-twenties. Among the works that he acquired as a young man are textiles from the collections of Albert Figdor of Vienna and Marczell von Nemes of Munich, which were sold at auctions after their death. Fig.: The Figdor Collection, c. 1928

Moving Stories Numerous private collections belonging to important art collectors were dispersed in the nineteen-thirties. Many of their former owners were German Jews who were expropriated by the Nazis. Fig.: Pear-shaped lidded cup, Southern Germany, (pre-)1613, silver gilt, inv. no. 8.76.63

Restitution and Sale In some cases the heirs of the disenfranchised collectors were able to have the art treasures restored to the families. Some descendants then decided to sell the collections on the art market. Fig.: Pearl figure, Germany (?), 19th century, pearls, gold, enamelling, precious stones, inv. no. 10.60.67

Post-War Years While living in New York from 1940 to 1960, Werner and Margaret Abegg purchased numerous objects from former European collections from art dealers in that city. The artwork's illustrious provenance is documented on the invoices. Fig.: Crook with the bust of an angel, Limoges, 13th century, inv. no. 8.62.63

Ottoman Silks Exquisite Ottoman textiles previously belonging to Baron Edmond de Rothschild were sold through a London gallery in 1980. The silks that the Abegg-Stiftung purchased on that occasion now count among the highlights of the collection. Fig.: Silk weaving, Ottoman Empire, 17th century, inv. no. 2200

Strasbourg Faience In 1990 Margaret Abegg acquired a large group of eighteenth-century Strasbourg faience from a collector's legacy. The items include tableware decorated with flowers and chinoiseries and three-dimensional show-pieces. Fig.: Terrine with platter, Strasbourg, Hannong Manufactory, 1745–1754, inv. no. 3.233.90 a, b

Provenance Research Thanks to assiduous cataloguing, some of the precious textiles that have turned up on the art market in recent years can be traced back to famous private collections of the late nineteenth century. Researching the provenance of the items in the collection remains a key task of the museum. Fig.: Silk with green and gold medallions, Ottoman Empire, 2nd half of the 16th century, inv. no. 5665