Blick in die Sammlung „Außereuropäische Kunst“ im 2. Obergeschoss des Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museums
Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Claus Cordes

Objects from faraway countries

The collections of the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum testify to the curiosity and fascination with which objects from non-European cultures were collected.

East Asian artifacts

A surprisingly large and multifaceted collection of East Asian artefacts comprising almost 1,200 exhibits has been preserved at the Museum. These include mainly lacquerwork objects, soapstone carvings, ceramics and porcelain. The collection also includes paintings, wood and metal objects. There are exquisite individual artefacts such as teapots for the Chinese market with the potter’s mark, a tabletop automaton in the shape of a junk, a cabinet with a delicate three-dimensional depiction in its interior and a washing set in black lacquer. The collection of East Asian Art is published in two extensively illustrated catalogues: Gunter Rudolf Diesinger, Ostasiatische Lackarbeiten, 1990, und Eva Ströber, Ostasiatika, 2002.

Ethnographical objects

The ethnographical collection of the Museum provides particular evidence of the curiosity and fascination with non-European cultures and their artifacts. These objects display highly individual forms, materials and artificial technique. This is seen f. i. in the black and gold lacquer panels from Thailand, the lively colored Moroccan flasks and the gourds from Surinam which are covered with a geometrical pattern. The main focus lies with ceramic objects from Latin America, where two majestic vases from Mexico, covered with paintings in gold and silver, deserve special mention. Such rare objects, formerly called “exotica”, were an important element in all aristocratic collections of the early modern period, and in Brunswick the collection was complemented by souvenirs of private collectors. A lavishly illustrated catalogue of the complete collections was published in 2016: Claudia Schmitz, Ethnographica in Braunschweig, 2016.

Contact and image requests

Dr. Regine Marth

Head of Sculptures, Antiquity, Middle Ages, Non-European Art

Email r.marth@3landesmuseen.de
Phone +49 531 1225 - 2406
Fax +49 531 1225 - 2408

Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum
Museumstr. 1
38100 Braunschweig

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Image requests

Email bildarchiv.haum@3landesmuseen.de
Phone +49 531 1225 - 2401
Fax +49 531 1225 - 2408

Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum
Museumstr. 1
38100 Braunschweig