Pos. 47
Absence G.R.81, 1949/2026
Museum für Kunsthandwerk / Museum Angewandte Kunst
Curated by Matthias Wagner K, Director of the Museum Angewandte Kunst
Touching permitted.
Absence G.R.81, as an immaterial object within the collection of the Museum Angewandte Kunst, speaks to the no-longer-existing presence of a medieval reliquary that once existed in material form within the museum’s holdings.
The reliquary, masterfully crafted around 1200 in Limoges, France, and adorned with cut rock crystals, gilding, and champlevé enamel, was among the earliest pieces in the internationally renowned art collection of Maximilian Freiherr von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1843–1940). It formed part of the furnishings of the Renaissance Room in the Rothschild Palais in Frankfurt am Main, where he lived with his wife Minna Caroline von Rothschild (1857–1903).
On 5th of September 1938, as a victim of Nazi persecution, Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild was forced to sell his palais and, during the pogrom night of 9–10th of November, also his private collection to the city of Frankfurt am Main at well below its value. Following the signing of the purchase agreement on 11th of November 1938, the collection was marked as municipal property, inventoried, and distributed among various museums. The Museum für Kunsthandwerk received around 1,350 objects, including the reliquary.
After the end of the Second World War, the heirs of Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild sought the restitution of the collection. The city of Frankfurt and museum directors strongly resisted these claims. Ultimately, the parties reached a settlement agreement on 16th of May 1949, and the city restituted the majority of the objects.
Absence G.R.81 stands as a symbol of this collection, preserving the biography of its former owner — Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild — as well as the role of the city of Frankfurt and the history of the Museum Angewandte Kunst, then the Museum für Kunsthandwerk, during National Socialism.
Pos. 47
Absence G.R.81, 1949/2026
Museum für Kunsthandwerk / Museum Angewandte Kunst
Curated by Matthias Wagner K, Director of the Museum Angewandte Kunst
Touching permitted.
Absence G.R.81, as an immaterial object within the collection of the Museum Angewandte Kunst, speaks to the no-longer-existing presence of a medieval reliquary that once existed in material form within the museum’s holdings.
The reliquary, masterfully crafted around 1200 in Limoges, France, and adorned with cut rock crystals, gilding, and champlevé enamel, was among the earliest pieces in the internationally renowned art collection of Maximilian Freiherr von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1843–1940). It formed part of the furnishings of the Renaissance Room in the Rothschild Palais in Frankfurt am Main, where he lived with his wife Minna Caroline von Rothschild (1857–1903).
On 5th of September 1938, as a victim of Nazi persecution, Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild was forced to sell his palais and, during the pogrom night of 9–10th of November, also his private collection to the city of Frankfurt am Main at well below its value. Following the signing of the purchase agreement on 11th of November 1938, the collection was marked as municipal property, inventoried, and distributed among various museums. The Museum für Kunsthandwerk received around 1,350 objects, including the reliquary.
After the end of the Second World War, the heirs of Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild sought the restitution of the collection. The city of Frankfurt and museum directors strongly resisted these claims. Ultimately, the parties reached a settlement agreement on 16th of May 1949, and the city restituted the majority of the objects.
Absence G.R.81 stands as a symbol of this collection, preserving the biography of its former owner — Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild — as well as the role of the city of Frankfurt and the history of the Museum Angewandte Kunst, then the Museum für Kunsthandwerk, during National Socialism.