Initial check of non-European collections at the Mauritianum Naturkundemuseum Mauritianum in Altenburg, the Stadtmuseum Gera, the Staatlichen Bücher- und Kupferstichsammlung Greiz, the Thüringer Landesmuseum Heidecksburg in Rudolstadt and the Deutsches Spielzeugmuseum Sonneberg

A large number of cultural assets came to Europe from non-European regions in colonial contexts. The period spans several centuries and the beginning of European expansion can be dated to the end of the 15th century. The origin of cultural property from colonial contexts does not only mean that which came to Europe from formal colonies. It generally refers to acquisition contexts in connection with violence and/or asymmetrical power relations in areas outside and within Europe. Objects not only ended up in ethnological museums, but also found their way into museums with other collection focuses. Often, the circumstances of acquisition of these holdings in the museums that hold them are not (or no longer) known today. Since the beginning of 2021, it has been possible to receive funding from the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste) to carry out so-called initial checks. The aim is to conduct a cursory examination of the collection for possible suspicious facts.

After carrying out initial checks in the area of National Socialism, the Museumsverband Thüringen e. V. took on the area of colonial contexts. The project "Initial check of non-European collections at the Mauritianum Naturkundemuseum Mauritianum in Altenburg, the Stadtmuseum Gera, the Staatlichen Bücher- und Kupferstichsammlung Greiz, the Thüringer Landesmuseum Heidecksburg in Rudolstadt and the Deutsches Spielzeugmuseum Sonneberg" was carried out on behalf of and under the supervision of the Museumsverband Thüringen e. V. and its Provenance Research Coordination Office. The project ran from February 15 to August 15.

Funding was provided by the German Lost Art Foundation. The order of the locations where the initial checks took place is: Greiz, Gera, Rudolstadt, Sonneberg and Altenburg. In sections that deal with the museums individually, this chronological and local sequence is taken into account. Most of the museums are run by local authorities. Only the Naturkundemuseum Mauritianum in Altenburg is supported by an association, the "Naturforschende Gesellschaft Altenburg e. V.".

The museum collections to be examined comprised around 1,300 objects in the five museums. In most of the museums there were several hundred objects, only in Greiz was the collection very small with one or two objects.

The regions of origin were in all parts of the world, including indigenous groups in Europe. A large proportion came from the Asian region, mainly due to the large number of objects received by individual actors. The other continents of origin of many objects were Africa and Oceania. With the exception of the "Staatliche Bücher- und Kupferstichsammlung" in Greiz and the "Naturkundemuseum Mauritianum" in Altenburg, the origin of the examined holdings in the individual museums is on different continents. The two objects examined in Greiz come from Asia. In Altenburg, only the collection from Africa was examined more closely. In the "Thüringer Landesmuseum Heidecksburg" in Rudolstadt, human remains of at least 6 individuals were the subject of the initial check in addition to the non-European collection.

The overarching research project in the museums of the initial check in Thuringia was to determine the need for in-depth research with a cursory view of the collection holdings and the known written sources. A need for indepth research results from possible suspicious facts. These arise from the nature of the collection items, the high cultural significance for the societies of originators, the circumstances of acquisition in relation to the colonial activities of the previous owners and in connection with times in certain areas in which violent appropriation is likely.

For the object in Greiz, possible unlawful acquisition contexts were to be determined in order to find an appropriate (museum) approach. In the case of the human remains in Rudolstadt, the aim was to find out whether they originated from colonial contexts. If indications of other unlawful contexts were identified during the review, these were also included.

In the run-up to the initial check, museums were asked about their holdings from the relevant areas in order to determine the need for a review of the collections. Individual inventories were transcribed, for example in the Gera City Museum. The "Staatliche Bücher- und Kupferstichsammlung" in Greiz was one of four museums to be part of an initial NS check in 2021. In this project, a Batak manuscript was identified, which was examined more closely in the initial check carried out here. The previous owner was known to be the company or dealer Gustav Umlauff. The Museumsverband Thüringen e. V. researched the dealer and the provenance researcher of this initial NS check contacted experts with a research focus on Batak manuscripts.

© Museumsverband Thüringen e.V.