Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation restitutes alabaster relief - whereabouts in the Berlin Sculpture Collection secured
Press release from 11/30/2009
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) recently returned a late medieval alabaster relief to the heiress of its former owner Harry Fuld Junior, the Magen David Adom UK (MDAUK), the English funding organisation of the Israeli aid organisation Red Star of David. However, the work, which was taken from Fuld due to persecution, will remain with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin thanks to the heiress's willingness to engage in dialogue and the financial commitment of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung. The sculpture collection will continue to exhibit the relief in the Bode Museum as a permanent loan from the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation.
Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, says: "Finding a fair and just solution together with the heirs was the SPK's primary goal in this, as in all restitution cases. I am also very pleased that we can continue to present the alabaster relief to museum visitors in Berlin."
Harry Fuld Jr. inherited from his father Harry Fuld Sr. in 1932 not only shares in the family business H. Fuld & Co., which manufactured and sold telephones, but also an art collection. After the National Socialists seized power, he lost his shares due to the Aryanisation of the company and emigrated to England in 1936. He stored his art collection with the Berlin haulage firm Gustav Knauer. The collection was confiscated at the instigation of the Chief Finance Directorate and auctioned off by the Lange auction house in Berlin in 1943. The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin acquired the relief at this auction. A small portion of the auction proceeds went to Fuld's estate, but the vast majority went to the state coffers.
The provenance of the work and its acquisition history were only clarified a few weeks ago in co-operation with the legal representatives of the heirs and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
The alabaster relief with the Carrying of the Cross (17 x 26.8 cm, around 1440) is one of the most important depictions of the Passion in the late Middle Ages. The horizontal composition is based on the famous Lorch Carrying of the Cross, a major work in the Berlin Sculpture Collection. It depicts Christ's journey to Golgotha. In addition to Christ bent under the weight of the cross, being mocked and tortured by soldiers, John, Mary, another holy woman and Simon of Cyrene are also depicted. In addition, the frame of the picture bears the inscription "o.man.look.at.this.figure.and.what.God.has.done.through.you.shall.surely.be.thanked.so.he.gives.you.his.kingdom.of.heaven" ("O man, look at this picture and see what God has done for you. You should certainly be grateful to him for this, so that he will give you his kingdom of heaven"). Very few works of art combine such admonishing texts with images. The dialect of the inscription indicates an origin from the Middle Rhine region.
The SPK is committed to the Washington Principles adopted in 1998 (Principles of the Washington Conference with Respect to Nazi-Confiscated Art) and endeavours to find fair and equitable solutions when the loss of collection items due to persecution is ascertained. It does this regardless of whether it is a mandatory consequence of a legal regulation. In accordance with a resolution passed by the Board of Trustees in 1999, the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is authorised to negotiate amicable solutions directly with the legal successors of Jewish owners. Since then, the Foundation has decided on restitution requests in 30 cases. 24 of these restitution requests have been granted and further cases are currently being processed. However, the SPK not only responds to restitution requests, but also successively researches its collection holdings in a systematic and scientific manner with regard to their provenance and publicises the results of this research.
The Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz would like to thank the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung for its support.
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