A critical analysis of a masterpiece of Berlin Art Nouveau porcelain

Current questions on the decolonization of museums, examined by students of the HTW – Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin

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“Re: Guestlist Wedding Procession” is a critical examination of a major work of Berlin Art Nouveau porcelain and explores current questions about the decolonization of museums, with the so-called “Wedding Procession” as an example. The project focuses on the “Wedding Procession”, a multi-figure porcelain centerpiece designed by sculptor Adolf Amberg in 1904 and sculpted at the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (KPM). The design is associated with the wedding of the last German Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia and Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 

Arts-and-crafts objects are rarely associated with the colonial perception at the time of their creation at a first glance. Detached from its holistic composition, individual figures of the wedding procession are viewed critically in terms of discrimination, and stereotypical modes of representation are questioned and examined. A video work created especially for the project deals with the ambivalent object.

Over the course of two semesters, eleven students from the HTW’s master’s program in museum management and communication dealt with current issues of discrimination-critical curating and the multi-layered question “To show or not to show?” 

Opening of the presentation: Tuesday, 7 February, 2023, 6 p.m..

A student project of HTW Berlin in cooperation with the Bröhan Museum.

Students: Danae Y. Diettrich, Layla Fetzer, Ida A. Heuer, Henry Kühnapfel, Ulrike Kuschel, Eda Nakıboğlu, Lisa A. Pichler, Franziska Schlüter, Tim D. Simon, Nina Szkółka, Anna Warsinke.

Project management Bröhan Museum: Nils Martin Müller

Graphics: Colya Zucker