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This QR code applies to the entire table and the object captions attached to the wall on the left!

Linoleum rug

The rug was always in the same household before it came to the museum and had been a beloved piece of furniture for a self-confident working-class family since the 1920s. Arthur Vogt, the first owner, was a member of the KPD and a member of the Reichstag. In 1945, he became deputy mayor of the Wedding district, where he lived with his family and carpet. The idea of a handmade carpet as an attribute of bourgeois living culture is reflected in the decor alone. The cool feel of the industrial product clearly contradicts the characteristics of such a piece. But this was not perceived as disturbing. Linoleum, an English invention of the 19th century, was quickly regarded as a hygienic and modern material.

Carpet, from the household of Arthur Vogt (1894-1964)
Germania Linoleumwerke AG (Bietigheim)
Inlaid linoleum, ca. 1925
Donation: Irene Wüste to the Heimatwuseum Wedding 1995

Porcelain marks

Mark copying was a recurring phenomenon among manufactories and factories in the 19th century. The manufacturers reacted by changing their marks. The prominent position of KPM as a luxury brand led to brand copying and brand similarity in many places in Germany - including Moabit. This affected the so-called Pfennig marks of the Schumann, Schomburg and Schmidt companies, which at times differed from one another only in details. The often “blurred” stamping was an advantage. It was not until 1874 that trademark protection was introduced by law.

Royal Health Tableware Manufactory (KGM)

KGM was founded in 1818 as an offshoot of KPM on the banks of the Spree in Charlottenburg. A special feature was the non-toxic lead-free glaze. In addition, there was a lower proportion of kaolin in the porcelain paste, which made the products cheaper but less durable: the reason why only a few pieces have survived. In order to distinguish itself from the KPM range, KGM initially produced pipe bowls, pharmacy and utility porcelain. Later, hand-painted individual pieces such as friendship and commemorative cups and cake baskets were added. Increasing competition from numerous private companies in the 1840s made the sale of KGM unavoidable. 186 the closure could no longer be prevented.

Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin (KPM)

The purchase of Johann Ernst Gotzowsky's porcelain manufactory by King Frederick II in 1763 marked the change from a bourgeois to the Berlin “Royal Porcelain Manufactory”. Until the introduction of freedom of trade in 1810, it held the monopoly on porcelain production in Prussia. With the founding of the Schumann porcelain factory in 1832, KPM had a strong competitor for a time, which was cheaper with the introduction of bright gold, among other things, and could respond more quickly to changes in style. However, the hand-painted products of the private Moabit factory did not reach the quality of the KPM porcelains. In 1872, KPM moved to its new premises in Berlin-Tiergarten, where it is still based today.

“Moabiter Baroque Form”

The growing self-confidence of the Schumann porcelain manufactory can be seen in the “Moabiter Baroque Form” shape and decoration design. The “Moabiter Kante” relief border was offered in blue or green, each combined with gold painting. These services established themselves as Schumann's successful trademark. Even KPM and manufactories such as Krister, Carl Tiesch & Co. and the Ilmenau porcelain factory copied the characteristic relief border. The Fürstenberg manufactory also produced a “Moabiter Form” coffee and tea service based on it. Relief and form survived the existence of the Schumann manufactory into the 20th century.

Porcelain manufacture of H. Schomburg & Sons

In 1853, Carl Schomburg (1809-1867), previously a porcelain painter at the Schumann porcelain factory, founded a factory with his sons Rudolph and Heinrich that specialized in electrical porcelain as a new line of business. Insulators and many additional parts made of “hard-fired porcelain” proved their worth for the new telegraph and high-voltage cables that had been in use since the second half of the 19th century. Schomburg provided them for the industrial use of electricity and the electrification of Berlin and soon delivered to all continents. In 1903, the Moabit factory was closed and relocated to Teltow as “Berliner Porzellanmanufaktur Conrad, Schomburg & Co”.

Porcelain factory L. H. A. Schmidt

As the smallest porcelain factory in Moabit, Louis Heinrich Anton Schmidt founded a company named after him together with his brother Robert in 1855. Both were originally modelers and painters at the neighboring Schumann porcelain factory. Their factory, which only existed for 31 years, produced household porcelain (storage vessels, sieves, funnels etc. as whiteware) as well as decorative porcelain, some of which was cast after models by Schumann. The company also sold “rejects” with firing defects. In 1866, the company was sold to the Opdenhoff brothers. A major fire destroyed the factory in 1886. Today, only a few of the much-used pieces have survived.

Change of material

Its suitability for mass production as well as its hygienic properties as laboratory, pharmacy and household porcelain made it a versatile material well into the 20th century. New, cheaper and more stable materials such as aluminum and plastics increasingly took its place. To this day, swing tops for juice and beer bottles are one of the exceptions. As part of the return to sustainability in the world of goods, porcelain is currently experiencing a new appreciation. Manufacturers are once again opting for the unmistakable qualities of this tried and tested material.

Bright gold

The porcelain painter and later porcelain manufacturer Carl Schomburg handed over a bright gold process - the “Berlin gold liquid” - to the Schumann company. A contract concluded in 1839 obliged him to only use this bright gold plating there. The duration of the contract was fixed for the lifetime of Friedrich Adolpg Schumann, who died in 1851. Schimburg's invention had the advantage over polished gold that the objects no longer had to be polished after firing. The bright gold was cheaper to use than conventional methods and led to an economic upswing and increased the reputation of the Schumann manufactory. Gilding as a visible luxury only became affordable for the middle classes thanks to this process.

Porcelain factory F. A. Schumann

In 1832, Friedrich Adolph Schumann (1801-1851) founded Berlin's first private porcelain factory, which was also the first industrial enterprise in Moabit. Utility and decorative porcelain for the bourgeoisie was produced with high sales and for worldwide export until Schumann's death in 1851. The company offered a diverse range of porcelain “according to the latest taste”, including complete services or popular individual pieces such as so-called cake baskets. With their relatively inexpensive, high-quality products, they competed with the Königliche Porzellen-Manufaktur Berlin.

Model adoption

The Moabit porcelain factories obviously tolerated model takeovers and agreements. For example, there are two versions of a cake basket: While Schumann's model was finer, with several openings and elaborate painting on a plastically shaped branch mesh and in decorative variations, Schmidt's less fine piece only has openings on the rim. The design there is coarser and dispenses entirely with painting (whiteware). Production-related defects such as firing cracks or black firing marks were not an obstacle to sales at the time. The demand for decorative porcelain was high enough.

Object captions

Upper right corner
Support insulator ca. 1949-1990
Taken over before 2004

15 insulating rollers for guiding electrical wires
Porcelain manufactory of H. Schomburg & Söhne
ca. 1900
Entrance to the Tiergarten local history museum 1997-1997

Lower right corner
Shard
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1864-1880
Entrance to the Tiergaten Museum of Local History 1992-1994

Lower left corner
Gravestone for Walter Würfel
Porcelain manufactory L. H. A. Schmidt and gravestone factory A. Milius, Stromstraße 4, Berlin Moabit
1885
Acquired in the art trade from the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1992

13 License plates
Porcelain manufacture of H. Schomburg & Sons
1853-1903
Entry into the Tiergarten Local History Museum 1995-1997

21 insulating rollers for guiding electrical wires
Porcelain manufacture of H. Schomburg & Sons
ca. 1900
Entrance to the Tiergarten Local History Museum 1995-1997

Upper left corner
Cake basket with wickerwork and openwork walls
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1845-1851
Donation: Ernst Freiberger to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1995

Cake basket in white with openwork walls
Porcelain manufactory L. H. A. Schmidt
1863-1886
Acquired in the art trade 2020

One socket, two electric plugs, three switches, four burner heads for Argand burners, five electric fuses
Porcelain manufacture by H. Schomburg & Söhne
Ca. 1900
Entrance to the Tiergarten local history museum 1995-1997

Table center
“Coral” jug and cover for brewing and cooking machine
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1845-1851
Acquired in the art trade from the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1991

Teapot and lid “Moabiter baroque form”
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1861-1863
Donation: Herbert Meinke to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1999

“Coral” top and strainer insert for scalding and cooking machine
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1845-1851
Acquired in the art trade from the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1991

Cream jug “Coral”
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1861-1863
Acquired in the art trade from the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1991

Cup and saucer “Moabiter baroque form”
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1864-1880
Donation: Herbert Meinke to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1999

Cup and saucer “Coral”
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1864-1880
Donation: Eva Neumann to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1993

Cup and saucer “Moabiter baroque form”
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1864-1880
Donation: Herbert Meinke to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1999

Cream jug “Moabiter baroque form”
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1864-1880
Donation: Herbert Meinke to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1999

Coffee pot and lid “Moabiter baroque form”
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1861-1863
Donation: Herbert Meinke to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten 1999

Table chandelier “Moabiter baroque form”
Porcelain manufactory F. A. Schumann
1845-1851
Donation: Angelika Durieux and Dagmar Seyfried to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten before 1994