3005

Porcelain objects in the collection of the Mitte Museum

The porcelain and ceramic collection comprises more than 6000 objects. The focus is on everyday tableware and electric porcelain. The majority of the collection goes back to the Heimatmuseum Tiergarten and was created by the then museum director Bernd Hildebrandt. Electric porcelain from the company H. Schomburg & Söhne forms a separate group. In 1996, an exhibition and catalog brought the highly specialized production of this forgotten manufactory back into the public eye. Objects from the everyday tableware group are a specific quality of the Mitte Museum's collection. They show clear signs of use. This is precisely where their significance and value lie. They are testimonies to the everyday culture of the city of Berlin with its - also in the past - diverse social milieus. They are the unique selling point of this collection.

White gold from Moabit
Location of the Berlin porcelain industry 1832-1903

The establishment of the first private porcelain factory by F. A. Schumann in Berlin-Moabit in 1832 marked the beginning of the porcelain quarter there. The companies H. Schomburg & Söhne and L. H. A. Schmidt followed. The location on the Spreebogen was extremely favorable for the movement of goods and raw materials. Within the area, there was a concentration of skilled workers in the industry, which facilitated a lively exchange. In 1872, the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (KPM) moved nearby. It has retained this location to this day and is the only company to have outlasted the others.