News & backgrounds

On this page, we share backgrounds, observations and new acquisitions from the world of art, design and collectibles. The articles provide context to objects from our collection, but also explore more broadly graphic design, fashion history, cultural movements and the aesthetics of collecting.

This is our editorial space: a place where images, stories and details come together. Sometimes we explain a specific series, sometimes a single object or publication, and sometimes a theme that concerns us. Each article offers deeper insight; for those who not only look, but also want to understand.

Arts d'Afrique Noire: a leading magazine on African art

Arts d'Afrique Noire is an influential magazine that played a key role in the study and appreciation of African art. Through its depth of content, documentation and photography, the magazine remains of great significance to collectors and researchers.

The Jepara wreck: maritime trade goods from Southeast Asia

The Jepara wreck offers insight into the maritime trade practices of Southeast Asia. The surfacing, consisting of functional ceramic objects, combines archaeological provenance with visible traces of use and maritime history.

Ghanaian art: traditions, form and meaning

Ghanaian art reflects a rich palette of cultural traditions in which form, function and meaning are closely intertwined. The sculptural power and symbolic layering make these objects an important part of both museum and private collections.

Jac Hoogerbrugge's collection: fieldwork, knowledge and collecting vision

Jac Hoogerbrugge's collection reflects a collecting vision shaped by field experience, research and long-term engagement with the cultures of Indonesia and Papua. Hoogerbrugge combined collecting with documentation and contextual understanding, giving his objects not only sculptural power, but also clear cultural and historical significance. Within museum and private collections, his collection is valued for its substantive coherence, patina and careful provenance.

Kraak porcelain: Chinese export porcelain for Europe

Recognisable by its blue and white decoration with panel divisions. The name probably refers to the Portuguese trading ships (carraca) by which this porcelain reached Europe. Due to its historical significance, variation in execution and influence on European porcelain tradition, kraak porcelain occupies an important place within museum collections and collecting history.

Silver Wunderkammer table pieces with nautilus shell

These rare silver Wunderkammer table pieces with nautilus shell, made in Hanau around 1900 by Gebrüder Dingeldein, combine naturalia and silversmithing on a high level. The combination of sculptural swans, richly chiselled silver and intact nautilus shells makes this pair an exceptional example of Hanau fantasy silver within the Wunderkammer tradition.

The articles on this page make up an ongoing editorial selection. New contributions are added when context, image and content warrant it.