Venetian gondola (Berlin)
The Venetian gondola in the Berlin Museum of European Cultures is part of the permanent exhibition Kulturkontakte, which has been presented since 2011 . Life in Europe. As a symbol for Venice , according to the museum , the gondola is representative of trade, travel, visual media, migration, cultural locations and piety .
History and description of the gondola
The splendid gondola , which is 11.4 meters long, 1.4 meters wide and weighs 700 kilograms , was made into water around 1910 and consists of several types of wood (boat body and planks), fabric (coverings), leather (seat covers) and galvanized iron (boat fittings and jewelry) calmly. In 1975 it came to his German business partner in Berlin as a present from an Italian businessman, who subsequently used it from his waterfront property on Wallotstrasse for pleasure trips on Lake Halensee . In the winter of 1982, after heavy wear and tear, it was given as a gift to the then West Berlin Ethnological Museum in Dahlem and was transported by the Technical Relief Agency in a sledge across the frozen Halensee to the museum workshops. There it was extensively restored for two years by Kiel boat builders for the museum exhibition . In 1985 the museum bought a forcola (a kind of wooden oarlock for inserting the oar), two small horse figures and a vase as decoration for the gondola. During that year it was part of the Völkerkundemuseum's exhibition Boats from all over the world for a while, but then ended up in the depot .
After a wooden boat from Melanesia that contained undetected dry wood termites was also stored in the depot in 1983, the gondola was also attacked, which was noticed in 2011. The gondola could be saved by depriving it of oxygen for six weeks. For the pest control of the museum there is the Rathgen research laboratory with specialized staff. The laboratory has a collection of live insect pests, but also preparations that can be used for identification. Chemical pesticides are generally avoided and treated physically: Depending on the object, either oxygen deprivation with nitrogen or freezing treatment at −30 ° C is used.
Like all Venetian gondolas, the gondola has a precisely calculated asymmetrical keel line curved to starboard because it can only be rowed on this shortened right-hand side and can therefore travel straight ahead at a set speed, such as that of a pedestrian. The bottom is flat . The gondola shown in Berlin is open, it has no so-called felze , a kind of cabin in which several people can sit discreetly and comfortably. The covers of the hull show wood carvings with partly maritime shapes. There are several ornaments in the shape of a clam shell and garland-like ornaments.
presentation
The gondola has been exhibited in the entrance area of the Museum of European Cultures since 2011. A video installation with three monitors on the wall shows typical summer Venetian pictures with motifs of tourists, buildings and canals.
According to Andreas Kilb , features journalist for the FAZ in Berlin, "the gondola [...] is the key object, the central icon of the new permanent exhibition at the Museum of European Cultures."
The ethnologist Elisabeth Tietmeyer , director of the museum, also regards the gondola as a “'guiding object' with which all aspects of the exhibition are addressed”, such as the migration of people and objects that lead to cultural encounters and commonalities that lead to the development of global cultures may result.
Oliver Heilwagen made negative comments on his website kunst + film about the presentation of the gondola in the museum, which reopened in 2011. He writes that “the museum's showpieces take up a lot of space - without much knowledge. A real gondola opens up mightily; who would be unaware that she cruises on Venice's canals? What is remarkable about this copy is that it comes from Berlin. "
Web links
- Video about the gondola on museumsfernsehen.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Description of the museum , accessed on November 26, 2017.
- ↑ Press release of the National Museums in Berlin from April 16, 2011
- ^ Description of the gondola on the website of the German Digital Library.
- ↑ Video sequence about the history of the gondola.
- ↑ Behind the Scenes: The Lord of the Flies. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 2014, accessed on October 12, 2017 .
- ^ Julia Franke and Clemens Niedenthal: cultural contacts. Life in Europe . Ed .: Museum of European Cultures, Leipzig / Berlin 2011, p. 18 ff.
- ^ Andreas Kilb: Museum of European Cultures. Why doesn't Europe belong in the Berlin Palace? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. December 6, 2011, accessed October 12, 2017 .
- ↑ Announcement of a director's tour for guest auditors at the Further Education Center of the Free University of Berlin. ( Memento of the original from October 12, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Trap by Oliver Heilwagen on his website kunst + film from December 7, 2011.
