Producer unknown to us
Burning sacrifice
Asia, China, Beijing
Begin of the 20th century
Cardboard, silver foil, glass
Olga Julia Wegener (art collector)
Purchased by the museum from Wegener in 1915
OAs 12355 a–h
The director at the time, Karl Weule, tasked Olga-Julia Wegener with acquiring objects that would enable the museum to portray everyday life in the Chinese capital. This was in order to give the museum’s audience an impression of contemporary Chinese culture.
Olga-Julia Wegener had accompanied her husband, the geographer Georg Wegener, on one of his research expeditions to China in 1912. However, she had spent most of her time in the capital, Beijing. With the help of locals and others familiar with the area, she acquired for the museum, among other things, paper objects that, like this dinner service, were burned during funeral ceremonies as offerings to the deceased.
This gift-box-shaped case contains silver-like replicas of food and drinking vessels, chopsticks, a knife, a spoon, and a fork. The glass lid was probably added at the request of the collector.
Dietmar Grundmann