The first exhibition features the older sections of the collection. It has been designed as a cross-genre presentation with an emphasis on art and cultural history whose essential structure is to remain for a longer period of time.
Among the highlights of this part of the exhibition, which covers approx. 2000 m², are a walk-in display cabinet with Italian Renaissance maiolica and three historic rooms. While the panelling from the monastery refectory in Cori near Rome is unique in a museum context, the chinoiserie wall covering from the manor house in Zehmen near Leipzig, which is presented to the public for the first time, is full of exotic beauty. But also the Roman Hall from the mansion of Eythra – one of the villages that were forced to give way to brown coal mining in the Leipzig area – has been resurrected after many years of restoration.
References to the history of Saxony and Leipzig are of particular importance in all three parts of the exhibitions. Among many other items, the first part, for instance, presents works of art from Leipzig’s council treasure and from the cabinet of art and rarities that was annexed to the old council library. Furniture from the foremost workshops of Leipzig, ceramics, porcelain, glasses, gold and silversmiths’ work bear witness to the mastery of Saxon artists and craftspeople.

Exhibition designed by Detlef Lieffertz and Heinz-Jürgen Böhme, Leipzig

Click here for a plan of the exhibition.

Impulses for Europe

Numerous exhibits that had been inaccessible for decades are shown in this part of the exhibition. Among its many showpieces is a precious Coromandel lacquer screen from China.
The exhibition area with works of Asian art covers around 300 m². Located on the gallery floor and in two adjacent rooms, it serves as a link between the first and third part of the permanent exhibition.

Exhibition designed by Detlef Lieffertz and Heinz-Jürgen Böhme, Leipzig

Click here for a plan of the exhibition.

Selected holdings of the collection ranging from art nouveau to present-day items are shown on the upper floor. Here, particular emphasis is laid on works from the 1920s and 1930s. Purchased, for the most part, at the then legendary Grassi Fairs (www.grassimesse.de), these items present a unique historical testimony. A special touch will be added by the reconstruction of the fair booth of the Vereinigte Lausitzer Glaswerke (United Lusatian Glassworks) of Weißwasser, designed by Lilli Reich for the Grassi Fair in 1936.

On the ground floor, the exhibition continues with objects from the second half of the 20th century to the present-day. In contrast to the other parts of the permanent exhibition, the quantity of items here necessitates a more flexible presentation.

Exhibition designed by Detlef Lieffertz and Heinz-Jürgen Böhme, Leipzig

samples of the audio guides

Click here for a plan of the exhibition.