Commissioned by the Ostfriesische Landschaft – Regional Association for Culture, Science and Education

East Frisia’s location by the sea, the associated seafaring, trade, and navy explain why objects from colonial contexts can be found in the region’s collections. Particularly significant are objects from China and especially from the former German colony of Jiaozhou (Kiautschou) with its capital Qingdao (Tsingtau).

The multi-perspective study researched the provenance of over 600 objects from the collections of four museums in the region of East Frisia: the Deutsches Sielhafenmuseum Carolinensiel (German Sluice Port Museum), the Naturforschende Gesellschaft zu Emden (Association of Naturalists), the East Frisian Tea Museum Norden and the Fehn- und Schiffahrtmuseum Westrhauderfehn (Fen and Navy Museum).

The aim was to reconstruct the colonial contexts of the objects, which have so far mainly been classified as “seafarers’ souvenirs”, and to investigate problematic contexts of appropriation.

In collaboration with Chinese scholars, research was conducted at Chinese and German archives. The results of the project was presented to the public at a concluding workshop, and relevant holdings will be published digitally online on the cultural heritage portal and on the “PAESE” database.

The project was funded by the German Lost Art Foundation.