Lithyalin glass bottle
Object numberM2021/014
TitleLithyalin glass bottle
Creator Friedrich Egermann (designer)
DescriptionLithyalin glass flacon (small stoppered bottle, especially one for perfume), which was once part of the collection of Wilhelm Perlhoefter. This Bohemian glass bottle was one of at least four objects that had been looted from Perlhoefter's renowned collection in Breslau, Germany in 1939. Finally repatriated to the family more than 80 years later, it is the only piece of Nazi-era looted artwork in the Sydney Jewish Museum's collection.
Wilhelm Perlhoefter, a Jewish merchant from Breslau, started collecting at the age of 12. In 1907 he married Helene Schaefer. Together they developed their collection, which grew to include 1,000 pieces of antique Venetian and Bohemian glass, 400 of which were Lithyalin pieces. Lithyalin glass was developed in Bohemia by Friedrich Egermann (1777-1864), famous for its opaque, marbled surface resembling semiprecious stone. The reputation of their collection gradually spread, museum directors and antique dealers often came to view it, and a number of artefacts were featured in museum exhibitions.
Following Kristallnacht, the pogrom unleashed in Germany and Austria in November 1938, Perlhoefter was arrested and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp where he spent four weeks. After his release, he made plans to escape the Nazi terror.
Formal permission was required from the Nazi authorities to take belongings out of Germany, which essentially allowed the government to claim what they liked and profit from forced immigration. Thus, before Jews were expelled or murdered, they were also robbed. These lucrative raids were called 'Aryanisations'. Museum directors from Breslau, Görlitz and the surrounding areas were 'invited' to choose any items from Perlhoefter's collection they wished to have for their museums.
While it is unknown how many pieces from the Perlhoefter collection were looted, four Lithyalin glass items belonging to the family were recently identified in the Görlitz Museum of Cultural History in Germany. The Museum was staging an exhibition of 11 pieces of 'Nazi Raubkunst', art theft, from 1939. The Görlitz Museum sought to trace the heirs of these pieces and almost serendipitously were contacted by Wilhelm Perlhoefter's grandchildren. They came to a mutually agreeable arrangement, whereby three of the Lithyalin vessels remained in Germany while one of the 'entitlements' would be repatriated to a grandchild in Sydney, who generously offered to donate it to the Sydney Jewish Museum.
'Handing over the beautiful little object to the Sydney Jewish Museum, I was not prepared for the level of emotion that it stirred up. Its repatriation by the Görlitz Museum represents acknowledgement of the historical crimes and injustices that my family had suffered.' David Logan, grandson, February 2021.
Wilhelm Perlhoefter, a Jewish merchant from Breslau, started collecting at the age of 12. In 1907 he married Helene Schaefer. Together they developed their collection, which grew to include 1,000 pieces of antique Venetian and Bohemian glass, 400 of which were Lithyalin pieces. Lithyalin glass was developed in Bohemia by Friedrich Egermann (1777-1864), famous for its opaque, marbled surface resembling semiprecious stone. The reputation of their collection gradually spread, museum directors and antique dealers often came to view it, and a number of artefacts were featured in museum exhibitions.
Following Kristallnacht, the pogrom unleashed in Germany and Austria in November 1938, Perlhoefter was arrested and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp where he spent four weeks. After his release, he made plans to escape the Nazi terror.
Formal permission was required from the Nazi authorities to take belongings out of Germany, which essentially allowed the government to claim what they liked and profit from forced immigration. Thus, before Jews were expelled or murdered, they were also robbed. These lucrative raids were called 'Aryanisations'. Museum directors from Breslau, Görlitz and the surrounding areas were 'invited' to choose any items from Perlhoefter's collection they wished to have for their museums.
While it is unknown how many pieces from the Perlhoefter collection were looted, four Lithyalin glass items belonging to the family were recently identified in the Görlitz Museum of Cultural History in Germany. The Museum was staging an exhibition of 11 pieces of 'Nazi Raubkunst', art theft, from 1939. The Görlitz Museum sought to trace the heirs of these pieces and almost serendipitously were contacted by Wilhelm Perlhoefter's grandchildren. They came to a mutually agreeable arrangement, whereby three of the Lithyalin vessels remained in Germany while one of the 'entitlements' would be repatriated to a grandchild in Sydney, who generously offered to donate it to the Sydney Jewish Museum.
'Handing over the beautiful little object to the Sydney Jewish Museum, I was not prepared for the level of emotion that it stirred up. Its repatriation by the Görlitz Museum represents acknowledgement of the historical crimes and injustices that my family had suffered.' David Logan, grandson, February 2021.
Production date circa 1850
Subjectrepatriation, stolen property, immigration, escape pre-war
Object namebottles
Materialglass
Dimensions
- width: 60.00 mm
height: 110.00 mm
mm: 87.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by David Logan
In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this archival project.