![Braunschweig Brunswick Armreliquiar St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Braunschweig_Brunswick_Armreliquiar_St._Blasius_Rueckseite.jpg)
The Guelph Treasure (German: ''Welfenschatz'') is a collection of medieval ecclesiastical art originally housed at
Brunswick Cathedral
Brunswick Cathedral (german: Dom St. Blasii (et Johannis), lit. in en, Collegiate Church of Ss. St. Blaise, Blaise and John the Baptist) is a large Lutheran Church (building), church in the City of Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany.
The church ...
in
Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The Treasure takes its name from the princely
House of Guelph
The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse ...
(German: ''Welf'') of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
In October 1929, the Treasure, consisting of 82 pieces, was sold by the former Duke of Brunswick to a consortium of Jewish art dealers. In 1935, in the Netherlands, they sold its major portion to agents of
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, the second most powerful man in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
After World War II, the art dealers' heirs unsuccessfully sought the restitution of the treasure. In Germany, the
Limbach Commission Limbach may refer to:
Places Austria
*Limbach (Burgenland), a village, see Hungarian exonyms (Burgenland)
Germany
*Limbach, Baden-Württemberg, a town in the district of Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis
*Limbach, Bad Kreuznach, a municipality in Rhineland-P ...
, a government advisory body, found that there were no grounds for restitution, and in the U.S., the Supreme Court ruled in the 2021 case ''
Germany v. Phillipp'' that the U.S. courts had no jurisdiction over the restitution claims.
History
The Guelph Treasure was originally housed at Brunswick Cathedral in
Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Most of the objects were removed from the cathedral in the 17th century and passed into the hands of
John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
John Frederick (german: Johann Friedrich; 25 April 1625 in Herzberg am Harz – 18 December 1679 in Augsburg) was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He ruled over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, from 1665 until his death.
T ...
, in 1671, and remained in the Court Chapel at Hannover until 1803.
In 1929
Ernest Augustus, former Duke of Brunswick, Head of House of Hanover, sold 82 items to a consortium of Frankfurt art dealers Saemy Rosenberg, Isaak Rosenbaum, Julius Falk Goldschmidt and Zacharias Hackenbroch for the price of 7.5 million Reichsmark.
Items from the Treasure were exhibited in the United States in 1930–31.
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...
purchased nine pieces and more were sold to other museums and private collectors.
In 1935 the remaining 42 pieces of the collection were sold for 4.25 million Reichsmarks in a transaction in the Netherlands to agents of
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, the second most powerful man in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. It is claimed that, in turn, Göring personally presented the Treasure as a gift to
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, although this is disputed by the Limbach Commission. It was then placed on display in the
Bode Museum
The Bode-Museum (English: ''Bode Museum''), formerly called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (''Emperor Frederick Museum''), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of Germa ...
in Berlin, where it remains.
Restitution claims
Proceedings in Germany
In 2008 a case for restitution was lodged in Germany by the heirs of the Jewish art dealers over the pieces sold in 1934. In March 2014 the Limbach Commission, an advisory body to the German government, concluded that the treasure should not be handed over as the case did not meet the criteria defining a forced sale due to Nazi persecution. This determination was based on historical facts, which have been verified by source materials. This, among other points, included the fact that since 1930 the Guelph Treasure had been located outside Germany, and the German state had no access to it at any time during the sales negotiations. Additionally the purchase price paid was within the scope of what was usual and achievable on the art market at the time and the sellers received the agreed purchase price.
U.S. court case
In February 2015, the heirs to the Jewish art dealers sued Germany and the Bode Museum (via the
Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (german: Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz; SPK) is a German federal government body that oversees 27 museums and cultural organizations in and around Berlin, Germany. Its purview includes all of Berlin's ...
) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in order to recover the treasure, citing that the
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) is a United States law, codified at Title 28, §§ 1330, 1332, 1391(f), 1441(d), and 1602–1611 of the United States Code, that established criteria as to whether a foreign sovereign nation ( ...
(FSIA) enables them to sue Germany in United States courts for compensation of property taken from the dealers as "rights in property taken in violation of international law". A few days before, Germany declared the collection for a national cultural treasure, meaning the art pieces can no longer leave the country without the explicit permission of the country's culture minister. It is unclear if the German Culture Minister Monika Grütters was aware of the US lawsuit at the time of the announcement.
Germany sought to dismiss the case, arguing that FSIA did not apply to the sale of goods that did not cross any international borders. The District Court denied the motion to dismiss, which was upheld at the
. Germany petitioned to the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
to rule on the matter. The Supreme Court certified Germany's petition, and heard the case in December 2020.
The Guardian: Nazi art dispute goes to US supreme court in landmark case
/ref> In February 2021, the Court ruled in a unanimous decision that the heirs could not sue Germany under FSIA since the provision related to "rights in property taken" was limited to actions between foreign states, and not between states and individuals. However, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to lower courts on the basis that there may be other options whereby the heirs could seek compensation from Germany.
See also
* Gospels of Henry the Lion
The Gospels of Henry the Lion were intended by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, for the altar of the Virgin Mary in the church of St. Blaise's Abbey, Brunswick, better known as Brunswick Cathedral. The volume is considered a masterpiece of Roma ...
* Herzog August Library
The Herzog August Library (german: link=no, Herzog August Bibliothek — "HAB"), in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, known also as ''Bibliotheca Augusta'', is a library of international importance for its collection from the Middle Ages and ear ...
File:Heinrich der Löwe und Mathilde von England.jpg, Gospels of Henry the Lion
The Gospels of Henry the Lion were intended by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, for the altar of the Virgin Mary in the church of St. Blaise's Abbey, Brunswick, better known as Brunswick Cathedral. The volume is considered a masterpiece of Roma ...
showing Henry the Lion and Matilda Plantagenet
Matilda of England (June 1156 — June/July 1189) was an English princess of the House of Plantagenet and by marriage Duchess consort of Saxony and Bavaria from 1168 until her husband's deposition in 1180.
Life
Matilda was born in or around June ...
(Herzog August Bibliothek
The Herzog August Library (german: link=no, Herzog August Bibliothek — "HAB"), in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, known also as ''Bibliotheca Augusta'', is a library of international importance for its collection from the Middle Ages and ear ...
in Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...
)
File:Reliquary with Tooth of Saint John the Baptist, rock crystal c. 1000, Egypt, silver gilt metalwork 1375-1400, Braunschweig, Germany - Art Institute of Chicago - DSC09666.JPG, Reliquary with Tooth of Saint John the Baptist, rock crystal c. 1000, Egypt, silver gilt metalwork 1375–1400, Braunschweig, Germany (Art Institute of Chicago)
File:Reliquary St John Baptist Guelph Treasure ca. 1400 Nelson-Atkins - Kansas City.jpg, This reliquary is composed of Gothic architectural elements such as pinnacled buttresses and a tower on which a small figure of Saint John the Baptist stands. Although a replacement, the glass cylinder holds the original relic: a finger bone, allegedly of Saint John the Baptist, in a gold mount. This reliquary was once part of the Guelph Treasure accumulated by the dukes of Brunswick beginning in the 11th century. (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri USA)
File:Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude, shortly after 1038, from the Guelph Treasure, German, Lower Saxony, gold, enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello - Cleveland Museum of Art - DSC08528.JPG, Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude, shortly after 1038, from the Guelph Treasure, German, Lower Saxony, gold, enamel, porphyry, gems, pearls, niello (Cleveland Museum of Art)
File:Kuppelreliquiar 01 KGM.jpg, Dome reliquary, end of 12th century (Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin
__NOTOC__
The Kunstgewerbemuseum, or Museum of Decorative Arts, is an internationally important museum of the decorative arts in Berlin, Germany, part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums). The collection is split between the ...
)
File:Welfenkreuz Vorderseite detail 1 KGM.jpg, Guelph Cross (Berlin)
References
Further reading
* ''Der Gertrudistragaltar aus dem Welfenschatz: Eine stilgeschichtliche Untersuchung''. Schriften des Dom-Museums Hildesheim. 2001
External links
Bloomberg: "Jewish Dealers’ Heirs Claim Treasure Bought by Goering"
Tablet: "Jewish Heirs Lay Claim to German Treasure"
The Times of Israel: "Heirs seek return of 'cursed' $200m golden treasure bought for Hitler"
{{Authority control
History of Brunswick
Culture in Braunschweig
*
Medieval art
Romanesque art
Treasure
Medieval European metalwork objects
Objects of the Berlin State Museums
Art and cultural repatriation after World War II
Church treasuries