11 - Germany. 16th/17th century., Embroidery textile

Germany. 16th/17th century., Embroidery textile Embroidery in appliqué work with colored silk and silver thread on red silk velvet, partially lined in relief. Central winged grotesque mask above a lavish garland of fruit, flanked on both sides by an angel seated on intertwined strapwork above a winged chimera. Later mounted on a stretcher and canvas. Age-related damage and restorations. 122 x 135 cm. Provenance: Oetker Collection, Krefeld. This object is from the family of the Krefeld entrepreneur Rudolf Oetker (1874–1930). The company Deuß & Oetker was founded around 1850 as a hand-weaving mill. Since 1919, it was one of the founding members of the Vereinigte Seidenwebereien AG (United Silk Weaving Mills AG). Until the First World War, the company specialized in tie fabrics. From 1900 to 1903, the company produced, among other things, several collections of 'artist' silk' based on designs by representatives of the reform movement around 1900, such as Henry van de Velde. Oetker was also actively involved in various aspects of Krefeld, supporting the local racing club, the airfield, hockey, and the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, which he funded through acquisitions. In 1917, he married Lilly Jentges, his second wife. In the late 1920s, the entrepreneur commissioned the renowned Krefeld architect August Biebericher (1878-1932) to design and build a luxurious residence at Hohenzollernstraße 91 for himself and his growing family. While the other members of the company's board, Hermann Lange and Josef Esters, were having their modern villas built by Mies van der Rohe on Wilhelmshofallee at almost the same time, Biebericher opted for a traditional, Baroque-inspired style for Oetker. The architect conceived the house as a refined, contemporary interpretation of the late Baroque style of the Bergisches Land region. The result was a palatial residence surrounded by a spacious park with a water basin, adhering entirely to the architectural principles of the 18th century. This style continued in the interior design, incorporating so-called spolia, or architectural elements from historical buildings. These included, among other things, a parquet floor salvaged from the old Berlin City Palace and historic Delft tiles. The artful ensemble was complemented by a collection of select art and antiques, acquired from renowned art dealers, which lent the house a precious appearance otherwise found in Germany at that time only in the great private art collections of the metropolises of Berlin or Munich. The focus of the collection was on historical furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries, carpets, silverware, Old Master paintings, and an extensive group of medieval sculptures. After the widowed Lilly Oetker sold the house to the German Red Cross in 1952, the collection was divided among various members of the family.