Collection

The collection includes outstanding works of art and historical objects, high and popular culture from the Stone Age to the present day. This unique composition is what makes the collection so appealing. One focus of the collection is on Swiss painting from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The cultural heritage in the collection - from butter molds to garden tools - tells of the everyday life and work of people in Europe in the 20th century and conveys the development of industry and society.

Unique objects - from the files of the Nuremberg Trials to the desk on which John F. Kennedy signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968 - are witnesses to world events and keep historical knowledge alive that must not be forgotten. Curiosities such as a pocket watch the size of a 10-centime piece, a circus model with the dimensions of a three-room apartment or the field shower from Kaiser Wilhelm II's travel equipment are represented in many different ways.

The SKKG aims to publicize the collection in all its diversity and make it accessible to the public in exhibitions or as permanent loans to museums. We lend our holdings, are open to cooperation and also support small institutions with loans and know-how. We lend our holdings, are open to cooperation and also support small institutions with loans and know-how.

Collection care also includes, in particular, the conservation and restoration of the collection objects. The SKKG has its own restoration department for this purpose.

Until the death of the donor, some of the SKKG's objects were stored under suboptimal conditions for a long period of time. The SKKG does not have the resources to carry out all restoration work internally. The costs for external work are regulated individually.