In the newly built Berlin Palace, honorary plaques made of porcelain by the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin pay tribute to the civic commitment and commemorate the donors who made the reconstruction of the historic building possible. Discover the exciting journey from the manufactory to the palace.
Honor to whom honor is due: The plaques of thanks in the Humboldt Forum Berlin
HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE: THE PLAQUES OF THANKS IN THE HUMBOLDT FORUM BERLIN
In the capital, the porcelain from the “ KPM Berlin ” is a common sight throughout the city. Some 500 commemorative plaques on the walls and facades of Berlin buildings honor the city’s outstanding figures and notable institutions. Since the opening of the Humboldt Forum, these handcrafted porcelain plaques of gratitude and honor have also served to recognize the civic engagement that made the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace possible.
The Humboldt Forum in the newly built Berlin Palace is designed as a modern center for art, culture, science and education in the heart of Berlin. It is dedicated to the dialog between the cultures of the world and focuses on historical and current topics from different perspectives. 45,000 private donors financed the restoration of the exterior and the reconstructed façade in the inner courtyards to the tune of 105 million euros.
14 individual porcelain plaques in Portal III under the dome commemorate the palace patrons who have donated one million or more euros. Mounted on the side walls, they consist of a relief portrait made of KPM porcelain, the donor's name and a thank-you text that was individually agreed with the donor. Two donors chose not to have portraits and instead chose sunflowers and roses as their motif.
First in clay and then in plaster, stonemason and sculptor Frank Kösler created the models for the commemorative plaques. The molds were crafted by hand in the modeling workshop of the " KPM Berlin " (Association for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of the City of Bonn). After several test castings and extensive finishing work on the plaques, they were dried in a kiln at 70 degrees. This removed moisture from the porcelain clay and prevented the plaques from cracking during firing. Only then did the two-day firing take place at 1,300 degrees—a lower temperature than usual. A test firing had shown that the plaques could crack at higher temperatures.
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