What remains. Exhibition Guide

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-647 to -657, kept in the Blue Room

From 1970 onwards, Evamarie Sander crafted her own models of icosahedral viruses for teaching purposes. It was of great importance to her to characterise plant viruses with scientific accuracy and to make them visually accessible to her students. Her materials included colourful wooden beads, cardboard, knitting needles, wine corks, dental wire and clothesline. As in her scientific work, Sander proved inventive and creative here as well.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-679 and -680, kept in the Garden/Biedermeier Room

The frog green ensemble of three bentwood chairs and two round tables marked, as an eye catcher, the transition from the garden room to the staged Biedermeier room and at the same time served as a reception area for Sander’s guests.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-122, kept in the Biedermeier Room

Insects preserved in a plastic bag bear witness to the hygienic conditions on a farm in Ohio that Evamarie Sander called home for a few weeks in 1953. Fleas “in huge numbers in the beds” made even sleeping a nightmare. This dried sample thus becomes a symbol of the obstacles Sander had to overcome before she found stability as a scholarship student at Ohio State University.
 

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-262 to -267, -274, -294, -305 to -310, -314, -315, -317 to -327 and -943 to -947, kept in the Biedermeier Room

Silver tableware and cutlery by Georg Bormann and Rosenthal porcelain – part of her mother’s trousseau from 1927 – point to bourgeois tradition and origins. The careful coordination of tableware and decoration not only structured the evening, but also guided the conversations among guests. Sander’s festive invitations provided the setting in which this table culture unfolded.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-797, kept in the bedroom

For her first visit to the opera in 1938, ten year old Evamarie received this little handbag as a gift from her father. He chose a fashionable evening bag of the time with petit point embroidery. Being carried over the wrist as was customary implied grace and elegance – and adulthood. Although frequently used, it is in excellent condition. “Even my father already recognised my preference for tiny handbags.”

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-128, kept in the Biedermeier Room

The complete series on the theme “From Grandmother’s poetry album” dates from 1983 and is presumably the only industrially manufactured mass product in the collection. Its significance for Sander therefore lies not in its cultural historical value, but in her fondness for nostalgic motifs. She probably encountered the Swiss phenomenon of collecting coffee cream lids during stays in the Engadin.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-362, kept in the cellar

Combined with a brown checked hat, pigskin gloves and a Hermès scarf, this coat was “indispensable” for decades and was worn often because it could be worn over every outfit. Sander noted that former doctoral students recognised her clothing again even after many years.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-69, -70 and -71, kept in the Biedermeier Room

After completing her PhD in 1958, Sander travelled with a friend to Mexico, to the ruins of Chichén Itzá. On this journey she not only met again a suitor from an earlier time, but also found herself confronted with a stone jaguar. Although Sander had a pronounced interest in foreign cultures, objects such as these primarily served as starting points for humorous travel anecdotes.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-387, kept in the Biedermeier Room

With its Classicist formal language, the stove integrates harmoniously into the Biedermeier ensemble from 1820, whose preservation was of particular importance to Sander. In winter, after Sunday church services, the family gathered around the stove, so that it not only provided warmth but also became a place of intergenerational memory.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-45, kept in the Biedermeier Room

In addition to idiomatic expressions from the countries she visited, Sander acquired this keepsake from the Royal Copenhagen manufactory during a study trip in 1950. It belongs to the design series “Blå Blomst flettet”, in German “Blaue Blume, geflochten” (Blue flower, plaited), and served her on special occasions as an elegant ambassador of Danish culture in everyday life.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-252, kept in the Biedermeier Room

This figurine of a young ballerina with a voluminous crinoline skirt in a Neo Biedermeier style belonged to the maternal Dunkel side of the family. The porcelain dancer was produced by the Aelteste Volkstedter porcelain manufactory. As a symbol of grace, physical discipline and a love of dance, the figurine was a cherished decoration in Sander’s room. During evening gatherings, this and other porcelain figurines also served as conversation starters.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-360, kept in the bedroom

Evamarie Sander had this red suit tailored around 1960 and, like other suits of similar style, wore it for special occasions. The buttons were said to have been acquired by her brother from the Navajo in the USA. To match the suit she bought herself a burgundy handbag.
Sander deliberately wore skirts or dresses, for “there are enough trousers walking around on campus as it is.”

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-137, kept in the Green Room (ground floor)

The two sides are represented by the Prussian king and the Austrian empress as major figures of the eighteenth century. Some of the pieces carved by the grandfather are modelled on Sander’s family members. One knight was probably lost during the Second World War. As a link between European and family history, the chess set formed the centrepiece of a display case.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-498 and -661, kept in the bedroom

Sander kept items for festive occasions in boxes and bags. In the finding aid entitled “Ballgeflüster” (“Ball Whispers”) she documented, among other things, her numerous gloves – including this summery pair. Alongside all kinds of gloves, her Hermès scarf accompanied her for many years and thus became part of her personal style.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-829 and -848, kept in the bedroom

Sander always placed great importance on a representative outward appearance. Even in a wheelchair, at the age of 89, she was always seen wearing a necklace. On special occasions she wore the pendant she called the “family spotlight”, and in everyday life she often wore her pearl necklace.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-908 and -909, kept in the bedroom

Engraved on the inside of the bracelet, a replica of the grave find of a Salian nobleman, is the twenty fifth anniversary of the engagement of Sander’s aunt; Evamarie inherited the piece in 1936. Upon reaching adulthood in 1949, Sander received the signet ring with the family coat of arms, which she wore every day.
As the last link in the family chain, she felt obliged to organise the estate, true to her father’s words: “The quality of a chain is revealed in its clasp.”

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-352, kept in the Biedermeier Room

The writing desk forms part of the Biedermeier room whose furnishings entered the family as a wedding gift in 1820. Like all the furniture, the desk combines artisanal design with practical utility and family memory. With its polished surfaces it served on the one hand for representation, and on the other for storing everyday objects.

Inv. no. MUT-Sr-93, -94 and -95, kept in the Biedermeier Room

The casts of the Great Seal of the University, the Rectorate Seal and the Seal of the Faculty of Philosophy came into Sander’s possession in 1977, on the occasion of the university’s five hundredth anniversary. They stand as examples of a centuries long tradition of institutional self representation. Ironically, the seal of Sander’s own Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences is missing.