The collection was assembled by the chemist Dr. Max Hartmann (1884-1952), who lived in Riehen. As a gift from his community of heirs, it came to the Historical Museum in 2021.
In the kitchens of the 18th and 19th centuries, copper baking and jelly molds were much more than mere utensils used to give food a decorative form. Rather, they also had representative functions: They were hung in regular order on the walls of the kitchens, where they indicated the prosperity and neatness of the household
Through their different shapes, they enhanced the dishes prepared in them and feigned a variety or sophistication that may not have been present in terms of taste. They could be used for sweet and savory pastries or for jellied dishes of various compositions.