Basel Historical Museum has a collection comprising over 250,000 objects. A selection of these is presented here.
The scientists, scholars and collectors of the 16th century and thereafter kept Wunderkammer full of spectacular objects and works of art. Among the treasures presented are some that originally belonged to the world-famous Amerbach Cabinet.
Discover further Swiss museum collections at Museums Online.
France(?), 1768/82 – Carved and gilt limewood, marble top – table: height 81.5 cm, width 88.5 cm – mirror; height 293 cm – Inv. 1934.82.
The slenderly proportioned ensemble in the style transitional between Louis XV and Louis …
1806, Basle – Frame: beech – carving: limewood(?), gilt – height 122 cm, width 83.5 cm, depth 76 cm – Inv. 1884.70.
During the so called 'Mediation period' (1803-13), when Switzerland was effectively …
Basle, 2nd quarter 15th century – Wood carcase, with limewood carvings, iron hinges, tin coated – height 356 cm, width 268 cm – Inv. 1904.375.
According to an inventory of 1477 the two stage four doored cupboard was donated to the …
Basle, 2nd half 17th century – Oak, height 96 cm, width 72 cm, depth 53 cm – Inv. 1886.134.
'Guggehyrli' ('see and hearies') was the name given in Basle to the carved oak bay windows …
Basle, ca. 1790 – Oak, with Aubusson coverings – height 95 cm, width 62.5 cm, depth 63 cm – Inv. 1923.320.c.
The Louis XVI armchair belongs to a set consisting of a sofa, four armchairs, six …
dated 1593 Basle – Oak and walnut – height 336 cm, width 236 cm – Inv. 1879.27
In the late C16 the interior of the house of the Basle guild 'zu Spinnwettem' (building …
Basle, ca. 1700 – Carcase: pine – veneer: walnut – height 256 cm, width 230 cm – Inv. 1937.20.
This magnificent wardrobe, along with other pieces of Baroque furniture, forms part of the …
dated 1607 – Franz Pergo, Basle – Oak, walnut, ash, maple – wall panelling, height 305 cm; sideboard, height 279cm, width 184 cm, depth 63 cm – Inv. 1879.105. – Inv. 1914.200.
The merchant Johann Lucas Iselin, trading in spices and arms, also called 'reiche Iselin' …
Basle, ca. 1750 – Oak – height 298 cm, width 437 cm – Inv. 1903.316.
Usually an alcove is a small, windowless niche functioning as a bedroom, connecting to the …
Mainz(?), before 1855 – Chairs: stained walnut, with velvet coverings – table: jacaranda, solid and veneered – cabinet: mahogany veneered over oak – Inv. 1986.123. 127.
This set of furniture for a living room has been preserved from the estate of Christoph …
(gardeners' and grocers' guild) Matthias Müller, Basle, 1710 – Carcase: softwood – veneer: walnut – height 344 cm, width 230 cm, depth 72.5 cm – Inv. 1901.54.
This magnificent example of Baroque display furniture, measuring almost 3.5 m in height, …
dated 1539 – Jakob Steiner(?), Basle – Carcase: limewood; veneer and carving – Hungarian ash, walnut – height 113 cm, width 197 cm, depth 69 cm – Inv. 1870.911.
As an early example of a piece of Renaissance furniture from north of the Alps, as a …
Zurich(?), ca. 1490 – Oak carcase and carving – height 57 cm, width 177 cm, depth 64 cm – Inv.1870.505.
Chests from the Late Gothic period that declare their secular function in the programme of …
Basle, ca. 1790 – Oak, partially gilded, later painted grey – height 229 cm, width 710 cm – Inv. 1990.480.
The panel fragment with a mirror below and a picture above originally was set above a …
one of a pair Paris, ca. 1750 – Carcase: oak – veneers: jacaranda, mahogany and other woods – gilt bronze mounts – marble top – height 91 cm, width 86 cm, depth 55.5 cm – Inv. 1923.95.
This elegant piece of Louis XV furniture, together with its pendant, illustrates the …
dated 1751 – Joseph Labhardt, Constance – Carcase: softwood – veneer and carving: walnut – height 234 cm, width 210 cm, depth 87 cm – Inv. 1986.217.
Amongst the many anonymous works of furniture documented masterpieces such as this are …
Basle, about 1850 – Softwood, oilcloth – height 73.5 cm, width 140 cm, depth 96 cm (top, in two parts, 56 cm high, 107 cm wide, 29 cm deep) Inv. 1990.497.
The desk stood in the private study of the great historian of culture and art Jacob …
dated 1780; Painted by Matthias Klotz, Basle – Painted oak – height 365 cm – Inv. 1923.303.
The Louis XVI panelling, which from 1923 to 1951 was installed in the Barfüsserkirche, …
France(?), ca. 1780 – Walnut and oak, with brass rollers – height 75 cm, diameter 147 cm – Inv. 1925.55.
As the ten legs and the divided top indicate, the table can be converted according to need …
France(?), 2nd half 16th century, with alterations made about 1650 – Solid walnut – height 157 cm, length 299 cm, width 162.5 cm – Inv. 1873.17.
According to family tradition the splendid bed which entered the collection in 1873 came …
Basle, ca. 1500 – Pinewood, height on wall 302 cm – Inv. 1893.93.
Hans Bar, who died a hero's death in 1515 in the battle of Marignano as the Basle standard …
Basle, 1510 or 1512 – Carcase: oak, beech – carving: pinewood, limewood – height 291.5 cm, width 194 cm, length 241 cm – Inv. 1906.3504.
The buildings of the Carthusian monastery at St. Margarethenthal in Kleinbasel, founded in …
Basle, ca. 1593 – Carcase: oak, walnut – veneer: oak, walnut, ash, maple – height 254 cm, width 225 cm, depth 109 cm – Inv. 1882.187.
From 1589, in order to qualify as a master craftsman in Basle, a cabinetmaker had to make a …
dated 1592 Basle – Walnut and various woods, some stained and smoked – height of panel 49.5 cm, width 70.3 cm – Inv. 1906.1120.a.
Cabinets with rich marquetry inlay were extremely popular during the C16. In this example …
Johann Gottfried Leuchte(?), Dresden, ca. 1750 – Carcase: oak and pine; veneer: rosewood – gilt bronze mounts – height 220 cm, width 124.5 cm, depth 66 cm – Inv. 1974.133.
This prestigious piece of courtly furniture reached Basle from the Saxon royal palace in …
Basel, ca. 1680–1700 – Walnut veneer on softwood – Solid walnut (carving) H 78 cm, L 108 cm, W 83 cm – Inv. 1887.80.
The first cradles were made by hollowing out tree trunks. Because tree trunks are round, …
Johann Christian Frisch, Basel, 1675 – Solid walnut with inlaid mother-of-pearl, ivory, ebony and pewter – H 85 x W 116 x L 184 cm (348 cm when pulled out) Inv. 1894.490.
This magnificent table went on display at the Haus zur Mücke together with other rarities …
Franz Pergo, Basel, dated 1619 – Walnut – H 241 x W 170 x D 68 cm – Inv. 1905.276. – Museum Faesch
While this cabinet belonging to the collection of the legal scholar Remigius Faesch …
Basel, ca. 1578 – Walnut, oak, maple, pear, linden wood, solid and veneered, in places onto softwood – H 45.9 cm, W 73.3 cm, D 55.6 cm – Inv. 1908.16.
This elegant coin cabinet is a practical and aesthetically pleasing tour de force of …
Basel Historical Museum
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