Tin experienced a heyday in the era of Art Nouveau. Fascinated by its malleability and matt sheen, artists and designers loved to experiment with the metal. New print media, international sales exhibitions and affluent customers fuelled demand for tableware in the "new style". At the same time, the development of newly discovered ore deposits paved the way for a revival of tin casting in Europe. Companies such as J. P. Kayser Sohn, Orivit AG and Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF) began to produce tin objects conceived by renowned designers such as Peter Behrens, Albin Müller and Joseph Maria Olbrich. The exhibition illustrates the origins and processing of tin during the Art Nouveau period based on the museum’s own collection. Three chapters tell of tin deposits and mining around 1900, document the production conditions in the factories, and present varied designs made out of tin. The object labels emphasize the materials and their provenance. Fictional material biographies bring to life the story of these objects – from the mine to the museum.

Content for the exhibition was created in collaboration with students in the Department of Cultural History and Theory at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.