More than 38 percent of the objects in the Dahlem collections are vessels: this fact prompted Nicola Lepp, Nina Wiedemeyer and Ursula Gillmann to issue a new version of object biography. They consigned the role of narration to the media and, in addition to a large presentation of artifacts, they included three film installations and a sound installation. In this way, the “Museum of Vessels” went beyond a straightforward presentation of objects and opened up for the public a new way of looking at fish baskets, cups, jugs, pottery shards, bottles or vessel sculptures, as well as providing instructions for possible use. The Humboldt Lab project deliberately went beyond the cultural-geographic chronological organization of the collections and brought the comparative cultural aspects of the objects to the fore in a new way.

You can find a detailed description of the project here.