Originating from the model collection founded in 1898, the textile collection comprises unique textiles from the 19th to 21th centuries with a focus on Art Nouveau, Wiener Werkstätte, Bauhaus and textile art after 1945 as well as a large number of carpets, embroideries, lace and non-European textiles. Well-known artists are represented, such as William Morris, Mariano Fortuny, Gunta Stölzl, Traude-Maria Henschel, Karl Lagerfeld, Daniel Buren and Erika Hock. A speciality are 5,000 women’s stockings and 500 gloves from the period between 1880 and 1930 as well as 600 Coptic fabric fragments from the 4th to 8th centuries. The textile and decorative arts collection also includes an exclusive collection of Japanese dyeing stencils (130 katagami) and European wallpapers (1,000 exhibits), as well as nature studies (150 sheets), decorative arts and an important collection of international posters by 19th and 20th century artists (6,700 posters). The collection of modern product design includes the estate of the designer Karl Clauss Dietel. The artworks by Henry van de Velde are on view in the Henry van de Velde Museum.
The majority of the textile and decorative arts collection, which comprises over 37,000 exhibits, was created during the heyday of Chemnitz’s industrial age and has been continuously added to to this day. The textile collection in particular is unique in Europe due to its quality and diversity.
