HANDOUT - 25.07.2022, Berlin: Jörg Woltmann (l) von der Stiftung Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (KPM) und Reinhard Andress stehen vor dem lange als verschollen gegoltenen Wandbild «Germania - Beschützerin der Wissenschaft und Kunst» aus Porzelan-Fliesen. Das Wandgemälde war vor vier Jahren auf dem Dachboden eines Altersheims in Chicago entdeckt worden. Das Werk war während der Weltausstellung «World's Columbian Exhibition» 1893 in der US-amerikanischen Stadt sechs Monate lang als Attraktion des deutschen Pavillons gezeigt worden. Foto: KPM Berlin/dpa - ACHTUNG: Nur zur redaktionellen Verwendung im Zusammenhang mit der aktuellen Berichterstattung und nur mit vollständiger Nennung des vorstehenden Credits +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++

A long-lost mural made of porcelain tiles is back in Berlin. According to the Royal Porcelain Manufactory (KPM), the 1057 parts packed in 16 boxes arrived at their place of origin on Monday.

The mural “Germania – Protector of Science and Art” was discovered four years ago in the attic of a retirement home in Chicago.

The work was shown for six months as an attraction in the German pavilion during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in the US city.

The approximately six by five meter porcelain picture shows Germania as the patron saint of science and art with, for example, Johannes Gutenberg, Albrecht Dürer, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Johann Friedrich Böttger.

The painting was designed by Alexander Kips, then artistic director of the manufactory. After the exhibition, the painting was on display in the ballroom of the Germania Club in Chicago.

After the club was dissolved, the mural ended up in the attic of the retirement home as a property of the German American Heritage Institute. There, after extensive research, Reinhard Andress, a professor at Loyola University Chicago, discovered it.