Frieda and Adolf Fischer and the origins of the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne

January 6, 2026 12 minute read see also thread comments

In December 2024, I visited the exhibition Expeditions – travelogues and photographs by the museum founders 1897–1899 at the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst Köln (Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne). While the exhibition wasn’t the largest the museum has hosted, it was intellectually actually very dense. It reconstructed the journeys of Frieda and Adolf Fischer, the founders of the museum, to Japan and Taiwan at the turn of the 20th century. The exhibition drew extensively on their travel diaries and photographs, many of which had never been published before.

Expeditions – travelogues and photographs by the museum founders 1897-1899, Museum für ostasiatische Kunst Köln, Dec 2024.

Exhibition hall.

Biography and historical context

Frieda Fischer (1874–1945) and Adolf Fischer (1856–1914) founded the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne in 1909. Adolf Fischer was trained as an art historian and worked initially as an independent scholar and collector. Frieda Fischer was not a passive companion. The exhibition makes this explicit by foregrounding her travel diaries and photographs. She documented architecture, landscapes, daily life, and social encounters with remarkable precision. Her notes are structured observations, often attentive to context and provenance.

Mr. and Mrs. Fischer at Christmas in Kyoto 1898, Wada Eisaku (1874-1959).

Their first major journey together took place between October 1897 and May 1899. The couple traveled from Berlin to Japan, staying for extended periods in Kobe, Kyoto, and Tokyo. In spring 1898, Adolf Fischer continued alone to Taiwan, which had come under Japanese colonial rule only three years earlier in 1895. This temporal proximity is crucial. Fischer encountered Taiwan at the very beginning of Japanese administration, at a moment when ethnographic documentation and colonial governance were deeply entangled.

Frieda Fischer (1874-1945), Japanisches Tagebuch. Lehr- und Wanderjahre (Japanese Diary. Years of Learning and Traveling), Munich: F. Bruckmann, 1938. Frieda Fischer’s first publication after her removal from office by the National Socialists appeared on the 25th anniversary of the opening of the museum on October 25th 1938. Left: Tsuba with fan and pumpkin vine, Master of the Shoami family, Iron, gold-inlaid, Japan, 17/18th cent.

The exhibition draws on previously unpublished travel diaries, reports, and photographs. These materials reveal how systematically the Fischers worked. The diaries contain descriptions of temples, collections, and workshops, but also meticulous records of purchases, prices, packing lists, and shipping arrangements. What emerges is not the romantic image of the flâneur-collector, but a disciplined acquisition strategy grounded in art historical classification and logistical planning.

Travel camera around 1898, with tripod, case and laboratory equipment. On his research trip Fischer took a 13 x 18 camera with him as well as utensils to develop the photo-graphs en route. That way he removed the weight of heavy, faulty glass negatives from his luggage.

The Fishers prepared themselves for their journey by studying language, culture, and geography. Here are some of the books they used for their preparation.

George Psalmanazar (1679-1763), An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an Island Subject to the Emperor of Japan, London, 1704. At the beginning of the 18th century, an imaginative impostor impressed the English public with adventurous descriptions of his supposed homeland ‘Formosa’. To complete his charlatanry, he wrote a book that depicted an entirely invented state, including its social structure, coins, alphabet and way of life. In a work published posthumously in 1764, he dispelled the fairy tale, without however revealing his pseudonym.

A map of the island of Taiwan, then known as Formosa.

Travel diaries documenting the years 1897-1899.

Photo-plates, Adolf Fischer, March - April 1898.

The first collection and the Berlin interlude

After returning to Berlin in June 1899, Adolf Fischer had assembled a collection of more than 5,000 objects, primarily Japanese works of applied art, but also including items from China and Taiwan. The collection was displayed in his Berlin apartment at Nollendorfplatz, which became informally known as the “Nollendorfeum”. This private museum already attracted attention among artists, collectors, and museum professionals.

Nollendorfeum ‘Red Studio’ (living room), Wada Eisaku (1874-1959), watercolour, Berlin, 1899.

In January 1900, Fischer organized an exhibition of Japanese art in Vienna at the request of the Vereinigung bildender Künstler Österreichs (Association of Visual Artists of Austria). Even before the exhibition opened, and throughout its duration, there were inquiries about purchasing individual objects. Fischer refused. This refusal is revealing. It indicates that he did not understand the collection as a commodity to be dispersed, but as a coherent corpus intended for scholarly and institutional preservation.

Frieda Fischer in the ‘Red Studio’ of the ‘Nollendorfeum’, Adolf Fischer (1856-1914), Photograph, Berlin, dated 1897.

In 1901, Fischer agreed to transfer the collection to the Königliches Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin (Royal Museum of Ethnology in Berlin), today the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin (Museum of Ethnology Berlin). The assistant director Albert Grünwedel described the collection as a “decided desideratum” (= an item that is needed or wanted) for the museum. The original price was set at 70,000 Reichsmarks, a sum the museum could not pay outright. An annuity arrangement was therefore agreed upon, with annual payments of 2,500 marks, to be transferred to Frieda Fischer in the event of Adolf Fischer’s death. As part of the agreement, Fischer was awarded the honorary title of professor.

Shortly thereafter, Fischer donated almost the entire collection outright, retaining only seven hanging scrolls. This gesture effectively transformed a private collection into a public scholarly resource. It also freed Fischer to pursue a more ambitious goal: the creation of an independent museum devoted exclusively to East Asian art.

Taiwan and the question of ethnography

Among the objects acquired during the journey were ethnographic items from Taiwan. At the time, the island’s indigenous populations were already subject to extensive cultural disruption. The exhibition contextualizes these objects carefully, explaining the distinction between the plains peoples, collectively referred to as Pepo, and the various mountain peoples. Many Pepo groups had undergone heavy sinicization since the seventeenth century, resulting in the loss of languages and traditions. In contrast, several highland and coastal groups retained distinctive cultural practices until the end of Japanese rule in 1945.

Expeditions – travelogues and photographs by the museum founders 1897-1899, Museum für ostasiatische Kunst Köln, Dec 2024.

Today, sixteen indigenous groups are officially recognized in Taiwan, including the Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Amis, and Tao. Fischer encountered several of these groups directly, including the Atayal, Paiwan, Pilam (Puyuma), and Amis. He also documented the Pepo. Notably, Fischer wrote about the Tao (Yami) of Lanyu Island without ever visiting the island himself, relying on secondhand accounts. This is an important reminder that even first-hand ethnography is often entangled with mediated knowledge.

Overview of Taiwan’s 16 nationally recognized indigenous peoples.

Only thirteen of the original sixteen Taiwanese indigenous objects from Fischer’s collection can be located today. Their fragmented survival mirrors the broader historical losses inflicted upon indigenous cultures through colonization, assimilation, and museum practices that often prioritized classification over living context.

Another map of the island of Taiwan, then known as ‘Formosa’. Digital reprint, Kanda, Tokyo, 1901. The border between the Han Chinese and the indigenous peoples is marked in red. Adolf Fischer encountered the ethnic groups circled in red.

Photo-plates, Adolf Fischer, March - April 1898.

Sword of the Atayal or the Seediq (Atayal: lalaw tuki), iron, wood, bamboo, rattan, hemp Taiwan, 2nd half 19th cent.

Spoon (Paiwan: kizing; Rukai: kidringi; Pilam: idrus oder / or karayup), wood, 2nd half 19th cent.

Paiwan mens cap (Paiwan: tjalupung), leather, Taiwan, 2nd half 19th cent.

Parwan headdresses, Wada Eisaku (1874-1959), ink on paper, Berlin, 1899.

‘Hunting god Kachirai’ and ‘God Pogatan’, print template for Streifzüge durch Formosa (‘Expeditions through Formosa’), Berlin, 1900.

Paiwan, wall photo. The chief Setang from Tamari (today Taimali, Taitung) with two children in front of a slate tablet of the hunting god Kachirai. Fischer mistakenly thought that Setang’s rank sign, a blossom, consisted of panther teeth, but they were actually made from fangs of wild boars. (1) ‘Chief Setang with people from Tamari’. (2) People from Tamari. Wada Eisaku (1874-1959).

Captured Chinese Head, Wada Eisaku (1874-1959), watercolour, Berlin, 1899. Headhunting was an archaic custom of many Austronesian peoples that was practised in Taiwan until the beginning of the 20th century. The motivation for this act of violence was linked to ritual meanings that varied among the different ethnic groups - apart from the Tao (Yami) who settled on the island of Lanyu and did not practise this custom.

Expeditions – travelogues and photographs by the museum founders 1897-1899, Museum für ostasiatische Kunst Köln, Dec 2024.

Japan

The Fishers also documented their time in Japan extensively through photographs illustrations, and objects acquired or got as gifts. Here are some examples from the exhibition:

Illustration for Bilder aus Japan (‘Pictures from Japan), Franz Hohenberger (1867-1941), ink on paper Berlin, 1896. Based on studio photographs, these ink drawings form the illustrative material for Adolf Fischer’s first book Bilder aus Japan (‘Pictures from Japan’), which was published on Adolf and Frieda Fischer’s wedding day.

Book with text and illustrations. Unfortunately I forgot to note down the title and author. Could be Bilder aus Japan (‘Pictures from Japan’) by Adolf Fischer.

Structure of a Japanese sword, drawing for ‘Bilder aus Japan’ (‘Pictures from Japan’), Franz Hohenberger (1867-1941), ink on paper, Berlin, 1895/96. And: Japanese sword with accessories, metal, ray skin, silk cord, black lacquer Japan, 19th cent. Wakizashi: Japanese shortsword. Tsuba: Sword guard. Kozuka, Kogatana: Small utility knife. Kogai: Hairpin (sword accessory). Menuki: Decorative grip ornament. Fuchi: Handle collar. Kashira: Pommel or end cap of the sword handle.

Crow on a plum tree with haiku poem, Baigetsutei Fūsamaru (active 19th cent.), Sig: Fūsamaru suichū manga (‘Drawn at random by Fūsamaru when he was completely drunk’), surimono woodblock print, Japan, 19th cent.

Incense burner in the shape of a crane, bronze with patina, Japan, 2nd half 19th cent.

Bird on a lotus leaf, bronze, Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912). The bird’s wings are removable and incense could be burned in the cavity below. The fragrant smoke escaped through slits in the wings.

Sparrows and chrysanthemum, Gyoku-Eijo (active late 19th cent.-early 20th cent.) and pupils, light colours on silk Japan, 1899. Painted in the presence of Mr and Mrs Fischer and presented as a gift.

Fan painter at work Wada Eisaku (1874-1959), watercolour, Japan, dated 1898.

Peacock as incense burner, bronze, Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912).

Ukiyo-e by Utamaro, Kitagawa. Woodblockprint, hasira-e. Depicting two oiran from the Matsubaya.

The Kabuki actor Matsumoto Koshiro IV as the Fish Peddler Gorobei, after Tōshūsai Sharaku (Japanese, active 1794–1795).

Jackdaw on a branch (left) and Heron in the reeds (center) and Crow on a branch (right). Left and center: Masao alias Keikoku Gejo (1841-1920), ink on silk, Japan, 1899. Both paintings were painted and acquired on23 March 1899 in the presence of Mr and Mrs Fischer.

Founding a museum in Cologne

The decision to found a Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne in 1909 was neither obvious nor predetermined. Cologne was not the first city Adolf Fischer had envisioned as the site of his museum. In 1904, he initially selected Kiel, which he regarded as a growing city of strategic and cultural importance. A preliminary agreement guaranteed him and Frieda Fischer the curatorial leadership of a newly established museum.

However, after Fischer’s return from East Asia and during his appointment as a scientific adviser to the German legation in Beijing, Kiel’s financial situation deteriorated. By 1909, the planned museum project could no longer be realized, and Fischer formally released the city from the contract. Only at this point did Cologne emerge as a viable alternative.

Cologne was not a political capital, nor a colonial hub. Its significance lay elsewhere: in a civic culture open to private initiatives and in a municipal ambition to establish itself as a modern cultural city. Under these conditions, the Fischers’ project found institutional support and a sustainable framework.

Unlike many ethnological museums of the period, the Cologne museum was conceived as an art museum from the outset. Its focus was on aesthetics, craftsmanship, and historical continuity, not on evolutionary hierarchies or racial typologies. This distinction matters. It shaped acquisition strategies, exhibition design, and scholarly framing for decades to come.

The exhibition Expeditions makes this origin story actually tangible. By centering diaries and photographs, it reveals how the museum’s foundation was inseparable from travel, personal networks, and situated observation. At the same time, it does not romanticize these processes. The colonial context of Japan and Taiwan is made explicit, as are the asymmetries of power that enabled such collections in the first place.

Conclusion

The Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne is the result of a clearly traceable historical process: sustained travel-based collecting, detailed documentation, and the early decision to preserve a collection as an intellectual whole rather than dispersing it through sale. These elements shaped a museum whose structure and profile were defined early and remained remarkably stable over time.

Frieda and Adolf Fischer. Without their vision, commitment, and networks, the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne would not exist today.

For Cologne and the wider Rhineland, this has a concrete implication. The region hosts a museum that stands alongside major institutions in Berlin, Paris, London, and beyond in its ability to present East Asian art with depth, continuity, and scholarly seriousness. The fact that such an institution is accessible here, outside the traditional former imperial centers, is neither self-evident nor trivial.

At the same time, the museum differs from larger national collections. Its strength lies not in monumental scale, but in focus, coherence, and an art-historical orientation that was established at a formative moment and consistently maintained. This gives the museum a distinct position within the European museum landscape I guess.

For Cologne today, the museum represents a lasting cultural asset: a place where East Asian art is not an occasional or auxiliary presence, but a permanent and well-founded part of the city’s cultural infrastructure.

Info: Later, in the 20th century, the museum’s standing and collections were further strengthened through major acquisitions and patronage, most prominently Hans-Wilhelm Siegel’s collection and the Oriental Endowment. I already wrote a post about that chapter of the museum’s history. That post complements the founders’ story told here.

Parallel to the exhibition Expeditions, the museum was also showing a solo exhibition of the Japanese artist Tanaka Ryōhei (1933–2019) titled From Line to Landscape. Tanaka is well known for his etchings and prints. In a follow-up post, I will write about his work and the exhibition.

References and further reading

Website of the exhibition “Expeditions – travelogues and photographs by the museum founders 1897–1899”ꜛ
Adele Schlombs, Christel Schürzeberg, Dieter Schürzeberg, Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer, Werner Krüger, Michael Oppenhoff, Shunsuke Nakayama, Imke Mees, Caroline Stegmann-Rennert, Alles unter dem Himmel - das Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst in Köln, 2019, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, ISBN: 9783981261059
Petra H. Rösch, Kunst Ist Das Programm! Alfred Salmony und das Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst bis 1933, 2024, Harrassowitz, ISBN: 9783447121835
Adele Schlombs, Sybille Girmond, Meisterwerke aus China, Korea und Japan, 1995, Prestel, ISBN: 9783791314945
Daniel Suebsman, Shao-Lan Hertel, Malte Sprenge, 50 Jahre - 50 Schätze. Zum Goldjubiläum der Orientstiftung zur Förderung der ostasiatischen Kunst, 2024, Herausgeber: Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Gesamtherstellung: Druck & Verlag Kettler GmbH, Erschienen im Eigenverlag, ISBN: 978-3-9812610-9-7