The Neue Sammlung, the design museum in the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, has several superlatives to its credit. First, it is the oldest design museum in the world. Founded in 1907 according to the ideas of the German Werkbund, it was inaugurated as an official state museum in 1925. From the very beginning it distinguished itself from the arts and crafts museums of the day by firmly committing itself to the modernist movement of the times and thus contemporary design. The Neue Sammlung continues to be shaped by these initial objectives today.

With over 100,000 catalogued items, Die Neue Sammlung has one of the world’s largest collections of design. This includes early Lobmeyr designs such as the 16-piece Set No. 4 from 1856 by Ludwig Lobmeyr and parts of the TS 126 service from 1872. However, the majority of the Lobmeyr exhibits in the collection are from the twentieth century, including glassware sets and pieces designed by Josef Hoffmann, Oswald Haerdtl, Adolf Loos, Marianne Rath, and Vally Wieselthier. The most recent designs on display are Matteo Thun’s asymmetrical Via col vento drinking glasses and a Liquid Skin drinking bowl by Lucy.D.