Faded inscriptions show that the wooden chest belonged to Alfred Leber (1881-1954). From research we know who this was: a German ophthalmologist and tropical physician who had led the "Medical-Demographic German New Guinea Expedition" of the Reichskolonialamt [German Imperial Colonial Office] in 1913/14. From this, it quickly becomes evident that the contents of the chest date back to colonial times. Literary sources also describe that the famous expressionist Emil Nolde (1867–1956) and his wife Ada Nolde accompanied the expedition as non-official members. The participants traveled by train and ship from Berlin via East Asia to various islands in Oceania, which were German colonies at the time. 

The chest was archived in the museum and given an inventory number. The photographs were then examined individually: Which people can be seen on them, which buildings can be identified? Which scenes and elements of everyday life, such as clothing or even food? Many detailed observations and generally known facts about the expedition make it possible to draw some conclusions. One thing is now certain: the photographs come from different periods (1913-1922) in Alfred Leber's life and were taken at different locations, one of which was the Island of Manus in Papua New Guinea. Indeed, well-known works of art by Emil Nolde depict scenes of Manus as a romantic "South Sea" myth. In the early 1920s, Leber took the chest to a family friend in Hamburg, whose relatives finally handed it over to the museum in the mid-1980s. 

The term "South Sea" refers to several unclearly defined territories that are often perceived as exotic and even “paradisiacal”. It seems paradoxical that the term was (and still is) especially used for those regions in which Europeans perpetrated imperial violence. The photographs are an important counter-reflection to the idealising artworks. They tell of the colonial and, according to reports, often ruthless actions of the participants on location in order to fulfill the goals of the expedition.

The photographs depict how medical examinations were carried out to increase colonial exploitation opportunities in the area. They show the colonial infrastructures in which the physicians and the Nolde couple lived in and profited from for almost a year.

In the meantime, Emil Nolde's colonially influenced pictorial compositions - as well as those of other artists of the time - are being critically questioned in research and exhibitions. It is also a challenge for our museum to decide how we best make Alfred Leber's photographs accessible. The wish to show the raw historical truth without reproducing stereotypes from the time is still a challenging task.

The identities of the non-European people shown in the photographs still remain a mystery. Does anyone know their names?