A present is part of almost every state visit or diplomatic meeting. The sometimes curious items are stored in a federal treasure cave in the Monbijou district of Bern. There are several hundred objects there. Blick shows you the most exciting.
Putin’s gift
The collection contains handwritten poems by Hermann Hesse (1877–1962), which the German-Swiss writer wrote in his adopted hometown of Ticino. Ueli Maurer (72) received this in 2019 from Russian President Vladimir Putin (70). Why exactly? “You can only speculate about that,” says Andreas Münch (58), head of the Federal Art Collections. But Putin is very well versed in German-speaking culture, so the gift was certainly not chosen at random.
The Silver Vases of Samurai Sword Smith
People often do not know where the older objects come from and what they are worth. Münch only discovered the historical value of three Japanese silver vases when a professor of East Asian art visited the treasury.
He then realized that the vases were made by Japanese samurai swordsmith Shukyo Tsukada (1848-1914). He had made such vases for the Japanese Imperial Court as an official gift when the wearing of samurai swords was banned.
The Arabian Gun
The collection contains many weapons. For example, an artistically designed AK-47 rifle from the Arab Emirates. “Weapons as gifts have a long tradition. This is still cultivated today, especially in the Arab world,” explains Münch over the many swords and daggers.
Maurer’s halo image
There have been few donations in recent years. Due to the corona pandemic, there was much less travel. Münch showed Blick the several dozen that the federal government had received during this period. For example, a special photo of Maurer’s state visit to Kazakhstan. In the photo, Maurer shakes hands with the then president of the country, Qassym-Jomart Tokayev (69).
What makes the photo special: the flag in the background seems to give Maurer a kind of halo. “Having someone placed in front of the flag at receptions is a punchline among diplomats. There are pictures from other countries where the guest was photographed like this,’ says Münch.
Sommaruga’s gigantic composition
The collection also includes a gift that outgoing Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga (62) received. The Swiss composer David Nouga gave her a composition. Based on the sheet music, Sommaruga, pianist by profession, probably never played the piece. Because the book with the sheet music is much too big to put on the grand piano. Münch reaches it from knee to chin.
The Canadian painting
The collection also reveals interesting facts about the domestic politics of other countries. The latest item in stock is a red painting made for Switzerland by an Indigenous Canadian artist to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. It shows a mixture of indigenous and Swiss motifs.
The Ogi carpet
A very special piece from the collection is currently on loan: the Ogi carpet, a hand-knotted oriental carpet with a portrait of former federal councilor Adolf Ogi (80) in the centre. He received the artwork from Uzbek President Islam Karimov (1938-2016).
The collection of the « Diplomatiques »
Such gifts are only collected for three or four decades. Before that they were put somewhere or even kept. “The gifts have interesting stories. The story is usually more exciting than the object itself,” says art historian Münch. For example, they can be used to reconstruct the places where Swiss diplomacy took place.
The collection of objects is called «Cadeaux Diplomatiques». Contrary to the name, it does not only contain diplomatic gifts. All gifts that federal officials receive during their service, including those in Germany, are part of the collection. For example, the photo of the flag in the Sommaruga office, which recently caused a stir.
From 200 francs you must report
Nowadays it is a rule that gifts with a value of 200 francs or more that cannot be refused out of courtesy must be reported. The supervisor then decides what to do with it.
In reality, many gifts first end up in the office or the Federal Council department. With the release of the offices of Sommaruga and Maurer and the end of Ignazio Cassis’ (61) year as president, new gifts are on the way. The federal government’s gift room is about to get richer with new treasures and stories.