Why the de Unger Family Decided to Move The Keir Collection From Berlin to Dallas

DALLAS MAGAZINE
By Peter Simek

Rock crystal ewer, Egypt, late 10th-11th century, Fatimid, mounts by Jean-Valentin Morel, Sevres (France), 1854, rock crystal with enameled gold mounts, The Keir Collection of Islamic Art on loan to the Dallas Museum of Art

TEXAS---The first object from the Kier Collection, a trove of Islamic Art that includes nearly 2,000 object and will be on a 15-year renewable loan with the Dallas Museum of Art, was unveiled at the museum this morning. The Keir Collection was amassed by the late Hungarian real estate magnet Edmund de Unger. Before passing away in 2011, de Unger penned a long-term loan agreement with the Pergamon Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin to house, conserve, and display his collection. However, earlier this year, the Dallas Museum of Art announced that it had negotiated a similar long-term agreement with the de Unger family that would see the massive Islamic collection move from Berlin to Dallas. [link]