In 1975, with financial support from the Volkswagen Foundation, the Rathgen Research Laboratory was established as a department of the Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Equipped with the most elaborate instruments for analytical and technological examination, the laboratory contributes to the research of the museums by scientific analysis. Glazed and unglazed pottery, metals in arts and crafts, and the dyestuffs of textiles are the main subjects of the research. Advice and information for restorers and the improvement of conservation techniques are also demanded from the laboratory. Finally, the intensive education of the public, by exhibitions, by scientific guides, and by teaching in the universities, will spread the results of the research of the laboratory. (See also AATA 13-774 and 13-775).