- Dresden Armory
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Dresden Armory
Rüstkammer
Entrance to the ArmoryEstablished 2nd half of the 16th century Location Zwinger Palace, Dresden, Germany Type Historical, military Director Prof. Dr. Dirk Syndram Website http://www.skd.museum/en/museums-institutions/semperbau-with-zwinger/ruestkammer/index.html The Dresden Armory (German: Rüstkammer), also known as the Dresden Historical Museum (German: Historisches Museum Dresden), is one of the world's largest collections of ceremonial weapons, armors and historical textiles. It is part of the Dresden State Art Collections.
The Dresden Armory is currently on display in the gallery wing of the Zwinger Palace in Dresden. After the reconstruction of Dresden Castle will be finished in 2013, the armory will return to its original location in the castle.
The Turkish Chamber (German: Türckische Cammer) is a separate collection within the Dresden Armory that is focused on art from the Ottoman Empire. It is already located in the Dresden Castle.
Contents
Collections
The collection of the Dresden Armory in the Zwinger includes:
- Sarmatian style parade armour of king John III Sobieski of Poland (German: Schuppenpanzer). The armour is a type of scale armour, so-called karacena, very popular among the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth nobility in the second half of the 17th century. It was probably created in Armenian workshops in Lviv in todays Ukraine. Obtained by Frederick Augustus I, elector of Saxony and king of Poland in about 1719 (included in the Türkenkammer's inventory on May 23, 1719),[1] is today on display in the Dresden's Armory.
- Crown of Augustus II intended for his coronation as a King of Poland[2] (German: Königskrone August des Starken). It was manufactured in 1697 by Freiburg's goldsmith Johann Friedrich Klemm.[2] The crown is made of gilded silver and decorated with colorful enamel and semi-precious stones.[2]
Turkish Chamber
The Turkish Chamber in Dresden Castle
The holdings of the Dresden Armory include objects belonging to the Turkish Chamber (German: Türckische Cammer) which formed a separate collection within the Armory from at least 1591.[3] The Turkish Chamber is specialized in Ottoman art and is shown in the Dresden Castle.
The roots of the oriental collection in Dresden can be traced back as far as 1591. At that time, the Turkish Chamber was still called "Ungerische Cammer" (Hungarian Chamber), probably because Saxony at that time had primarily come into contact with the Ottoman Empire in Hungary. The first recorded use of the name Turkish Chamber dates from 1614.[3]
Over the course of several centuries, diplomatic gifts, purchased objects and booty gained in various battles against the Ottomans where assembled, creating one of the oldest and most significant collections of Ottoman art outside Turkey.
The exhibition presents more than 600 individual pieces of art. The largest object in the Turkish Chamber is a three-mast tent, 20 m (66 ft) long, 8 m (26 ft) wide and 6 m (20 ft) high, giving the viewer a sense of being under a second sky of gold and silk. It was brought to Dresden in 1729. The tent is made of satin, cotton and gilt leather; its restoration lasted 14 years.[3] In addition, there are eight life-sized, carved wooden horses and a group of reflex bows with original strings, the oldest of which dates from 1586.[4] Also shown are weapons, suits of chain mail, helmets, flags and costumes.
See also
List of museums in Saxony
Notes and references
- ^ (Polish) Hanna Widacka. "Karacena Jana III Sobieskiego". www.wilanow-palac.art.pl. http://www.wilanow-palac.art.pl/index.php?enc=344. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ a b c (Polish) Michał Rożek (1987). Polskie koronacje i korony (Polish coronations and crowns). p. 145. ISBN 8-30-301914-7.
- ^ a b c Holger Schuckelt: Sammlung orientalischer Kunst in der kurfürstlich-sächsischen Rüstkammer Dresden. 1st ed. Dresden: Sandstein Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-940319-89-0 (German)
- ^ "The Türckische Cammer – a feast for the eyes". Dresden State Art Collections. 2011. http://www.skd.museum/en/museums-institutions/residenzschloss/ruestkammer/tuerckische-cammer/index.html. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
External links
- Rüstkammer (Armory) Homepage of the Dresden State Art Collections
- Türckische Cammer Homepage of the Dresden State Art Collections
- Dresden & Sachsen. Historisches Museum (Rüstkammer) (German)
Coordinates: 51°03′11″N 13°44′06″E / 51.0531083333°N 13.7349666667°E
Categories:- History museums in Germany
- Military and war museums in Germany
- Museums in Dresden
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