Early African objects in the Electoral and Royal collections, Dresden
- Autores: Silvia Dolz
- Localización: Anales del Museo Nacional de Antropología, ISSN 1135-1853, Nº 11, 2005, págs. 89-120
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
The History ofthe African Colkction ofDresden's ethnographical museum, the Museum für Volkerkunde Dresden, up to the middle ofthe 19th century.
The colkction of African works ofart andeveryday ohjects in Dresden's ethnographical museum, the Museum für Volkerkunde Dresden, contains items that were already included in the Kunstkammer (Art Chamber) ofthe Eleaors of Saxony, which was founded in about 1360. These early items are a colkction ofivory spoons purchased at the Leipzig Fair in 1590. Exotic objects fróm outside Europe were especially valued by members ofthe Saxon ruling dynasty in the 17th and 18th centuries and were collected not only in Kunstkammer but also in the 'Turkish' and 'Indian' Chambers of the KurfürstUche Stall- und Rüstkammer (Electoral Stables and Armoury).
Imprecise information about the provenance of the objects and inconsistent documentation make it dijftcult to classify the nearly 60 African items held in the Electoral and Royal Collections in Dresden up to the middle of the 19th century.
As well as presenting the most important pieces, this article aims to define more precisely the valué ofthese items in terms of cultural history and thus contribute to our knowledge of the history not only of early European collections of non- European artifacts but also of early African handicrafts.
