Enfilade

Gotha Research Centre (Das Forschungszentrum Gotha ), Universität Erfurt, Thuringia (large grey building on the left).

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From ArtHist.net:

From Cabinets to Museums: Exploring the Histories of Chinese Collections in Europe
Gotha Research Centre, University of Erfurt, 10–11 January 2024

Organized by Emily Teo

An international workshop at the Gotha Research Centre of the University of Erfurt, in cooperation with Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha

Chinese objects were acquired by European collectors for a variety of reasons: ranging from the aesthetic decoration of their residences, to using objects as a source of knowledge about foreign cultures. This workshop brings together historians and museum professionals to discuss the complex histories of Chinese collections in European contexts. Central to the workshop is the East Asian collection in Gotha. Around 1800, Duke August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1772–1822) founded the Chinese Cabinet, a rich and diverse collection of East Asian objects in Gotha’s Friedenstein Palace. Themes that will be explored include the global circulation of artwork, China-Mode in 18th-century Europe, and the practices of collecting and displaying Chinese objects in European collections. The goal of the workshop is to historicize these collections and to explore their interconnections, leading to new directions for research on East Asian collections in Europe. Registration and contact: Emily.teo@uni-erfurt.de

Shoes from the East Asian collection in Gotha, founded by Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg as the Chinese Cabinet around 1800 (Schloss Friedenstein, inv. no. ETH14S).

w e d n e s d a y ,  1 0  j a n u a r y

11.00  Tour of the Ducal Museum*
• Agnes Strehlau (Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha)

14.00  Greeting
• Martin Mulsow (Gotha Research Centre, University of Erfurt)
• Tobias Pfeifer-Helke (Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha)

14.15  Introduction
• Emily Teo (Gotha Research Centre)

14.30  Session 1 | Historical Collections
• Jean Theodore Royer (1737–1807) and His Chinese Collection: Thoughts on His Objectives and Collecting Strategies — Jan van Campen (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
• Noblesse Oblige — Francois Coulon (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes)

15.40  Coffee break

Object Workshop
16.15  Viewing East Asian Artefacts*
• Kerstin Volker-Saad and Agnes Strehlau (Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha)

18.00  Evening Lecture
• Traces of Guangzhou: Craftsmanship, Material (Dis)Connections and Chinesische Kabinette — Anna Grasskamp (University of Oslo)

19.00  Workshop dinner, for invited participants

t h u r s d a y ,  1 1  j a n u a r y

9.30  Object Workshop
• Viewing Chinese Export Albums* — Ulrike Eydinger (Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha)

11.00  Coffee break

11.15  Session 2 | Transcultural Objects
• Gemstone Potted Landscapes: A Case Study for Exploring the 18th- and 19th-Century China-Europe Transcultural Materiality and Craftsmanship — Wen-ting Wu (National Taiwan University)
• From ’18 Stuck grose Vasen’ to ‘national wertvolles Kulturgut’: Chinese Monumental Vases and the History of Chinese Art History at the Dresden Porcelain Collection — Feng Schöneweiß (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut)

12.25  Lunch break

13.15  Session 3 | Chinese Architecture for European Princes
• Chinese Architecture at the Friedenstein Palace: Henri-Léonard Bertin, Herzog August von Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and the Influence of the Drawings from l’Essai sur l’architecture chinoise (1773) — Kee Il Choi Jr (University of Zürich)
• Just for Decoration or Made for Pedagogical Purposes? Murals with Scenes from the Life of Confucius in Oranienbaum Commissioned by Duke Franz of Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817) — Dorothee Schaab-Hanke (University of Bamberg)
• Think Big: Augustus the Strong and His Collections of Asiatica — Cordula Bischoff (Independent Researcher)

15.00  Final remarks

* Workshop presentations and the evening lecture at the Gotha Research Centre are open to the public with registration. Due to space constraints, the museum tour and object workshops are open only to workshop speakers. Object workshops will be held at the Perthes Forum, a 10-minute walk from the Gotha Research Centre.