Saxony (Germany)

Über 2000 Gemälde, über 800 verschiedene Gesichter, über 80 Selbstbildnisse: Dies ist das beachtliche Oeuvre des Schweizer Malers Anton Graff (1736-1813). Als wohl prominentester Porträtzeichner seiner Zeit schuf er Werke, die in ihrer bildnerischen Aussagekraft, psychologischen Tiefe und handwerklichen Präzision ihresgleichen suchen. Graff avancierte zum Schöpfer des bürgerlichen Frauen- und Männerporträts im Deutschland des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts. Kaum ein Regent, Staatsmann, Gelehrter, Dichter oder Künstler fehlt in der langen Liste der von ihm porträtierten Personen.

Anlässlich des 200. Todestages des Künstlers vereint der Band Gemälde Graffs mit Texten von Schriftstellern und Wissenschaftlern und bietet damit ein buntes Kaleidoskop des 18. Jahrhunderts.

L’autografo della Fuga del Kyrie di Francesco Morlacchi - donato nel 1878 dal conte Giovanni Battista Rossi Scotti al canonico Luigi Rotelli (Corciano 1833-Roma 1891) – è una breve composizione per quattro voci (SATB) e orchestra. Essa, probabilmente, fu pensata come un Kyrie II da aggiungere alla Messa IV dedicata dal sovrano di Sassonia a Ferdinando III di Toscana nel 1817, in occasione delle nozze del gran principe di Toscana Leopoldo II (figlio di Ferdinando III) con Maria Anna Carolina di Sassonia, celebrate nella chiesa della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze il 16 novembre di quell’anno.

In diesem Artikel wird der Wanderhandel als Ausdruck gesellschaftlicher Konflikte des 19. Jahrhunderts am Beispiel des oberlausitzer Grenzraums beleuchtet. Die Modernisierungsprozesse des 19. Jahrhunderts hielten auch und gerade für die historisch gewachsenen Strukturen der Oberlausitz enorme Wandlungsprozesse mit großem Konfliktpotenzial bereit: Die Zentralisierung staatlicher Macht und der Aufbau eines bürokratischen Verwaltungsapparates, die Durchsetzung kapitalistischer Wirtschaftsweisen und die nationale Homogenisierung vermöge des Staatsbürgerschaftkonzeptes drangen bis in die letzten Refugien alter Ordnungen vor. Diese Transformationen spiegeln sich in vielerlei Hinsicht im Phänomen des Wanderhandels, „hinter dem sich ein Widerstreit politischer, konfessioneller und wirtschaftlicher Interessen birgt.“  In den folgenden Überlegungen wird dieser Tatsache Rechnung getragen, indem unterschiedliche Akteursgruppen, Problemwahrnehmungen und Lösungsstrategien beleuchtet werden. Im Mittelpunkt der Betrachtung steht ein soziales Konfliktfeld, das sich zwischen dem staatlichen Wunsch nach Regulierung, dem wissenschaftlichen Versuch der Kategorisierung und dem Eigenwillen der ökonomischen und mobilen Akteure aufspannt.

"An adze blade with hafting remains from the Early Neolithic well in Altscherbitz

The function and hafting method of Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik (LBK) ground stone tools have been the subject of much debate. Even if it is now widely accepted that they have been used as adzes, the exact form of the hafting remains unclear. The article describes the first adze blade with rests of the hafting, found in the LBK well of Schkeuditz-Altscherbitz (federal state of Saxony, Germany). The blade itself, being thin-butted, is somewhat atypical but still fits well in the known range from the period and shows traces of wear resulting from the binding of the blade on the shaft. The wooden shaft itself is very poorly preserved and consists of an imprint of the handle and a cavity where the head had been. Most striking about the find is the general slenderness of the wooden shaft, and more important, the obtuse angle between the handle and the blade of 114°.

With this find, two other wooden implements found in the Early Neolithic wells of Erkelenz-Kückhofen and Zwenkau-Eythra can now with confidence be interpreted as adze shafts as well. The three finds have their slender built and obtuse hafting angle in common, posing the question if this is the regular way of hafting adzes in the Early Neolithic and to what ends these tools were used. In modern as well as prehistoric adzes the blade and handle form an acute angle, mostly between 50 and 70°, and experimental archaeology showed this to be the most effective form for wood cutting. This might suggest that the obtusely hafted adzes were used for other tasks, possibly comparable with modern chisels or planes."

For more information on drObs and historical articles written by students, colleagues and me to support this social project see:
https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/ige/fnz/studium/drobs-schreiben-fuer-die-dresdner-strassenzeitung

drobs 5 (2019), S. 18-19.

Rembrandt, Rubens, Permoser: Glory and Splendour of Baroque Art Collections in Leipzig. Notes on the History of Collecting in Leipzig around 1700

The history of art has largely ignored the city of Leipzig. When studing early modern collection practice in Saxony, interest is traditionally oriented to the important electoral collections in Dresden. This finding is even more noteworthy since earlier studies have shown the considerable level and great diversity of the former civic collecting culture in Leipzig. Thus, over 90 collections with more than 100 collectors can be found from the beginnings, documented already in the 16th century. The collectors included wealthy bankers and merchants as well as pharmacists, scholars, and even artists. The article takes this academic lacuna as an opportunity to highlight the long history of private art collecting in Leipzig. It surveys a range from the early baroque "Wunderkammer" to esquisite 18th-century collections of paintings, prints, and drawings.

drobs 3 (2019), S. 18-19

For more information on drObs and historical articles written by students, colleagues and me to support this social project see:
https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/ige/fnz/studium/drobs-schreiben-fuer-die-dresdner-strassenzeitung

“Crusading as an act of vengeance” is a new paradigm proposed by Susanna A. Throop. In this study I will focus on the question of whether the Wendish Crusade supports an “act of vengeance” paradigm. The study shows us a new understanding of how crusading was conceived as an act of vengeance in the context of the twelfth century. Through textual analysis of medieval sources it has been possible to clarify the course of the concept of divine vengeance, which often used human agents in its execution, as well as the idea of crusading as an act of vengeance. In primary sources which emphasize the necessity of a Holy War against the Wends, the concept of vengeance was intimately connected with the ideas of human justice and divine punishment. Most of these sources are clerical writings which contain biblical allusions in order to justify their aims. This paper shows how the concept of divine vengeance was perceived as an expression of both secular and religious authority, embedded in a series of commonly understood emotional responses in medieval society, and also as a value system compatible with Christianity.

În cazul venzilor, ideea cruciadei ca răzbunare divină a apărut pentru prima oară în așa-zisa Scrisoare din Magdeburg redactată în 1107/1108. Planul unei cruciade împotriva venzilor s-a concretizat abia în 1147. Refuzul ducilor saxoni de a participa la eliberarea comitatului Edessa este pus pe seama faptului că nobilimea saxonă a fost interesată în recucerirea teritoriilor venzilor. Acest context l-a forțat pe Bernard de Clairvaux să definească expediția împotriva venzilor ca o luptă împotriva dușmanilor creștinismului. Astfel, papa Eugeniu al III-lea a fost nevoit să le acorde saxonilor aceleași privilegii pe care le-au avut cruciații în Țara Sfântă.

Vocabularul răzbunării poate fi întâlnit într-un spațiu geografic larg, ce cuprinde o mare parte a creștinătății latine. Treptat, alături de păgâni, în categoria celor care trebuie pedepsiți au intrat și apostații, ereticii și schismaticii. Astfel, „răzbunarea divină” a constituit elementul central al retoricii cruciadei împotriva venzilor din 1147. Atât pentu nobilimea saxonă, cât și pentru clerici, pedepsirea venzilor a fost un act de „justiție umană”.

For more information on drObs and historical articles written by students, colleagues and me to support this social project see:
https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/ige/fnz/studium/drobs-schreiben-fuer-die-dresdner-strassenzeitung

drObs 12 (2017), 19-20

"TITLE: Saxon Army of the Austrian War of Succession and Seven Years War:
SUB-TITLE: Uniforms Organisation and Equipment
PUBLISHED: January 2012
AUTHOR: Dr Stephen Summerfield
PUBLISHER: Ken Trotman Publishing
ISBN No.: 978-1-907417-26-9

"This is the first detailed record of the uniforms, equipment, flags, horse furniture and campaign history for the Saxon Army 1740-63. Drawing from a multitude of sources, Stephen Summerfield has created the most complete study ever attempted, making this a valuable companion to his best selling volumes on the Austrian Army of the Seven Years War and his Saxon Artillery 1733-1827.

The Saxons enjoyed a fascinating but checkered career in the War of the Austrian Succession, disastrously changing sides from Prussia to Austria. Despite most of the army being captured in Pirna at the start of the Seven Years War (1756-63), the Saxons raised an Auxiliary Corps of 10,000 infantry that fought bravely under French pay and their magnificent light cavalry (Chevauleger and Ulan) that fought with the Austrians. As with his Austrian volumes, Stephen deals with the army unit by unit: Guard, Infantry, Grenadier, Cuirassier, Chevauleger, Dragoon, Hussar and Polish Ulan regiments including a record of their Colonels-in-Chief.

The work draws upon most of the major sources on Saxon uniforms of the Seven Years War. The 450+ colour illustrations include 215 of uniforms after Brauer, Knötel, Eichhorn, and Trache plus 66 flags/standards, 65 uniform/equipment details, 15 OOBs and 30 Tables.

In addition, this new volume provides a detailed study and plans of the advanced Saxon Geschwindstück [quick fire guns.]""

A small sample of animal bones dating to the Early Neolithic Linear Ceramic Culture from Dresden-Mockritz (Saxony, Germany) has been investigated. It stands out for containing a wide range of species showing evidence of the use of very diverse environments.

The remarkably high amount of wild animals as compared to domesticates is discussed and put in a wider context. It is shown that regional models explaining differences in animal exploitation patterns in the Early Neolithic are not tenable in the light of new evidence and a much more local mode of adaptation to different circumstances is suggested.

Drawing evidence from the taphonomy of the complexes under study, an assessment of the representatives of the sample is made and its value to archeological interpretation indicated. An antler artifact, a so called T-axe, associated with the faunal remains, is discussed and thought to be an indicator
of changing patterns of subsistence in the Neolithic of the Dresden area.

Im Gebiet an Harz, Elbe und Saale liegt die gemeinsame Wurzel sächsischer und anhaltischer Geschichte. Bis in das 18. Jahrhundert bildete jene Landschaft den Kernraum Sachsens. Hier entstand im Frühmittelalter eine einzigartige „Grenzgesellschaft“, in der römische und fränkische Einflüsse mit der Kultur des Nordens und jener der Slawen verschmolzen. An Harz, Elbe und Saale lagen nicht nur die Basisräume des thüringischen und des fränkisch-ottonischen Reiches, hier bildete sich unter den Ottonen auch erstmals ein sächsisches „Wir-Gefühl“ heraus.

Vom Hochmittelalter bis zur Frühen Neuzeit prägten Welfen und Askanier die Entwicklung. 1815 kehrte der Name „Sachsen“ als Bezeichnung einer vom preußischen König Friedrich Wilhelm III. als Träger des Titels „Herzog zu Sachsen, Engern und Westphalen“ geschaffenen Provinz an Harz, Elbe und Saale zurück.

Auf 96 Seiten wird ein neuartiger Ansatz skizziert, der erstmals das gegenwärtige Bundesland Sachsen-Anhalt mit den fränkischen, ottonischen und sächsisch-anhaltischen Traditionslinien seines Kulturraumes in Beziehung setzt. Zahlreiche Kartendarstellungen und Abbildungen ermöglichen dem Leser Einblicke in die 1500-jährige Geschichte der sächsisch-anhaltischen Kernlandschaft des Bundeslandes Sachsen-Anhalt.

ISBN 978-3-9810170-9-0

Die Publikation kann zum Preis von 5 € (+ Versandkosten, für Deutschland: 2,75 €) per E-Mail an info@ksb-anhalt.net bestellt werden.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) mission of “building peace in the minds of men and women” can remain relevant by promoting World Heritage sites in countries like Germany. European and traditionally Christian, with 39 properties already inscribed on the list, how can Germany further contribute to the spectrum of cultural diversity, and in turn, to peace-building in the 21st century? A study carried out by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) concluded that Europe and Christianity were overrepresented on the list and that “living cultures” (from the 20th century onwards) and “traditional cultures” were underrepresented. In 1994, UNESCO adopted its “Global Strategy”, expanding the definition of heritage to include sites which would reflect a more balanced spectrum of the diversity of the world’s cultural heritage.

What implications does this have for Germany, currently permitted to submit only one cultural and one natural site per year? Can countries like Germany further contribute to the spectrum of cultural diversity vital to furthering UNESCO’s peace-building mission? This thesis examines three German cultural sites, in three cities, and in three different chronological and developmental stages of the application process to the UNESCO World Heritage list, then filters the sites through criteria draw from its foundational theories of as well as from those conceived by the continuing architects of the evolution of UNESCO in relation to World Heritage - futures studies, global education, global culture and global security.

UNESCO’s purpose has always been to preserve culture and heritage through education of the world to the world, so that the past and the present is not only championed by UNESCO, but also protected by global citizens. UNESCO World Heritage sites still have a relevant place in peace-building, because promoting the preservation of these sites allows humanity to share places where one country’s tangible history can be learned as our collective history. This thesis should convey a deeper understanding and internalization of the continuing relevance of UNESCO’s original mission in today’s global landscape and Germany’s role in aiding UNESCO with peace-building in the 21st century by continuing to share its World Heritage.

Sachsen-Anhalts „Land der Frühaufsteher“-Kampagne kennzeichnete einen Tiefpunkt im Prozess der Entfremdung dieses Bundeslandes von seiner geschichtsträchtigen Kulturlandschaft.
Abgesehen davon, dass die Kampagne bei der Frage, warum denn der Sachsen-Anhalter früher aufstehen muss, schnell ihren Witz verlor, offenbarte sie auch die Unfähigkeit, den gegenwärtig existierenden sachsen-anhaltischen Staat aus der Geschichte seines Landesgebietes heraus erklären und legitimieren zu können. Das Klischee seiner angeblichen „Künstlichkeit“ wurde so einmal mehr bedient.
Dabei liegt der Schlüssel zum historischen Verständnis Sachsen-Anhalts in seinem Landesnamen und den heraldischen Symbolen seiner Landesflagge offen greifbar zutage.
Während aber bezüglich des historischen Verhältnisses zum Freistaat Anhalt kaum Zweifel aufkommen, bereitet der Namensbestandteil „Sachsen“ Probleme, da sich doch scheinbar alle sächsischen Traditionen im gleichnamigen Freistaat mit seiner Hauptstadt Dresden manifestieren.
Die Broschüre „Unser Sachsen“ möchte den Leser in unterhaltsamer Form zu einer Reise in ein „vergessenes“ Land einladen. Jenseits seiner wettinischen Phase zeichnet die Publikation mit zahlreichen großformatigen Fotografien, Karten und Zitaten das Bild eines weitgehend unbekannten Sachsens. Der Autor, Olaf Böhlk, konnte mit seiner erfolgreichen Kampagne zur Umwandlung der Sachsen-Anhalt-Flagge zur Landesflagge bereits einen Akzent zu mehr sä(!)chsisch-anhaltischem Selbstbewusstsein in Sachsen-Anhalt setzen. Mit der Broschüre „Unser Sachsen“ liefert er nun eine handliche „Gebrauchsanleitung“ für ein neues, die unterschiedlichen Landschaften integrierendes und historisch begründetes Landesbewusstsein im Bundesland Sachsen-Anhalt nach.

Die Broschüre „Unser Sachsen“, Softcover, A4, 32 S., ISBN 978-3-00-057662-1 Schutzgebühr 2,00 € kann hier bezogen werden: https://supr.com/ksb-shop/publikationen/unser-sachsen-die-wiederentdeckung-eines-vergessenen-landes/

A COMPLEX OF GARDEN SCULPTURES IN THE WALEWSKIS’ RESIDENCE IN WALEWICE. UNKNOWN WORKS BY SCULPTORS OF WARSAW ROCOCO: PIERRE COUDRAY AND JOHANN CHRISOSTOM REDTLER
A residence in Walewice, famous for its magni cent neoclassical palace designed by Hilary Szpilawski, was in the 2nd half of the 19th century surrounded by a spacious landscaped park. On this occasion, a creator of the park, Valerian Kronenberg, brought a complex of sculptures almost certainly from Warsaw to Walewice and, in accordance with the picturesque idea ruling in the neo-romantic landscaping, located them in various places in the garden. These sculptures, from ca. mid-18th century, were almost certainly taken over from demolished baroque and Rococo Warsaw residences, most likely from the palace gardens. With the current state of knowledge of the issue of degradation of the capital residences and their demolition aimed at making way for social housing in the 19th century, we are not able to determine which particular Warsaw palace facility Walewice sculptures come from. In the 19th century, over 20 palaces were demolished and the same number was completely transformed. Walewice complex consists of: two hermas, male and female ones, from the lawn in front of the main body, a statue of Mars and a pair of putti from the front of the palace rear facade, statues of Apollo and Diana from behind the river surrounding the palace from the rear and a group of Ajax and Cassandra separated from the complex. The latter obviously has features of the style of an outstanding and popular Warsaw sculptor of the Rococo period, Johann Chrisostom Redtler (working in Warsaw from ca. 1736 to ca. 1770) from Vienna, a student of Giovanni Giuliani and Lorentz Mattielli. Others were made by Pierre Coudray, a French sculptor, working essentially in Dresden, educated there, as well as in Italy and in England, staying in Warsaw in times of the Seven Years War, in 1756–1765 and working for, apart from the minister, Heinrich Brühl, the Polish nobility: among others, the Branickis, Czartoryskis or Cetners. A residence of one of these families might have been decorated with the Walewice statues. The paper considers the above issue, as well as relationships with other works of artists and associations with European sculptures.

Christian Speer beschäftigt sich in seinem Buch mit der Frage nach den lebenspraktischen Funktionen von religiösem Handeln am Beispiel spätmittelalterlicher und frühneuzeitlicher Frömmigkeitspraxis. Dabei legt er den Schwerpunkt der Untersuchung auf die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen den Ausdrucks- und Erscheinungsformen laikaler Frömmigkeit und den politischen sowie sozialen Interessen, Erwartungen und Bedürfnissen innerhalb einer vormodernen Stadtgesellschaft. Er untersucht Frömmigkeitspraktiken wie Stiften und Schenken, Memoria und Gebet, Wallfahrten und Eintritt in ein Kloster. Die „Bühne“, auf der sich diese Praktiken abspielten, ist die Görlitzer Sakraltopographie mit ihren Kirchen, Klöstern, Kapellen und Hospitälern. Das Thema sozialer und politischer Aufstieg sowie die Möglichkeiten der Durchsetzung von Deutungshoheiten und Geltungsansprüchen im Bereich der Frömmigkeitspraxis werden genauso angesprochen wie die Frage nach den Besonderheiten von Frömmigkeitspraxis, Politik und gesellschaftlichem Wandel im frühen 16. Jahrhundert in der Oberlausitz.

Come si concilia la morale religiosa con massacri, soprusi e guerre? Quali sono le colpe originarie della Bibbia e dei tre monoteismi? Cosa ci insegnano i mille anni dell'età di Mezzo?
La monografia affronta i nodi antropologici del tema e sintetizza la storiografia recente. Presenta una serie di casi in epoca medievale in ambito euro mediterraneo confrontando i tre monoteismi con un approccio comparativo.

Helmut Nickel, German art historian, anthropologist, cartoon artist, and former curator in charge of the Department of Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, died on June 5, 2019, aged 95. This note, based in part on obituaries written by Stuart Pyhrr (published in the press and forthcoming in the journal Waffen- und Kostümkunde), shares some personal reminiscences and memories about one of the towering personalities in the field of arms and armor studies.

Inhaltsverzeichnis zu: Johann Friedrich Tolksdorf, Mittelalterlicher Bergbau und Umwelt im Erzgebirge. Eine interdisziplinäre Untersuchung. ArchaeoMontan Band 4. Veröffentlichungen des Landesamtes für Archäologie Sachsen, Band 67. 216 Seiten mit zahlreichen Abbildungen, 21,5 x 30 cm, broschiert (Dresden 2018), 29,00 € ISBN 978-3-943770-37-7

Die Besiedlung des Erzgebirges und der Beginn des Bergbaus ab dem 12. Jahrhundert stellen eine tiefgreifende Zäsur in der Landschaftsgeschichte dar. Seitdem verändern Rodung, Landwirtschaft, Bergbau, Köhlerei, Bauholzgewinnung oder Glasproduktion das Relief und die Vegetationszusammensetzung dieses Raumes. Ein breit gefächertes, landschaftsgeschichtlich ausgerichtetes Methodenspektrum aus Palynologie, Makrobotanik, Dendrochronologie, Dendrodensitometrie, Dendrochemie, Anthrakologie, Sedimentologie, Geochemie und Mikromorphologie erlaubt es, diese Entwicklung an Fundstellen mit unterschiedlichen wirtschaftlichen Schwerpunkten nachzuvollziehen und chronologisch aufzulösen. Gerade in ihren Unterschieden tragen diese Fundstellen dazu bei, das Erzgebirge als hochdynamische Kulturlandschaft zu verstehen.