Annual Report 2010 - Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Page 62: Holger schuckelt, Curator of the
“Türckische Cammer”, planning the
arrangement of objects in the showcases
Created specially for the valuable Ottoman
bridles and saddles belonging to the Türckische
Cammer: life-size wooden horses by the
sculptor Walter Hilpert
SCI entI FIC pRoJ eCtS
An D CoopeRAtIon
The costume designer anja ackermann
preparing a figurine for the presentation
of a suit of chainmail
For the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2010 was a
year full of spectacular openings and exhibitions, from the
opening of the Türckische Cammer in the Residenzschloss
and the exhibitions about Dresden and Meissen as the
places of origin of European porcelain in the Japanisches
Palais in Dresden and the Ephraim­Palais in Berlin to the
reopening of the Albertinum as a “House of Modernity”. It
might be imagined that in this year which was devoted
primarily to the presentation of works of art, scholarly
activities must necessarily have been reduced. But that is
not the case at all. Indeed, it was quite the opposite: the
anniversary year gave an additional impetus to research.
This can be illustrated by the example of several projects
which were directly or indirectly associated with the
major events of 2010.
example: Research on the türckische Cammer
The “Türckische Cammer“, this exceptional exhibition of
Ottoman tents, ceremonial weapons, ornate bridles and
much more, is a masterly achievement, not only in terms
of its design. This new permanent exhibition in the Residenzschloss
was only possible thanks to many years, or
even decades, of intensive research on the holdings of the
Rüstkammer, involving the investigation of the history,
provenance and significance of the objects now presented
in the Türckische Cammer. Only through this research has
it become possible to explain the exhibits to museum
a significant moment: members of staff including
Prof. Dr. Dirk syndram and Holger schuckelt (3rd and
4th from right respectively) during the provisional
erection of the 20 m long Ottoman three-masted tent
visitors. This can be taken as a classic example of the most
fundamental task of museums: long­term scientific work
on their own holdings. When sufficient time and space is
made available for this type of research, it can lead to such
wonderful results as this outstanding exhibition.
The Türckische Cammer also demonstrates how important
research is for understanding the exhibits – and in
this case also for understanding a foreign culture. Amazement
and aesthetic delight on the part of visitors is important,
but only when the background knowledge provided
by research is available does a museum visit become a
truly memorable experience.
example: Comprehensive catalogues
to mark the opening of the Albertinum
The publication of comprehensive museum catalogues or,
in the case of collections with complex sub­divisions, the
publication of individual catalogues for the different collections,
is regarded as one of the most important ways of
emphasising not only the importance of the museum but
also of demonstrating the scholarly expertise of the museum’s
curators. For several years now, researchers at the
Skulpturensammlung have been collaborating with colleagues
from university institutes, with financial support
from the Ernst von Siemens Cultural Foundation, to produce
a catalogue of their most important group of objects,
the antique sculptures. In spring 2011, a two­volume, comprehensive,
scientific documentation is to be published
about Roman ideal sculpture. In 2010, work also began in
cooperation with the Bavarian Academy of Sciences on a
catalogue concerning the “Attic red figure vases”.
63