2009/2010

BF - Applied Arts


Geschmackselite Schweizerischer Werkbund: Mitgliederlexikon 1913-1968 [Elites of Good Taste: Swiss Crafts Association. Lexicon of Members, 1913-1968]. Christoph Bignens. Zürich: ChronosVerlag, 2008. 198 p. ill. 25 cm. ISBN 978-3-0340-0899-0: EUR 29.80

Founded in 1913 as an offshoot of the German Crafts Association (Deutscher Werkbund) and still in existence, the Swiss Crafts Association (Schweizer Werkbund) has represented the interests of „people, firms, and institutions“ concerned with the intersection of aesthetics, culture, and commerce, and has educated the broader public about issues relating to good design. It published the journal Das Werk, held exhibits and awarded honors and prizes. This biographical dictionary covers the organization's membership from its inception in 1913 to 1968 and includes 980 short biographies. Except at the end, where sources, secondary literature, and the consulted archives are listed, there are no biographical references. An appendix includes the names of 764 members of the association not taken up in the main body of the work, either because they belonged for only a few years or because „their trace in visual culture has been all but erased.“ [sh/sl]

Die Türckische Cammer: Sammlung orientalischer Kunst in der kurfürstlichsächischen Rüstkammer Dresden [The Turkish Chamber: The Collection of Eastern Art in the Armaments Chamber of the Electoral Prince of Saxony in Dresden]. Holger Schuckelt. Photographs by Elke Estel. Dresden: Sandstein, 2010. 383 p. ill. 31 cm. ISBN 978-3-940319-89-0: EUR 39.90

Published for the March 2010 opening in Dresden of the „Turkish Chamber“ housing the permanent exhibit of the State Art Collection‘s holdings of Ottoman art and artifacts, this beautifully illustrated book not only offers a description of this unique collection but also summarizes the history of the conflicts between the Ottoman Turkish Empire and German-speaking lands in the 17th century, with special attention to Saxony. There is also a discussion of the tremendous fascination among the nobility at the court in Saxony with Turkish culture. Each of the chapers contains a catalog section detailing the objects under discussion. The work concludes with a glossary, bibliography, inventory of the Turkish Chamber, an index of persons, a concordance to the exhibited works, and an index of illustrations. The Dresden collection of Ottoman art is one of the world‘s outstanding collections of Oriental-Islamic art that illustrate the complex historical relationship between the Orient and the Occident. [mk/ldl]


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Last update: January 2013 [LC]
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