Southeast-Asian fans in Habsburg collections

The book investigates the origin and meaning of five marvelous palm-leaf fans from the 16th century, located in the Kunst-and Wunderkammer of the castle Ambras in Tyrol. This century was strongly influenced by the intensive exchange of infomation, cultural assets and arts, between Europe and the discovered worlds. The growing fascination for the New and Unkonw insipred Europeand noblemen to collect tousands of objects from the new world in the Kunst- and Wunderkammern. The Kunst-and Wunderkammer of Ferdinand II of Tyrol, Archduke of Austria, where the palm-leaf fans are situated, is among the most famous ones in the world. In the analysis the author concentrates on the ornamentation, the production process, as well as on the relation between Europe and Southeast Aisa to locate the place of production. Moreover the book provides an insight into the political structures, networks of commerce and communication, and cultural transfer within Southeast Asia and Europe. This publication addresses especially people who do research in the field of humanities, focusing on cultural transfer, Kunst- and Wunderkammern, the period of discoveries and the history and culture of Southeast Asia.

Autorentext

Daniela Unterholzner studied history and art history at the University of Innsbruck and majored in early modern history and modern art history. She spent a nine mounth researche periode at the Chulalongkorn University Bangkok/Thailand.