SKD: Global Player

August der Starke, dunkel angemalt, in Gewand und mit Federschmuck auf dem Kopf

Global Player

Within the framework of the exhibitions under the joint title Dresden • Europe • World, the presentation "Global Player" in the Studiolo is dedicated to Saxony's interconnections with the world. Selected objects are deployed to explore the trans-cultural interrelations that are found even as early as in the art of the 16th century.

Exhibition Site Residenzschloss

DATES 03/03/2017—05/06/2017

Starting from the central object of the presentation, a 17th century globe, it is possible to reveal the most diverse transfer processes; these offer the visitor surprising discoveries. Exotic materials such as ostrich eggs were successfully worked into artistic vessels at the Saxon Court. Not only do they represent a material transfer; a transformation of iconography can also be identified.

The sketch for a costume for "August the Strong as Chief of the Africans" is, in turn, not only an example of the festive culture at the prince-electoral court of the early modern period, but also an indicator for the perception and acquisition of foreign items.

Module Text

The fact that this interplay was never a one-sided process is made clear from the example of the export of linen from Saxony: it was used as a trade commodity in the transatlantic slave trade as far as West Africa and the Caribbean. Overall, the presentation opens up a wide panorama of transfer processes that demonstrate the interconnection of Dresden with the world during the early modern period.