Staging Oriental Delegations at the Habsburg Imperial Court in Prague (1600-1610)

0565772 - ÚDU 2023 RIV ES eng J - Journal Article
Horníčková, K. - Šroněk, Michal
Staging Oriental Delegations at the Habsburg Imperial Court in Prague (1600-1610).
Culture & History Digital Journal. Roč. 11, č. 2 (2022), s. 1-26. ISSN 2253-797X. E-ISSN 2253-797X
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA17-11912S
Institutional support: RVO:68378033
Keywords : diplomatic ceremony * Foreign embassy to Imperial court * Rudolph II of Habsburg * Urban festivity * Persian embassy * Ottoman embassy * Rudolphinian Prague
OECD category: Arts, Art history
Impact factor: 0.3, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://cultureandhistory.revistas.csic.es/index.php/cultureandhistory/article/view/243

Between 1600 and 1610-in the time when Prague was an imperial seat of Rudolph II of Habsburg-the city experienced an unusual viewing of several festive entries of foreigner legacies. In 1600, 1604 and 1609 three Persian delegations reached the Prague court in an attempt to coordinate military actions against the Otto-mans. This gave an opportunity for a staged presentation of the court and city to the exotically-looking visitors. In return, Prague citizens, and particularly the nobles and the officials, had several opportunities to view, encounter and entertain the members of the legacies, who took an active part in Prague life. Their engagement sprung a num-ber of textual and visual documents that testify to the interest of the European artists. The mixture of elements of the European festive culture merged with splendour, exotic garments and gifts of the oriental Islamic culture gave these meetings a particular character that reaffirmed the status of Prague as the imperial residence and capital city. The embassies' adventi and receptions were an opportunity for festive trains moving through the urban and court space of Prague, with the routes and design of stops, landmarks, and architecture used as their symbolical framing.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0341279