Exhibition title: Japan in the Meiji era – The collection Heinrich von Siebold
Duration: 13 February to 10 May 2020
Venue: Weltmuseum Wien, Vienna, Austria
The Meiji era covers the period from 1868 to 1912 in Japanese history. This was a time when the feudal state was developing into a modern super power, when Japanese society was changing and opening up to the world. This still-unknown country aroused great interest in Europe. Heinrich von Siebold, the son of the doctor and famous researcher on Japan, Philipp Franz von Siebold, travelled to Japan as a teenager and spent most of his life there. Heinrich von Siebold donated his collection of Japanese objects to Emperor Franz Josef for the k.k. Natural History Museum and was therefore granted the title of a baron. Today, this donation forms part of the core inventory of the Weltmuseum Wien East Asian collection.
The history of this collection has been reconstructed and recreated in the exhibition “Japan in the Meiji Era”, based on three historical object photographs from the 19th century. The exhibition also presents the results of the joint research project with the National Museum of Japanese History.
For more information please see the website [here].
