Portraits of empires : Habsburg albums from the German House in Ottoman Constantinople / Robyn Dora Radway.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Radway, Robyn Dora, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Autograph albums.

Travelers--Europe.

Travelers.

Istanbul (Turkey)--History.

Istanbul (Turkey).

Istanbul (Turkey)--Social life and customs.

Turkey--Foreign relations--Holy Roman Empire.

Turkey.

Elc¸i Hani (Istanbul, Turkey)--History.

Elc¸i Hani (Istanbul, Turkey).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 278 pages)

Place of Publication:

Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, 2023.

Summary:

"In the late 16th century, hundreds of travelers made their way to the Habsburg ambassador's residence, known as the German House, in Constantinople. In this centrally located inn, subjects of the emperor found food, wine, shelter, and good company-and left an incredible collection of albums filled with images, messages, decorated papers, and more. Portraits of Empires offers a complete account of this early form of social media, which had a profound impact on later European iconography. Revealing a vibrant transimperial culture as viewed from all walks of life-Muslim and Christian, noble and servant, scholar and stable boy-the pocket-sized albums containing these curiosities have never been fully connected to the abundant archival records on the German House and its residents. Robyn Dora Radway not only introduces these objects, the people who filled their pages, and the house at the center of their creation, but she also presents several arguments regarding chronologies of exchange, workshop practices, the curation of social networks and visual collections based on status, and the purposes of these highly individualized material portraits. Featuring 162 fascinating color images, Portraits of Empires reconstructs the world of Habsburg subjects living in Ottoman Constantinople, using a rich and distinctive set of objects to raise questions about imperial belonging and the artistic practices used to articulate it"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Acknowledgments

Note on Translation and Transliteration

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The German House in Constantinople

2. Making Albums in the German House

3. Ambassadors

4. Staff

5. Scholars

6. Noble Men Passing Through

Afterword

Appendix: Albums of the German House in Constantinople

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780253066947

0253066948