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Japan in the Meiji era

The collection Heinrich von Siebold

13 February to 11 August 2020
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.
龍虎螺鈿刀掛 sword stand with tiger and
dragon motiv, late Edo period (1600-1868) until early Meiji period (1868-1912), before 1882, wood, lacquer, mother of pearl, metal, © KHM-Museumsverband

About the exhibition

About the exhibition

The exhibition is based on three historical photographs from the 19th century, which show how the collection was set-up at the family's private residence. Films show how this set-up was reconstructed using the object mapping technique , giving an impression of the original installation. At the same time, the objects will be displayed in five exhibition rooms and presented with a current assessment of the historical value of a Meiji-era collection. A catalogue and an accompanying book in German and Japanese will be published for the exhibition. A symposium on Heinrich von Siebold and his collection will take place in March 2020.

The exhibition also presents the results of a joint research project with the National Museum of Japanese History.

Daily (except Monday)
10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday
10 am to 9 pm

Weltmuseum Wien

Neue Hofburg, Heldenplatz
1010 Vienna, Austria

Who is Heinrich von Siebold?

Who is Heinrich von Siebold?

Heinrich von Siebold (1852-1908), son of the doctor and famous researcher on Japan Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866), travelled to Japan as a teenager and spent most of his life there. He was hired as an interpreter at the newly founded Austro-Hungarian embassy in Tōkyō. This was during the transition from the Shogunate to the Meiji period (1868–1912) and the new policy of opening up the country. During the Meiji Restoration, Japan's formerly military-oriented society changed from a feudal state to a modern superpower, with the Tennō  as the head of the state.  The social upheaval meant that many of the cult and everyday objects of the previous Shogun period were no longer needed, thus passed into the possession of collectors like Heinrich von Siebold. He wanted to sell his extensive collection, but in the end left it to Emperor Franz Joseph for the k. u. k. Natural History Museum in 1888. The collection was inventoried in the anthropology and ethnography department. Heinrich von Siebold received a title of nobility for the donation. The exhibition follows the collection's journey to the Weltmuseum Wien.

More about the Siebold family!

More about the Siebold family!

Collecting Japan. Philipp Franz von Siebold’s Vision of the Far East

Did you know that the father of Heinrich von Siebold, Philipp Franz von Siebold, already had a close relationship with Japan? As a staff surgeon in Dutch military service, Philipp Franz von Siebold was one of the first Europeans to visit the ‘land of the rising sun’, where relations with the outside world had been severely restricted since the 1630s. While in Japan today every child is familiar with his name, in his home country only a few experts and East Asia enthusiasts know about him.

The Japan Collection of Philipp Franz von Siebold is one of the most important collection of the Museum Fünf Kontinente. For the first time in more than a hundred years, it is being presented in an exhibition in Munich and with such effort. Not only Japanese are fascinated by it, for the collection is like a time capsule in which Japan's Edo period has been authentically preserved.

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to visit the exhibition Collecting Japan. Philipp Franz von Siebold's vision of the Far East at the Museum Fünf Kontinente in Munich (on view until 13 September 2020) and at the same time experience the Heinrich von Siebold Collection at the Weltmuseum Wien from 13 February to 11 August in the exhibition Japan in the Meiji era.

 

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