Wang i sarang han bomul: Togil Tŭlesŭden Pangmulgwan Yŏnhap myŏngp'umjŏn : Kungnip Chungang Pangmulgwan t'ŭkpyŏlchŏn = The dream of a king : masterpieces from the Dresden State Art Collection : special exhibition National Museum of Korea

Abstract

"The Dresden State Art Collections (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden), one of the world's oldest museum institutions, celebrated 450 years of art collecting in 2010. Over time, the Dresden State Art Collections developed into a magnificent and broad assembly of outstanding objects. Today, the institution comprises fifteen museums which are categorized by each own's unique collections, such as paintings, handicrafts, armouries, porcelains, coins and more. These fifteen museums of the Dresden State Art Collections together are renowned for housing a wide variety of the Europe's most precious treasures, from the masterpieces of Italian Renaissance to the very first European porcelain. The unique character of the Dresden collections has been preserved until today thanks to the artistic spirit of Saxony's electors and the city of Dresden, which was the capital city of the Free State of Saxony. Since the 18th century, the treasures of each collection were categorized and catalogued. Further, each collection was professionally handled and documented, which showed the early stages of the museum. The Dresden State Art Collections developed in concordance with the history of the palace. [...] This special exhibition will feature 130 masterpieces from the Rüstkammer (Armoury), the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault), and the Porzellansammlung (Porcelain Collection) of the Dresden State Art Collections, which will be on display for the very first time in Korea. The highlight of this special exhibition is Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), the Elector of Saxony (r. 1694-1733) and King of Poland (r. 1697-1733), and his precious collections of 18th century European Baroque-style treasures. Augustus the Strong's treasures not only include valuables such as gold and diamonds, but also handicrafts that represent contemporary Europe's achievements of high-class techniques and porcelain, called 'white gold' at the time, reflecting his political ambition. Augustus the Strong, as an avid collector of and enthusiast for Asian porcelains, showed his obsession even by exchanging 600 Saxon dragoons for 151 Chinese porcelain vases. Also, his passion for porcelain finally led to the creation of 'Meissen porcelain' as the first European hard porcelain."-- Page 14.