Animating Empire

This book, presenting the curiosities that we now call automata, unwinds a large network of interconnected early modern phenomena: the fraught world of religious contests, augmented by intense political rivalries; the connections between court centers of power, including connections between Germany and faraway Istanbul and Delhi; and the origins of early princely collecting in curiosity cabinets. Here art and nature rivaled each other yet intertwined through technology and craftsmanship, powered by Augsburg watchmakers. Keatings meticulous research newly restores a nearly vanished art form to its rightful placeas the bearer of cultural values and courtly prestige at the very heart of ceremonial court performances. In the process, she arouses our own fascination, echoing those responses to privileged displays by these moving metal devices as they performed before early modern monarchs. Larry Silver,co-author of Rembrandts Faith German clockwork automata are mechanical marvels which, with the winding of a key, come alive to entertain as they dance in place or wheel across a table. Jessica Keating propels us through the fascinating history of these engineering masterpieces. As she lucidly explains, these are much more than luxurious toys. Jeffrey Chipps Smith,author of The Art of the Goldsmith in Late Fifteenth-Century Germany Animating Empire stands to play a significant role in rethinking the different ways that mobility registers in the visual and material culture of the early modern world. Shira Brisman caa.reviews A valuable contribution to our understanding of the visual and material culture of the Holy Roman Empire, and the role that objects such as automata played in political machinations and cross-cultural encounters. Keatings lucid writing, accompanied by high-quality illustrations, animates our ongoing appreciation for these exquisite mechanical marvels. Wenrui Zhao Renaissance Quarterly

Jessica Keating is Assistant Professor of Art History at Carleton College.

Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Early Modern Automata: An Abridged History 2. Ever More Variations on the Imperial Theme at the Court of Rudolf II 3. The Gifts That Keep on Giving 4. A Figure of Speech 5. Habsburg-Ottoman Diplomatic Machinery 6. Metamorphosis at the Mughal Court Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index