On Tour

Muzeul Național al Banatului Timișoara, 27.6.-31.7.2019
Opening: 26.6.2019

Österreichisches Kulturforum Istanbul, 11.4.–31.5.2019
Opening: 10.4.2019; Curator: Harald Heppner

National Museum Požarevac, 26.4.–27.7.2019
Opening: 25.4.2019; Curated: Harald Heppner

In cooperation with Österreichisches Kulturforum Istanbul, Belgrad and Timişoara/Temeswar, and Banater Nationalmuseum. 

Hämeenlinna (Häme Castle), Finland, 22.4.-23.10.2016

From 22nd April until 23rd October 2016, more than 50 suits of armour (for foot soldiers and soldiers on horseback) as well as weapons (halberds, obstacles, swords, muskets) from the Landeszeughaus will be on display, including the suit of armour for a horse, the field armour belonging to Archduke Karl II, the large set of armour of  Kaspar zu Völs-Schenkenberg as well as an early suit of Maximilian armour which was produced by the armourer Hans Maystetter.

The objects from the Landeszeughause resemble those of the suits of armour which were also in use in Finland during the Thirty Years' War. Burg Häme, which dates back to the Middle Ages, provides an authentic setting for the exhibits and offers the chance to take a close look at armour from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Baku (Heydar Aliyev Center), Azerbaijan, 16.3.-5.6.2014

The Legends of Arms exhibition illustrates the role of weapons and armour, which were not only functional instruments used for fighting but were also made as highly ornate objects of representation. Aspects of the conduct of war, tournaments and "armour as fashion" are further themes of this show, in which Oriental exhibits from the Esterházy private foundation are on display alongside the 150 objects from Graz.

The show displays the most precious exhibits from the Landeszeughaus, such as the so-called Witz-Harnisch, the suit of armour that belonged to Archduke Karl II, Hans Maystetter's suit of Maximilian armour as well as one of the most valuable pieces: the suit of armour for a horse from Konrad Seusehofer's workshop.

Trento (Castello del Buonconsiglio und Castel Beseno), Italy, 23.6.-18.11.2012

From June 23rd until 18th November 2012, the art of warfare is highlighted at the Castello del Buonconsiglio and at the Castel Beseno. The exhibition brings to life a past world – a world in which combatants went into battle with their armour, or displayed their boldness and skill at handling weapons in tournaments. At Castel Beseno, the emphasis is on battles, sieges, weapons and military strategies, whilst the exhibition at Castello del Buonconsiglio focuses on duels, courtly love and heroic virtues.

In total, around 231 objects from seven Italian and 12 Austrian museums are on display, including objects from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Oberösterreichische Landesmuseum and the Tiroler Landesmuseen. With a total of 150 objects from the Landeszeughaus, this is the largest exhibition that the Landeszeughaus has participated in until now and drew in 87,683 visitors.

Osaka (historic museum of the city of Osaka), Japan, 24.3.-6.5.2012

What began with the sensational discovery in Schloss Eggenberg of a Japanese folding screen from the early 17th century which depicted Ôsaka (in Japanese: Ôsaka zu byôbu) and led to the creation of a twinning between Ôsaka castle and Schloss Eggenberg in 2009, is continued in the collaboration between the city of Ôsaka's historic museum and the Universalmuseum Joanneum.

The exhibition presents objects from the city of Ôsaka's historic museum alongside items on loan from the Landeszeughaus, Schloss Eggenberg, the Alte Galerie, the Steiermärkische Landesarchiv as well as the Universitätsbiblitothek in Vienna. At the start there are six artworks by Andreas Trost and Georg Matthäus Vischer which illustrate the development of the city of Graz in the 16th and 17th centuries and compare it with that of the city of Osaka. Just as much space is given over in this exhibition to warfare at the time of the Thirty Years' War as it is to tournaments. Armour from the Landeszeughaus – including ceremonial armour by Michael Witz – is contrasted with Japanese armour.

Basel (Tinguely Museum), Switzerland, 13.5.-30.9.2009

More than 60 suits of armour from the Landeszeughaus and the Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer in Vienna are exhibited alongside 12 robes created by Italian fashion designer Roberto Capucci, whose work is repeatedly inspired by armour. His robes, which are usually pleated, reflect again and again the precision of the lines of suits of armour; they also allude to the high art of the armourers of that time, who transformed iron into drapes of steel.

The Tinguely Museum in Basel is the ideal place for such an exhibition: Tinguely and his companions Luginbühl and Spoerri (who, like the armourers in their time, focussed on working with iron) provide the right framework with their group of works – with Tinguely as a declared anarchist but also a militarist in disguise, the area between war and the absurdity of war is covered. Oskar Schlemmer's works fit perfectly into the presentation.

With their geometric shapes they abstract from tangible clothing and, like armour and robes, constitute a second skin. This exhibition allows for a re-evaluation of the armourer's craft and, with the combination of Roberto Capucci's robes, the militaria of Tinguely, Luginbühl and Spoerri and Oskar Schlemmer's figurines, raises questions of an art-historic as well as of an existential nature – between the horror of war and the beauty of the catwalk.